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How to improve the headlight efficiency .??

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willysmb Avatar
willysmb ken klay
london, UK   GBR
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1956 MG MGA "Money Pit"
Had my first drive in the "A" at night ....angry smiley a tad on the scary side.
The throw of the lights was only a few feet in front and on un-light country roads this was very disconcerting in comparison to a modern car.
Im Running an Alternator and had uprated the lightbulbs /holders to a later MGB type to, I had hoped improve the headlights brightness ..

anyone any ideas as to how to improve the lights output ..

ken .

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JimNH Avatar
JimNH Jim Mail
Nashua, New Hampshire, USA   USA
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1957 MG MGA "Camilla (the Other Woman)"
what kind of bulbs/lamps are you using? How did you aim them?

If you drive at night a lot, you could go to Halogens - but be sure to add a relay circuit to take load off of the switch.

You might want to add the relay anyway - and give the lights a large wire with a straight shot to the battery.

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DavidMGA1600 Avatar
DavidMGA1600 David Lake
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia   AUS
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1960 MG MGA "Dads Car"
1961 CycleKart Race Car "Team Ferrari"
I'm not sure what your running as headlights, but the change from "prefocus" bulbs to 60w sealed beams was a huge step in brightness for our A.
They are not halogen, just 70s technology sealed beams.

But i don't think we should be comparing the round head lights in the A to modern shaped beams of a "new" car.
Drive a little slower or install a single Lucas Flamethrower in the grill.smiling smiley



David

1960 MGA 1600 Convertible,
Gold Coast, Australia.
The 5,791 Day Restoration

The CycleKart Club - Forums and more for builders & racers of home-built 200cc vintage-styled karts.

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barneymg Avatar
barneymg Barney Gaylord
Somewhere in North America, Throw a dart., USA   USA
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1958 MG MGA "MGA With An Attitude"
A pair of halogen sealed beam bulbs for your local discount department store will work wonders. They will light up a stop sign half a mile away. Once you try this you will likely immediately forget about needing any additional lighting upgrade. The sealed beam bulbs will most likely be Sylvania or Wagner or GE brand, model number H6024. $7-$10 each.
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-H6024-Standard-Halogen-Headlight/dp/B000BLMJMU#productDetails



Barney Gaylord - 1958 MGA with an attitude - http://MGAguru.com - barneymg@mgaguru.com - Ph: 630-946-3841
(Please email me direct, do not leave a PM on the public server).

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ghnl Avatar
ghnl Eric Russell
Mebane, NC, USA   USA
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1961 MG MGA "Calvin"
And make sure they are aimed properly.

Headlight Aiming



Eric Russell ~ Mebane, NC
1961 MGA #61, 1981 Alfa Romeo GTV6, 1984 Alfa Romeo Spider, 1991 Honda ST1100

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MGARuss Avatar
MGARuss Silver Member Russ Sharples
East Windsor, NJ, USA   USA
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1960 MG MGA 1600 "Bonnie"
1974 MG MGB GT
1993 Mazda MX-5 "Bombita"
I can vouch for what Barney and others have said here: the MGA headlights work just like a modern cars headlights if you put modern sealed beam units in. The only MGAish problem you might have is a poor connection somewhere in the switch or wiring harness that is causing a voltage drop at the headlight. If you don't have modern sealed beam lamps (I can't imagine how you don't) then get them, but if you do, then I would turn on the headlights and check the voltage at the switch and then at the headlamp itself.

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Neil MG Avatar
Neil MG Neil McGurk
Cumbria, UK   GBR
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1956 Morris Minor
1958 MG MGA
1960 MG MGA
1961 MG MGA    & more
If you like originality and brightness you can use halogen lamps directly in your BPF units. If the silvering is beginning to get a bit wormy or rusty round the edges you can use the reflectors from a pair of halogen lights to replace the ones on the BPF units. The halogen units come apart easily with a little heat, but it is easiest to grind the old BPF reflectors off.

If the original lights have been changed to sealed beam, then you will have to replace them.


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Neil MG Avatar
Neil MG Neil McGurk
Cumbria, UK   GBR
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1956 Morris Minor
1958 MG MGA
1960 MG MGA
1961 MG MGA    & more
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trialsrider Avatar
trialsrider Silver Member Richard Bussler
South Williamsport, PA, USA   USA
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I have been running hells h4s in my a for 25 years no relay required. They are very bright

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59mgaguy Avatar
59mgaguy John Terschak
Wakeman, OH, USA   USA
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1930 Ford Model A "Jenny"
1959 MG 14/28 "Jessie"
1974 MG MGB "Oooops"
I have a pair of halogen sealed beams on the 58. While on a wine tour with my club I was following our club's Treasurer. Later he complained that I had my brights on. I told they were on dim. He then stated I should do a head light alignment. Seeing I already had checked the headlights before going on the tour I figure he wasn't use to the halogens.

But I do know where he's coming from with bright head lights from the rear. Most of the trucks and 4 wheelers around here have lifts that are 4 foot high. (Your nose can touch the front bumper standing in front) Not only do they forget about their headlights. But the have running light s to boot.


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B-racer Avatar
B-racer Jeff Schlemmer
Shakopee, MN, USA   USA
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If the problem is wiring, the best headlights in the world won't help add voltage to the bulb. Advance Autowire sells a relay kit that includes new wire for both headlights, including the 3-wire sockets that plug into the bulbs. The upgrade gives you bright headlights, even at idle when running a generator. Worth the money??? Absolutely yes, and I have a setup in my Magnette (sort of a 4-door MGA coupe for those not familiar).

http://www.advanceautowire.com/ Click on "headlight relay kit" - a schematic is shown!



jeff@advanceddistributors.com

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willysmb Avatar
willysmb ken klay
london, UK   GBR
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1956 MG MGA "Money Pit"
Sorry for the tardy reply ..been away from my main computer ..

Ill take a good hard look at things next week when i'm back at home for good , just to note that i included extra earthing cables on all lights ( my experience from restoring 6V WW2 jeeps )

the Full beam seems quite strong , dipped seems to be the main issue ..

Im running later MGB style headlamps and if i recall H4 or H7 bulbs ..(quite common on modern cars) ..


thanXX to all and Ill report back when i get a proper chance to check things out ..

ken

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bobs77vet Avatar
bobs77vet bob K.
northern Va, VA, USA   USA
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I know this isn't for everyone but some of the new headlights have an inside ring of LED lights like the new cars have and act as a daylight running light. they are pretty sweet. ebay has lots of them for sale.


heres an example
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CLEAR-7-ROUND-GLASS-LENS-PROJECTOR-HEADLIGHTS-w-BUILT-IN-SUPER-BRIGHT-LED-RING-/360890509998?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5406c02aae&vxp=mtr



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-08-01 07:18 PM by bobs77vet.

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59mgaguy Avatar
59mgaguy John Terschak
Wakeman, OH, USA   USA
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1930 Ford Model A "Jenny"
1959 MG 14/28 "Jessie"
1974 MG MGB "Oooops"
Wonder how it would fit in place of the regular headlamp? The back part of the new lamp looks like it wouldn't just fit in.

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