Has anybody tried the Halogen conversion offered by SNG - it’s their part no JLM 9610 or JLM 9610K, and if so are they better enough as compared to the incandescent bulbs as to be worth it? Do they need a relay?
Probably very similar to this kit.
As far as I know no relay is needed.
Halogens would be a lot better. But you should use Relays. Lots more amp draw with the halogens. Using relays takes the load off the switch, a very good thing, and places it with the Relays which you power with direct battery buss power. The switch is simply the trigger to turn on the Relay so it see very very low amps. It also insures the lamps don’t suffer from the voltage loss in the stock circuitry.
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I’ve bought the regular halogens for my sII. They make quite a noticeable difference. No electrical issues as long as the connections are clean. (Upper beam, right side needed some work)
LLoyd
I’m suspicious of people who don’t like dogs.
But I trust dogs who don’t like people.
I agree completely on the relays, irrespective of what kind of lights one uses: Amazon can be used as a source for a very well-made relay harness that will go in the nose.
I used one on my RV for Hella H4s, and it made a noticeable difference.
I forgot to add: when I installed the relay system in Harvey, I hooked one headlight up to the new relay system, and then left the other headlight hooked into the stock wiring. When turned on, the difference in brightness was easily noticeable.
A Sylvania sealed beam suitable for the E-type draws 40 watts on low beam and 60 on high. A standard Hella H4 halogen bulb draws 55 watts on low beam and 60 on high. So, if the wiring is capable of handling a sealed beam it should handle the H4s with no problem. One can buy higher wattage bulbs but they may not be road legal.
There may be other reasons to use relays to power the headlights, though. There are several threads on that topic in the archives.
If the concern is 60’s era wiring, LED headlights might be the way to go. I used BeamTech LEDs in Hella housing and couldn’t be happier with the results. Be aware though, that space limitations might prohibit their usage in a Series I.
Hi John I think the reason for the relay relates to getting greater voltage to the bulb, hence brighter. The stock system has the ignition switch, fuse, hi lo switch, and headlight switch on the dash, all in the way, leading to a voltage drop before the lamp. The relay eliminates much of that.
Thanks everybody. I’m trying to help a friend who lives in Az, some distance from Victoria where I live, improve the lighting on her '65 E Type, for the oil leak tour in Oct. Her car was restored 25 years ago and has, we suspect, original sealed beams in it. The solution needs to be relatively simple. The problem is that Ser 1 cars headlight buckets don’t have any room for units much larger than stock. (On Ser 1.5 and Ser 2 cars the headlight is 1 - 2" forward of the original car, with a bigger bucket behind it. It will take many modern lamps.) I’m going to recommend the lamps from Moss, part 162-715. They come with bulbs, but I’m also going to recommend she buy a set of Vcm 3 bulbs from Vintage Cars LED and use them if they fit. We’ll see.
Wait… there’s an Oil Leak in October? First I’ve heard about it!
John, I think you mean Watts not amps on the Halogen or Sealed beam lights.
That many amps would fry the wiring that’s there.
Watts/V=Amps
Terry is the OP going to drive the car at night? …… no matter what you have and I’ve used H4 the light on the road is always going to be rather below par due to the enclosed headlights……. Most owners are unlikely to use the car much at night ! ……though I did have 1 Occassion when I was delayed by a 5 minute repair in a country town that took 5 hours to get the part ( oil filter) from 200 yards away! , that made me drive for 3 hours in the dark and rain…… that was an experience! … I used dipped headlights as appropriate for on coming traffic …until I realised it made no difference to the other drivers ! ( or me for that matter) ….exhausted from the concentration by the time I got to my destination!
Yes, I meant Watts. 
Thanks for catching that. 
I think she’s concerned that she may have to drive at nite at some time in the rally. She doesn’t drive this car in the dark ordinarily
I’ve had H4’s on my 68 since the mid 70’s and thought them wonderful. A couple of years ago I covered them like the Ser I cars and they are definitely down on luminosity. But at my age so am I. I can remember that I could clearly see the instruments at night on the high setting. Well I have the same car, same instruments and bulbs but I can barely make them out at nite. Pretty sure it’s me that’s the problem.
