light output from stock sealed high beams

Does anyone know the light output (in lumens) from the stock sealed units found in the quad round setup? I like the sound of the H1 lamp and 55W +50 bulb setup, such as those sold by Daniel Stern, and want to know what improvement I can expect.

Thanks.

Not numbers for you, but from empirical evidence it will make a huge difference. The stock sealed beams are crap. Make sure you add some relays though, the stock wiring was only just adequate 30 years ago, before it started corroding.

Double02 said:

Does anyone know the light output (in lumens) from the stock sealed units found in the quad round setup? I like the sound of the H1 lamp and 55W +50 bulb setup, such as those sold by Daniel Stern, and want to know what improvement I can expect.
Thanks.

Click to expand...

one of my "fascinations" is *ultra high power "flash lights'* (I have a couple of "MagLite based"
hot rod "flash lights" that will fry your hair a six feet and set a page of newsprint on fire at 18"...

pulled this off the discussion "board":
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?43889-How-many-lumens-in-a-headlight

FWIW, I have *three* of the "huge-assed plastic lensed" 1990's *240's*..I run 100 / 80 Watt
Xenon 9004's in them (NEVER ON DURING the daylight hours!) and have used them for
over ten years w/NO wire hassles at all - all BONE STOCK....hmmmm
I'm also prolly the only guy here who throws sacks of dog-food onto the drivers seat (equal to the
the mighty heft of MY fat ass) when I go to adjust the lamps so that the "hot spots" are never a
problem w/oncoming traffic..every once and awhile I'll get a "dimmit dammit headlamp flash" so
I give'em a short burst of DAYLIGHT and retreat back to lo-beam....I actually avert my eyes and
use the VERY HELPFUL *RH SIDE WHITE LINES" when driving toward an approaching car...
YMMV

Why: "do" *I* always "feel"....like **I'M*** (reaDING) a "ransoM" note WhEneveR yOu POSt?

TrickMick said:

one of my "fascinations" is *ultra high power "flash lights'* (I have a couple of "MagLite based"
hot rod "flash lights" that will fry your hair a six feet and set a page of newsprint on fire at 18"...

pulled this off the discussion "board":
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?43889-How-many-lumens-in-a-headlight

FWIW, I have *three* of the "huge-assed plastic lensed" 1990's *240's*..I run 100 / 80 Watt
Xenon 9004's in them (NEVER ON DURING the daylight hours!) and have used them for
over ten years w/NO wire hassles at all - all BONE STOCK....hmmmm
I'm also prolly the only guy here who throws sacks of dog-food onto the drivers seat (equal to the
the mighty heft of MY fat ass) when I go to adjust the lamps so that the "hot spots" are never a
problem w/oncoming traffic..every once and awhile I'll get a "dimmit dammit headlamp flash" so
I give'em a short burst of DAYLIGHT and retreat back to lo-beam....I actually avert my eyes and
use the VERY HELPFUL *RH SIDE WHITE LINES" when driving toward an approaching car...
YMMV

Click to expand...

FWIW the wiring is quite different on the later cars, the early quad round lighting ciruit sends all the power through the switch in the dash, part of the reason why the switch is such a common failure item. If you are upgrading lights you will almost certainly melt something without adding relays if your car was an older model.

Double02 said:

Does anyone know the light output (in lumens) from the stock sealed units found in the quad round setup? I like the sound of the H1 lamp and 55W +50 bulb setup, such as those sold by Daniel Stern, and want to know what improvement I can expect.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

No idea on the lumens - should be similar, due to the wattage, but the vision improvement is worth it. Granted, I am biased a bit, since I do have a set that would fit your car perfectly and that I'm thinking about purging, so I can revert a certain '84 245GL to a somewhat stock-looking status.

-J

swiggy said:

FWIW the wiring is quite different on the later cars, the early quad round lighting ciruit sends all the power through the switch in the dash, part of the reason why the switch is such a common failure item. If you are upgrading lights you will almost certainly melt something without adding relays if your car was an older model.

Click to expand...

