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1937 LaSalle night cruise

Started by Cadillac Jack 82, December 18, 2018, 10:00:11 PM

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Cadillac Jack 82


Just finished taking Adeline out after I replaced her headlight bulbs.  Aside from 6 volt lights being horrid on modern streets she performed really well.
Tim

CLC Member #30850

1959 Cadillac CDV "Shelley"
1964 Cadillac SDV "Rosalie"
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado "Sienna"

Past Cars

1937 LaSalle Cpe
1940 Chevrolet Cpe
1941 Ford 11Y
1954 Buick 48D
1955 Cadillac CDV
1955 Packard Clipper
1957 Cadillac Series 62
1962 VW Bug
1962 Dodge 880
1966 Mercury Montclair
1967 Buick Wildcat Convertible
1968 Chevy Chevelle SS
1968 Plymouth Barracuda
1977 Lincoln MKV

LaSalle5019

Always nice to be able to enjoy an evening cruise.  Did you replace your headlights with halogen bulbs?  I polished up the reflectors on my '39 LaSalle with Silversmith plater from Caswell (https://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/silver-plating-kits/silversmith-4-oz.html) and purchased new halogen bulbs from Restoration Supply Company (ELE135) and, between the two, that made a huge improvement.  Enough where I really don't mind driving it at night.

The bulbs aren't cheap at $35/ea and neither is the rub on silver plater at $65, although I had that left over from my other old car projects.
Scott

Jay Friedman

I've never owned a '37 LaSalle, but I did own a '32 Ford for many years which I drove to car shows, took on a weekly spin in daylight and occasionally drove at night to club meetings.  In the interest of safety I installed:

a. new headlight reflectors and higher candle power headlight bulbs;

b. modern after market directional signals which worked through the existing tail light bulbs and 2 little front lamps I installed under the headlights. 

I should have installed a 3rd "high-up" brake light somewhere too, but never got around to it. 

Yes, these improvements didn't exist in '37, but what is authenticity when your car and your hide could be in danger. 
1949 Cadillac 6107 Club Coupe
1932 Ford V8 Phaeton (restored, not a rod).  Sold
Decatur, Georgia
CLC # 3210, since 1984
"If it won't work, get a bigger hammer."

LaSalle5019

Yes, I agree. I updated mine with LEDs in the back.  Wow, what a difference.  ELE457 from Restoration Supply ($20/ea).  They are a bit taller than the 1154s they replace and just fit under the lens on my car.  To further enhance safety I will be adding the LED brake light bar to the rear window (which is easily removable for a show) like I have on my '23 Studebaker.  I really like that one because it flashes then goes steady but I can't find that one anymore.  I'm looking at one that just goes steady on - still a huge safety improvement.
Scott

Cadillac Jack 82


Thanks for the input so far.  I installed a 2330 in my left headlight bucket and then the 2530 per the manual.  The 2530 is much brighter compared to the 2330.  I also found a bunch of original 2330 bulbs in the trunk so I might swap them out and see if they work better.
Tim

CLC Member #30850

1959 Cadillac CDV "Shelley"
1964 Cadillac SDV "Rosalie"
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado "Sienna"

Past Cars

1937 LaSalle Cpe
1940 Chevrolet Cpe
1941 Ford 11Y
1954 Buick 48D
1955 Cadillac CDV
1955 Packard Clipper
1957 Cadillac Series 62
1962 VW Bug
1962 Dodge 880
1966 Mercury Montclair
1967 Buick Wildcat Convertible
1968 Chevy Chevelle SS
1968 Plymouth Barracuda
1977 Lincoln MKV

DaveZ

The taillight ground is somewhat lacking on the 37. I Soldered a brass strap to the baseplate, bent it over, drilled a hole in it and used one of the bolts for the top strap to attach it. Big improvement. I don't like driving at night around here because of the stupid deer.
Regards,
David Zitzmann
1932 345B

Cape Cod Fleetwood

Quote from: LaSalle5019 on December 19, 2018, 07:55:58 AM
Always nice to be able to enjoy an evening cruise.  Did you replace your headlights with halogen bulbs?  I polished up the reflectors on my '39 LaSalle with Silversmith plater from Caswell (https://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/silver-plating-kits/silversmith-4-oz.html) and purchased new halogen bulbs from Restoration Supply Company (ELE135) and, between the two, that made a huge improvement.  Enough where I really don't mind driving it at night.

