So I own an old person boat er car, a 99 chevy lumina, the headlights have always been fairly dim, infact the parking lights are just as bright as the headlights, lol

my question is, how does one go about replacing it with those super bright headlights that are on the newer cars?

If it's just the bulbs (and not some electrical problem), you just replace the bulbs like you do when they burn out at home.

-Fooglmog
Guy with no clue.

so even though it's a older car, the newer bulbs will work? any specific kind that is recommended?

Few things...

- Try replacing the bulbs first. This is a cheap problem fix, and usually if you put some ultra whites in it'll take care of it. I like Sylvania bulbs, but they're all pretty much the same.

- Check the lenses. On a 12 yr old car, odds are pretty good your lens covers on your lights are pretty grimy. They sell cleaning kits at just about every auto parts store.

- If that doesn't work, replace your fuse for your headlights. Sometimes if they're old they aren't as efficient anymore.

- If all else fails, start checking wiring to make sure it's not frayed, loose, etc.

talk to the person at the auto parts store. might even be a book there that states which bulbs are acceptable to use in your car.

Yes that is a silly question.. U might need to turn them on at night.. Hope that helps!

When replacing a headlight bulb try to remember not to make the "brilliant" mistake of touching the actual bulb of the new one, the oil from your finger will fry it out real quick and you will be back replacing it again.

NOW3P makes some great suggestions. Halogen bulbs get dimmer over time and just replacing them can make a huge difference. The "lenses" or the exterior plastic of the headlight housing might also be quite oxidized and can be refinished to allow more light to shine through.

Whatever you do, please do not go out and buy an aftermarket HID kit. Your headlight housings are not intended for HIDs and you'll end up blinding every other driver on the roads and you could even damage your car.

i looked at the lenses at a couple of supply sites, and they appeared to be made of glass. but couldn't find anything to qualify the composition.

didn't know that halogen bulbs got dimmer. what kinda rate are we talking about? how often do they have to be replaced if they don't burn out?

It's very slow - takes years for the burn down to be noticeable. It's basically a matter of the filament slowly burning away...it's also why bulbs burn out; that filament finally burns so thin it breaks.

Also dont forget to check your halogen fluid levels. If those are low it will seem dim too. Just ask them to top it off when they change your oil at like a Jiffy lube. The guy there will be happy to help you out. They SHOULD top off all of your fluids but for some reason you have to ask for the Halogen fluid top off. Most of the time its no extra charge!

Make sure you have winter air in your tires too. It's completely unrelated, but very important. :-P

I drilled a small hole in the bottom of my one headlamp because the condensation kept getting inside it causing the light to be less effective. It helped out a lot. Halogens work great, but they're so annoying when they're in your rear view mirror.

Before you do the install, make sure you have the tools. I went to change my girlfriend's front headlight a few months ago and was surprised at just how complicated it was to get to it. If I had known that going into it I would've had the right tools on hand (and yah its my fault for not looking) or been lazy and let the shop do it.

drugs

double post

[quote poster=Helmet; 6726; 114278][quote poster=Helmet; 6726; 114274]

There are a few reasons car lights go dim. One is the casing isn't air tight and you have condensation, etc. in there. Or sometimes the plastic starts to yellow and just plain sucks. Either of those problems you need a new headlight housing. You can buy one of thoses cleaning kits that was suggested earlier, but it's only a temporary fix and will worsen things in the long run.

If it's not the housing then I'd buy a new bulbs and put it in. Sylvania Xtravision are good for the money.

If that didn't work the first thing I'd check would be the ground.

If you're handy with cars (be prepared to drop your bumper, etc) and you want HID headlights then go here. http://activetuning.com/

But like I said if your housings are the problem then that needs addressed to.

It took me a good three hours to mount the ballists and wire in my HID's, but it was well worth it because my car sucked at night and we always drove my wife's accord before I made the switch.

So....in other words.....a summary of all the other posts that have already been made?

i'm going to have to go look up 100 year old cars that don't need any maintenance now. what you mean temporary fix? won't have to fix it at all if you can find a sucker to buy it.