I have TWO of the "Susquehanna Motorsports" HD wiring kits that I traded labour for a few years
ago...set up w/all the correct connectors for the 9004 bulbs in my "early 90's 24x's"... of COURSE
the BULB FAILURE RELAY went off when I fired the first installation up....dammit....

you *should* "rewire / add relay's / new connectors" when you go to boost the OLDE iterations...
MY BAD... I was just remembering how PO'd I was that I had all that neat gear and it wasn't
about to perform as intended....

*IF* you drive in "rush hour traffic a LOT...go here - do THIS:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/markerflash/markerflash.html
the benefits are legion and the effort is minimal....I fit the "Euro REPEATERS" on ALL of my
240's!

here's the Susquehanna Motorsports site:
http://www.rallylights.com/

here is the supplier for CROSS-LINKED INSULATED WIRE;
http://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/en-us/d102.html

sorry for the mix-up ... I accept FULL RESPONSIBILITY for the discrepancy .....

swiggy said:

FWIW the wiring is quite different on the later cars, the early quad round lighting ciruit sends all the power through the switch in the dash, part of the reason why the switch is such a common failure item. If you are upgrading lights you will almost certainly melt something without adding relays if your car was an older model.

Click to expand...

I hadn't looked up the headlight wiring diagram yet so thanks for the heads up. I was specifically limiting myself to 55W bulbs to avoid wiring upgrade problems. I had thought that since I wouldn't be changing the current draw, I'd be OK. Never hurts to upgrade electrical safety items though.

245GT-Turbo said:

No idea on the lumens - should be similar, due to the wattage, but the vision improvement is worth it. Granted, I am biased a bit, since I do have a set that would fit your car perfectly and that I'm thinking about purging, so I can revert a certain '84 245GL to a somewhat stock-looking status.

-J

Click to expand...

Not really. A poor efficiency bulb (liked sealed beams) can draw as much or more current than a high efficiency bulb (like a H1) but have much lower output. That plus reflector design is the reason the H1 lamps/bulbs are so much more effective. PM me about your setup though. You must be a purist if you notice the difference between sealed units and H1s/H4s

swede242 said:

Why: "do" *I* always "feel"....like **I'M*** (reaDING) a "ransoM" note WhEneveR yOu POSt?

Click to expand...

there are MULTIPLE LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION ... since most of "us" here rarely
(if EVER) meet and greet IN PERSON - I make an attempt to "add the missing CUES"
lost during the process of transmitting information in a medium that requires a "personal
investment" in a good outcome....
I find the many persons involved with technical issues often fail to "make their point"...
leading to all sorts of rude and stupid ARTIFICIAL CONTROVERSY when a "face to
face dialectic" would NEVER degenerate to such a coarse level....think in terms of how
you would react if someone were actually arguing with you over a SALIENT POINT yet
failing to "make the connection" you readily perceive within YOUR "view point / construct"...
*THAT* in a "nutshell" is the RAISON D'?TRE for my efforts to communicate on
multiple levels SIMULTANEOUSLY!

go here and read this (only ONE PAGE):
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/speech/differences.htm

then cruise the many aisles / ISLES here:
http://www.psychologydegree.net/resources/the-psychology-of-linguistics-and-body-language/

the BANE and the BEAUTY of the English language is it's specificity....*IF* you're INVESTED
in the process, your ability to communicate is staggering....if you have a lazy attitude with your
speech or comprehension - NOTHING will help... be thus reminded of the conversations you are
exposed to daily:
"Ya know....." (No I DON'T - and I'm afraid you're gonna tell me....)
"I mean to say...." (Say what you mean and mean what you say..close yer yap and THINK afore ye
brain farts all over the place)
"In other words...." (use the CORRECT WORDS FIRST TIME OUT....no need to bleat)
"Well.... (yes..you have a FINE voice...give it a rest now and again...)
and , of COURSE the never ending speaking *AT* someone / OVER someone / five way -
contemporaneous free for all "panel discussions"....

I would NEVER involve myself in plot that would require a ransom note!.....
just write me off as a Mean Old Bastard and enjoy the ride!

My eyes now hurt.

