Sealed Beam Headlights

Pete / MA

Pete / MA

Senior Member
How many amps should a pair of 6 volt sealed beams draw? High & low beams?
Mine seem to peg my original amp meter to -20. Should I use a -30/+30 meter?
I have the third brush set for about 10 amps at about 1500 rpms and it drops down to around 0 to +2 at idle with nothing on.

Thanks for any advice.

Pete
 
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If you divide the total wattage of the bulbs by the voltage, the result is the current draw. Example if you have 2 x 75 watt bulbs, the total is 150 watts. Then 150w divided by 6v is 25 Amps. This doesn't include the requirement for the tail lights.
 
I don't have a current draw figure handy, but I can tell you that the headlight circuit on my '41 De Soto is fused with a 30-amp SFE fuse.

I think most traditional 6-volt sealed-beams are rated at 50 watts / 40 watts on hi-beam / lo beam, respectively.

Also, most cars & trucks built after about 1930 have ammeters that read to 30 amps +/-.
 
It was never intended that there be a + charge with the lights on, just that more was being put into the battery than was taken out, the charge rate that is needed is one that keeps the battery charged during the cars long term operation ---discharge at night, more charge during daylight to make up for night operation.

I had seal beams in the car when I got it, and my 46 had them, then I had 50 cp bulbs (had to crank up the charge rate to get them to be bright) then at a rainey Hershey I found some direct fit Halogen bulbs --it was a miracle, much better than anything I had tried, I could cut back the charge rate, and the most surprising was there was almost no perceptable change at idle when the generator was not charging.

With the headlamps and 2 tail lights the draw is only 14 amps --not a pegged ammeter like with seal beams or 50 cp bulbs.

You don't need to change your ammeter, you don't need a + charge all the time , just more + time than - time , with a good battery you can drive all night ---as long as you drive enough during the day to make up for it.
 
With sealed beams and a VR I get about -2 amps low beam at normal driving speeds. Third brush was set about midway when I set up the VR. Kurt, I didn't know the Halogen bulbs pulled that much less amps. Good to know. Now I need some good reflectors.
Pete
 
You need to get the right halogen bulbs,the conversions most sell have high draw bulbs.The ones from The Little British Car Company are the low draw bulbs.There is somebody else marketing a cheaper version of the same thing,I haven't tried them so I don't know if they are any good or not.The LBCC ones were meant for old Brit cars with poor electrics.If you have poor reflectors you are going to get a blinding white spot that doesn't cast.I noticed no difference in draw at all with these bulbs.
 
I would be interested in those low draw halogens. I found LBCC on-line but they have a lot of bulbs. You wouldn't happen to know which ones they are, would you.
 
Give them a call.You will be talking to Jeff Zorn,when you tell him they are for an A he will know what base you need.I have the number for the bulbs I bought,but I seem to remember he told somebody else he was selling an improved model of the number I have.They never used to have a website,must be fairly new.
 
Thanks Keith. That sure sounds like the way to go. The sealed beams make the car look a little bug eyed.
Pete
 
The folks at Little British Car Co. were very helpful, but HOLY COW! those bulbs are $41.34 each. Before I spend that kind of money I want to do a little more research to ensure that they are notably better/different than the halogens that MACs and Brattons have for about $27.00.

For those willing to pay for the extra oomph, LBCC did have a 50 watt, which I don't see on either MACs or Brattons. They claim that the 50 is okay with generators. Their website is www.lbcarco.com. The part numbers appear below.

170-755H 6v 35/35 Ba15d Bayonet Generator
170-757H 6v 50/35 Ba15d Bayonet Generator

Me...I'm going to go back to polishing my reflectors.
 
Pete / MA said:
How many amps should a pair of 6 volt sealed beams draw? High & low beams?
Mine seem to peg my original amp meter to -20. Should I use a -30/+30 meter?
I have the third brush set for about 10 amps at about 1500 rpms and it drops down to around 0 to +2 at idle with nothing on.

Thanks for any advice.

Pete
Click to expand...
I bought a pair of old pickup plow lights at a swap meet for twenty bucks. When I removed the directional signals from the buckets, they looked almost identical to the '28-'29 buckets on my Town Sedan. Plus they mounted to the crossbar exactly the same way. Since the low beams drew about twelve amps and the high beams about fifteen, I had to run the the generator at its highest output. In order to avoid overcharging the battery or burning out the generator at such an excessive output, I had to install one of the electronic regulators on the generator. With the lights off, the regulator limits the output to one or two amps. With the lights on, the regulator allows the full output of the generator and the ammeter needle shows no charge or discharge on low beam and about a three or four amp discharge on high beam. I love my sealed beams. They look original (though they aren't), they put out ample light, they don't have to be focused and they are often overlooked by the Model A "experts" who are always pointing out what's incorrect about my car. I did install a 30 amp ammeter gauge because high beams plus brake lights and dome light with engine off does peg the 20 amp meter.
 
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I find that these new bulbs are a danger to on coming traffic. I know they blind me an have nearly caused me to run off of the road. Polish your reflectors and enjoy your
A, thats what I do and see no need to improve lighting and blind others.
 
Thanks for all the feedback.
My truck had original (28/29) plated headlights that were pretty well gone. I came across a pair of (30/31) SS headlights that had already been converted to 6V sealed beams and fit my budget so they will do for now.

Thanks again, next I'll research EVRs.

Pete
 
KGBnut said:
The folks at Little British Car Co. were very helpful, but HOLY COW! those bulbs are $41.34 each. Before I spend that kind of money I want to do a little more research to ensure that they are notably better/different than the halogens that MACs and Brattons have for about $27.00.

For those willing to pay for the extra oomph, LBCC did have a 50 watt, which I don't see on either MACs or Brattons. They claim that the 50 is okay with generators. Their website is www.lbcarco.com. The part numbers appear below.

170-755H 6v 35/35 Ba15d Bayonet Generator
170-757H 6v 50/35 Ba15d Bayonet Generator

Me...I'm going to go back to polishing my reflectors.
Click to expand...

There is a post showing the brightness and current drain comparison for the Brit LED's vs the Halogens! And I have the same problem with my reflectors, someone cleaned the silver the wrong way! I need to find a good replacement to use the LED's (and save up my $$$$)
 
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