Hey guys

Reed told me that depending on what kind of beam i have on my lights depends on how i adjust them. I have two sets of auxiliary lights up front. Two grote 5.25" surveilence lamps, and a couple of rectangular driving lamps. The surveillance lamps from what i can tell have a long skinny beam. The driving lights have a wide long beam. how do i adjust these to comply with DOT and not blind people. Also what is best thing to do for wiring? Should i use a relay for each set. The driving lights came in a set with all the wiring, the inline fuse and a switch, no relay. Would it be better to run a relay for each set?

Here is a picture


Thanks for the help
Cody

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Old truck: 82 D150 225, 2bbl, dutra duals, 2.5" straight pipe to dual 2.5" tail pipes. Mud tires, 4spd, old forest service truck.
Current truck: 98.5 Ram 2500 ccsb, sport, 24v cummins, 5spd, 4.5" lift, 35's, 5" straight pipe.

Both of these would be considered auxiliary high beam ("driving") lamps -- for use only with the main high beams, never alone or with liw beams and never in traffic. Yes, you definitely need relays, see here. Also the lughts themselves you've got aren't very good ones. But before you spend much of any effort on them, upgrade you main lights, your headlights. Right now you've got cruddy sealed beams, one of which is past dead (bad reflector) and they're starved by wiring that was inadequate when new and doesn't age well. With good headlamps you would likely perceive no need for auxiliary lamps unless your night driving conditions are specially severe. If you go shopping for lights, ask questions first--lotta junk on the market, all hyped as an "upgrade".

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Maybe I am misreading that first sentence, but I want to be clear: adjusting the mounting of the lights will not change your beam pattern. What I meant to say was that the beam pattern of the lights determines where the lights should be mounted and where the lights should be aimed.

I KNOW Dan will add more to this grossly oversimplified explanation, but here it goes. Beam pattern is a function of reflector shape and lens design. Once those two components are fixed, the lamp assembly will always have the same beam pattern, no matter where it is mounted or pointed (unless you are shining it near a black hole).

However, different beam patterns are intended for different uses. For example, fog lights have a short but wide beam pattern. This is because fog lights are intended to illuminate the sides of the road and the area in the near foreground in front of the vehicle. This is because when it is foggy it is presumed you will be slowing down because you cant't see and it is important for you to se things like the edges of the road and the lane delineators. The beam is short because, since you are traveling slower, it is more important for you to see things that are close to you than far away. This is why fog lamps are best mounted below the bumper and toward the outside of the vehicle.

Driving lights, on the other hand, are intended for use in situations where you are driving full speed and need to se far in front of you. Normal headlight beam patterns have a "black hole" effect at longer distances in the middle of the viewing area in front of the car. The purpose of driving lights is to "fill" this "hole." This is why driving lights are best mounted near headlight level and towards the middle of the vehicle.

SlantsixDan has forgotten more than I will ever know about automotive lighting and wiring and has kindly created a website sharing his knowledge in easy to understand articles for the rest of us. If you are curious about automobile headlight and auxiliary lamps, beam patterns, light colors, bulb selection, and other good info about your cars lighting and electrical system, I highly recommend a visit to the "Tech" section of:

SlantSixDan's amazing automobile lighting emporium.

i have spent great deals of time browsing that site. Great stuff is there.

EDIT: See? Dan beat me to the answer.

Thanks for the help guys. I will get some relays tomorrow. Reed i know what you were saying. I was just asking about adjusting them (pointing up and down, left to right) not making the beam different, just adjusting the direction they are pointing. I did read a thing for headlights, a way to adjust them is to park in front of a wall a few feet back and make them equal distance from the ground. I cant rmember all of it. If i can only use them as high beams then i will put the rectangle ones somewhere else i had in mind for a different use. I know that driver side lamp needs replaced, has since i got it, but it works so i never replaced it. Ive gotten used to one side being brighter than the other. And the rectangular lights, were $20 at schucks for the kit, i was just looking for a little more light, i drive on unlit back roads at night some times and especially going to and from my friends house i want those steep windey dark roads well lit in front of me. As for the surviellance lights, those i think are $40 a piece so theyre not hellas. lol. When i have the money i will buy some new lights from you dan. Do you carry ones that would fit my truck? and should i redo the wiring?

