Does anyone on the board know anything about automotive lighting?
- Thread starter LMichaels
- Start date
Ain't that the truth..... my '99 Civic isn't too bad, but the crummy pot metal used to form the seat for the lamp base fractures easily and then I'm really in trouble. My '12 Ram..... that's kind of a PITA as well, takes an 18" extension with a magnetic socket and some rather forceful tugging to get the assembly out to where I can get to the lamp bases. Some vehicles do make it easier, a buddy had one with a lever that would unclamp a tray holding the housing, no tools necessary at all.
John G (Boston)
TVWBB Super Fan
Yeah, I have helped a friend work on the turn signals on his 4Runner. Pretty tough to reach. I got the Glyptal on line somewhere but don't remember where. I got the quart can because the spray bombs were so expensive and I figured the extra would just go bad. Also, I used it to coat the inside of a big generator and wanted to paint it on with a brush to work it into the windings really well.
The silicone that does not release acetic acid (like GE silicone II) should be OK and not cause further corrosion, I would think.
LMichaels
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
It's a 2nd generation Highlander. LOL. The vehicle still had it's original low beam headlamps and fogs. (it's a 2011 with 170k miles). They were getting so old they were beginning to change color. One of the headlights was turning "pink". So I figured it was time. And if so was also time to improve. Right now I cannot do anything with the high beams as Toyota uses PWM on them for DRL. So there are 2 choices. Go LED, and use a special harness on them which when in DRL function makes them on at full brightness. Illegal and just bad taste. I swear when people driving toward me with those stupid things I wish a one of those high speed canons like the A10 Warthog has. I refuse to do that to people. So currently sticking with OEM style there. Did find a really nice set of low beams. Did a lot of research to make sure I got ones well suited to Toyota projection lamp housings. Have not been disappointed there. No blinding glare, very well controlled. Good cutoff and plenty of good light on the road not in other drivers mirrors or faces.
The standard PSX26W lamps in the fogs are pretty pathetic. More glare than help. Found these. And am happy with light output, lack of oncoming glare and color temp. But poorly made otherwise.
As noted with the combo of the good amber fogs and the sharp cutoff of the low beams driving in some of the horrid fog we see (we get these weird temp inversions), was very easy and far less stressful.
So yeah I could do another set of OEM but really want improvement.
LMichaels
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
No, everything meets all standards. I am simply trying to improve my driving experience. Stock is "adequate". But, as with grills sometimes we look for improvements. Again, I am avoiding the stupid things I see people do. I am trying to research and improve my forward lighting but NOT make my lighting obtrusive to other drivers.