Halogen conversion on a Vitesse with a dynamo

[Nick Whitehead]

Hi. Advice needed. Is a halogen headlamp conversion recommended for a Vitesse fitted with a dynamo.

Or is it advisable to fit an alternator first?

Thanks

[johny]

The current drawn shouldnt be much more than the standard headlights (although of course the light produced is brighter) hence a dynamo will be able to power your halogen conversion just as well. A dynamo can produce a good output but just needs higher revs than an alternator to do it so for example fitting a high power electric radiator fan that will be needed in slow moving traffic might cause a problem.

For you I think a better idea is to use relays and decent sized wires to power the headlights so taking load of the light switches and reducing cable volt drop... 

[NonMember]

What johny said!

No problem with halogens and dynamo, but a significant part of why the original lights are dim comes from old wiring and switches. The relay makes a big difference (but does increase current draw) while the change to halogen improves light with no further increase in current. The only issue is that, if your voltage is dipping at idle, a halogen bulb is more likely to suffer from that (due to silvering).

[68vitesse]

On my Mk1 Vitesse have fitted relays and thicker wire and changed to halogen outers, dip a lot brighter but the wattage was higher, from memory 2 X 50 as against 2 X 37.5, never changed the inners.

I have fitted an alternator but that was due to a failed control box and quality, lack off, the ones on offer.

A C40L dynamo output at engine 1660rpm 25amp

A 15ACR alternator as fitted to later GT6 28amps at engine 2870rpm

Figures from workshop manual, can be affected by different size pulleys.

Regards

Paul.

[Colin Lindsay]

Mine has halogens and a dynamo, but fitting better bulbs and cleaning the insides of the glass units really improved things too.

Driver's side old bulbs, passenger side, new:

[Pete Lewis]

relays  do remove the current load to the switch gear and old loom what you do get is a full 12/14 v at the lamps often the voltage drop is as low as 10v and 

relays will really improve the old sealed gloworms .

there are cheap ready made harness ans relay kits on ebay for around 12/15££

Pete

[DVD3500]

There are road legal H4 LED replacements from Osram and Philips out there now. The light is a slight shade on the cold white side but not as jarring as Xeon halogen.

Use only about 12-16 Watts depending on the model.

Down side: The start at 120 of your favorite currency.