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Me too! Plus a few
Don’t know if you’ve considered something like a simple replacement Halogen sealed beam like the Wagner one shown below. My car came with these and I’m pretty satisfied with the light output which is a lot more than stock, and the current draw is about the same as the original incandescent so no wiring changes needed.
It’s a simple replacement, that is if pulling off the headlight covers and getting them back on right doesn’t have any complications.
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I haven’t done this to my '63 FHC yet … because I can’t drive it yet! But I will. I have added relays to the headlamp circuit on several cars for the past 20 years. It makes a dramatic difference. Especially so if the factory used the headlight switch to route the power to the headlamps. This is simply due to the voltage drop caused by the wiring and the switch and the dimmer, etc. And of course, those with generators won’t find much help from that either.
I came across the idea from a trade show with a Daniel Stern booth. I am not endorsing them; I didn’t even use their stuff for my cars, but they explain it very well.
I think this will give you the article I keep, but if not, simply search the internet as it is easy to find and is a worthwhile read.
Daniel Stern Relays.pdf (144.0 KB)
On my 1964 Lemans, even without the halogen bulbs I added later, the increase in brightness was quite remarkable.
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Probably about 15 years ago, I ran across Daniel Stern and his website. He and I had a number of phone conversations, and his stuff is pretty well thought out.
Although I never did get around to doing the Rover, I did install headlight relays in the Jaguar, because I had put Hellas in it. It does make a dramatic difference to use a headlight relay system.
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The Hellas make a big difference. The relays, not so much. Daniel Stern has forgotten more about optics than I will ever know, but I don’t agree with his logic on relays. He says:
" So if the headlamp switch or beam selector switch has a
resistance of only 1 ohm due to aging, that means 100 watts worth of
heating in the switch. Ever put your hand on a 100W light bulb?"
Polya’s rule is that if you’re presented with a problem you don’t know how to solve, solve a simpler, but related problem first. The problem: have you ever burned your hand on the headlight switch? The answer is probably not. But if you did, your first reaction should be to replace or clean the switch, not to band aid a failing switch by adding…another switch. Which is all you’re doing by adding a relay. And that new switch will be located in your electronics-hostile engine compartment.
Here’s another application of common sense. Go for a long drive on a hot night, and observe your voltmeter. Does it drop, especially at stop lights? You bet it does. And that’s a system-wide voltage drop, not just a drop in the headlight circuit. A MUCH bigger issue is that your alternator or generator can’t keep up with the power requirements of the car. I’m not guessing or making an unfounded generalization. If you have a stock electrical system, especially on a pre-1970 car, your alternator or generator is marginal at maximum electrical loads. As the alternator current draw increases, SYSTEM voltage drops, and your headlights dim. Ironic, but your headlights are dim simply because they’re on, which causes your sad little generator or alternator to overload. The biggest improvement in night vision will come from an alternator upgrade.
Another overlooked problem is that incandescent bulbs simply grow dimmer as they age. So install some fresh bulbs if yours have been in service for awhile. The best solution would be an LED headlamp, but the only two decent LED options, Trucktec or JW Speaker, may look fine on a Jeep, but not a Jaguar. Don’t add to highway glare pollution by installing grossly inappropriate LED bulbs in your old headlights.
All of this is true…I use relays and a heavy wire to the relays in the bonnet ……the lights are still very substandard and that’s using a 55 amp alternator giving 13.4 v at the headlamp!..…because of the covers on the headlamps
This is what my relay operated lights look like on the road, before followed by after (count the 9 metre white lines and 3m gaps as a quick reference of performance). Note the warning sign in the distance for comparison of high beam:
Dip before:
Dip after:
Main before:
Main after:
Difficult to capture the full effect on camera but it is a huge improvement (now dip is the same as main was before) and I just wanted to carry on driving whereas in past, in the dark, I just wanted to go home! Hugely worthwhile upgrade for such a small outlay - $15 worth of cable, $14 for two 30Amp relays, a few connectors and Philips X-treme Vision H4 65/55w bulbs x2.
David
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