I have that Speed Direct headlight relay setup, very nice indeed. Anyway i am running stock headlights not even halogen so I am assuming less than 50watts each.

Now the GE landing lights are rated at 100 watts and at 13 volts one lamp draws ~7.5 amps, so 15 amps for the pair. Added to the 7.5 amps the low beams are going to draw, or do they draw more when on high beam ?

So you get a total of about 25 amps with all four on. I think that would be very close to what you would get running halogen low and high beams

Now if my dual 13 inch Spals kick in ( 20 amps each ) and I have the stereo cranked........my 100amp alternator might need upgrading

 

http://www.bulbconnection.com/ViewIt...base/item.html

Here is the link for the GE light referenced in this thread. However, please see my earlier comments on this subject on this thread and reference the link above that this light is a sealed beam, not halogen or HID bulb, with an average life of 25 hours. Although inexpensive, it will not provide the optimum beam pattern for driving nor the optimum color compared to a 100 watt H1 Hella or Cibie lens since it is a sealed beam which is much more yellow in color compared to the HID or halogen bulb. An H1 100 watt halogen bulb in a euro lens such as Hella or Cibie will put out at least 200,000 candlepower as well with a better beam pattern and whiter light. If one is going to go through all the trouble of the relay with the GE light which you have to do with an H1 100 watt as well, why not put the best lens you can in your vette or better yet go for the HID bulb (more expensive than the halogen conversion, though)? An HID requires no relay since it pulls 35 watts! Just a thought!

 

Wait, my Cibie high beam is going to be brighter than an aircraft landing light???

 

Yes, the Cibies/Hellas will blow you away with how bright and clean the light is.

 

That would be correct!! Look at the candlepower rating on the link, 200,000 for the GE sealed beam light versus at least that candlepower for an H1 100 watt halogen bulb with a lead crystal euro hella or cibie lens. Lighting optics depend on two parameters: 1. the bulb type (halogen bulbs are much better than sealed beam filaments for light color characteristics and bulb life 2. Lens quality and reflective characteristics. The GE light mentioned above loses on both counts but that is what you get for $12, although if you are on a budget it certainly would improve one's lighting over a standard sealed beam. The aircraft landing light referenced above is simply a sealed high beam with a pencil beam to maximize distance. Don't get mesmorized with the term "aircraft landing" light!

 

jb78l-82,
Question:
I was of the impression that the GE 4537 did NOT require any relays and was a simple bolt in replacement for the exisitng high beam lamp.
That was what attracted me to it as I want brighter lights without cutting wires and installing relays as I have a bone stock 68 that I spent 10 years getting to that point so I don't want to modify anything or drill holes or splice wires.
Can you elaborate please?
Thank you
Kurt

 

The headlight switch on the C3's serves as a circuit breaker for the four headlights besides just activating the the headlights on and off. Since all the electric current for the 4 headlights runs through the headlight switch, using a 100 watt light in the high beam bucket will overload the headlight switch when all 4 lights are on causing the headlights to blink on and off intermittently until the current (amperage) is reduced or the lights are switched off. On my car, I run the low beam Hella's through the stock wiring harness and use one of the stock high beam leads to activate a 30 amp relay which draws power from the positive lead at the back of the alternator as a current source for the H1 100 watt halogen bulbs. This setup allows the headlight switch to actually only see the current from the low beam lights and the high beams use an independent current source for thier power. I use H4 80/100 watt halogen bulbs ( you could use 55/60 watt H4's) for the low beams and H1 100 watt halogens (you could use 55 watt H1's) on the high beams for the Euro Hella's resulting in 400 total watts when all 4 lights are on. I also run a 120 amp alternator but it is not necessary if the lights are the only high current item you run. Since the GE 4537 is 100 watts, it doesn't matter whether it is a sealed beam or halogen, 100 watts is 100 watts each. You may be able to get away with 100 watt high beams with standard sealed beam low beams which, I believe, are only 35 watts each reducing the total wattage to 270 watts when the 4 lights are on, but I doubt it. The only cutting of the stock wiring is cutting the two wires near the high beam plug on each wiring for each high beam and then adding the additional wiring for the relay which can easily be reversed in the future if you so desire. There are various combinations of halogen bulbs that you can run that may allow you not to use relays such as sealed beam lows with 55 watt high beams etc. Obviously, my setup is running maximum wattage (there are even higher watt bulbs, by the way). Lastly, a 100 watt H1 bulb does NOT put out 2X the light of the 55 watt bulb. Lighting optics require a geometric increase in power of the bulb to double the light output so in order to have 2X the light output of a 55 watt bulb, I would need a 220 watt bulb. Another words, my 100 watt H1 bulb puts out maybe 25% more light than the 55 watt bulbs. Hope that this helps!

 

jb78L-82
Thank you for the detail explanation.
That certainly sheds new light (no pun intended) on what I am trying to achieve.
I appeciate it as I certainly don't want an electrical fire or to fry my headlight switch. The wiring in my car is now 39 years old and I don't want to have trouble.
Kurt

 

So I don't really know what I'm talking about... but why hasn't anyone mentioned LEDs?