brighter lights

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jpuni

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age old question looking for latest advice ---- looking for brighter headlights and taillights on 6 volt positive ground all original equipment ???
 
Seeing and being seen at night was very important to me. I went with adding running lights (in addition to headlights) and an alternator that looks like a the stock generator. Not sure what year car you have but I also added LEDs for my 39 tail lights. Both changes made a huge difference for driving at night.
 

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First be sure what you have is working at it's best. Wiring up to speed, clean connections and grounds, etc.
 
On both headlights and taillights I spliced a 10 ga. pigtail to the ground wire in the headlight and taillight buckets and connected the pigtail directly to the frame. I also added a ground cable that runs from the ground post on the firewall directly to the frame. Using the frame as the ground conductor rather than trusting the electrical circuit to ground thru the fenders with multiple layers of paint and dirt seemed to make a difference. I also use an Ed Whitney 6V Pos ground alternator.
 
If you have a 36 or earlier, the ground is double important because the socket those headlights attach to is where the ground comes from and gets rusty. You can also use an old trick of putting a headlight relay that feeds directly from the battery and is triggered by power from the switch. I have put 6v alt on my vehicles which will feed halogen bulbs.
 
Charlie Stephens said:
Sorry, but you will not get a good answer until you tell us what year car you have. Guessing wastes time.

Charlie Stephens
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Really? All '32-'53 Fords are 6 volt positive ground. I don't see what difference the year makes. Am I missing something? Bulbs vs. sealed beams?
 
tubman said:
Really? All '32-'53 Fords are 6 volt positive ground. I don't see what difference the year makes. Am I missing something? Bulbs vs. sealed beams?
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Bulbs vs sealed beams, where to get reflectors plated and what to use (silver, aluminum, chrome)?), who makes the best reflectors (and are they any good) or is it better to replate originals (where to get originals), who makes good sockets for the bulbs (and are they any good or is it best to rewire originals?), are brighter bulbs available?, is it good to paint the interior of the taillight bucket silver or white? plus I am sure I missed a couple.

Charlie Stephens
 
the year is 1949 completely rewired ( all new harness) just wish they made a brighter headlight and brake/taillight for the 6 volt system
 
jpuni said:
the year is 1949 completely rewired ( all new harness) just wish they made a brighter headlight and brake/taillight for the 6 volt system
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They do, but some work better than others. Some practical input on which ones are worth while might help.
 
Perhaps I'm late to this party but the post DID say that the rearward wires were home made COULD they have most likely used the wrong wire size (ie. 12V wire) for the whole taillight harness? Could that be a contributing factor and if so, swapping to a 6V alt. will still leave the problem of too small of diameter wire for the amount of amps it needs to carry.
 
All I can say is keep working on it. I have a '51 with the original 6 volt system and am fully satisfied with the lights. I think you can forget about headlight bulbs and reflectors.
 
Jpuni

Again. I'm late to the thread and don't know how far along in diagnosing your problem. A) Jseery's very first post is number one on the list...with out good and proper grounds nothing will work. I always use dielectric grease (you can get at NAPA or any auto parts store) on all my electrical and grounds for protection against rust and corrosion. 2) proper wire size running to the rear of the truck...Remember 6v systems are half the volts BUT Twice the amps of a 12V system so proper wire size is a must!!! From there as Jseery said about Charlie's post....a myriad of area to check.
 
Were the lights always dim or did you change something (like the wiring) and they got dim? Have you compared them with other cars that are 6 volts? Try temporarily running a 12 gauge wire directly from the battery to the contacts on the headlights and see if they get brighter. Include both negative and ground circuits. This would identify undersize wiring, bad grounds and/or a high resistance light switch. Who made the wiring and did they know it was for a 6 volt (not 12) car? I am sure there are brighter bulbs out there, call around. Good luck. If all else fails consider a headlight relay or changing to 12 volts.

Charlie Stephens
 
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Grounds on a shoebox can be a problem, I connected a ground wire from the frame to the pot metal tail light and front running lights directly.
 
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