MSO 662P

[Jon Tilson]

I've used autopal H4 lights too. Cant say I'm that impressed with the beam pattern, but they at least look the right concave shape.

Jonners

[Tony Burd]

They certainly look right, they were very cheap so it is probably another case of you get what you pay for, can you recommend better?

[SprintMWU773V]

If you want the best ones go Valeo. I got a good deal at Autojumble, otherwise they are £35 per unit.

[Tony Burd]

Thanks Mark, I'll see how I get on with these, they have got to be better than the old sealed beams.

Plus not sure how much night driving I will be doing, I only plan on taxing it for 6 months of the year probably April-September

[SprintMWU773V]

The Autopals are fine for what you need them for. As I say I only went for the Valeos as I was able to get them for the same money. Frankly a match would be better than sealed beams. Oddly my Mazda has sealed beams and despite being 20 years newer technology the sealed beams are just as bad as those on a Dolomite! When they go I'll be fitting a pair of H4 conversions to that too.

I assume you've fitted relays BTW?

[Tony Burd]

I assume you've fitted relays BTW?

Not yet but will do, did I read somewhere they can be fitted inside the steering column bezel?

[SprintMWU773V]

I think space would be tight inside the steering column box. I would fit a fused relay unit and then mount near the battery. The units are well sealed against water ingress and the fuses will provide additional protection for both high and low beam circuits in the event of a bulb failure.

[soe8m]

At Rothman Conversions they are inside the steering column bezel.

Jeroen

[Tony Burd]

Have you got any pictures?

Would be a neat installation, all the relays are doing are protecting the switchgear, I assume the original wiring is up to spec, as the wattage of the halogens is the same as the sealed beams I think.

Back when I was running a Sprint daily I had 75W inners fitted without any relays & no switchgear failure.

[Jon Tilson]

I would say the beam pattern on decent Lucas or Osram sealed beams is better than the Autopal with one of the H4 bulbs
I had kicking about.

I think a lot of the trouble is dodgy earths or other dirty cpmmections that drop the voltage and hence the power going through the filaments.

I'll try it out with some new bulbs I got recently and see if its any better. Only tried one so far...

The Spit was a lot better on the H4 but then that was a Lucas reflector but a 7 inch one.


Jonners

[soe8m]

I do not have any pictures but it's just cut and connect. Take the big brown feed from the switch and use this one as a main feed 30 for the two relay's. The light switch can have a thin wire now because it's only for rear and courtesy lights now. Cut the lamp feed wires and use the stalk side to 86 to activate the relay's and the otherside to the lamps on 87 of the relay's.

Jeroen

[Tony Burd]

Cheers for that, only wanted to see photos to get some idea of exactly where the relays were fitted in the bezel, I haven't looked yet to see how much space there is. A job for another weekend.

[Carledo]

Good electrical practice dictates that the relays should be as close to the lamps as possible, thus reducing the length of the heavy current wiring to a minimum. Although the primary purpose is to protect the switchgear, the loom is also vulnerable, nobody wants a wiring fire!

Steve

[soe8m]

Agree but the dolomite loom has 3x oversizes gauge wires.

Jeroen

[Edin Dundee]

I also agree, but bear in mind some moderns have their relays against the bulkhead, meaning they save a couple of feet of wire, if that.