Que Haya Luz!
Let there be light!
I always thought that modern forward lighting was an asset to driving our vintage cars. Everything from simulated DRLs to nighttime driving is improved when there is good illumination to see where you are going. There are many threads about converting to modern lighting. Here is my take for Project Minne.
I started with some early SWB housings. These have an H4 bulb assembly inserted behind a curved, non fluted glass lens. The bulb assembly has its fluted lens and controls all the ray bending and focusing to give a standard E-code beam pattern. You know, cutoff to the left and angled high and right on the other side. They work great but take some higher wattage bulbs to really bring them close to modern light sources.
The problem here is that over time, our modern wiring systems are not up to the task of delivering current (power) required to properly run higher wattage bulbs. Yes, there are relay kits, larger wires and a few other items that can make these work better but the cost of new H4 assemblies really starts to get away from my budget minded build. So, Let's see what I can do on the cheap.
The SWB housings were disassembled and the H4 bulb assembles removed. These assemblies were then separated. I did not want the fluted lens installed but I did need the H4/9003 bulb mount as well as the reflector bowl. Separation was easy. I used a heat gun to soften the adhesive between the glass and the bowl. You have to evenly heat the circumference until it softens. Then a non-metallic pry apparatus was used to lift the glass off the reflector bowl. Sorry, I don't have pictures of this.
I went online and found some H4 mini projector LED assemblies. These are a dual (hi/lo) LED setup with discrete LED elements, a focus bulb, a reflector bowl, and H4 mounting style and a large heat sink. These were about $45 online.
Make sure when choosing the lights that you get some with the highest rating of illumination possible. the higher the rating, the higher the efficiency for a given output. These were rated at 1400 lumens each.
Color output is also important. anything under 5000K (K as in Kelvin as in color spectrum) is on the white to yellow side of the spectrum. Above 5500K and they look blue and incorrect. Plus the blue hue adds glare in poor conditions and really bothers the eyes of oncoming drivers. Be thoughtful here!
Here are the lights as received.
You will notice they have a short pigtail wiring assembly with what I assume is a current limiting electronics box. The termination is a standard H4 plug. This makes conversion easy.
I had originally considered HID when I started this project. I Have some HID lights with the H4 mounting points and they work exactly the same. The choice to move to LEDs was based on the extra wiring and install location for the ballasts. Additionally ballasts for aftermarket lights are not known for being robust.
Mounting and Modifications
The lights easily slip into the back of the reflector and lock down with the same 2 spring clips that are known to all of us with existing H4 lights. Easy. I was really hoping at this point they would drop into the light bucket. I had used a ruler to measure the install depth clearance and it said I had 1mm to spare without the headlight seal. I was hoping to gain a few extra mm once the seal was in place. Nope.
The top edge of the light easily clipped in place on the bucket lip but it would not sit down all the way. HMM. Closer inspection shows the faceted rear panels of the headlight bucket. At least at this point I knew what to do.
I pulled the grinder out (that means I picked it up off the floor since it is permanently plugged into a drop cord and always by my side) and used a flap wheel to shave the lower corner of the heat sink. You can see the bevel edge in the picture below. I also beveled the top corners just for a little extra clearance. This took about 3 min per side.
Final fitment
With the slight mods the lamp assemblies drop right into place. Sweet. This is as close as I could get to vintage lighting looks, modern lighting performance all wrapped in a smooth edged housing. Mission accomplished.
Next step is to take it all apart and then clean up the reflector bowl. It doesn't have to be perfect but I have to get rid of the rust bubbles at the bottom.
LIghts Performance
Since the lights fit the car I went back to do some testing. I removed the assemblies from the car and connected them to my external power supply. I ran 13.0V to simulate a car running with the alternator on. These pics were taken in a dark garage using the back of the garage door as a projection screen. for reference, The lamps were approximately 15' behind the door. they were sitting on the floor and propped up with some cardboard boxes for the purpose of "aiming".
The low beam has a very sharp cutoff. there is a slight rise on the right side as one might expect. This is much closer to an Asian (Japanese) beam pattern rather than the European pattern. That is fine. Nice bright lower section to fill in the dark areas. This means the projector lens is working properly.
The lights draw 1.05A current on low beam. That is only 13W of power per light.
When the high beam is activated there is a bright center spot beam right in the middle. The low beam is on but at a reduced power. Current draw is 1.45A (19W) per light on high. To put this into perspective... This is about the same current draw as a side turn signal light. I have cleaned all the contacts and expect I can install these without a relay. Though I will eventually add one when I install my auxiliary lights.
So.. Yes, Minne is really close to having headlights.
I also spent some time cleaning up the rear light buckets and installing them. I used the Italian lenses because I like the non-colored side marker. the running/brake lights are LED panels from SPOKE. These are so worth the improvement. I will be getting colored amber bulbs for the TS and forward, rear housing side running light.
Next up is the front turn signal housings.