My 84 El caminos head lights arent terribly bright, i can see at night, but I know they could be brighter, it seems that the bulb is fine but the lens maybe is the problem. Any suggestions to the best way to clean this? Thanks a lot.

when was the last time you replaced them ??

I don't know if this relates to your generation, but, my 64's both had poor ground wires to the headlamps.I cleaned up the contact surfaces and replaced a bad wire . It definately brightened them up.

go get some HIDS. I just bought the HI/LO's and they come with their own relay that attaches to the battery making your headlight switch just an on/off switch. These lights make both elements in your low beam light HID. I got the 6000k super white cause I don't like the blue ones. But jackjaw is correct.. check the grounds and replace the fuse. it might be corroded too..:texas:

I bought new bulbs since they where a little dim and WOW, what a different on my 80 Caballero. Michael in Virginia:smileyb::smileyb:

Mine were very dim and it was because the mirror coating on the back of the bulb had worn off. Replaced them with new and can see again!

Mark

I tried installing an old pair of CIBIE european style round headlamps. They use those big non-sealed Phillips bulbs (H1 & H4). The high beams are intensely white and hot. I had them in a 77 BMW for a while. They really light up the road. You can fry someone's retinas with them. They use so many watts that I kept cooking up my switch. I might try again with a separate circuit and relay. They are much brighter than the new Mercedes type, but white not bluish.

I never replaced them, I havent owned it a year, you think just replacing the bulbs would do it?

Replacing the bulbs and checking the wireing, including the sockets would be the least expensive option.

I just replaced the sockets with high temp and wires with 14 & 12 ga, on my '81 to the Halogen headlights. They are powered directly off the battery and the original wireing just switches the relays. A big improvement.

My 86 headlights were very dim when I bought it about 2 & a half years ago,so I replaced all 4 sealbeams about a year ago and that helped a little,but still not where I want them.But I don't do a lot of night driving.

I just swaped out my originals with what I believe are called "Silver Stars" and there was a significant improvement. About $18 a piece if memory serves me.

Arnie in Iowa

i replace mine and it helped a lot

Replacing the bulbs and checking the wireing, including the sockets would be the least expensive option.

I just replaced the sockets with high temp and wires with 14 & 12 ga, on my '81 to the Halogen headlights. They are powered directly off the battery and the original wireing just switches the relays. A big improvement.

This is what I did and it's just about the single best electrical system improvement you can do to an older car. Everything else just works so much better once that load is removed from the dash harness!

Notice how your lights dim when you come to a stop? No longer when they're getting full 14V juice!

OK. I'm confused. My EC has sealed beam headlights. So how are you people replacing them with H4 or HID bulbs?

Jack

[QUOTE=LOCKJAW;353067]I tried installing an old pair of CIBIE european style round headlamps. They use those big non-sealed Phillips bulbs (H1 & H4). The high beams are intensely white and hot. I had them in a 77 BMW for a while. They really light up the road. You can fry someone's retinas with them. They use so many watts that I kept cooking up my switch. I might try again with a separate circuit and relay. They are much brighter than the new Mercedes.{quote}

This is EXACTLY why I dislike people screwing with their headlights.
I do lot of night driving out in the boonies and around the city.
Inside of the city limits there is no reason at all to have super bright lights.
(usually illegal in most locations)
On a freeway or hyway there is no reason to have bright lights if there are other cars in sight.
Nothing annoys me more than some bozo that decides he needs the equivilent of aviation lamps in his car or truck.
Those bright lights all but completely blind me as they are coming to me.
And then those morons that need to drive with their high beams on AND put driving lights in the fog lamp positions and run with 6 bright white or blue lights blinding everyone they meet on the road.

Using halogen sealed beams and running them off relays is all someone needs.
This method helps your lighting and does not make it nearly impossible for oncoming traffic to see.

In your quest for bright lights, you have now made it that much more perilous for everyone else around you.

Even out in the dark boonies---I seldom use the high beams.
Low beams actually help me locate the critters that are likely to pop in front of me while driving on those country roads---with the high beams on, I may be more prone to overlook the critters on the side o f the road.

High beams are good for out of the city hiway/freeway when you are nearly the only one on the hiway.

Bryan, thanks for the spanking! But, just for clarification..
the CIBIE units I have use a very focused field of display. The low beams are not that bright and are diffused and aimed down for city driving and are not annoying. The high beams are very bright but do not direct the light very high.They provide a very narrow illumination on the open road at night for a long distance, just what I needed in my Beemer in my faster days.
I agree about "morons" that are not considerate for oncoming traffic. I disagree that having great lighting classifies one as a "bozo" or necesarily puts other drivers in peril. I always dim my lights when there are cars in front or approaching.My comments about frying retinas doesn't mean that I traumatized others with them.It was my way of describing the intensity. I will admit that a very few times when someone approaching me didn't dim his lights I "flashed" my high beams briefly.That is all it took to gain their attention.

