lights at a 93 civic

First a merry merry christmas to you all!

I've got a question for all off you. I'm an dutch student ho drives a 93
civic since 0.5 year.

I always found that this car hasn't got much light (in the headlights). I
always thought that this problem came from my low experience off night
driving.

That was until my dad thook my car last. He even stepped out of the car
checking iff the lights where on.

He told me this and i said that i had the same problem.
Because it was christmas he went to a local parts dealer for new bulbs that
give more light. They give the advice off first cleaning the reflectors and
the headlight from the inside.

Because i need to take off the "bumper", i thought first asked you guys /
women. Did you ever had this problem, or heard from the fact that headlights
can get dirty from the inside? And how did you solve this problem?

Thanks in advance

 

Unfortunately I got an opportunity to examine the inside of the
headlights on my '94 Civic HB a few months ago. The reflectors were
clean and the glass clear. If the rubber boots over the back of the bulb
/ headlight are intact I have a hard time believing that you would get
much dirt accumulated in there. Here in California I see many older cars
where the headlight glass has turned a milky yellow, but I have for some
reason not seen this in northern Europe.

If you remove the headlights to clean them you get the headache of
re-aiming them afterwards. Not very difficult with European spec.
headlights, but you need a perfectly level place to do it.

I would start by putting in a pair of Osram SilverStar H4 bulbs (not to
be confused with Sylvania SilvrStar). They give 50% more light than
regular H4 bulbs but draw the same power. If that is not enough,
consider installing relays for the headlights.

 

Yes I had very dim headlights in a '92 Integra. It was partly due to the
poor "aero" headlamp design and the lousy transverse filament bulbs but
also largely due to the bulbs being old - old bulbs develop a black film on
the inside of the glass capsule. Even when new the car had poor headlamps
but replacing the old bulbs with new higher output ones (Sylvania
Xtravision in my case) made a huge difference. In Europe, as well as the
Osram Silverstars already mentioned, there's the Philips VisionPlus bulbs -
comparable products - which are the highest output halogen bulbs which are
legal.

Even if you could easily open up the headlamp module, first I'm not sure
you're going to find much dirt in there... unless the seal is broken
anyway, in which case the module is junk; second I'm not sure you could
clean the reflector without damaging it - the reflective films are thin and
quite fragile. Check the glass for dirt - look at it sideway with the
headlamps on - but I'd think it's probably more important to check the
voltage at the headlamp connector with the lamps on. If it's low - below
~11volts - first check the ground wire and its connection to the body for
even light corrosion; second check the wire harness and connector and
finally the headlamp switch. Not sure about Euro models but the Hondas
I've seen in the U.S. do not have a headlamp relay so the full current goes
through the steering column switch.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

Thanks, im going to look at it tomorow.

I've already put one philips highvision +30% bulb in the left headlight.
I've check if it gave more light than the other cheap bulb that i had in my
right headlight. Unfortuanly it was negative. The philips bulb hat a
brighter light, but didn't improve the visability.

I did a lot of thinking the last day's and even noticed that my horn is
making a strange sound. It sounds like he isn't getting enof power. Maybay
its just the battery that is getting bad.I will get my light amed at a local
mazda dealer tommorow (the honda dealer gives bad service). Maybay i amed
the head light wrong.

Thanks.

Dirk

me??

 

What voltage do you get from the alternator with the engine running and
no electrical loads turned on? The car has a system where the output
voltage is lowered under some conditions in order to improve fuel
economy. Have someone step on the brakes while doing this measurement as
this defeats the lowering of the output voltage. The nominal voltage is
14.5V @ 2000 RPM and the service manual allows +/- 0.5V. If you see less
than 14.0V you either have a bad battery or a bad alternator.

What voltage do you get from the battery with the ignition off after
leaving the car overnight?

 

|
|I've already put one philips highvision +30% bulb in the left headlight.
|I've check if it gave more light than the other cheap bulb that i had in my
|right headlight. Unfortuanly it was negative. The philips bulb hat a
|brighter light, but didn't improve the visability.

I'm sure others have suggested you add a headlight relay in the circuit. This
alone will increase the brightness of both lamps. Just changing bulbs is
worthless without fixing the electrical.
Rex in Fort Worth

 

I've been at a local mazda dealer. He amed my headlights for me, the where a
litle bit of course but not much.

I've measerd the voltage from the alenator, as the first thing in the
morning. It went up to 14.6 volt. The engine was running at a 1500 rpm, the
motor was cold.

The mechanic that worked at the dealer rulled out bad reflectors and a bad
ground. The reflectors, couldn't be a problem as he says. Onley the front
off the headlight could get bad, but the are from glas and this only happens
with plastic headlights.

I would like to believe that my battery is going bad but i can't get a
reading from him when my engine is not running. Perhaps i;m doing something
wrong?

 

If you are getting 14.6V from the alternator then the battery is not the
cause of your weak headlights. The next thing to measure would be the
voltage at the bulbs with the lights on and engine running. I sometimes
use sewing needles to poke into the connector to do such measurements.
In and ideal world you would get the same 14.6V at the bulbs as you get
from the alternator. The world is far from ideal, and you get losses in
wiring, connectors and switches. Standard tests for automotive bulbs are
done at 13.8V At that voltage the bulbs draw the rated power and emit
the specified light output.

If you measure significantly less than 13.8V at the bulbs you would
benefit from installing a set of relays. I did this on my brother's car
earlier this winter and the improvement was dramatic.

 

I measured my headlight out today. I've got 14.1 v at my headlights.
According to your info, i asume that thats ok.

After this measurment. I cleanded the connector's at my headlights / bulbs
with some contact spray, and drove to a local autoparts shop. I bought some
Philps Highvisioen lights that would give me up to 50% more light. I've put
these bulbs in today. At the light in the near distance off the car is much
brighter than before, and i see much beter.

Thanks for all off your good help.