Halogen Sealed Beams

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spycam

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Sorry for being a complete ignoramus.
I have a beat-up 66 Barracuda I'm working on and it's all stock (stored for fifteen years).
It has the stock incandescent hadlights and I found a set of halogens (Wagner 2D1).
Are they better than the existing ones, and if so, is there any conversion needed ?
Not interested in LEDs or anything else right now.

Thanks
SC
 
The halogens are brighter and are a direct fit replacement. Adding headlight relays will make them even brighter.
 
Yeah relays are kindof mandatory; you don't want to run that current thru the bulkhead connector, nor thru the headlamp switch, they were barely adequate for the job when new, 50 years ago.
 
Mopar headlight wiring size was "under" way back then. Put relays in the thing. Crackedback sells a nice setup
 
Our member slantisxdan is the lighting expert. He could state the differences between different bulb types, output, and power consumption/draw. Will this increased draw damage the headlight switch or wiring? That goes to todays condition of those components. All switches are destine to fail eventually, and that includes relays. Newer OEM builds did get halogen bulbs with the same grade of switch and wiring your car has, without the relays. Higher amp charging systems in those too.
I put halogen bulbs in our first 67 B'cuda back in the mid 80s. It was a couple years later when I was driving along and the headlights went off. Quick as I could say WTF, they came back on. Eighth of a mile later it happened again. This was the thermal protection built into the switch doing what it does. New switch cured it. Never had a another problem. So were the halogen bulbs responsible for my switch failure? I can't know. I know it was a 15 year old 90K mile vehicle.
Soooo, install relays if you want. More power to the bulbs does equal brighter. Signaling those relays would likely never over heat and activate that aforementioned thermal protection, due to much less current travelling the headlight switch, dimmer switch, etc... Those OEM switches would still fail eventually. You'll loose park lamps, dash lamps, high beam, low beam, something. Bet on it.
 
Watch this video on this very cheap plug and play LED conversion. I did it all in around $50 best safety investment I ever made.
 
Another vote for Crackedback's headlight relay kit! I put one in mine after reading everyone's reviews.

Not only does it give the peace of mind in protecting the old wiring and bulkhead, it gives more clean voltage to the headlights and robs less from everything else. Brighter headlights, brighter dash lights, less wear on the electrical system. Win, Win, Win!
 
The headlight I recommend is a GE Nighthawk H6024NH. You can find them for under $10 each on amazon from time to time.

Relays and well sized wire ABSOLUTELY improves the performance of headlights. A body cars run 16 gauge wire for headlights and have LONG runs which is a killer for voltage drop. Voltage drop is a terrible for lighting. Light output decreases at a greater rate (exponentially) with drops in voltage. Look at a 12v bulb with 6volts running to it... does it put out 50% of the expected light? Nope, it barely gets the filament warm.

One thing about headlights, brighter lights does not always mean that you can actually see better. There is a lot of stuff out there that isn't that good.

Thanks for the recommendation of my relay kit... Happy buyers are the best advertisement for solid products.
 
At the time of putting in my relay kit, I didn't want to wait to order the headlights that Crackedback recommended. I just went to the local part store and bought the Sylvania Xtravision H6024 that they had on the shelf (purple box). I put in the relay kit and mounted in the new bulbs and took it for a drive that night. All I can say is it lights the road up better than my wife's 2012 F-150, and almost as well as my Suburban.

Not saying the recommended GE Nighthawks wouldn't be better, just that I saw a HUGE improvement with just regular off-the-shelf bulbs.

As for the recommendation,.... Count me in as a happy buyer. I plan to order a kit for the Charger when we get to that point!
 
Thank you all ! I appreciate your time and expertise. This is great help. I'm now a half-ignoramus.

SC
 
spycam said:
Thank you all ! I appreciate your time and expertise. This is great help. I'm now a half-ignoramus.
Click to expand...
LOL
To answer your original question straight.
It has the stock incandescent hadlights and I found a set of halogens (Wagner 2D1).
Click to expand...
Those appear to be these H6024. 35 W/ 65 W ? really? they could be worse lighting than what you have. The Nighthawks Rob posted have get recommended by the experts over at Candlepower forums as well as Slantsixdan. They base this on tests that show where the light goes, the pattern and so forth.
Are they better than the existing ones, and if so, is there any conversion needed ?
Click to expand...
Probably..unless you happen to have something unusually good in there. Those Halogen sealed beams have the same shape and size housing as the non-halogen beams.
The original bulbs would have been 6012. 40 W/ 50 Watt power draw. specs: 6012 USA - incandescent sealed beam lamp-par-parabolic aluminized reflector light bulb lamp - donsbulbs - light bulbs lamps valve valves tube tubes
Later, these were superceded by 6014. 50 W/ 60 Watt. 6014G16T USA - incandescent sealed beam lamp-par-parabolic aluminized reflector light bulb lamp - donsbulbs - light bulbs lamps valve valves tube tubes
Seems like H6024 are supposed to be 35W /65 W. If so, then on low beam they will actually draw a little less power than even the originals.

That said, relays are a great idea! Taking power right from the alternator will provide maximum voltage to the bulbs themselves. Higher voltage will result in brighter lights. The difference between running around 13 something volts and 14 plus volts at the bulbs is noticible.
Additionally,sending the power directly to the headlamps takes that load off the main feed and all the connections to the headlight switch and hi/lo switch. Every one of those junctions is a resistsance point, and as stated earlier, the Abodies got the smaller sized headlight wiring than the rest of the lines. Yes, I've had problems - on at least three A-bodies - with headlight wire connections.
 
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