I'm too lazy to look, but I highly doubt everything I posted there was already posted.

plus he didn't even try to address the winter air in the tire question.

fluff all that. Just buy a new one. Reach me here:

http://www.chryslerofculpeper.com/

;P

it was helmet - most of it in 1 post

I didn't see anyone say to check the ground or where/how to install HID's and that's just off the top of my head. :)

good suggestions in here.

if the bulbs are dimmer than they should be while you are looking directly at them than it is either a bulb life problem or a grounding problem. pray its a bulb life problem. i wouldn't say that the casing is a problem if the actual amount of light they appear to put out is lower than normal. the lens only affects the projection of the light to the road surface, not the actual brightness of the bulb. yes cleaning the lens would make a difference, but it will not brighten the bulb itself. i guess clarifying what exactly you mean by dimmer would clear this up.

im not really sure, I just know my day time running lights are the same brightness as my normal lights

Are they aligned properly?

You could be one of those fluffs with their lamps pointed directly up into other drivers eyes.

Are you looking at them from thefront of the car or from the drivers seat?


Headgaskets and motor swaps are more my thing though

dont change anything on a lumina man, change the car.

What Mortcus said. Call me! ;P

Seriously, I promise to answer if I hear a call for Vic Rattlehead!

your headlights burned out before you bought the car, and you only have day time running lights working now.

could be, haha

I used to have a 1996 Oldsmobile Achiva, and the day time lights were almost as bright as the headlights (the headlights had about 20 extra feet of throw). If I recall correctly, it was very similar to the Lumina, and switching the headlights was pretty easy (about the only thing on that car that wasn't a pain in the ass). The headlights on that car sucked though - I didn't realize how much until I replaced it with an Xa and all of sudden I didn't feel like I needed the high beams on unlit highways.

its a GM, problem located.

Solution: call local junk yard or head to dealership for trade in.

GM > Ur face

yea right, whats GM stock worth again? still 75 cents right? :P

FORD all day baby. or honda if you feel the need for asian pride.

I definately purchase cars based on stock!

Forget the fact that the SBC is the most widely produced and modded and whatnot V8 in recent history. Forget their recent dominance in motorsports such as the GT series of the AMLS and NASCAR. Forget the chevy volt, which is a tremendous stride in the world of Eco friendly cars. Forget their sales and quality of their flagship brands. I mean olds don't exist anymore, like Saturn and Pontiac, so I won't hold that against them (although the G series, especially the G8 based on the sigma lite/zeta platform was bringing Pontiac back)

Stock is all that matters!

Granted I own an early fourth gen camaro and 2 Nissan daily drivers. But I'm a chevy man till I die, if you dissagree you don't matter!


EDIT: Actually, now that I look into it, GMs stock is 36.50, while fords is in the 16 range

damn nub

god ford you take everything so serious.

that being said, i daily a GM, also own a ford. but ill still say Fords new cars are better then GM's looks and build quality wise. the volt is a great concept but its been out for what a month? wait to see how many issues it has before praising it.

I take my Chevys extremely seriously

the camaro I have was my first car ever. I will probably have it forever. The body and frame is pretty much the only thing on it that is still stock.


GM has pit a ton of research dollars into the electric and hydrogen market along with caddy. I don't agree with this but this is where they see the future. He'll, even the new camaro was just fluff out as a nearly concept car. It's on the exact same platform as the CTS and yet is so horribly refined, nowhere close to the cts. I don't know how that fluffed that up so bad, and I'm a diehard camaro fan.

Ford has put a fluff ton of effort into the quality of their current cars. They also have a huge euro market to feed off of.

Different strats, we will see which one plays out in the future.

boo

my car is great apart from the rust, gearbox, muffler, break disks, hand break, rust.

No real problems with the headlights except when we needed a new alternator.

Heres one link for the super brites
http://www.tunersdepot.com/...vrolet_Lumina_HID_Kit.htm
I am sure there are many more.... prolly even at local auto parts stores too~ eNjOy~

You might need a bigger battery for the Lumina, but how bout this for an idea?

ZDH
Member
Posts: 201 Mar 15th 2011, 21:30:09
Where I work have hundreds of 1000 watt metal halide lights if you don't know anything about a metal halide bulb they get HOT and at 1000+ watts they use a TON of electricity.

I'm tryin to find an alternative anyone know of anything? I thought maybe LED but couldn't find anyone that made them that big.