4 ms·

I drive a 1988 Suburban. It has 4 headlights, two on each side, one above the other. The lamps are identical. The top lights are for low and high beams, and the

I drive a 1988 Suburban. It has 4 headlights, two on each side, one above the other. The lamps are identical. The top lights are for low and high beams, and the lower are for high beams only. My headlights were all over the place, and people were flashing their lights at me ("Hey buddy, turn off your brights, jerk!") with my LOW beams on, despite that I could barely even see the road! To help solve this, I recently installed a relay kit to run them direct from the battery (for better brightness, bypassing 35 year old wiring) and it turns them ALL on all the time, which was unintended, and I'm too lazy to go fix it. So instead I just pointed them all down more, and now I can actually see the road. And, I'm not blinding anybody. The point? Aiming is everything. If your car's head lamps are out of alignment, not only will they be far less effective, they'll blind other drivers. Youtube it. Easy fix.

LazyMans 4y ago
This is why in some states, you are required to get an inspection of the vehicle and one of those items on that checklist is to ensure the headlights are aimed correctly. It's a massive problem.
- mnw21cam 4y ago
  It repeatedly astonishes me that vast swathes of the world that claim to be developed don't have regular and frequent vehicle inspections.
  - LazyMans 4y ago
    Yeah, it's pretty weird to me. I used to live in Massachusetts and these inspections performed an important purpose in my eyes. Now I live in Georgia and you'll see people driving around on bald tires, frames that are falling apart, and headlights that are all messed up. I'm all for freedom, but if you start doing something that potentially puts me at harms way on the road, it should be regulated.
    - dsfyu404ed 4y ago
      Oh please. Everyone knows that the vehicles in MA, (the northeast in general) despite your inspection program, are much rougher on average than in GA (the south in general) because you guys salt the roads.
srcreigh 4y ago
High beams are called high beams because they’re aimed higher, not because they’re brighter. Low beams are aimed lower to not intersect the opposite drivers FOV.
- geocrasher 4y ago
  You are partly correct, but partly not. In this case, having the low beams on = 4 lamps, high beams = 6 lamps. I compensated for the high beams being on full time by aiming my headlights lower. Some vehicles turn the low beams off when engaging the high beams, in which case you'd be correct.
snozolli 4y ago
It has 4 headlights, two on each side, one above the other. The lamps are identical. Unless you've replaced them, I doubt that's true. Looking up headlamps on RockAuto shows 35w low beams and 50w high beams, with very different fluting patterns. So instead I just pointed them all down more, and now I can actually see the road. And, I'm not blinding anybody. You're blinding anyone who has to misfortune to be looking your way as you crest a hill. It's probably just noise, though, compared to the same experience with modern projector lamps.
- geocrasher 4y ago
  The ones rockauto suggest might be different, but the ones in my truck are identical.
  - snozolli 4y ago
    So why did you put the wrong headlights in? Honestly, your vehicle sounds ridiculously messed up. You should take some responsibility for setting it up correctly, particularly if you're going to do modifications. Headlight harnesses and relays aren't difficult.
    - geocrasher 4y ago
      Because I bought a bag of headlights at a yard sale many years ago, full of all the same headlights, for $5. And the harness I put in left the brights on full time, and I haven't had the gumption to fix it. But, I like how bright it is and I'm not blinding anybody. So it's not ridiculously messed up. It works better than it has since I got it. It's customized.

LazyMans 4y ago

This is why in some states, you are required to get an inspection of the vehicle and one of those items on that checklist is to ensure the headlights are aimed correctly. It's a massive problem.

mnw21cam 4y ago
It repeatedly astonishes me that vast swathes of the world that claim to be developed don't have regular and frequent vehicle inspections.
- LazyMans 4y ago
  Yeah, it's pretty weird to me. I used to live in Massachusetts and these inspections performed an important purpose in my eyes. Now I live in Georgia and you'll see people driving around on bald tires, frames that are falling apart, and headlights that are all messed up. I'm all for freedom, but if you start doing something that potentially puts me at harms way on the road, it should be regulated.
  - dsfyu404ed 4y ago
    Oh please. Everyone knows that the vehicles in MA, (the northeast in general) despite your inspection program, are much rougher on average than in GA (the south in general) because you guys salt the roads.

srcreigh 4y ago

High beams are called high beams because they’re aimed higher, not because they’re brighter. Low beams are aimed lower to not intersect the opposite drivers FOV.

geocrasher 4y ago
You are partly correct, but partly not. In this case, having the low beams on = 4 lamps, high beams = 6 lamps. I compensated for the high beams being on full time by aiming my headlights lower. Some vehicles turn the low beams off when engaging the high beams, in which case you'd be correct.

snozolli 4y ago

It has 4 headlights, two on each side, one above the other. The lamps are identical. Unless you've replaced them, I doubt that's true. Looking up headlamps on RockAuto shows 35w low beams and 50w high beams, with very different fluting patterns. So instead I just pointed them all down more, and now I can actually see the road. And, I'm not blinding anybody. You're blinding anyone who has to misfortune to be looking your way as you crest a hill. It's probably just noise, though, compared to the same experience with modern projector lamps.

geocrasher 4y ago
The ones rockauto suggest might be different, but the ones in my truck are identical.
- snozolli 4y ago
  So why did you put the wrong headlights in? Honestly, your vehicle sounds ridiculously messed up. You should take some responsibility for setting it up correctly, particularly if you're going to do modifications. Headlight harnesses and relays aren't difficult.
  - geocrasher 4y ago
    Because I bought a bag of headlights at a yard sale many years ago, full of all the same headlights, for $5. And the harness I put in left the brights on full time, and I haven't had the gumption to fix it. But, I like how bright it is and I'm not blinding anybody. So it's not ridiculously messed up. It works better than it has since I got it. It's customized.