headlights much dimmer than i remember - silly question?

[stuartp]

i drove my mk1 escort down an unlit country lane for the first time in ages last night and had to stop to see if my lights were even on! - i couldn't see anything in front of me on normal beam. full beam was fine.

 

i'm sure i have driven with normal headlight beam down unlit roads before and not had that problem so my silly question is

 

could something have been changed or affected how bright the bulbs light up?

 

i just had a little bit of electric work done to make my wipers go back to the bottom and make the single wipe and washer foot pedal thing work

 

or was it just really dark last night?

 

whatever, can i get brighter bulbs and fit them (mine has the rectangular rather than round lights)

[Andrade]

do you have a relay for the front lights?

[stuartp]

no idea

 

there's deffo one for the indicators and another thing that looks like it might be a realy but i don't actually know what that does

[Andrade]

The lights on my capri tend to dim a bit when the engine is not revving, usually a relay fixes the problem. Had the same thing on my viva, then I converted the bulbs to halogen and put in a relay and i used to get middle fingers from the guys driving infront of me because of the light

[Grizzley Dell]

may sound silly but how old are the bulbs? ive found in the past that a new pair of bulbs can make a big difference.

[stuartp]

may sound silly but how old are the bulbs? ive found in the past that a new pair of bulbs can make a big difference.

 

well, i haven't changed them in 2 years since i have had it but i wouldn't be surprised if they were much much older

 

will try new bulbs as the first port of call

[Vista]

It sounds like you may be getting too much voltage drop before the lights (on the dip beam circuit). Can you measure what voltage you're actually getting at the socket that the bulb plugs into?

 

Try it with the engine off then with the engine on at idle and then again with some revs on.

 

Also check what voltage you're getting across the battery with your engine at idle and with some revs on, then try the same with everything switched on as it would be on a wet night, demister, wipers, lights and stereo (if fitted).

[stuartp]

well i did have the fan, rear window heater, wipers and stereo on

 

maybe it's just that

[Vista]

your alternator should be able to cope with all of that but if its output is down it will affect it. Though it should affect the main beam too and not just the dip

[Mr2Caps]

Are the headlights clean?..........

[stuartp]

Are the headlights clean?..........

 

that was the first thing i checked

 

i'm not known for my car washing and polishing but in this case they were pretty much spotlessly clean

[bortaf]

teh internal surfaces may be dirty or the shrome fading, it happens over time ? or as said check your voltage, if it's low relay and direct fed them from the battery

[stuartp]

haven't had time to check properly as i have been away but i did notice that when i switch my lights from dipped to normal beam it doesn't change at all. if i put the full beam on with the stalk it works fine so i'm just missing the normal (most important) one

 

reckon it's possibly just the switch on the dash that's gone dodgy -

 

sound feasible?

[tom28]

i have the same problem there like dimly lit candles..