Team-BHP - Auto Lighting thread : Post all queries about automobile lighting here

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker (Post 4483172)

When it comes to the construction of halogen bulbs, all are:

Given the above, how are halogen bulbs promising 10%, 20%, or even 50% extra bright light as compared to standard bulbs? Is there any fundamental difference in the construction of these bulbs? Or are all these claims hogwash?

Some examples for HB3-9005 bulbs
Philips Vision HB 3 – claimed to provide 30% more light
OSRAM Night Breaker Unlimited HB3 – claimed to provide 10% more light
OSRAM Night Breaker Laser (Next Generation) HB3 – claimed to provide 50% more light

Then how is OSRAM Cool Blue Boost HB3 promising 50% more light at a colour temperature of 5000K?

All the above 4 bulbs mentioned operate at 60W. And none of them claim to be xenon bulbs.

You are correct and these claims by companies are all Hogwash. This was also proven in the class action suit against Osram Sylvania in the US. All these bulbs hardly have 10% higher light levels and the 50%/100% etc claims are only for brightness which means the light is more focused in a brighter hot spot while the overall light spread is less.
Also tinted bulbs are just eyewash and refuce the light level.

If you really want higher light levels and have projector headlamps it will be best to go for a HID retrofit kit which will actually give you 100% more light thanks stock hb3 bulbs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker (Post 4483172)

When it comes to the construction of halogen bulbs, all are:
a. Made of quartz or aluminosilicate casing
b. Use a tungsten filament
c. Filled with a mix of Argon-Nitrogen gas

Given the above, how are halogen bulbs promising 10%, 20%, or even 50% extra bright light as compared to standard bulbs? Is there any fundamental difference in the construction of these bulbs? Or are all these claims hogwash?

Some examples for HB3-9005 bulbs
Philips Vision HB 3 – claimed to provide 30% more light
OSRAM Night Breaker Unlimited HB3 – claimed to provide 10% more light
OSRAM Night Breaker Laser (Next Generation) HB3 – claimed to provide 50% more light

And when they talk of white light or blue light the only difference I see is some sort of coating on the glass surface. Does this not lead to just tinting the generated light and loss of actual brightness? From my understanding of physics, as the number of non-transparent layers light passes through increases the intensity decreases.

Then how is OSRAM Cool Blue Boost HB3 promising 50% more light at a colour temperature of 5000K?

All the above 4 bulbs mentioned operate at 60W. And none of them claim to be xenon bulbs.

There are 3 Main ways by which manufacturers can increase the output with stock voltage.

1. The better purity of the filament.
2. Thinner filament and Tighter winding of the filament. This results in more surface area to get heated up and more surface to emit photons.
3. More inert gasses to keep the whole thing from burning up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki (Post 4483187)

1. Sounds plausible. But then if someone is promising 50% more light does that mean that the standard bulb is high in impurities? Will that not impact longevity? However what I have seen is that the longevity of the standard bulbs and the so-called "better" bulbs are about the same.

2. A 100W halogen bulb has a thicker filament but produces more light than a standard 60W. The thicker filament is needed to take the load of the higher wattage. And if someone is promising 50% more light does that mean that the filament is either more tightly wound or is 50% longer in these "better" bulbs? A visual inspection does not reveal this. Both filaments appear to be the same.

3. Less or more inert gases in a bulb does not make any difference on brightness of the bulb. All high wattage bulbs (above 40W) as a rule contain gases at a higher pressure than atmospheric pressure. As long as oxygen content is 0% inside, it does not matter whether the pressure inside is 1.1x or 2.0x or even 10x.

Quote:

Originally Posted by archat68 (Post 4483219)

The high efficiency bulbs like philips xtreme vision, osram nightbreaker etc are most probably driven at higher voltage that the filament actually rated for alongwith other things.

Nope. All the bulbs mentioned by me are rated at 12V 60W. For all intents and purposes the specs appear to be the same across the range. Then why the claimed difference in brightness?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker (Post 4483211)

Will that not impact longevity? However what I have seen is that the longevity of the standard bulbs and the so-called "better" bulbs are about the same.

