Laws relating to additional driving lights ?

Submitted: Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 10:23

ThreadID: 65558 Views:5182 Replies:6 FollowUps:3

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Member - Lionel A (WA)

Good morning all.

The old Patrol has knotched up 21 years of faithful service and is being prepped for the next 21.
After all these years the headlights have gradually become less effective and a little yellowed.
Im in the process of cleaning up the wiring, connections and replacing the H4 bulbs.

Without going for all the expensive up-grades currently available for head light systems, is there any advantage to fitting these new blue H4s available at auto suppliers [about $70 a pair].

Secondly, can I legally fit a pair of 55 watt driving lights to the bullbar via relay etc, aim them the same as my low beam and also operate them through the low-beam curcuit.

Cheers......Lionel.

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Reply By: Member - Mike DID - Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 10:40

Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 10:40

I thought I'd give them a try - but to test them I only replaced one bulb.

It was so much dimmer than teh Plus 50 bulb I'd been using, I took it out.

If you want brighter lights at minimal cost and no worry about overheating wiring, burning out relays or deteriorating plastic, put in the Plus 50 bulbs - they definitely work.

AnswerID: 346850

Reply By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 10:41

Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 10:41

Quote: "can I legally fit a pair of 55 watt driving lights to the bullbar via relay etc, aim them the same as my low beam and also operate them through the low-beam curcuit."

NO. The problem with doing that is that driving lights aren't the same as low beam, as they do not have a definitive "cut-off" point for the beam's upper limit. So, even if you angled the driving lights down several degrees, they would still dazzle oncoming drivers. Some drongos think it's okay to use their factory-fitted fog lights to supplement their normal low beam and this is illegal too....those people are a proper pain in the rrrrrrr's

The best thing you can do is replace the whole headlight fitting (relatively cheap for a GQ) and use good quality H4 globes of a heavier wattage (say 90/110 for example) AND buy or make-up a good loom to provide a better wattage of power than the standard wiring allows.

Cheers

Roachie

AnswerID: 346851

Follow Up By: OzTroopy - Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 14:19

Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 14:19

x 2

Your driving lights become fog lights in that configuration and can only be "legally" used in adverse weather conditions i.e. fog ... according to various state regs.

There are variations throughout the states in relation to light qty / mount positions etc as well.

21yrs ... ???? .... good run on the originals !!!

Put some new lamps in .... new bulbs reflecting off aged reflectors wont do a lot for you in reality. Scratched lenses reduce light quality too - not just the deep cuts but all the fine ones caused by washing etc as well ... Hella or someone may have replacements with a better refraction pattern than the originals too.

Definitely upgrade the loom ... even gives new life to old bulbs and lamps in most cases ... Factory wiring is pretty light on (hehe) in regard to load carrying ability - in any vehicle.

For increased lighting ... a hi/low lamp fitted into an old/new driving light casing may also be an option ... for increasing your lowbeam lighting area coverage ... effectively - dual headlights.

FollowupID: 614947

Reply By: Ozhumvee - Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 11:38

Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 11:38

Fit new Hella H4 inserts, as Roachie said pretty easy on the Patrol.
I'd go with good quality H4 standard globes if sticking to the original harness or if upgrading the harness try a set of higher output globes but you may find that upgrading the harness makes the standard H4 globes (55/60) much brighter.
Without going into the legalities the other way is to fit H4 Hi/Lo HID globes you will be amazed at the difference and with careful adjustment they won't glare oncoming drivers if good quality reflectors like the Hella's are used. Also no need to upgrade the harness as the amperage draw is much less than Halogen globes.
As far as the driving lights go they can only be wired into the high beam cct and again HID globes fitted to good quality lights will provide more than enough illumination with much less current draw which is always a problem on older vehicles with lower output altenators.
Ebay is the go for HID's seller id 95soarer in Melbourne, great to deal with.

AnswerID: 346855

Follow Up By: autosparky - Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 18:27

Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 18:27

you can only fit xenon and hid with self levelling headlights. hid are also only for use in off road conditons. a yellow sticker in wa will become red

FollowupID: 615023

Reply By: Wherehegon - Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 15:13

Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 15:13

I bought a set of phillips H4 globes from TJM Penrith for the prado, wow what a difference. I just put one globe in at first just to see if it was noticable, and huge difference, the original H4 globe was very yellow and was no where near as bright and the distance that it spread onto the road was a lot shorter then the new globes, nothing to do with adjustment of light just the fact that it was brighter and the light alot more whiter. I was told by TJM that I didnt need a wire upgrade with these globes, they are legal, they dont have that blue look about them like other globes do. For memory they were $70 the pair. Since fitting to the prado I have also put a set in wifes car. I have never had any one flash their lights at me due to been too bright to oncoming traffic. The nect set of globes up were those blue things which he said to me were not as bright and were ilegal. WHG

AnswerID: 346889

Reply By: Bonz (Vic) - Thoughtfully- Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 16:38

Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 16:38

As other have said go for the Philips Plus-50 globes and also fit relays and good wiring to the low and high beam circuits, makes sure that all the volts you need are at the lights.