W124 Headlamp problem

[ecossebev]

The headlamps on my 1991 230TE emit a very poor light. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can improve the lighting as it is proving difficult to see in the dark. The windscreen has thousands of tiny stonechips, as does the bonnet....could the beam be affected by stonechips on the headlamp lenses? Any suggestions would be helpful

 

[Bolide]

The dip beam performance of the lights is poor. It's an early car so I suspect the silvering on the reflectors is in bad condition. If possible I'd replace the headlights with a good set of pre-facelift lights from a breaker. This should also get rid of the stonechips

You could also try the popular +50% headlamp bulbs you can buy now or use (illegal) 90/110 Watt bulbs

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[Number_Cruncher]

The first thing to do is to check the voltage drop between the battery and the live terminal of the bulb - making sure that the bulb is actually getting the correct electrical power.

Even small drops in electrical power will produce serious drops in light power emitted from the bulbs.

For each side in turn, without disturbing any wiring connections, using a digital multi-meter set to read DC voltage, with the positive lead on the battery positive, and the negative on the lamp terminal, and the headlamps switched on, measure the voltage drop, and post up the result.

Ideally, this should be less than 1 volt - ideally, less than 0.5v.

If you don't already have one, a *very* cheap multi-meter which would suffice for this task is available from Maplin.