Headlight question.....not LED's

[Coug]

Good information. Thank you. Here is a electrical question I have wondered about...... I'm putting 27v through the #17 and #18 connectors in the headlight bucket... Whether it's the Osram bulbs or LED's can they handle that voltage?? or is 27v simply killing the cheaper sealed beams? Trying not to piss more money away than necessary

24V systems actually operate at about 28V.
It's based off of the "12V" battery, which is over 12V, but less than 13V when fully charged.
To charge a battery, you have to have higher voltage than the battery to force the battery to absorb the energy. You could theoretically do it at the 12.6V that is considered the full battery charge, but it would take forever, and any time that power was used in the system, that voltage would drop.

For a 12V lead acid battery, charging voltage will be around 14-14.5V
For a 24V system, that would be 28-29V.

Everything in the vehicle is designed that it will operate normally at 28V. You won't likely start seeing any issues until you have sustained voltages over 32V or short voltage spikes higher than that.

For the sealed beams, if they are designed for a 24V system, then that means they should be just fine up to 30V no problems.
Buying cheaper bulbs means you are likely buying products with lower quality control inspections and standards, so trying to save a few dollars can come back to bite you.


This is where I ordered my first set of headlights from. One of the bulbs burned out within the first couple weeks of using them.
I replaced with the Osram ones I linked above, and the bulbs have survived several housing replacements (hint: don't drive through foot deep mud puddles at high speed with your headlights on, as the glass gets hot and will crack)
Looking at the current prices, if your budget is really tight, just ordering the kit below and adding the Osram bulbs will save you a few bucks, as it's the bulbs, lens, and the pigtails you need all in one kit.

H4 HEAD LIGHT CONVERSION DOT APPROVED (PAIR)

NOW DOT APPROVED LENS We have upgraded the lens to the Directional Glass lens with metal backing at no extra charge instead of the plastic backing with clear lens. These are a great improvement over stock headlights. If you are on a budget, but want something brighter than your stock...

thosemilitaryguys.com

 

[Thumper580]

24V systems actually operate at about 28V.
It's based off of the "12V" battery, which is over 12V, but less than 13V when fully charged.
To charge a battery, you have to have higher voltage than the battery to force the battery to absorb the energy. You could theoretically do it at the 12.6V that is considered the full battery charge, but it would take forever, and any time that power was used in the system, that voltage would drop.

For a 12V lead acid battery, charging voltage will be around 14-14.5V
For a 24V system, that would be 28-29V.

Everything in the vehicle is designed that it will operate normally at 28V. You won't likely start seeing any issues until you have sustained voltages over 32V or short voltage spikes higher than that.

For the sealed beams, if they are designed for a 24V system, then that means they should be just fine up to 30V no problems.
Buying cheaper bulbs means you are likely buying products with lower quality control inspections and standards, so trying to save a few dollars can come back to bite you.


This is where I ordered my first set of headlights from. One of the bulbs burned out within the first couple weeks of using them.
I replaced with the Osram ones I linked above, and the bulbs have survived several housing replacements (hint: don't drive through foot deep mud puddles at high speed with your headlights on, as the glass gets hot and will crack)
Looking at the current prices, if your budget is really tight, just ordering the kit below and adding the Osram bulbs will save you a few bucks, as it's the bulbs, lens, and the pigtails you need all in one kit.

H4 HEAD LIGHT CONVERSION DOT APPROVED (PAIR)

NOW DOT APPROVED LENS We have upgraded the lens to the Directional Glass lens with metal backing at no extra charge instead of the plastic backing with clear lens. These are a great improvement over stock headlights. If you are on a budget, but want something brighter than your stock...

thosemilitaryguys.com

I ordered the setup in your previous post. Thanks.

 

[Coug]

I ordered the setup in your previous post. Thanks.

Sounds good. I know I'm very happy with mine.

As much as people say that the LEDs are better, I've done mine side by side with sealed bulbs and military LEDs.

MUCH better light than the sealed bulbs, and I'd say light quality is maybe 90% of the LEDs for the Hella brand assemblies, and close to that for the thosemilitaryguys ones.
For the high priced military LEDs, not the ebay chinese made stuff that some people seem to think is the same as the military ones.

Plus I drive my truck through ice and snow whenever I can around here. The H4 bulbs keep the headlights nice and clear.
I know some of the LED setups have heated lenses, but once again that's even more additional cost and things that can fail, and I like simplicity.

 

[Coug]

I ordered the setup in your previous post. Thanks.

It's been a couple months now, have you gotten everything installed and working, and if so what is your opinion on it?

 

[mccullek]

It's been a couple months now, have you gotten everything installed and working, and if so what is your opinion on it?

I just went through all this headlight hassle myself. Turned out that my two LED bulbs were both partially defective out of the box, and I also had a mislabeled high beam on my truck in the engine compartment. My high beam wire was labeled as ground and the ground was labeled as high beam. Once I got the wire plugged into the right location and two good bulbs, all was working properly. I spent 3 hours trying to figure it out and finally had to voltmeter everything, and that is when I discovered the mislabeled cables.

Between the bad bulbs and the cables plugged in wrong, I would still be there trying to figure it all out if I had not put the voltmeter to everything.

 

[GopherHill]

24V systems actually operate at about 28V.
It's based off of the "12V" battery, which is over 12V, but less than 13V when fully charged.
To charge a battery, you have to have higher voltage than the battery to force the battery to absorb the energy. You could theoretically do it at the 12.6V that is considered the full battery charge, but it would take forever, and any time that power was used in the system, that voltage would drop.

For a 12V lead acid battery, charging voltage will be around 14-14.5V
For a 24V system, that would be 28-29V.

Everything in the vehicle is designed that it will operate normally at 28V. You won't likely start seeing any issues until you have sustained voltages over 32V or short voltage spikes higher than that.

For the sealed beams, if they are designed for a 24V system, then that means they should be just fine up to 30V no problems.
Buying cheaper bulbs means you are likely buying products with lower quality control inspections and standards, so trying to save a few dollars can come back to bite you.


This is where I ordered my first set of headlights from. One of the bulbs burned out within the first couple weeks of using them.
I replaced with the Osram ones I linked above, and the bulbs have survived several housing replacements (hint: don't drive through foot deep mud puddles at high speed with your headlights on, as the glass gets hot and will crack)
Looking at the current prices, if your budget is really tight, just ordering the kit below and adding the Osram bulbs will save you a few bucks, as it's the bulbs, lens, and the pigtails you need all in one kit.

H4 HEAD LIGHT CONVERSION DOT APPROVED (PAIR)

NOW DOT APPROVED LENS We have upgraded the lens to the Directional Glass lens with metal backing at no extra charge instead of the plastic backing with clear lens. These are a great improvement over stock headlights. If you are on a budget, but want something brighter than your stock...

thosemilitaryguys.com

I highly recommend this lighting setup. You can carry a spare H4 bulb in a padded container. I would use Hella housings. Bulb pigtail adapters are on Am...n and other sites.