Extra headlights for the Storm

[KermitLeFrog]

I love my Storm but the headlight is rubbish. I've looked into the possibilty of brighter bulbs but the main problem seems to be the quality of the reflector, heat output and the fact there is only one headlight bulb. Darker days are coming in and I really want to be able to light up the road.

The concept is to have two (one each side) removable lights I can plug in when needed. They must be BRIGHT but also have a dip and main beam.

Has anyone else investigated this? Can't seem to find anything with a search.

[Wicky]

To get the most of the headlight keep the headlight clean & spotless - and fit an eager beaver relay (or make your own) along with decent bulb with ceramic bulb socket

http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Wirin ... _kits.html

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs- ... r-bulb-x-1

http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/ceramic-h ... ables.html

If you fit extra aftermarket lights and also hope to use heated grips then it might struggle to power them all.

or go the whole hog...

[youtube][/youtube]

[tony.mon]

100/80w bulb and a relay kit, wire with good thick cables, all joints soldered and you will be fine.

The std setup sends all the current through the switch, so you get contact losses- voltage and current drops; the light isn't as bright as it could be.

Wire directly via a good quality relay and use the switch contacts merely to send the trigger signal to the relay and you get all the volts and all the current you need.

And don't use polish on the reflector surface! Just wipe the dust off.

Changing the central riding light to a nice bright blue-tinge LED helps, too.

One tip, in case you haven't noticed this, is that you can have both main beam and dip beam on at the same time on a dark road by pulling the passing light switch in while on dip.
Also great for helping people thinking about pulling out of a side road notice you're there, applied with liberal use of the horn.

[KermitLeFrog]

Thanks all. Good information!

[sirch345]

or go the whole hog...

[youtube][/youtube]

I like that Wicky

My 2p of experience of brighter lights are, you don't want to go to mad. I put extra lights on my mk2 escort years ago. They consisted of four rally lights. Two of them I fitted with 100watt halogen bulbs, and the other two had 55watt halogen bulbs in. It was like daylight with all of them on, they were that bright you didn't need the headlights.

The downside was in our county lanes you couldn't see another vehicle coming towards you until they were in view (by that time you'd have blinded them) normally you can see their headlights shinning in the distance before the vehicle comes in view. Also the reflective road signs would bounce the bright lights back into your face,

Chris.

[Shauned71]

All i did was put a higher wattage bulb in my bike, one of the ones that are not for road use as it says on the packet.. never had any heat issues and to go with that I did slightly lift the beam.. again, never had any problems with blinding oncoming traffic but made a hell of a difference from my perspective.

[Watty]

or go the whole hog...

[youtube][/youtube]

I like that Wicky

My 2p of experience of brighter lights are, you don't want to go to mad. I put extra lights on my mk2 escort years ago. They consisted of four rally lights. Two of them I fitted with 100watt halogen bulbs, and the other two had 55watt halogen bulbs in. It was like daylight with all of them on, they were that bright you didn't need the headlights.

The downside was in our county lanes you couldn't see another vehicle coming towards you until they were in view (by that time you'd have blinded them) normally you can see their headlights shinning in the distance before the vehicle comes in view. Also the reflective road signs would bounce the bright lights back into your face,

Chris.

Ah MK 2 escort days Chris fun fun fun

[sirch345]

Ah MK 2 escort days Chris fun fun fun

Too right Andy

I fitted road and rally uprated suspension front and back, plus lowered it, wide wheels/tyres low profile, Ford Mexico 1600 engine with 4 branch manifold and twin choke Webber carb, plus big bore exhaust system.
I was intending to fit a 2ltr Pinto engine, but I got married again so that didn't happen,

Chris.

[VTRDark]

I fitted road and rally uprated suspension front and back, plus lowered it, wide wheels/tyres low profile, Ford Mexico 1600 engine with 4 branch manifold and twin choke Webber carb, plus big bore exhaust system.

Proper car that. I preferred the mk 1 though. Was it Cibbie daylighters you fitted by any chance If you had put the 2l pinto engine in that would have made it an RS2000. Those pinto engines where great. I put a piper race cam in my Cortina and a cherry bomb on the exhaust. LOL

[sirch345]

I fitted road and rally uprated suspension front and back, plus lowered it, wide wheels/tyres low profile, Ford Mexico 1600 engine with 4 branch manifold and twin choke Webber carb, plus big bore exhaust system.

Proper car that. I preferred the mk 1 though. Was it Cibbie daylighters you fitted by any chance If you had put the 2l pinto engine in that would have made it an RS2000. Those pinto engines where great. I put a piper race cam in my Cortina and a cherry bomb on the exhaust. LOL

No they were not Cibbies, although they were about at the same time, I'm not sure who they were made by, they may have been Wipac's. That was the idea of fitting a 2ltr engine, the RS2000 was too expensive after trying to recover from my divorce.
I remember the Piper cams and the Cherry Bomb's
The Mexico engine came from a smashed up mk1.
At least back then you could work on your cars vans etc.

