Question wiring how to get bright lights with no STD headlights

[bobbybuick]

Anyone know an easy way to eliminate the headlights with switching the bright lights on without hacking up the wiring harness.
In other words when i switch on the brights i want just brights alone and when i switch to std headlight i want only headlights dont care about having both together 

[elagache]

Dear bobbybuick and mid-60s Buick electricians,

Anyone know an easy way to eliminate the headlights with switching the bright lights on without hacking up the wiring harness.
In other words when i switch on the brights i want just brights alone and when i switch to std headlight i want only headlights dont care about having both together

Sorry, but I can't help but asking - why bother?  It is likely to involve some amount of work and I can't imagine any way that would be easily to undo.  Most of us don't drive our classics much at night and the headlights at the time where designed with that much light from the high beams.  Given the very poor optics of headlights at the time, you are probably better off either leave it alone or consider upgrading to a modern headlight setup that fits into your classic.  I have a BMW/Hella set that should perform great . . . .  as soon as I can finally find the time to do the installation!

If you really are determined to do this, the simplest way is to cut the wire that powers the highbeam on the outboard sealed headlights.  The sealed beam headlights connect to a 3-prong connector.  You could assess the wires just before entering that connector.  If you determine which one is the high beam power source (check the wiring diagram,) and cut that, you'll have the headlight operation you desire.  If course if you change your mind or want to sell the car - this would be extremely difficult to undo.

Sorry, that's as good an advice as I can offer . . . .

Edouard

P.S. If you would like to see the difference between 1965 headlights and modern headlight optics, take a look at this:

http://dastern.torque.net/Photometry/575.html

Here is the explanation of how these plots were created:

http://dastern.torque.net/Photometry/explication.html

This information came from the outfit where I bought my high performance headlights:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/

[WkillGS]

...... the simplest way is to cut the wire that powers the highbeam on the outboard sealed headlights. .... 3-prong connector.  .......

Yes, I had the same thought! You could likely just pull the terminal out of the plug. Should be a tab that locks it into the plug, stick something thin in there to unlock the tab and pull the whole terminal out.

Looking at a '66 diagram, tan wire is low beams, black is ground, and green is hi beams.... so pull the green wire from the combo lo/hi beam bulb.

If anyone wants to do some simple headlight upgrades, start by rerouting the power 'not thru the headlight switch' like stock, and use a revised headlight wiring harness that taps power from real 12v and uses a relay to switch the power on/off to the lights. Relay would be controlled by the original headlight switch.
This gives more voltage to the headlights.... and brighter lights!
Next upgrade would be halogen bulbs. They draw more current and may run hotter, so they need the harness/relay upgrade.

[EZ Cool]

If you must.....cut the green wire where it goes into the low beam sockets. Or just remove the terminals from the sockets so it will be easy to undo after you learn the error of your ways.     

[elagache]

Hi Walt, EZ Cool and mid-60s Buick fans of seeing in the dark,

If anyone wants to do some simple headlight upgrades, start by rerouting the power 'not thru the headlight switch' like stock, and use a revised headlight wiring harness that taps power from real 12v and uses a relay to switch the power on/off to the lights. Relay would be controlled by the original headlight switch.
This gives more voltage to the headlights.... and brighter lights!

On Daniel Stern's website he has instructions on how to implement headlight relays:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

Daniel also had a suggestion similar to BobbyBuick's idea but more versatile.  He suggest having the inboard high-beams on a separate switch.  That way your car would have 2 levels of high-beams.  You could only use the second set of high-beams when you really needed it.  It is a neat idea, but I couldn't think of how to incorporate that additional switch while keeping my dash looking original

Next upgrade would be halogen bulbs. They draw more current and may run hotter, so they need the harness/relay upgrade.

Daniel warns against buying generic headlight upgrades because simply increasing the amount of light on an old headlight design throws a lot of light into the eyes of oncoming drivers.  Headlights of the 1960s were basically like lighthouse dishes.  They illuminated a circle in front of the car.  What you want instead is a flat oval or rectangle that is aimed downward.  What you want is light on the road - not into the windshields of oncoming cars.

Since the 1960s, a lot of work has been done in the area of aspherical optics.  Modern headlight designs succeed in generating ovals of light instead of spheres.  That way the light is directed at the road and not blinding oncoming drivers.  If you expect to be driving your classic a lot at night, you really should upgrade to headlights with modern optics.  You life could literally depend on it!

Cheers, Edouard

[bobbybuick]

thank you everyone .i ended up just bending slightly the 3rd prong on the STD headlight out of the way.with that and my LED tails I am cooler then most

[Mister T]

Might be a good idea to check into the legalities of doing this. It may be illegal to perform such a modification in your state. There's probably a standard for luminosity in the statutes.

Basic rule of thumb is any light or lights which are supposed to illuminate, must be operational. Not sure how high beams fit in that description though.