Hey Guys! I'm back to the forum after about 5 years from selling my last 93 to build a garage. I picked up a 02 GT a few weeks ago and drove it for the first time at night yesterday and the headlights seem very dim, the high beams seem dimmer than most low beams, I did check the voltage at the battery when the car is running with the lights on and it's 14.4 volts, the car does have under drive pulleys on it but looks like the alternator is putting out enough voltage, the lenses are new and clear as a bell, I thought about buying new bulbs like Silverstars or possibly a relay kit but was unsure if I should check anything else, any help would be very much appreciated!!!!
02 GT Headlights seem very dim HELP
- Thread starter guitar113
- Start date
-
Sponsors (?)
trinity_gt
10 Year Member
Charging system sounds fine.
Has the car ever had any body work or paint work done to it? Can you do a check of the headlight wiring and all the chassis ground connections up there?
Has the car ever had any body work or paint work done to it? Can you do a check of the headlight wiring and all the chassis ground connections up there?
I thought about running by autozone but from what I checked last night I it didnt seem like a charging issue, the carfax come up with no accidents on the car but the hood, and nose have been changed so I was wondering if it was bad grounds, how can I check the voltage at the light sockets? Looks like blue/yellow/black wires going into the sockets.
trinity_gt
10 Year Member
Ok I got 13.5 volts at each bulb on high beams and 13.1 volts on each bulb at low beams at idle, guess I'm changing bulbs, any recommendations are welcome
How was this measured? At the sockets with no bulb? With respect to a good chassis ground?
Or were the bulbs installed? If so, can you measure the voltage on the "low side" (ground) prong of the bulb socket with the bulb installed (may need to penetrate the wire insulation to do this...)?
mustang562
Member
fiveohwblow
Official Member
- Jul 21, 2005
- 2,169
- 145
- 135
jdb3rd
Member
I have to agree as well. I got hids in my 99 a couple months ago in the headlights and foglights and it is great. I'm to scared to install in my 88 though for fear of insufficient wiring and ending up with a fire situation even with a 3g alt. upgrade
Trinity, I measured the voltage at the socket with no bulbs, I think I found my issue though, one of the lights where the bub goes is in broken, it moves freely and has to be causing a major misalignment problem, also one of the sockets if I moved it the light would go out, the ground wire was losing connection. Thanks for every ones help....now my interior light wont go out ughhhh, something else to work on.
trinity_gt
10 Year Member
FYI, HIDs require a bit more current initially (called "inrush") when they're first powered on but once lit they usually require less current than conventional incandescent bulbs.
The bigger "problem" is the use of HID bulbs in reflector housings that fail to properly control the upper beam cutoff which can lead to blinding and pissing off on-coming drivers.
trinity_gt
10 Year Member
The bulbs in it now say Sylvania HB5 9007, are these Silverstars? Whats a recommendation on a HID conversion kit? I looked on ebay and seen a bunch some are 6000k some are 10000k, just not sure what I'm looking at as usual
The higher the colour temperature number (e.g. 6000K), the bluer and ricier the colour will be. If good lighting is your goal, go with a maximum temp of 6000K. I've got 6000Ks in my VW GTI in projector housings and wouldn't want to go any bluer.
Ideally, something more like, say, 4300K will give a high-quality white colour.
trinity_gt
10 Year Member
Most of these things are Chinese-made so you're sort of rolling the dice when it comes to quality.
You could probably do worse than, say, these:
http://www.stangmods.com/Mustang-6000K-HID-Kit-p/00067.htm
You could probably do worse than, say, these:
http://www.stangmods.com/Mustang-6000K-HID-Kit-p/00067.htm
Similar threads
