The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Hi,

Looking at fitting a set of halogen headlights to the Sprint, any recommendations on a good quality set? I see you can pick them up on eBay for £40, then there’s Lucas at around £60. Which are the best? Usually a good one should have all the correct approval markings on the lens.

I also understand there will be slight mods required to the bulb connectors but that’s it, no relays required.

Bulbs - standard or xenon?

Outer unit - anyone fit the ones with side light or stick with ones without?

What have you done to your cars?

Many thanks,

Chris.

Yes you can fit them without relays but I wouldn't recommend it. Even with the standard setup you will eventually burn out the main/dipped beam stalk. Relays cost buttons and are not difficult to wire up. It is a false economy.

I bought a set off ebay years ago, that have worked well enough. Though to be honest if I was doing it again I would probably buy to more expensive ones from a legit supplier. Too much cheap rubbish about.

I bought my Dolomite with the halogen conversion already fitted, drove it fairly regularly in the dark and melted the indicator stalk rendering it useless. If you use the car in darkness then relays are essential . If the mot is the only time the lights are used, then you may get away with it . A few yards of cable , couple of relays and in line fuses are all that's needed. It was harder to replace the stalk.
Graham
PS Have now fitted 100% brighter xenon bulbs, noticeable improvement with standard wattage.

I bought the set from Rimmers. They are OK but not great. The best are undoubtedly Cibie/Valeo, but they are expensive. I have those on my MGB and they are terrific. I echo what the others say - you must use relays.

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Mike
(1969 MGB GTV8, 1977 Dolomite 1850HL, 1971 MGB roadster now all three on the road)

as above, cibie are the best-try eurocarparts but you will have to fudge the search by putting in capri or something.

Otherwise I have had excellent results with the "crystal" type headlight units, but they do not look original.

Regarding relays, Halogens use no more current than std bulbs (sometimes a smidge less). So it is a separate issue to fitting halogens. However, the argument for protecting the switch is a strong one. Plus the lights will be brighter. In fact, std lights benefit a lot from relays. And in reality, it is more important than the halogens.

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Clive Senior
Brighton

Thank you everyone!

Very handy to know.

When I do the conversion I will make sure relays are in place.

I wouldn't wait for the conversion before fitting relays, else you might need a new column stalk. Jeroen used to make and sell relay kits......

It is easy enough to do, just need two relays. One for dipped and one for main beam (suppose you could do side lights but I didn't bother).

Find the feed for the dipped and main. Connect that to the coil terminal, normally 86 and the other terminal (85)to earth. Then you need a power feed, I take it off the battery but there are lots of other options. Connect that to the switching side (87) and the output the lights (30). I made a new loom for the lights which I ran in front of the radiator.

So it is a couple relays, a container to put them in (in my case hi-tech tupperware), a couple meters of cable and some electrical tape/cable ties. I also added some fuses but that is up to you.