M
Mike Marlow
Dan K said:Well, I actually did something about it this weekend. This is what I
measured/did:
With 2002 XG350 running:
V battery = 14.2 v
V at headlight = 13.43 v
V headlight + to battery - = 13.55 v
This tells me there is a 0.12 volt drop in the ground wiring (seems
reasonable), and a 0.65 volt drop in the positive side which probably
includes wiring, a fuse, and a switch of some sort (relay, transistor, or
both).
So I placed a 10 amp diode in the passenger side headlight circuit. It
now reads 12.8v (headlight + to battery -). This should imply that the
voltage measured at the headlight is now around 12.68v (I did not measure
this). As I installed the diode and placed it in and out of circuit while
watching the headlight intensity, you could tell the difference, but only
because you had the 2 to compare. Its virtually impossible to tell by
looking now that the passenger side headlight is a little dimmer than the
driver side. My plans are to run this for a week or two and then install
a diode on the drivers side. I will then see how long it takes to burn
out a headlight or two. If they still burn out in under 3 months I might
try a second diode in each side - which should drop the voltage at the
headlight down to right around 12.0 volts.
Good stuff Dan. Thanks for posting this. Why bother waiting a week though?
That won't really show you anything, so why not just go ahead and install
the second diode now and start the clock ticking?
-Mike-