Headlight upgrade 2000 fg637

[WhereisFranklin]

Hi, according to manual, my model fg has sealed beam headlights.To say they are poor on low beam is an understatement. Has anyone been through the process of improving this if it is possible.I also note they are 12v,thought systems were all 24v on my vehicle.

Also,wipers are missing large areas, replace with standard ones or has anyone had success with an aftermarket kit?
Many thanks, Neil.

 

[SkiFreak]

Firstly... welcome. I assume from your joining date that you have been lurking for a while.
Where are you located? I ask because different countries probably have different options.

 

[WhereisFranklin]

Yes looking afound for a while. Should update profile. .. from Qld.Thanks.

 

[PKDreamers]

Hi,

I am sure you could replace them with Halogen conversion kits for Hi beam and low beam.
Most parts places will help you with that.
Look at Narva 72018 kit and Narva 72022 kit

 

[SkiFreak]

It is always nice to have nice bright headlights, but be mindful that simply changing over the OEM units for something else (like halogen) can potentially lead to other issues if not done with careful planning.
OEM electrical systems are designed based on the factory installed current loads. Things like the high/low beam switch on the steering column are not normally happy switching high currents. As long as this switching is done through a suitable relay, all is good. To that end, you need to confirm that the lighting relays in your truck are suitable for higher currents, which halogen lights probably have.
If they are, all is wonderful and the conversion should be pretty straight forward. However, if they aren't, installing a new suitable circuit is probably necessary.
A large proportion of vehicle electrical fires are caused by the OEM cabling system being overloaded or when additional circuits/loads are added poorly.

 

[WhereisFranklin]

Cheers! Some worthwhile advice. How would one go about determining relays are suitable? Run it past a sparkie? Would led versions, if available, have less of a draw for similar output to halogen? Will follow up on Narva info, many thanks.

 

[PKDreamers]

You can get LED globes to suit those Narva converion kits . Narva 18004 and Narva 18001. But not cheap and not ADR approved for road use.

 

[WhereisFranklin]

Thanks Pete. A friend of mine's son in law is an auto electrician. I'll see what I can find out and post any findings.

 

[SkiFreak]

How would one go about determining relays are suitable?

My FG84 workshop manual does not identify the current capacity of the relays in the lighting circuit diagrams, but in the lighting specifications it does list the high and low beam wattages.
As long as you stick with similar wattages with halogen globes there should not be any issues.

 

[WhereisFranklin]

Update on upgrade FYI. Having pulled grill and headlights apart I find that my fg637 has removable bulbs; high beam 75w@24v and low beam H4 Halogen 70/75w@ 24v - Philips brand. The manual I referred to originally came from a link on this forum and I think it is US spec with sealed beams at 12v.

I have ordered: 1 x PAIR NARVA H4 Headlight Globes 24 Volt Plus 100 Long Life 48874BL2 Truckstar for $39 from Fleabay- Same ones at SCA were $80 ish.

How effective they are remains to be seen but I thought sticking to wattage would be a prudent place to start. I considered 90/100 but couldnt find that wattage in a recognised brand. Also looked at LEDs as the Narvas claim good light pattern control to avoid the problem with oncoming traffic. Yes, I realise they are not approved but it would be an interesting exercise if they were found to be safe and effective despite bureaucracy lagging. At $180 I'm not quite at that experimental stage.We'll try the legal ones first.��

 

[SkiFreak]

Hope it works out for you, but my own personal experience with these supposedly brighter bulbs was not overly positive.
I have a Honda CRV and the lights on it are pretty average. I fitted some of these "brighter" bulbs, but to be honest, I don't remember seeing much of a difference.

 

[WhereisFranklin]

That's right , I'm not getting too excited, some other forum contributors have reported being underwhelmed with their new purchases. I suspect improvement also needs to come from the design of the reflector and other elements of the headlight...maybe night vision goggles are the go?��

 

[SkiFreak]

Not that it is pertinent to your issue, but I have to say that the amount of light I get from my FG84 (FG140 equivalent) OEM headlights is very good.
I would argue that the low beam on the truck is pretty much the same as the high beam on our Honda CRV. I am pretty sure that the height off the ground contributes significantly with this, but I am definitely impressed by the standard Fuso headlights.

 

[pugslyyy]

I've had better success retrofitting HID lights in place of halogen bulbs, seems to work better inside the reflector than LEDs. You can buy the kits pretty inexpensively on ebay and they directly replace the halogen bulbs.

There is some additional electronics to accomodate, but there is plenty of room in the Fuso to accomodate it. (I have not done this for the Fuso but have for other vehicles)

 

[Decanter]

Not sure of the laws in AUS however if it were me I would ditch them altogether and go with something from these guys: http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/categories/headlights/