headlight fun....

[Big Ray]

I bought a new set of headlight (low beams) over a year ago when I bought my truck. Well, couple of the 30 year old headlight adjusters stripped out while I was breaking the retaining rings loose last weekend. I drove to work Monday with the beams shining about 2 feet in front of the truck. The were only shining about 10 feet to start with.

So I picked up some adjusters Tuesday and got it all right. But the low beams were on top (86 quad setup) and it started bugging the shit out of me. Why put the low beams on the top and the hi beams on the bottom? It bugged me enough that I swapped them around. The low beams are now on the bottom and I can sleep again! And it's nice to be able to see where I'm going now...

This weekend I'll pick up some more adjusters and hi beam bulbs and get them right. I'm going to clean and paint the bezels and find a new grill. A clean front end goes a long way to improving a trucks appearance, imo.

 

[cyclic]

Later this week I'll be doing a relay block install that will include the headlights.
Using the Hella 7 way mini relay block and a fuse block. Two relays for the headlights (one each hi/low), one for LED bar, one for LED fogs, one for an air horn set-up, and one future add-on.
Eventually I'd like to swap the headlights to LED, but for legal ones it's still pretty pricey.

 

[Greg Ducato]

The older I get the more light I need, I always upgrade the bulbs on my rigs if they are available as long as they aren't offensive to other drivers.

 

[Big Ray]

Cyclic, I'll be doing that soon also. I need some more TXL wire so I can do my windows too. I bought a new tub of lithium grease and some Simple Green so I can clean & put some fresh grease on the regulators. I'll pick up some new high beams tomorrow. I even broke down and bought some interior bulbs today...they've been out since I bought the truck....

 

[cyclic]

I've already swapped my interiors to the white LED bulbs, they are great. Before you go and do the window relays, I strongly suggest doing the Ford starter relay mod and the included main power upgrade. Made a huge difference to my and my buddies suburbans. On his truck we didn't even need any other fixes.
Make sure you have an 8 ga power wire from the alternator to the battery. And another 8 ga from the battery to your main firewall junction block above the distributor.

 

[Big Ray]

I was planning on using a Ford solenoid as an auxiliary power source. I don't know what this mod and main power upgrade is...?

 

[cyclic]

Lots of internet threads, but here is one from ck5..................... https://ck5.com/forums/threads/starter-solenoid-wiring-help.325904/

 

[Big Ray]

ah, thank you! fwiw, ck5 threads are the best....

 

[campfire]

I was planning on using a Ford solenoid as an auxiliary power source. I don't know what this mod and main power upgrade is...?

FYI, I haven't seen a Ford starter solenoid that is rated for continuous duty. If you know of one, please let me know. But using a short-duty relay for a long-duty job sounds marginal to me.

 

[Big Ray]

My bad, I meant ford style remote solenoid, not an actual ford solenoid...That's what I always called them.

I like this one. clicky