My Barth has the Cadillac Seville type of headlights ( the 2 rectangular sealed beams sitting side by side).
I have driven my Barth only 3 or 4 times at night and that was enough to convince me that this type of sealed beam is not the best. They are aligned properly but still project a yellowish light and the lighted zone ahead of me is quite small.
Have any of you replaced those lights with better ones?
Which ones did you choose?

Thank you

There are several posts on this subject on Barthmobile. Most have to do with installing relays so all the juice doesn't flow through the light switch. Some are quite detailed. Try a search.

quote:

Originally posted by Raymag:
My Barth has the Cadillac Seville type of headlights.

The Seville mounts hold ordinary US headlight sealed beam units. All US cars used this until recently. Any glass sealed beam that is round or rectangular is exactly what you have, and your Barth should be no worse than any of them. If it is, then Roy is on the right track suggesting a relay.

Also, get behind the lights and make sure the connections are clean, tight and shiny. Also clean the grounds. I don't know how yours is wired, but I like a frame ground.

quote:

Have any of you replaced those lights with better ones?
Which ones did you choose?

Thank you

Yes. But this is recommended only if you have good wiring and switches that can carry the load. Do not buy lights from China or India. Their quality is abysmal, so bad that some bulbs do not even go into the reflector units. Beam patterns are all over the map. Taiwan has variable quality. Some are not bad. Hella, Cibie, Carello, Marchal, Bosch, Piia (did I leave anyone out?)are the best, although if you luck out and get good Taiwan ones from JC Whitney or a local store, there is a lot of value there. A local off-road shop is a place to start. Or engage some off-roaders in conversation. Most of them are posers, so look for one with puckerbush scratches on the sides and hi-lift jacks, extra tanks and a shovel on the back. A winch is an indicator, but is much more telling if it can be moved to the rear. That is the real mark of a true off-roader.

No, that wasn't thread drift!, but almost.

Sylvania makes a compatible headlamp , I think it is named star something and it is a much improved , whiter light. They are around $20 each and is on my list of projects to do on my Barth. I have the same problem on my Barth as the headlights seemed very dim.
I had a similiar problem with my 74 cj5 Jeep which I replaced with these and it made a world of difference.

Ray

I replaced the stock with Sylvania Silver Star. That was fun...one of the headlights has the terminal installed wrong. A second had the alignment tabs broken off.

Aside from quality issues, the Silver Star units impart a bluish color to the light. I have a suspicion that it gives more of the impression of brightness than being really brighter.

Of course, a new light is usually better than the one it replaced, simply because conventional incandescant lights slowly deposit a layer of metal from the element to the lens and reflector, dimming the output. One of the virtues of halogen lights is that the bulb is filled with one of the halogen gasses and uses a quartz envelope. The quartz envelope can withstand a higher temperature, and the element is operated at a higher temperature. The higher temperature is brighter, and the metal that is vaporized is returned to the filament instead of being deposited on the inside of the glass. This occurs by some magic of chemistry.

So, anyway, a new Silverstar could be brighter because it is new, because it is halogen, or simply because you rubbed the connections clean on installation. It can also seem brighter because it is a different color.

If you want to try Silverstars, watch your chain auto parts stores ads for coupons. They often go on deep discount.

quote:

Originally posted by Raymag:They are aligned properly but still project a yellowish light and the lighted zone ahead of me is quite small.

Had the same issue with my headlights and found that the voltage at the lamp socket was less then 10 volts and at that voltage the lamps will be yellow! I made a modification by adding an additional relay to the low beam lamp circuit, the high beam already has a relay. Problem is there are so many connections and voltage loss points from the lamp circuit breakers, thru the connectors at the elecxtrical box, to the dash and thru the light switch, to the steering column, (high low beam) back to the electrical box, out of the electrical box to the lamps------you get the idea-----

Here is a link to the post that I made after I fixed the problem:
Headlight relay

Here is the direct link to a description of my repair:
Low beam headlight fix

When you open the above link click on "headlamp relay" and it will open a word doc that has all the information.

Here is a direct link to a PDF form that will open if you have a PDF reader:
Low beam headlight fix PDF

After this mod I also added H1 and H4 Hella lamps, great vis at night now!


HTH

BTW, the voltage at the headlights should be checked with them connected and on...

THanks Ed, your document is quite detailed. I will use it to improve my system.

Most, but not all, Barths have sealed beams -- round or rectangular. So, this information pertains to only a few Barths, but thousands of other vehicles.
This afternoon I got the headlamp restoration process they offer At Sam's Club. Because the vehicle has FOUR plastic (Ford derived) headlamps, I was prepared to pay twice the regular price of $29.88.
But, NO. Under thirty bucks is what they charged me.
Two technicians carefully masked the adjacent body work and even the narrow line stainless steel headlamp bezels. Then they wet sanded with 600 grit. After blowing away the water from sanding, they spray a clear sealer, which is then cured with a BRIGHT lamp. After the masking is removed, they wipe off the surrounding area, probably to remove masking residue.
The results are dramatic. The results far surpass DIY kits or toothpaste because of the cured clear coat.

I bought my Barth in 2009 and while driving home I literally had no light at night so I had to drive during the day. When I got home I took a good look at the lights and the silver was completely gone from inside so there was no reflective surface. All four worked but without reflection they were worthless. Another amazing thing was that both high beams had water in them, about a half an inch, and they still worked. How did water get into them without destroying the filament? A leak would let in oxygen which would cause them to burn out nearly immediately. Weird...

I have noticed a lack of users with the older P30 chassis units , so we dont get much love around here, but who has upgraded the early style round 4 hole units ?

Jim, I think these headlamps are what you need. There are others and they have come down in price. Some folks do not care, but Department of Transportation legal (DOT) approved in all 50 states. is a good place to start. There are several off rod varieties available.

$182: https://www.amazon.com/Maxxima...adlamp/dp/B00K832E3K

$154 (Grote brand DOT truck grade) https://www.finditparts.com/pr...OEAkYASABEgIl_vD_BwE

$33: https://www.summitracing.com/p...xEAQYBCABEgKNzfD_BwE

mine has the smaller 5 inch ones