Replacement headlights T3 for 1970 full size Pontiac
Macker said
Oct 13, 2020
I currently have halogen bulbs and finding them dim at night compared to my daily driver that has LED, just wondering if anyone has any good suggestions for replacement LEDs that are affordable ? Thanks in advance.....
cdnpont said
Oct 13, 2020
First question; Are your lamps on relays?
Prefectca said
Oct 13, 2020
I second the relays. Without relays for each headlight there is in my opinion too much voltage drop for halogen bulbs to work as they should. I had a motorhome with H-4 halogen bulbs and relays made a big difference.
Paul
Macker said
Oct 13, 2020
My car is all original so guess it does not have relays.....guess I need to get up to speed on what needs to be done to upgrade.
Macker said
Oct 13, 2020
I am just reading about relays now.....so will do that first and perhaps that in itself will make a big difference.....are all of the relay kits pretty much the same ? Thanks.
Prefectca said
Oct 13, 2020
This is amazon, but there are lots of suppliers. This is the type I used on my motorhome.
The difference is dramatic with relays. With relays you are simply powering the lamps much closer to the power source. Eliminating that long (and old) body feed harness run from the horn relay into the car, through the headlight switch, across the high/low floor switch and back out to the lamps. The old wires out to the lamps now become the relay triggers.
Basically, on the B Body, find the high beam and low beam feed in the forward harness up along and under the left fender. 70 should be Green for high beam, tan for low.
Cut through both wires and add a Bosch style relay into each circuit. Feed the relays from the horn relay buss, and make sure to clean up your grounds.
seventy2plus2 said
Oct 13, 2020
In your subject line you mention T3's, then in your text you mention you're running halogens. Which of the 2 is your car running?
Macker said
Oct 14, 2020
I thought T3 referred to the size of the headlghts......so was not aware that would cause confusion. The outer headlights are halogen and the inner high beam headlights are just std sealed beam.
seventy2plus2 said
Oct 14, 2020
Macker wrote:
I thought T3 referred to the size of the headlghts......so was not aware that would cause confusion. The outer headlights are halogen and the inner high beam headlights are just std sealed beam.
Thanks for all of the feedback, I ended up ordering two new lens on Amazon and put in ignite 9003 LED bulbs from canadian tire. Overall the end result seems to be a big improvement....perhaps the fact that the LEDs draw a lot less power negates the need for relays. Looking forward to trying out on the road at night.
I currently have halogen bulbs and finding them dim at night compared to my daily driver that has LED, just wondering if anyone has any good suggestions for replacement LEDs that are affordable ? Thanks in advance.....
First question; Are your lamps on relays?
Paul
My car is all original so guess it does not have relays.....guess I need to get up to speed on what needs to be done to upgrade.
I am just reading about relays now.....so will do that first and perhaps that in itself will make a big difference.....are all of the relay kits pretty much the same ? Thanks.
www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B07W862G1R/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0
The difference is dramatic with relays. With relays you are simply powering the lamps much closer to the power source. Eliminating that long (and old) body feed harness run from the horn relay into the car, through the headlight switch, across the high/low floor switch and back out to the lamps. The old wires out to the lamps now become the relay triggers.
Basically, on the B Body, find the high beam and low beam feed in the forward harness up along and under the left fender. 70 should be Green for high beam, tan for low.
Cut through both wires and add a Bosch style relay into each circuit. Feed the relays from the horn relay buss, and make sure to clean up your grounds.
I thought T3 referred to the size of the headlghts......so was not aware that would cause confusion. The outer headlights are halogen and the inner high beam headlights are just std sealed beam.
Here's a link to what T3's look like:
https://canadianponcho.activeboard.com/t55770371/1968-71-t3-headlights/
-- Edited by seventy2plus2 on Wednesday 14th of October 2020 09:39:48 PM
Brian
If you dont want to gather the parts yourself
Thanks for all of the feedback, I ended up ordering two new lens on Amazon and put in ignite 9003 LED bulbs from canadian tire. Overall the end result seems to be a big improvement....perhaps the fact that the LEDs draw a lot less power negates the need for relays. Looking forward to trying out on the road at night.