Re: Alternator Woes

[Luis Marques <marques@ti.com>]

You want to _add_ resistance to the headlamps??  Most people put relays
on their cars to get rid of all the resistance of the stock
wiring/switching scheme and get brighter headlamps and avoid melting the
switch.  In theory, you're right.  Higher voltage will give you brighter
headlamps at the expense of reduced bulb life.  In reality, you may be
reducing bulb life from 10 years down to five - nothing to worry about. 
If you have any doubts, there is certain Quattro somewhere in northern
Europe that routinely makes use of 540 relayed watts without any
problems (right Phil?)

Luis Marques
'87 4kcsq

Todd Young <tyoung@wamnet.com> wrote:
>  13.7 volts? I was out checking to see how much juice my headlights
> were getting the other day, and just for kicks, while the engine was
> running, I checked the battery voltage, I got 14.4 volts. I'm trying
> to remember if that is acceptable or too high?
> 
> And if that is acceptable and I relay my headlights, running 14.4V to
> bulbs designed for 13.5 (or so) will shorten the live expectancy of
> the bulb, won't it? I think I would be better off to add a resistor
> into the circuit to cut the voltage down by 1 volt to 13.4V.
> 
> Comments, opinions?