I think I'll go stare at the sun to make them feel better.

swede242 said:

My eyes now hurt.
I think I'll go stare at the sun to make them feel better.

Click to expand...

for a matching set of snake knives a three pound block of solid Swiss pudding:

NAME the *disgraced Commissioner of the office of the blind* in Penn's Woods...
who promoted the FALSE STORY that "college students were being
treated for blindness from staring at the sun under the influence of LSD"....

Meanwhile.....still interested if anyone has the light output or pattern for those sealed highbeam lamps. I'm guessing these were 50 or 60 W.

Double02 said:

Meanwhile.....still interested if anyone has the light output or pattern for those sealed highbeam lamps. I'm guessing these were 50 or 60 W.

Click to expand...

AHEM...see post #3 ...go to the CANDLEPOWER forum and see the info..it IS there
JUST FOR YOU!!

Double02 said:

I hadn't looked up the headlight wiring diagram yet so thanks for the heads up. I was specifically limiting myself to 55W bulbs to avoid wiring upgrade problems. I had thought that since I wouldn't be changing the current draw, I'd be OK. Never hurts to upgrade electrical safety items though.

Click to expand...

More than just electrical safety, adding relays will make the lights brighter. There is a measurable voltage drop through the whole needlessly long circuit, the old switch etc. I like to keep things cheap as much as anybody, but if you are spending the money to upgrade lights then you might as well do it properly. Generic relays are like 5 bucks from an electronics store. I'm sure just adding relays made a difference to the brightness of my stock lights, and it takes no time at all once you've decided where you want to mount them. You can check the voltage drop at the lights with a multimeter between the + at lights and the alternator, you may be surprised how large it is with all this old wiring.

TrickMick said:

one of my "fascinations" is *ultra high power "flash lights'* (I have a couple of "MagLite based"
hot rod "flash lights" that will fry your hair a six feet and set a page of newsprint on fire at 18"...

pulled this off the discussion "board":
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?43889-How-many-lumens-in-a-headlight

FWIW, I have *three* of the "huge-assed plastic lensed" 1990's *240's*..I run 100 / 80 Watt
Xenon 9004's in them (NEVER ON DURING the daylight hours!) and have used them for
over ten years w/NO wire hassles at all - all BONE STOCK....hmmmm
I'm also prolly the only guy here who throws sacks of dog-food onto the drivers seat (equal to the
the mighty heft of MY fat ass) when I go to adjust the lamps so that the "hot spots" are never a
problem w/oncoming traffic..every once and awhile I'll get a "dimmit dammit headlamp flash" so
I give'em a short burst of DAYLIGHT and retreat back to lo-beam....I actually avert my eyes and
use the VERY HELPFUL *RH SIDE WHITE LINES" when driving toward an approaching car...
YMMV

Click to expand...

Pics of said MagMods or GTFO.

This is my little pocket rocket. 740 lumen XM-L neutral white LED driven with a 5 mode current controlled driver at a maximum of 3 amps.

The difference between running current to the lights with stock wiring and adding relays, is 37.5w vs 55w.

I did this upgrade to my 88 245 - retained the original headlight relay as a switcher to two 30A relays (the radio suppression relays are plentiful and work great) - one to the low beam and the other to the high. Couple that with Silverstar H4's and its a night and day (pun?) difference.

15A said:

The difference between running current to the lights with stock wiring and adding relays, is 37.5w vs 55w.

I did this upgrade to my 88 245 - retained the original headlight relay as a switcher to two 30A relays (the radio suppression relays are plentiful and work great) - one to the low beam and the other to the high. Couple that with Silverstar H4's and its a night and day (pun?) difference.

Click to expand...

Don't use Sylvania Silverstars. The life expectancy of those bulbs are horrid, the blue pass filters filter out the light you WANT on the road (yellows and reds) and give you the light you DON'T want on the road (blues). Good luck seeing in the rain with those. Not to mention, the blue pass filters knock output down drastically.

I recommend Osram Rallye 65/70 H4s. With their clear glass and their slightly higher wattage, the output of these bulbs is amazing compared to a standard H4.