The bulbs aren't cheap at $35/ea and neither is the rub on silver plater at $65, although I had that left over from my other old car projects.
Scott

A previous owner put halogens in my '70. The headlight switch got so hot you could fry an egg on it. Replaced with factory type fluorescent, cold as ice, YMMV. If I was to ever upgrade the lights, I'd go LED, less of a draw.
YMMV

\m/
Laurie
There are 2 kinds of cars in the world, Cadillac and everything else....

The Present -1970 Fleetwood Brougham

The Past -
1996 Deville Concours
1987 Sedan De Ville "Commonwealth Edition"
1981 Coupe De Ville (8-6-4)
1976 Sedan De Ville
1975 Sedan De Ville

The Daily Driver and work slave -
2008 GMC Acadia SLT *options/all

LaSalle5019

Quote from: Cape Cod Fleetwood on December 23, 2018, 11:26:34 AM
A previous owner put halogens in my '70. The headlight switch got so hot you could fry an egg on it. Replaced with factory type fluorescent, cold as ice, YMMV. If I was to ever upgrade the lights, I'd go LED, less of a draw.
YMMV

\m/
Laurie

Not sure why halogens would change current draw and make a switch get hot. I suspect that is another issue (loose connection, poor contacts, etc).

I would go with LEDs too but I don't think these pre focus reflectors, lend themselves to working with LEDs very well. I'm also not too crazy about the quality of the light from an LED conversion on the headlamps, particularly for the 2320 replacements.
Scott

Cape Cod Fleetwood

Quote from: LaSalle5019 on December 23, 2018, 01:36:58 PM
Not sure why halogens would change current draw and make a switch get hot. I suspect that is another issue (loose connection, poor contacts, etc).
Scott

Negative.
Halogens burn so hot they're a fire danger in a home, feel free to google. They get so hot because they draw so much power to create a brighter light. Hence the frying pan headlight switch.
I've attached an article explaining the hoops one has to jump through to safely use halogens in a car designed for florescent. None of this was done to my car, they just 'plugged them in'. Yikes.
https://www.allpar.com/fix/electrical/headlights/index.php

My car was designed in 1970. Halogens were designed in 1983.

LED lighting runs very cool, these units are truly "plug and play".
https://vintagecarleds.com/

And many will chime in here that they simply plugged in halogens and have had no problems.

Yet.

\m/
Laurie
There are 2 kinds of cars in the world, Cadillac and everything else....

The Present -1970 Fleetwood Brougham

The Past -
1996 Deville Concours
1987 Sedan De Ville "Commonwealth Edition"
1981 Coupe De Ville (8-6-4)
1976 Sedan De Ville
1975 Sedan De Ville

The Daily Driver and work slave -
2008 GMC Acadia SLT *options/all

LaSalle5019

#9
Okay, so I had to go run the numbers. The original incandescent bulb is a 32-32 watt 2330 GE Mazda lamp. The halogen I got from RSC is a 35-35 watt lamp so I would expect any one element to pull about 10% more power.

I hooked each bulb to my regulated power supply running at 6.4 volts (estimated operating voltage) and read 4.81 amps with the 2330 Mazda and 5.36 amps with the halogen bulb. That's like 11% more amperage. Amps times volts equals watts. Do the math and the bulbs are running pretty close to rated wattage. I tested each bulb element separately and they were within a few hundredths of an amp of each other. Running on high beams (both elements) total current draw of the 2330 is 9.62 amps and the halogen is 10.72 amps. I can't believe that an additional 1.1 amps is going to overheat a switch.

Yes, I'm an engineer so I like to use data to to prove or disprove any theories or anecdotal info. And I don't mean to be disrespectful in that statement at all, as I've been proven wrong many times.

Also, these pre focused reflectors require the bulb element to be located correctly and that's why I'm a bit apprehensive on the LEDs working properly. Plus the light given off is a narrow wavelength and less broad spectrum. I have LEDs on my modern car and like them, just not sure they are the right choice on this car. Sealed beam options would probably work nicely.