In your quest for bright lights, you have now made it that much more perilous for everyone else around you.
To that comment I say HORSEFEATHERS!

Ever hear the saying: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people"? Perfect analogy. Having these lights is no big deal if you are a responsible driver. That I am.

James:secret:

Bryan, I agree with you completely about the blue lights. That why when I bought my hid's that I got the white and not the blue lights. If you remember when we were younger, when we got our cars inspected the mechanic would check the aiming of the headlights? I have one of those devices. My wife gets migranes from the blue lights so I am very careful to set them correctly. I too drive early morning 4:00 to work and they are all 2 lane roads. When I leave work its dark also so I need the extra light. I made my son replace his 8000k :id's for the 6000k's and he likes the a lot better.

Ever hear the saying: Having these lights is no big deal if you are a responsible driver. That I am.

James:secret:

Point taken, James----thanks.

I can see you got my point as well--------just so ya know, not necessarily aimed at you personally.
I tend to get a bit annoyed at those that do not dim (REFUSE) and I can tell if they are on high beams.
I have always had difficulty recovering from oncoming lights of virtually any intensity.
As has been suggested, I do watch the shoulder directly in front of me with cars coming at me----but cannot see what is in front of me.
This is the reason for my RANTS on lighting.
And I am not alone in my thoughts, most all of the people I know have the same gripes.

I also dislike the super bright ones. I think they are.dangerously bright.

But ive driven in a car with them, and its very nice. So I don't know. Its a slippery slope.

Bryan, don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I don't like bozos that refuse to dim either. In fact, I am waiting for catarct surgery in a few weeks. Bright lights really are blinding when you have cataracts.I rarely drive at night. Can't wait to get them removed.
My peeve is the mudsluggers that have light bars on their roofs with a half dozen floodlamps. They should illegal to use on the public roads.:dontknow:

OK. I'm confused. My EC has sealed beam headlights. So how are you people replacing them with H4 or HID bulbs?

Jack

Jack:
I converted to H4's with a kit from Evil Bay. I later saw it in Autozone. It is a plastic shell that looks like a sealed beam bulb but it has a socket for the H4 bulb. The original wiring attaches to the new bulb. This was for my 81 with the two headlight system. I am sure there is a kit for the separate highs and lows.

OK. I'm confused. My EC has sealed beam headlights. So how are you people replacing them with H4 or HID bulbs?

Jack
Hey Jack, Like stated above, you can by kits that have all 4 housings to accept the H4 bulb. I bought mine in pairs because i wanted the glass lens vs the plastic lens. If you do this, there is a slight mod needed to the factory bucket to accept the new housing. Easy to do with a angle grinder and a cutting blade. I suggest replacing all 4 connectors because the H4 bulbs burn hotter than the sealed beams. I went a little farther and bought HID's to replace all of my headlights. They burn cooler and draw less current than anything but LED's. I recommend the 6000k Bright White lamps. The lower the number (lumens) the whiter the light. The 10000k HID's are the extreme blue ones that just look ugly and has lower output. It's all about the looks for those. Be sure and get whatever upgrade adjusted so you don't blind Bryan and Lockjaw is you meet them on the road. Some folks think the lights are too bright.. I think some drivers are too dim!!:poke:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/80-87-CHEVY-EL-CAMINO-EURO-XENON-HEADLIGHT-CONVERSION-/120590846278?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c13c64946
Here ya go..

I installed new lights today, still the same though...

If you are replaing the old lights with new halogen lights, they will still be yellow and dim. The only way to get good lighting is to get a relay and run power directly from the battery thru the relay , then to the lights. Changing to the H4 lights is a 50% improvment over stock. Stepping up to Hid's is a 200% improvment over stock. I will never have another car without them.the total cost of the swap was about $300. It took me two years to figure out what I was doing wrong which was trying to get 2012 lighting technologht out of a 1987 vehicle.

I'm glad I found this thread, I thought we already had headlight relays on the 5th gen. Anyone have a link to a relay switch install? Locations, wiring, etc.

Thanks,
J

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj289/Bryan59EC/HLrelay-1.jpg

you could take this a step farther and fuse/circuit breaker each relay separately

How can I replace the sockets?

How can I replace the sockets?

Go to the parts store. Buy the sockets.. get some connectors.. cut the old ones off.. crimp the new ones on. There's a good tech tip in the "ELECTRICAL" forum about how to properly crimp the connectors on. I followed the destructions and had good results. It took me 1 hour to do all 4 on my 5th gen.

