Four Candles

[rvttim]

My head lights are giving out about four candles worth of light on main beam.

I am assuming that its an earthing issue?

Can anyone point me in the right direction to the earthing connection. Its a 95 chim with access to the head lights via the grille and not got the inner wing access.

Cheers

[pwd95]

Naa naa, Fork Handwwls, handwls for forks.... ...


I'll ......

[pwd95]

Sorry, it could be youe reflector bowls too. Quite common for them to be changed.

[450Nick]

You probably want a new set of reflectors and some new h4 bright bulbs from Halfords, that should sort it.. Not usually an earth issue

[ButtonIt]

One thing I noticed, my old battery was dead and that seemed to be sucking power from the car when running. The fans would dim the lights when they kicked in. I've temporarily stuck my caravan battery in the passenger footwell and running the car off that and I've noticed a marked improvement in the electrics in general.

[Bluebottle]

if its the same as the Griff Nick, then they all connect to the front of the chassis offside at the arb mounting bush.
I found some more blanked earth wires on the near side that go up the inner wing which i used.

[Wacky Racer]

pwd95 said:

Naa naa, Fork Handwwls, handwls for forks.... ...


I'll ......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaGpaj2nHIo

[Quietlybonkers]

Average battery life is six years. Average Chimarea age is 15 years. At any one time at least 15% of all Chimaeras will be in need of a new battery, especially on a cold dark winter's day.

Time to get your battery checked by a guy who will do a proper test ( ie not just a battery salesman), before you start taking the headlights to pieces.

[rvttim]

Thanks for the replies

Battery less than 12 months old

Re the shinny bits, the offside has been bright then dull on and of, then last night both very dull (4 Candle light) Very scary on the M6 last night!.

So still assuming earth!!?

[phillpot]

Quietlybonkers said:

Time to get your battery checked before you start taking the headlights to pieces.

Once engine is running battery ain't doing a fat lot, its all down to the alternator.

Earths and any other connections seem the easiest (and cheapest) first thing to take a look at?

reflectors on Chimaeras are known for corroding, do they look dull/rusty/dirty?

Some decent bulbs always a good idea but not going to cure anything if they can't get 12 volts?

[jamienshelly]

Not wishing to sound foolish but its not just your side light you are looking at is it as h4 bulbs cut out dip element and switch to main element, so if the full beam element is blown then all you will see is one side on full beam and side light only on the other.
Jamie

[blitzracing]

Generally speaking wiring and switch contacts will oxidise over time, so the available voltage to the bulbs will drop. If you want to really maximise the power to the lights, you need to run heavy duty cable directly from the back of the alternator- where there can be as much as 14 volts available, to relays mounted as near to the headlights as possible so all the wiring lengths can be kept as short as possible from the voltage source. Its also worth running an extra earth wire directly if you are keen. You switch the relays (One for dip and one for full) with the old headlight feed wires. You also need fuses in the feed wires. Its not a quick fix, but a decent halogen bulb running at near 14 volts will give plenty of light. It would be worth doing a voltage check on the back of the bulb with the headlights on, to see how much power is being lost in the old loom / switch gear / earths. Simply upgrading the lights is no use if you only have 10-11 volts available at the rear of the bulb in the first place.

[jamienshelly]

Sorry just re read post and its both headlights. It is worth checking fuses and bulbs first then working from there. Check Voltage at bulb holder but test with test light not with meter as it may be breaking down under load because of a high resistance (corroded terminals etc), if no voltage then work backwards if you have a voltage then move on to earth side.
Hope this helps and not teaching you to suck eggs
Jamie

[jamienshelly]

blitzracing said:

Generally speaking wiring and switch contacts will oxidise over time, so the available voltage to the bulbs will drop. If you want to really maximise the power to the lights, you need to run heavy duty cable directly from the back of the alternator- where there can be as much as 14 volts available, to relays mounted as near to the headlights as possible so all the wiring lengths can be kept as short as possible from the voltage source. Its also worth running an extra earth wire directly if you are keen. You switch the relays (One for dip and one for full) with the old headlight feed wires. You also need fuses in the feed wires. Its not a quick fix, but a decent halogen bulb running at near 14 volts will give plenty of light. It would be worth doing a voltage check on the back of the bulb with the headlights on, to see how much power is being lost in the old loom / switch gear / earths. Simply upgrading the lights is no use if you only have 10-11 volts available at the rear of the bulb in the first place.

Does this mean you would never leave your head lights on again?

[nawarne]

I reckon blitzracing has covered all the bases.

However, when I had my Chim, I did replace the reflector bowls, ensured good earths - particularly the one at the front of the car (arb mounting bolt was mentioned - 17mm) and connections/spade terminals back to the switch were in good nick.

The idea of feeding direct from the alternator is sound, but does involve quite a bit of work - your choice! Basically, getting everything in an optimum condition for conduction of electricity will help no end. I can recall putting a meter on the rear lamps and getting 12(ish)Volts on one side...the fault was in the connector block behind the B pillar trim...which had oxidised so much it just wasn't passing current to the light(s).

A pal has upgraded his head lights to HID with an easy to fit kit from www.hidcity.co.uk. This has transformed the brightness of the lights...and the car HAS recently passed an MOT.
Nick

[rvttim]

Many thanks for the replies.

Will check the earths this weekend

Cheers all

[blitzracing]

jamienshelly said:

blitzracing said:

Generally speaking wiring and switch contacts will oxidise over time, so the available voltage to the bulbs will drop. If you want to really maximise the power to the lights, you need to run heavy duty cable directly from the back of the alternator- where there can be as much as 14 volts available, to relays mounted as near to the headlights as possible so all the wiring lengths can be kept as short as possible from the voltage source. Its also worth running an extra earth wire directly if you are keen. You switch the relays (One for dip and one for full) with the old headlight feed wires. You also need fuses in the feed wires. Its not a quick fix, but a decent halogen bulb running at near 14 volts will give plenty of light. It would be worth doing a voltage check on the back of the bulb with the headlights on, to see how much power is being lost in the old loom / switch gear / earths. Simply upgrading the lights is no use if you only have 10-11 volts available at the rear of the bulb in the first place.

Does this mean you would never leave your head lights on again?

Nope- all you are doing is providing a fresh low resistance path directly to the back of the bulbs. The alternator connector still has the battery voltage on the rear of it with the engine stopped (say 12 volts), but this will rise to nearer 14 volts as it starts to charge the battery- hence being a good point to take the power from.