Sealed beam headlight

[Rick40Ford]

It is great to be back on Rodding round table. I have been on here for years as Learpilot, but something happend and I could not log on as Learpilot anymore. I changed email address and that may have done it.
Also I am not the greatest on computers.

I just upgraded my Silver Star sealed beam headlights by putting them on relays. They are much brighter. I checked the voltage at the alternator and it was 14.5 volts, but at the headlights it was only 9 volts. After I installed the relay harness the voltage now reads 13.8 volts at the headlights.
My question to all you experts, can I have the high and low beams on at the same time ? I have put a jumper wire from the dimmer swich power to the low beams. When I go to high beams it does not cut off the low beams. That is what most of the newer cars have. I know they use 4 lights.
Thanks in advance for your advice !!!!
Rick

[wayne petty]

low/Hi beam,   high beam  ######### high beam,  low/high beam




low beams on is just the outer 2 filaments. on the dual filament bulbs..


high beams is the high beam filaments on all 4 bulbs... no low beams...


you can.. with some dimmer switches. column mounted.. find the sweet spot where both high and low beams are on. but you take a chance of overheating the ground wire on the dual filament bulbs..

electrons flow from negative to positive..  the first of the 98 Vw bugs had ground wires to the headlights that were too thin and they would cook off..

[Rick40Ford]

Thanks for the info. I never thought about the ground getting too much current and causing a failure. I will not use the jumper wire so it works normally.
Thanks, Rick