Tripod Lights

[JWheaton]

I recently asked the question of where to get bulb and such for Lucas Tripod headlights.

The crash of the site killed the thread that had all sorts of good info.

I currently have 2 problems:
1) My current headlights are both running very low of any sort of beam of light.
2) The cycling of the lights on and off. this situation is well documented in other threads that did not get rubbed out in the crash.

Could I ask for those that know refresh this thread on the locations they used to get new bulbs, convert to halogen, etc, etc..

Much appreciated.

Jamie

[LMH]

Jamie
Since I can hardly remember what I had for lunch, much less the posts on a previous thread... was this one of the links:
http://www.billtracyjaguar.com/headlights1.html
Larry

[Frank Messina]

The cycling on and off is due to the fact that the headlight switch can't handle the load and trips the circuit breaker. Install a relay and your lights will stay on. Also if your lights are dim check to make sure you have good grounds before spending money on new lamps. You can also improve your lighting if you allow the low beams to remain lit when the high beams come on. It makes a difference.
Frank

[Fox]

FWIW, I called Bill Tracy and the PL700's he sells are for right hand drive cars. He recommended Moss Motors for a pair of left hand drive lights.

-John

[REDSC400]

Here are some observations, having been a long time PL700 Tripod /Tri-Bar user....

First... there is no circut breaker on the ERA so please disregard Frank Messina's post, unless you have added a circut breaker to the ERA electrics. Frank makes a good point about the ground. Having both filaments lit at the same time is interesting... however be careful of the amperage draw.... measure it.

Second... the Tripod does have a correct way to install the bulbs and an incorrect way. The tiny reflector, inside the bulb, should be placed ABOVE the filament when you insert the bulb into the lens.

Third... I did have an occasional problem with my headlights and my front direction lights. Recently, with Bob Putnam's help, I found that my frame (which was powder coated) had a sometimes faulty ground connection up in the "X" member of the front suspension. It appears, that over time, the once good ground became only occasionally good. I scraped a penny sized area of the powder coating off of the X member and dabbed it with dielectric grease. That fix has clearly made both of my front head lamps much brighter and consistant. What I did notice before the fix was that one of my low beams was just not as bright as the other, likewise the high beam.... Now they are both quite bright.

Fourth... There are three wires that feed each of the front head lamps (two three wire circuts). These are ususally jointed with rubber coated barrel connectors, with two male ends, up near each side of the top of the radiator. Make sure that these barrel connectors are firm and that the male ends have a good contact. I had my passenger side front headlight occasionally "winking" on and off and this was fixed by checking all three of the barrel connectors. What I did was clean them, and add a bit more crimping to them.

Fifth.... in a bad ground situation or a ground feedback, the headlights will still work and this can put stress on the headlight switch. These Lucas switches (off, on, on) are pretty sturdy, however, part of my fix after working out the poor ground issue was to replace the headlight switch as well. Check the knife connectors on the back of the switch to make sure that they are firmly attached.

Sixth... tripod lenses can become filmed up (dirty) over time (as they are not sealed(even though they do have or should have a rubber boot that fits over the bulb attachment area)), so what I did was to wash them with dish washing detergent (for the electric dish washer the kind that sheets and leaves no spots) and dry them out well. They sparkle now.

[CobERA]

Art,

Thanks for the info. I had purchased PL700's from XKS that were left hand drive lights, but did not like the illumination. I bought halogen replacement bulbs from Bill Tracy and the lighting was better, but still not right.

After reading your post, I pulled the headlamps off again, and sure enough, even though I had properly lined up the "key" on the bulb with the lens, it caused the bulb to be mounted upside down, although not a full 180 degrees.

I got out my Dremel and cut a new slot in the lens, inserted the bulbs with the reflector on the top, then took it out for an evening test drive.

MUCH BETTER! Thanks again for the good info.

[JWheaton]

Art,

Thanks for all that information. Since I am not to far from you I will bring my car up for you to look at. You can consider me your first customer.

Just kidding,..... I will take a look at your notes and see if any of that helps my situation prior to buying anything new.

Jamie

[REDSC400]

Originally Posted by CobERA

Art,

I bought halogen replacement bulbs from Bill Tracy and the lighting was better, but still not right.

