T-3 headlight replacement options

[Guest gksullivan]

'56 Buick headlights are dim even though I have cleaned the contacts all the way back to the switch.

Anybody had experience with replacing with 7" halogen or xenon blubs?

The manual says original is T-3 40-50 (low-high beam) watts.

Wagner halogen = 35-60 watts

Wagner xenon = 55-65 watts.

Thanks, Gael

[60FlatTop]

Try running a ground right to the battery post and see if it makes a difference. If it does do what it takes to get the ground circuit back. Newer car headlights are a lot brighter but you should be able to see fine with the stock ones.

Bernie

[buick man]

Yes to that. You should be able to see just fine with T-3 headlights. Before going over to 2 Guys Garage and removing the engine to get to the spare tire, buick man suggests checking your charge system and voltage regulator out for input and output. The voltage regulator can be adjusted by removing the lid. The generator brushes should be checked for spec wear. Check out and assure proper grounds to contacts. Pull the firewall plug and cleanup all the male and female prongs. Upon completing these tasks the final thing to do is to have the head lights professionally aimed to factory specs which I believe is given in the shop manual.

When this is done properly the T-3 lights will be just fine. You may not be able to read the cap rim on the back of the head of the driver ahead of you at night but will be able to navigate very well just the same.

[old-tank]

All good suggestions, but if you are going to drive it install the halogens (I'll send you a nasty-gram if you blind me with the xenons). I have halogens in one of my three 55's...guess which one I would drive across county at night? If you keep the originals, then max speed at night = 50mph.

[The Old Guy]

There are kits available to use a relay to help . The voltage drop through all the connections is sometimes significant.

[buick man]

Yes indeed: http://www.rowand.net/shop/tech/alternatorgeneratortheory.htm

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the limitations of output and performance regarding your current system then you will be better informed on what to add or what you can't add to your current setup without "other" component/system upgrades. Just slapping some track shoes onto a couch potato does not a track star make.

[NTX5467]

It's NOT the wattage that makes the difference, it's the BEAM PATTERN. The earlier SAE-spec lights put useable light everywhere OTHER than in front of you. As a result, the distances you can see at night are decreased from what more modern beam patterns (even the former "Euro" pattern) provide . . . all with the same wattages. We didn't realize how "dim" the earlier headlights were, even "yellow" in color, compared to the halogens in the 1980s! By that time, I was using E-code lights in one of my cars and it was amazine how much MORE I could see with the change in beam pattern!

I tend to concur . . . older T-3 era lights were really NOT very safe much over 50mph . . . even on a really dark night when reflectivity might make more difference . . . or even on a "full moon" night, but we all know who/what comes out on full-moon nights! The "light everywhere" beam pattern meant you had to use low beams more than necessary for the safety of on-coming traffic. Remember, you don't really need to see what's 20' in front of the car and to the right side at night (on the highway), but 200' down the middle of the road you're on. If you want to see it graphically, check out some of the headlight websites where they compare their headlights/bulbs to normal ones.

Now, when you're used to the old sealed beam light pattern, it'll take some getting used to when you get to a headlight which puts light "down the road" (with normal wattages), BUT you will also realize just how much of "down the road" that you weren't seeing before.

The whole deal with T-3 bulbs was their aiming tabs on the glass, as I recall, which was an advancement at the time. NO special beam patterns or anything else. Yet they are prized and even in repro as a result. IF the T-3 repro people would put a halogen bulb and more modern reflector shapes behind their T-3 lenses, that would certainly be an "incognito upgrade"!

It's y'alls decision as to what's on your car(s), but I'd sure hate to waste a good set of T-3 headlight bulbs due to "normal-for-the-time" night time illumination. If the headlights get damaged, so will the items surrounding them, usually!

Just some considerations . . .

NTX5467

[60FlatTop]

With Buicks, it is not usually the headlights. Not that I'd be stereotyping:

. Now for a real hoot, go to Google images and search "old man in buick" Check the second row.

Bernie

[Guest gksullivan]

Thanks everyone for the info, especially the link David provided. That was a good read. I'm a lot like Bernie's old men - eyesight dimming a little and I don't want to drive 50 mph as Old Tank suggested so I'll get some brighter ones. My car is a daily driver so I'll err on the side of brightness instead of correctness!

Gael

[NTX5467]

You will probablly discover that later headlights, even sealed beams, have a more-defined beam pattern than the earlier ones did. This can allow you to "aim higher" without being too high for oncoming drivers' eyes. When I put E-code Cibies in my '77 Camaro, I saw SURPRISED at how low the stock aiming was, in comparison! That was in the later 1970s that I first started using those headlights.

With increased brightness comes the need for more accurate aiming adjustments!

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[old-tank]

You will probablly discover that later headlights, even sealed beams, have a more-defined beam pattern than the earlier ones did. This can allow you to "aim higher" without being too high for oncoming drivers' eyes. When I put E-code Cibies in my '77 Camaro, I saw SURPRISED at how low the stock aiming was, in comparison! That was in the later 1970s that I first started using those headlights.

With increased brightness comes the need for more accurate aiming adjustments!

Enjoy!

NTX5467

Good point that I have noticed too. The old headlight aiming chart in my 1950 Motors manual did not work with halogens. I just matched a modern car beam pattern (one with good lights).

Willie

[60FlatTop]

I read the comment about driving cross country at night.

This is one of my other cars:

See that animal in the center of the deck lid? I always laugh to myself when I walk up to that car from behind. My "favorite" animal, yeah. Leave the good stuff home. There are deer plotting evil things.

Bernie