The high efficiency bulbs like philips xtreme vision, osram nightbreaker etc are most probably driven at higher voltage that the filament actually rated for alongwith other things. For example a bulb which actually has a filament rated for 10V is driven at 12v would produce more light. It would also shorten their life and actually their life is shorter than conventional bulbs.

This is just my assumption which came from a observation of Eveready torch called Commander which was available in our childhood. It ran with 6V but produced extremely bright and focused light like a bike headlight. It's bulbs had short life (the torch actually came with a spare bulb in the back of the battery holder) and the bulbs were rated at 3.6V.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker (Post 4483211)

Thinner filament means it can be tightly wound. Thinner filament also means higher resistance since resistance is inversely proportional to the cross section of the conductor. More pure in terms of relative purity. The tungsten used in a normal bulb is not of high purity as compared to the premium bulbs. Maybe this purity of the metal allows it to be drawn thinner and handle heat better. Similar to how pure gold can be drawn into very thin strands but gold mixed with some %age of copper will break if tried to draw as thin as pure gold.

Regarding inert gasses, I meant the type of gas. Not the pressure. I am not sure on this aspect since I had read about this long back. My memory is hazy on this aspect

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody (Post 4485000)

Thanks anurag, since you seem to have replaced yours once can you confirm if there is enough space behind the bulb to accommodate the LED ones with heatsink sticking out the back ?

There is space behind the fog lamp unit in the Creta so it can accomodate an LED unit.

I have gone for LED + DRL in my car. Output of the fogs is useless though, it is only for the DRL that I've fixed it, don't use fogs. stupid:

Hi folks,

The headlights in my Baleno were opened to get the Chrome elements smoked.

Post smoking, moisture/water droplets manage to accumulate inside the reflectors.

I've visited the installer 'N' number of times, to get the sealant applied properly. But, the issue keeps cropping up.

Please suggest a home remedy that can be done to let the droplets escape from the lights.

Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prodigy07 (Post 4485831)

There's no remedy. Once opened it will never seal the same way again.

Your only choice is to maybe try an imported seal from Morimoto and see if that works better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639 (Post 4485841)

There's no remedy. Once opened it will never seal the same way again.

Your only choice is to maybe try an imported seal from Morimoto and see if that works better.

Uh, Oh. Can something be done to temporarily get the droplets escape? please:

In the meantime, I shall check if I can get hold of Morimoto sealant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prodigy07 (Post 4485847)

Uh, Oh. Can something be done to temporarily get the droplets escape? please:

In the meantime, I shall check if I can get hold of Morimoto sealant.

One way is to stick a dessicant silica gel pouch inside the headlight in the dust cap and leave overnight. Remove them the next day and it will remove the moisture inside the housing. Some car headlights actually come with a desiccant pouch stuck inside the dust cap permanently.

Check out at 2:31 sec of this video.

http://youtu.be/CMUUUJWBdN4

Quote:

Originally Posted by Behemoth (Post 4485849)

One way is to stick a dessicant silica gel pouch inside the headlight in the dust cap and leave overnight. Remove them the next day and it will remove the moisture inside the housing.

Thanks a ton Behemoth.

Luckily I could manage to find one packet at home. I've stuck packet between the bulb connector and the tiny hole as the dust cap was tight.

Let me see the results tomorrow.

Since we are onto this nighbreaker type special lamps, I thought it would be appropriate to share this.

What I have noticed.
1. A bit brighter.
2. A lot whiter.
3. Altered beam pattern, reaches further but narrower.
4. Shorter life span, expected and designed.

Now all this results in a beam that is good for the highway, the lntesity of light at certain areas further from the vehicle is more. I prefer the beam pattern of normal bulbs as they are a bit wider.

Anyhow here is some more information for a good Sunday afternoon read from Osram themselves.

https://www.carlightblog.com/2014/03...ert-interview/