dim headlights

[David White]

any suggestions on how to get more light out of the original headlights on a Reatta OR are there any replacement ideas? I have a real hard time driving a Reatta at night and seeing.

David White dwhite1@cogeco.ca

[Barney Eaton]

First check that they have good ground. The wires going to the bulbs are often routed incorrectly and the wire going into the connector can break, one strand at-a-time until the bulb no longer lights. The proper wire routing ......the wire comes up between the fender and the headlight casting...... goes toward the center of the car, turns and plugs into the back of the lamp.

Both high and low beam feed wire goes to the drivers side first then jumpers to the passanger side. If the wires break (bad cable routing) on the drivers side, both lamps will be dim or not light.

[padgett]

The original headlamps are 37w low beam. Also after 20+ years the reflector is probably degrading. Sylvania SilverStars H6054ST are $37.66 a pair from Amazon (today) with free shipping and have a 55w low beam, about the maximum the stock wiring can handle.

I have SilverStars on all of my cars.

[David White]

$37 will be a real quick fix if it helps me to see better, I have no idea how old ours are, they are Halogen nothing special just something you can buy at any jobber part store.

David

[padgett]

Check the wiring for a voltage drop at the headlights first. If that is OK then SilverStars are an inexpensive answer.

[Guest Richard D]

The passenger side high beam was getting dimmer than the drivers side so I put a new splice in the crossfeed wire and took Padgett's advice and put in SilverStars. The big difference was how much better the low beams are, plus the highs are now very bright and even. I recommend the SilverStars, they have been installed for around a year and still look like new.