Cherry Bombs still going
http://www.cherrybomb.co.uk/index.html

Chris.

[VTRDark]

Wow still going, that's amazing. Now I wonder what a couple of them would sound like on the VTR

Talking about working on cars. Yesterday my mothers electric window stopped working on her Skoda. I decided OK I can most likely fix this. So off with the door panel which I worked out easy enough and was expecting to be able to get my hand in behind the door skin to re-attach the cable that had come of the winding mechanism that the window motor drives. OH no, no holes cut out in the skin but the complete inner skin has a big panel that is pop riveted in place with the motor and other bits attached to it. Even the door speaker is pop riveted into the place. Why can't they use screws. Oh no that would be too easy. They most likely expect folk to take it back to Skoda to work on. I was f..ing and blinding. I shall drill the rivets outs, such a faff for something that could be so simple. Then I have the fun and games of working out how the cable winds back on the spool and why it came off.

I'm getting sick of working on motors now. I would never buy a modern vehicle. At least the Storms are really simple to work on and they don't have too many electronics.

[Watty]

Wow still going, that's amazing. Now I wonder what a couple of them would sound like on the VTR

Talking about working on cars. Yesterday my mothers electric window stopped working on her Skoda. I decided OK I can most likely fix this. So off with the door panel which I worked out easy enough and was expecting to be able to get my hand in behind the door skin to re-attach the cable that had come of the winding mechanism that the window motor drives. OH no, no holes cut out in the skin but the complete inner skin has a big panel that is pop riveted in place with the motor and other bits attached to it. Even the door speaker is pop riveted into the place. Why can't they use screws. Oh no that would be too easy. They most likely expect folk to take it back to Skoda to work on. I was f..ing and blinding. I shall drill the rivets outs, such a faff for something that could be so simple. Then I have the fun and games of working out how the cable winds back on the spool and why it came off.

I'm getting sick of working on motors now. I would never buy a modern vehicle. At least the Storms are really simple to work on and they don't have too many electronics.

Just a little tip Carl! Make sure the seal is good when you put that panel back on! VW/Audi/ Seat/ Skoda are buggers for letting water into the car through there

[Watty]

Ah MK 2 escort days Chris fun fun fun

Too right Andy

I fitted road and rally uprated suspension front and back, plus lowered it, wide wheels/tyres low profile, Ford Mexico 1600 engine with 4 branch manifold and twin choke Webber carb, plus big bore exhaust system.
I was intending to fit a 2ltr Pinto engine, but I got married again so that didn't happen,

Chris.

I had a 1300 Mk1, a 1300 Mk2 and an Arched 1600 Pinto Mk2 . I remember in my " I know best " days wiring a pair of 100w Cibies to my Mk1 direct to a switch with no relay or fuse! Was like daylight for a couple of miles until I nearly had the car on fire with my wiring skills

[VTRDark]

Cheers Andy. That would be why they do it then. I have a mastic tube of exhaust silicone here so that will do if the sealant already on there gets damaged. The worst bit is going to be working out how the wire all attaches and winds around the spool behind the motor. either wrapped clockwise or anticlockwise. I got the wire bit out through one of the unused grommets and it has a long plastic tube and a little spring attached to one end. It looks to me that it has either popped out of it's holder or broken which has then caused the wire to all get tangled up when the window was operated. The wire looks good and it still has the little metal nipple/lug on the end which holds it in place on the spool. We'll see. I need to get the door skin off first and have a proper look behind to work out how it all operates and what's gone wrong. Maybe the wire has stretched :shrugs shoulders I've got to get some rivets now before I drill the old ones out. A job for Thursday, my next day off. Gone are the days where spire clips and screws where used LOL

[Watty]

Cheers Andy. That would be why they do it then. I have a mastic tube of exhaust silicone here so that will do if the sealant already on there gets damaged. The worst bit is going to be working out how the wire all attaches and winds around the spool behind the motor. either wrapped clockwise or anticlockwise. I got the wire bit out through one of the unused grommets and it has a long plastic tube and a little spring attached to one end. It looks to me that it has either popped out of it's holder or broken which has then caused the wire to all get tangled up when the window was operated. The wire looks good and it still has the little metal nipple/lug on the end which holds it in place on the spool. We'll see. I need to get the door skin off first and have a proper look behind to work out how it all operates and what's gone wrong. Maybe the wire has stretched :shrugs shoulders I've got to get some rivets now before I drill the old ones out. A job for Thursday, my next day off. Gone are the days where spire clips and screws where used LOL

Have fun!! What is ever wrong with a manual winder! Bloody technology! I run a TD 4 Freelander, she's agricultural, but bugger me she's not laden with too much electronic bull shite although it does have cable driven electric windows which are shite until you upgrade to stainless cable