5 easy and legal ways to increase car headlight brightness.
Increasing the brightness of car headlights is very important for safety while driving at night. Especially on rural roads, fog and places with low lighting, the risk of accidents increases manifold due to lack of good lighting. Most of the cars in India are still fitted with old halogen bulbs, whose brightness diminishes over time.
However, with some easy, economical and legal methods, you can significantly increase the brightness of the headlights. Let us know in detail how the headlights of the vehicle can be made brighter. You can do this process yourself without taking the help of a mechanic.
1. Cleaning headlight lens
Over time the plastic cover of the headlight becomes dull from oxidation (yellowing), dust, grime and UV damage. This blocks 40-70% of the light. Clean it once a week with a soft cloth, car shampoo and water. In case of yellowness, you can clean it by applying old white toothpaste (like Colgate) and rubbing it in circular motions for 10-15 minutes.
2. Replace the old bulb
Factory 55W/60W halogen bulbs become weak after time. By changing these the brightness can increase by 100-300%. You can get good brightness bulbs from Philips or Bosch installed by spending thousand-two thousand rupees. These give more lumens and the focus remains good.
3. Correct headlight beam alignment
Due to wrong alignment, the light does not fall on the road, but above or below. Park the car in front of a flat wall 5-10 meters away. Turn on low beam, set up-down and left-right with the adjustment screw on the back of the headlight. The cut-off of low beam should be 10-15 cm below the horizontal line. This provides clear visibility up to 60-80 meters.
4. Install the headlight relay wiring kit
The wiring in old cars is thin. Due to this, the voltage drop (11-12V) prevents the bulbs from providing full brightness. For this you can get Relay Wiring Harness Kit installed. It provides 13.8-14V power directly from the battery. This provides 20-50% extra brightness over both halogen or LED. Especially the difference is clearly visible in high beam.
5. Projector headlight conversion
Convert from reflector type headlight to projector. Projectors provide better focus, sharp cut-off and far illumination. Combine with LED or good halogen. This is the most professional upgrade. Very bright LED/HID (e.g. 100W+) or blue/colored lights are illegal. Be sure to keep legality in mind while changing the bulb.
By following these 5 important steps, you can increase the brightness of the headlights from 50% to 100%. First start with cleaning and bulb change, then relay and alignment. This will make night driving safe, less tiring and fun. Get only such modifications done in the car, which are legal and do not harm others.