How can I check the grounds or replace the fuse?

[QUOTE=LOCKJAW;353067]I tried installing an old pair of CIBIE european style round headlamps. They use those big non-sealed Phillips bulbs (H1 & H4). The high beams are intensely white and hot. I had them in a 77 BMW for a while. They really light up the road. You can fry someone's retinas with them. They use so many watts that I kept cooking up my switch. I might try again with a separate circuit and relay. They are much brighter than the new Mercedes.{quote}

This is EXACTLY why I dislike people screwing with their headlights.
I do lot of night driving out in the boonies and around the city.
Inside of the city limits there is no reason at all to have super bright lights.
(usually illegal in most locations)
On a freeway or hyway there is no reason to have bright lights if there are other cars in sight.
Nothing annoys me more than some bozo that decides he needs the equivilent of aviation lamps in his car or truck.
Those bright lights all but completely blind me as they are coming to me.
And then those morons that need to drive with their high beams on AND put driving lights in the fog lamp positions and run with 6 bright white or blue lights blinding everyone they meet on the road.

Using halogen sealed beams and running them off relays is all someone needs.
This method helps your lighting and does not make it nearly impossible for oncoming traffic to see.

In your quest for bright lights, you have now made it that much more perilous for everyone else around you.

Even out in the dark boonies---I seldom use the high beams.
Low beams actually help me locate the critters that are likely to pop in front of me while driving on those country roads---with the high beams on, I may be more prone to overlook the critters on the side o f the road.

High beams are good for out of the city hiway/freeway when you are nearly the only one on the hiway.

:poke: did you run into me in late 70's? I had 727 landing light I treated people with when they had high beams on behind me!

A whole city block away on a chimney on top of 2 story building in bright sunlight you could see the light shining from that rascal!

[quote=Bryan59EC;354441]

:poke: did you run into me in late 70's? I had 727 landing light I treated people with when they had high beams on behind me!

A whole city block away on a chimney on top of 2 story building in bright sunlight you could see the light shining from that rascal!

I was driving with another driver (truck team) who pulled that on a car in Taylor, TX. It cost me $150 to bail him out of the town jail so we could get on with our trip.

I was following another driver down in Houston who did that to a car coming the other way. The car was black and white. Followed very suddenly with red and blue, and his own spotlight to identify the guilty party.

The GM wiring harness is famously weak on the headlights. You can use the wiring diagram up above and do everything right at the front. Get your power off the battery (remember to include fuses!), mount the relays right behind the headlights, connect the system up with 14 gauge or 12 gauge wire, and use the power wire for the headlights as the relay switch. Remember to do the same to the ground side and ground it to a good ground. Instant improvement for an afternoon's work.

[quote=Junk Collector;384853]

I was driving with another driver (truck team) who pulled that on a car in Taylor, TX. It cost me $150 to bail him out of the town jail so we could get on with our trip.

I was following another driver down in Houston who did that to a car coming the other way. The car was black and white. Followed very suddenly with red and blue, and his own spotlight to identify the guilty party.

The GM wiring harness is famously weak on the headlights. You can use the wiring diagram up above and do everything right at the front. Get your power off the battery (remember to include fuses!), mount the relays right behind the headlights, connect the system up with 14 gauge or 12 gauge wire, and use the power wire for the headlights as the relay switch. Remember to do the same to the ground side and ground it to a good ground. Instant improvement for an afternoon's work.

well - wasn't me then :dontknow: when I was doing that it was in Buffalo NY ... just ran heavy wire and switch and hand held it for a very short time - got warm fast!

Now that my cata:beer:racts are removed I can drive at night with no problems. So now I am out trolling the back roads of Texas for drivers like Jarhead to test out my retina burning killer high beams! Lol

Buy a new set thats what I did, big change

Now that my cata:beer:racts are removed I can drive at night with no problems. So now I am out trolling the back roads of Texas for drivers like Jarhead to test out my retina burning killer high beams! Lol
MY LIGHTS ARE BRIGHTER THAN YOUR LIGHTS.. :nanawrench:

Those EXTREMELY bright lights can easily become KILLER lights. Want that on your conscience?????:twisted:

Those EXTREMELY bright lights can easily become KILLER lights. Want that on your conscience?????:twisted:

Hey Beepster.. according to the libs, we conservatives have no conscience anyway... and NO ... I don't have landing lights on my car, just some real nice, clean, well adjusted, white lights. My car's not a killer..:secret: not until I get a new paint job!!:inlove:. I am very courtious and dim my lights so as to not blind the oncoming traffic. As long as they dim their lights in time, they will never see mine.. But thanks for keeping me straight.:You_Rock: