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dim headlights


Guest tbutera2112

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Guest tbutera2112

my lights on my car are dim as shit...i have about 40ft of vision at the most with my lowbeams on...

 

i never noticed it being this bad when i got the car, but after hitting a deer ive been paying more attention and realized that i cant see anything...hell ill be sitting behind a car at a red light and the brake lights reflect off the ground and cancel out the light from my headlights...its nuts

 

 

what could cause this? i know the car didnt come like this, hell i dont even think it was like this when i bought it because when i bought it i was overly happy with the light output...i took this pic yesterday or the day before

 

any reccomendations on headlight bulbs that would make it brighter?

 

halogen bulbs not HIDs

 

do i maybe just need new bulbs? my housings dont look yellow or fogged up or anything.... i havent washed them in awhile but it rained the other day.... maybe theyre just dirty?

 

heres the only pic i have of the headlight housing, and unfortunately the light is on because i was taking pics for another headlight issue the other day... but you can see it doesnt look faded or anything

 

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i82/SaleenSS90/CIMG1417.jpg

 

 

any ideas? im tired of driving blind at night time

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Guest tbutera2112

do you think new bulbs would fix it?

 

ide be willing to buy the silverstars or ultrastars or whatever the hell they are if they actually work better than normal shit...i always thought that all halogens were equal though....?

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Guest tbutera2112
The silverstars work better, but have you checked how they're aimed? Sometimes they don't get aimed well after an accident.

 

they are aimed perfectly, there just isnt any light output

 

they were bad before i hit the deer, and were not affected afterwards

 

do bulbs get dimmer as they get older? do you think a set of silverstars would help enough to justify the cost, or would it be a marginal difference to what ive got now?

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they are aimed perfectly, there just isnt any light output

 

they were bad before i hit the deer, and were not affected afterwards

 

do bulbs get dimmer as they get older? do you think a set of silverstars would help enough to justify the cost, or would it be a marginal difference to what ive got now?

 

They do dim as they age, and I do think Silverstars are worth the money but I just want to make sure that there isn't some other problem.

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don't know for sure on SAAB but a buddy of mine converted his MS3 non "GT" that came with Halogen standard and all he had to add was the internals. Lined up next to my car and it's a perfect match to my OEM set up.

 

Having projectors does not = HID Ready. A full oem hid swap is in order.
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looks like a weak ground or corroded connection at the lamp try just unplugging the lamp and then plugging it back in you can also loosen and retighten all the grounds for the lighting system and see if it helps.

 

if you get nothing from doing any of that have rob teach you how to do a voltage drop test and work backwards from the lamp untill you find the bad wire

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don't know for sure on SAAB but a buddy of mine converted his MS3 non "GT" that came with Halogen standard and all he had to add was the internals. Lined up next to my car and it's a perfect match to my OEM set up.

 

Unfortunately, the halogen projectors will never have the correct cutoff. They are literally built to completely different specifications due to the immense difference between the two.

 

Anything is better than the retards sticking the HID kits into their non-projector housings and blinding half the highway. So fucking stupid.:o

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This:

 

a guy at work was having the same issue. his low beams were really dim, but his highs were normal. turned out to be a fuse.

 

and this:

 

looks like a weak ground or corroded connection at the lamp try just unplugging the lamp and then plugging it back in you can also loosen and retighten all the grounds for the lighting system and see if it helps.

 

if you get nothing from doing any of that have rob teach you how to do a voltage drop test and work backwards from the lamp untill you find the bad wire

 

Could also be a weak alternator. Lights don't just dim that much even when they're old. They're more likely to just go out.

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+1 on voltage drop being the likely culprit.

 

It's very common with older jeeps for instance (but alot of cars are similarly designed) because the wiring to the bulbs is poorly designed and undersized even for stock wattage bulbs. Then over the years corroded connections and breaks just conspire to make it worse. Usually going up a size in wires helps alot, but you can also add in a relay and run higher wattage bulbs for a greater increase in output. Sounds like you just want a "normal" amount of light, so I'd start with the wiring.

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Guest Removed
looks like a weak ground or corroded connection at the lamp try just unplugging the lamp and then plugging it back in you can also loosen and retighten all the grounds for the lighting system and see if it helps.

 

if you get nothing from doing any of that have rob teach you how to do a voltage drop test and work backwards from the lamp untill you find the bad wire

agreed..alot of newer cars have to small of wiring on the bulbs and burn up easy

when you hit the deer was there any damage that had to be repaired by a shop?

no, it was just the lower bumper cover that was repaired

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Guest tbutera2112

if it was an issue with the connection at the lens, wouldnt only 1 light be dimmed? ill have to figure out where/if these lights are connected and look around there,i will check my grounds too

 

ide buy some silverstars, but if they only lasted 6 months i dont wanna bother...ide get maybe 3 outta them since my headlights come on with the ignition and cannot be shut off unless the car is shut off...theyd burn up quick being on all the time

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