24v to 13.8v converters

richard5933 · April 17, 2019, 06:37:13 PM

Quote from: chessie4905 on April 17, 2019, 06:10:48 PM
Yeah, I see vehicles stopped and checked for the DOT on headlights. Even inspection stations don't look. Good headlamp enclosures in the buckets are adjustable and have good light patterns, at the very least equal to what you have. If you get negative reaction from opposing drivers, adjust them down a little. Other drivers are your best critics. Everything on the road switching to leds isn't just for saving money or economy. They work better. Talk to a couple of truckers thet have them and get their opinion.

Have you found a set of 5-3/4" LED lights that will fit into the factory bucket? They have a huge back side and need clearance for cooling. Even if you can find one with a good vertical cut off so that it doesn't blind oncoming drivers, I haven't seen one yet that will fit without butchering the buckets.

Cibie lights are probably the best way to add light without having to cut too much, but between the cost of the lights and having to re-wire to accommodate the higher current draw I chose to upgrade what I had to make it work as best as possible for now.

buswarrior · April 17, 2019, 08:35:41 PM

FWIW, I drove a friend's Silverado this past weekend in some torrential rain.

He has a set of "internet LED" headlight bulbs...

Obviously not DOT... every dammed sign was dazzling back like I had the highbeams on, peering into the backseat of every car ahead, light scatter was all over, but more importantly, and quite disconcerting, the light down to the ground to pick out the lane markings in this dark at night storm was total crap.

Oh sure, with the light scattered everywhere up high, you can be easily fooled that these will light up your life...

The other vehicle running with us didn't want to lead and be subjected to the mirror blinding, day or night.

Please be careful that you choose rated, road going lighting, so it is aimed where you need it, and the other road users aren't being blinded.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

luvrbus · April 17, 2019, 08:45:05 PM

I have LED's in my Humvee and had to paint the top half black they really pissed people off

1 AZ state trooper for sure

dtcerrato · April 17, 2019, 08:47:01 PM

Amen to what you're saying BW - lots of oncoming lights these nights SUCK BADLY...

richard5933 · April 18, 2019, 02:27:42 AM

Lots of the road in my area of the county are two-lane road. No shoulder, just a ditch. Lane markings are horrible. I've almost been run off the road more than a few times by oncoming headlights so bad that I couldn't see the road in front of me. I don't want to be one of those guys. Also doesn't help me see the roadbed if the light is all over the place, like BW said.

The worst offender around here is actually the Sheriff's Dept. When they run with their lights flashing, they have high-powered LEDs pointing in all directions -- traffic passing them can't see anything within 20 yards of the squad car.

Jim Blackwood · April 18, 2019, 06:53:04 AM

This was the kind of situation that brought about DOT headlight restrictions in the first place. A little actual enforcement wouldn't go amiss.

Jim

TomC · April 18, 2019, 09:26:33 AM

Weird how buses use 24v with converters to 12v. Virtually all over the road big rig trucks are 12v with 12v starters. My old 1985 KW has 12v system with series/parallel solenoid for the 24v starter. Good Luck, TomC

luvrbus · April 18, 2019, 09:36:38 AM

New buses use a 12v alternator for the head lights ,if I wanted 12v lights on a 24v system the 12 v alternator would be the most simple way to do it adding components is adding more problems

richard5933 · April 18, 2019, 09:44:55 AM

Quote from: TomC on April 18, 2019, 09:26:33 AM
Weird how buses use 24v with converters to 12v. Virtually all over the road big rig trucks are 12v with 12v starters. My old 1985 KW has 12v system with series/parallel solenoid for the 24v starter. Good Luck, TomC

Could it have been to allow for the use of lighter gauge wiring throughout the bus? Can't think of another reason since so much of the industry had been 12v for a while.

chessie4905 · April 18, 2019, 11:57:01 AM

Slight money savings. Less strain on starter as it is less sensitive to voltage drop compared to 6 volt or 12 volt.
Butcher headlight buckets?? They have 2 1/4 inch or larger holes at the back, plus about a 3 inch hole in body covered with rubber or rubber like material. There is 6 inches more room behind that, at least on a 4905. As far as sign glare, yes that happens, but adjusting headlamps helps or using a not as bright or lumens leds help. I have 10,000 lumen per pair on my highbeams on the suv. The lower ones are factory hid. The fogs are 8,000 lumen per pair. They all work great, especially the fog lamps. I've had one car give me the high beams on my lights in two years of driving and more than 20,000 miles, half local.
Good bright leds are especially beneficial on rainy nights with lots of opposing traffic and markings on roads faded or worn off. We have a lot of deer here to deal with and it helps a lot.

richard5933 · April 18, 2019, 01:14:29 PM

Aside from being $340/ea, these are some of the slimmer headlights I've seen.

Have you seen these installed in a factory headlight bucket without having to cut the hole larger?

chessie4905 · April 18, 2019, 01:16:26 PM

$340 each?? Where are you looking for headlamps? They must be gold plated also. Try these:
https://www.rallylights.com/h5006-hella-5-3-4-round-e-code-hi-lo-conversion-headlamp-kit.html
Then you can install leds rated at 12 to 32 volt of the lumens you desire.

Here are some examples in various lumens rated 9-32 volts: https://www.superbrightleds.com/search/led-products/h4/

richard5933 · April 18, 2019, 01:26:06 PM

I thought we were talking about LED lights here.

I know that there are other conversions available, such as the Hella and Cibie, and those you linked to. But those are not LEDs. They would be easier to fit into the buckets than LED lights though, and the only thing I'd want to do is upgrade the wiring to accommodate the increased current draw of those.

Even the ones you linked to would end up being

chessie4905 · April 18, 2019, 03:25:33 PM

You buy the light housings, which is what they are. You then install the type of h4 bulb of your desire. Incadescent, halogen, or led. You go down and pick the one with No bulb. Or if you want other than led, they give you a list of options. However those selections are all 12 volt.

richard5933 · April 18, 2019, 03:48:19 PM

In my research, it didn't seem as so simple as sticking an LED lamp in the Cibie housing. Seemed like the lamp needed to match the houding, as the light characteristics of the LED bulbs are very different than the typical H4 bulb.

I've also seen where using a cheap import LED bulb in an otherwise approved housing can result in a horrible light pattern output.

I've seen those LED H4 bulbs at the parts store, and every one of them says "not for highway use".

Not trying to be difficult, but I've been blinded enough times by these cheap import bulbs from oncoming drivers. Some of them were so bright they probably didn't even notice me flashing my lights at them.

What surprises me most is how prevalent these things are despite not being legal for use on the road.