Thanks
Cody

_________________
Old truck: 82 D150 225, 2bbl, dutra duals, 2.5" straight pipe to dual 2.5" tail pipes. Mud tires, 4spd, old forest service truck.
Current truck: 98.5 Ram 2500 ccsb, sport, 24v cummins, 5spd, 4.5" lift, 35's, 5" straight pipe.

A couple more things dan

1. should i go ahead and put relays on the headlights like on your write up? and should i redo all wiring to them?

2. should i put a relay for the turn signals?

This is gonna sound funny. I have a pair of amber fogs (yes i know, i have way too many lights, but theyre not on the truck) i was thinking of mounting them under the cab to the frame and wire them into the turn signals only (so they flash on the ground) 1. is it possible to wire them to only turn signals, not parking lamps? 2. is it legal? 3. its mainly for looks.

Thanks again
Cody

_________________
Old truck: 82 D150 225, 2bbl, dutra duals, 2.5" straight pipe to dual 2.5" tail pipes. Mud tires, 4spd, old forest service truck.
Current truck: 98.5 Ram 2500 ccsb, sport, 24v cummins, 5spd, 4.5" lift, 35's, 5" straight pipe.

Ross-

Yes, you should put relays and good wiring in the headlamp circuit; another writeup on how to do it is here. This will make even the cruddiest headlamps less awful. You don't have to spend big bucks on fancy headlamps from me -- they are premium lights, and worth what they cost, but if you want better lighting without spending a whack of money and don't need the best, get a pair of GE Night Hawk H6054NH sealed beams. About $20 apiece at amazon.com , put "H6054NH" in the siearch field. They are the only sealed beams worth buying; all others are junk.

No need to put relays on the turn signals. If you want the truck to have a daytime running light function, that can be done easily. It would take a pretty sadistic cop to hassle you for your fogs-on-the-ground turn signal idea; I can't think of a law it would violate, though I suppose it's possible an ordinance somewhere could be interpreted to forbid it. You'd want to install them so they wouldn't glare at other drivers. Angle them so they put a stripe of light outward-forward from the vehicle and you might even get some conspicuity benefit in certain road conditions.

The brake lights and front turn signals can be made 40% to 50% brighter. You can get the required bulbs (which have nice nickel-plate bases that will not corrode and seize in the sockets) from your local Honda dealer. Part number for the single-filament variety (replacing 1141, 1156, 1073, 7508, or P21W) is 34903-SF1-A01. Part number for the dual-filament variety (replacing 1016, 1034, 1157, 2057, 2357, 7528, or P21/5W in brake/tail or park/turn lights) is 34906-SL0-A01. Don't try to buy these bulbs in the aftermarket, and don't let the dealer sell you anything but a genuine Stanley-made Honda bulb; everything but the genuine Honda product is junk. These are ultrapremium bulbs with very long lifespan, corrosionproof nickelplate base, etc.

Send me an e-mail or a PM if you'd like to buy a headlamp harness parts kit, a DRL module or whatever else.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Reed: A+.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

My running lamps aren't very bright. I don't have the money right now but when I do I'll shoot you a pm for some lights and a harness. I was gonna go to pick n pull today and get an underfoot fuse block I can put all the relays and fuses in and mount it to the wheel well. Should tidy it up nice and I won't have so many wires on the positive post of the battery.

Thanks again
Cody

_________________
Old truck: 82 D150 225, 2bbl, dutra duals, 2.5" straight pipe to dual 2.5" tail pipes. Mud tires, 4spd, old forest service truck.
Current truck: 98.5 Ram 2500 ccsb, sport, 24v cummins, 5spd, 4.5" lift, 35's, 5" straight pipe.