After reading your post, I pulled the headlamps off again, and sure enough, even though I had properly lined up the "key" on the bulb with the lens, it caused the bulb to be mounted upside down, although not a full 180 degrees.

I got out my Dremel and cut a new slot in the lens, inserted the bulbs with the reflector on the top, then took it out for an evening test drive.

MUCH BETTER! Thanks again for the good info.

I too purchased my latest set of bulbs from Bill Tracy... small world eh? I am glad that little tip worked. A long time friend of mine who has a Morgan told me about it a few years ago at a cruise night. Sometimes (if not always) it is the little details that make the difference.

Once the weather breaks here in Connecticut, I will be out on the roads using those lights! Can't wait. But for now, I am cleaning my tires and wheels. The inside of the rims were filthy (up front) so I cleaned them up with a toothbrush and a slew of rags. About half way thru the job I realized that I should have worn gloves... what a mess...

I guess I should do the dishes...

[CJ428CJ]

I don't understand the difference between left hand and right hand drive headlights. How are the lights different?

Chris

[Trueoo7]

Art
When you say that you washed the lights with dishwashing liquid, did you mean the inside of the lens?
Trueoo7

[strictlypersonl]

Originally Posted by CJ428CJ

I don't understand the difference between left hand and right hand drive headlights. How are the lights different?

Chris

On the LHD low beams, there is a flat section straight in front, with the lit area sloping up on the right side. The RHD lights are the opposite, which means you're blinding people coming in the opposite direction (if they are to your left).

[REDSC400]

Originally Posted by Trueoo7

Art
When you say that you washed the lights with dishwashing liquid, did you mean the inside of the lens?
Trueoo7

Yes, the inside of the lens.. here is how I did it. I took some of the (KEY here) dish washer licquid detergent (you know the type designed for dish washer machines) and ran some really HOT water and added a small blob of that detergent to it. I then poured the water into one lens, then from that one into the other and back and forth again. Then using super HOT water I rinsed out the lenses and set them to dry, Hole down and used a hair dryer on medium heat to dry the inside of the lenses.

Worked super.

[Trueoo7]

Thanks Art, I'll give it a try !!

[REDSC400]

Originally Posted by Trueoo7

Art
When you say that you washed the lights with dishwashing liquid, did you mean the inside of the lens?
Trueoo7

Yes, I did wash out the inside of the lens (not the halogen bulb). The inside of my lenses had somehow gotten a yellowish film on the inside. In a large bowl I mixed really HOT water and dish washer (machine) detergent (a small blob) and then poured that back and forth in between the two lenses.

[JWheaton]

Red,

I replaced my bulbs, checked the wire and bathed the lenses as you prescribed above.

I have one light that is burning very brightly (passenger side). The drivers side light is still vey dim. There is not flickering or cycling on and off, just a dim light from a new bulb. I switched bulbes from one side to the other and the other bulb was dim.

I am going to recheck the grounds, as that seems to most likely be the problem. Any thoughts?

JW

I am th

[strictlypersonl]

JW,

You may have the wires going to the wrong bulb terminals. I'll post a picture tomorrow (Saturday).

Here 'tis.

[JWheaton]

Bob,

Thanks for the picture. The wires are all plugged correctly. I found that if I moved the ground the light worked fine.

Car is sitting up in your shop now. When it comes back I am going to cover the ground wire a bit better than now and I should be good.

Thanks for your help.

Jamie

[JWheaton]

Bob,

I sent an email to you last week and have not heard back from you. I used whatever email address is in club cobra.

Here is the situation:
Doug checked the lights while car was up at ERA and all according to him was working fine. Good news to me and I decided to take it out for an early evening spin. Headlights on with low and high beam working.

After a while (exact time I am not sure) -- no lights working - high or low beam. Could not get them turned on.

What else can I check?

This is what has been done so far:
1) New bulbs and clean lens
2) Wires checked per your diagram above
3) Ground wire checked and powder coating shaved for better contact
4) New Lucas light switch (changed at ERA)
5) ????

Thanks
Jamie

[kingair]

Jamie,
Try the relay under the dash, left of the steering column. Very common for them to just fail. It will take out both high and low beam.
Greg

[strictlypersonl]

Check the voltage at the bottom two fuses on the driver's side. The lower fuse is the low beam, the 3rd one down is the high beam. They are only live with the light switch on.