Integrated Driving Lamps 1997?

mrkawasaki · Dec 16, 2013

Just back from a long weekend in Bernhardt down St Ives/Watergate Bay way (900 miles in four days) it became apparent that better lights are needed in the winter (as I'm running deflected european spec. headlights on a Westfalia). Does anyone know if you can get integrated driving lights to go in the bumper blanks? What models came with lights in the bumper and were they driving or fog?

Thx in advance.

jts46 · Dec 16, 2013

Why not fit T4 RHD headlights?
john

Les · Dec 16, 2013

I understood driving lights are for use in fog or falling. I was stopped once for having them on under normal conditions and told I could be issued with a fixed penalty.

sidepod · Dec 17, 2013

I'm running some uprated H4 bulbs in mine which are a big step fwd over the factory spec.

I'd suspect anything mounted low down in the bumper won't give great results?

Perhaps a pair of spot lamps mounted in front of the grill?

S.

mrkawasaki · Dec 17, 2013

johntowers46 said:
Why not fit T4 RHD headlights?
john

It crossed my mind to get a pair - I wonder how quick the changeover would be? I rather like the smug feeling I get when driving abroad without the UK deflectors though...

TwentyOneThirtyFive · Dec 18, 2013

I got a pair of RHD lights off ebay for a few quid (tip: bid on individual lights rather than pairs for lowest prices for a pair). Lots people fit angle eye type lights and sell the originals.

It takes a few minutes to swap the lights over. It's so easy that when I went to the continent I swapped the headlights back to the LHD ones rather than just applying tape to the lights.

As Sidepod says, upgrade the bulbs. Think I use Osram night breakers or something similar.

There are some upgraded wiring looms on the market. The T4 is renowned for having a voltage drop between the battery and the headlights. However, I have not been able to get one to work on an imported van and I know I'm not the only one. Getting this to work would yield the best results I think.

sidepod · Dec 18, 2013

TwentyOneThirtyFive said:
There are some upgraded wiring looms on the market. The T4 is renowned for having a voltage drop between the battery and the headlights. However, I have not been able to get one to work on an imported van and I know I'm not the only one. Getting this to work would yield the best results I think.

I didn't know that Dan. Good intel.
A little confused, what are you saying you've not manged to get working? A wiring loom?

Re volt drop, have you measured the on load voltage at the lights to confirm the drop?

S.

pictonroad · Dec 18, 2013

My lights with the new direct loom and the night breaker bulbs are fantastic, I do actually have 'driving lamps' as well but the main lights are now so bright they're irrelevant.

TwentyOneThirtyFive · Dec 18, 2013

Who's loom have you used? I have a travel volts one and it won't work properly. The guy who made it kept going on about a dim-dip resistor, but German vans don't have one as far as I can tell.

sidepod · Dec 18, 2013

If it's simply a volt drop problem then all it needs is a larger cable installing or a parallel one to increase the capacity.

Better still, get a relay. Use the existing main/dip beam feed to drive the coil and take a big cable from the battery via the relay contacts to the lights. Done.

S.

TwentyOneThirtyFive · Dec 18, 2013

yes, that is exactly what the wiring loom is doing. Or not doing in mine (and others) case.

I will be getting the volt meter out and giving it another go soon, I want to drive some spotlights in the same way.