I agree that halogen replacements in a car designed for fluorescents would probably draw more current and cause issues but I'm trying to keep this relevant to the '37 LaSalle and share some good options.
Scott


harry s

Scott, Here's a question for you regarding improved lighting on these oldies. Are the LED bulbs used as replacements for the tail/brake lights polarity specific? If so that would explain why they are questionable in the 6V positive ground cars.  Thanks,    Harry
Harry Scott 4195
1941 6733
1948 6267X
2011 DTS Platinum

LaSalle5019

Yes, they are polarity specific....need to make sure you order the right ones based on your car. Restoration Supply offers both + ground and - ground versions.
Scott

harry s

Scott, Good info. Thanks,      Harry
Harry Scott 4195
1941 6733
1948 6267X
2011 DTS Platinum

Brad Ipsen CLC #737

High beam does not run both filaments so the current is always just the 4.81 amps not 2 times that number.  High beam just changes to the second location filament not the power.  A 50 32 bulb runs a brighter high beam and consequently a higher current but not double.  Voltage would be more like the generator voltage 7.5-7.9 as soon as you are driving and not stopped.
Brad Ipsen
1940 Cadillac 60S
1938 Cadillac 9039
1940 Cadillac 6267
1940 LaSalle 5227
1949 Cadillac 6237X
1940 Cadillac 60S Limo

LaSalle5019

Thanks on the high beam info, I didn't pay attention to which filaments were lit when the lights were on the car. So the filiment location in the bulb reflects at a higher angle and shuts off the low beam element.....I thought it may have just stayed on. My voltage estimate was considering the voltage drop through all the wiring to the light. It is usually substantial.  Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas Day.
Scott

jackworstell

I don't see any reason why halogen bulbs would run any "hotter" than regular incandescent  bulbs.
Halogen bulbs are available in various wattages just as incandescent bulbs are …..and it's the wattage that determines "hotness".


As I recall  ( and my memory might be off on this )   for a given wattage power draw  halogens
produce  maybe  40% more light than do incandescent bulbs.   Alternately for the same light output
halogens draw maybe 40% less wattage...….so it seems to me that all other things being equal
halogens actually run cooler than incandescent. 

Jack Worstell

Bobby B

Quote from: jackworstell on January 04, 2019, 11:17:39 AM
I don't see any reason why halogen bulbs would run any "hotter" than regular incandescent  bulbs.
Halogen bulbs are available in various wattages just as incandescent bulbs are …..and it's the wattage that determines "hotness".
As I recall  ( and my memory might be off on this )   for a given wattage power draw  halogens
produce  maybe  40% more light than do incandescent bulbs.   Alternately for the same light output
halogens draw maybe 40% less wattage...….so it seems to me that all other things being equal
halogens actually run cooler than incandescent. 

Jack,
  Before LED gained popularity, Halogen was considered a plug and play "Upgrade" over your standard incandescent filament bulb, which usually came in a HIGHER wattage than your incandescent bulb, hence the strain on your electrical wiring, switches, etc. Now, depending on your specific car's electrical system, this could have no effect at all regarding the heating up of your wiring, switches, etc. or could cause problems if your system connections/wiring are not up to par to handle the extra load. Some people have installed relays to cope with this issue if it happens to be a problem in your specific vehicle. Most fog light kits incorporate a relay because of the current draw, as do cooling fans, and other high current draw accessories. And a Halogen bulb burns WAY hotter than your incandescent, but a little cooler than a quartz filament, which is insanely HOT, and carries the shortest lamp life of them all. Halogens became popular because they were brighter, crisper in color (usually 3000-4000K as opposed to 2700K of a an incandescent bulb), and usually carried a lamp life of 3 to 4 times higher than your incandescent bulb, so it was a win-win situation. If you replaced it with the SAME wattage of your existing bulb, then yes, there is no more current draw than there was originally, but that's up to the purchaser to do their homework, check labels, compare wattages, and figure out if their electrical system in their car is up for it.
   Now, enter HID (ballasted, high power factor) lighting which draws less current, as the ballast is doing all the work of transferring the energy from your battery/wiring into super efficient lighting. This is usually the norm now for all new cars leaving the factory in about the last 20 years or so. You can convert with all the necessary components, but it's pricey and not for everyone. This is where LED comes in as a direct replacement for our older vehicles. It does run WAY cooler and draws way less power than your existing dinosaur incandescent bulbs, so your electrical system isn't taxed at all. The greatest thing about LED is its Super efficiency and Super high lamp life. LED can basically put out the same lumens output for about 1/6th of the current draw, therefore you CAN get the same light output for a lot less cost and LED has the added bonus of so many color (Kelvin) ranges available. LED bulbs are usually available from 2700K (incandescent) all the way up to almost 8K, which just looks super blue and annoying to your eye. 4K and up  is usually the color choice used by jewelers who want to accent their diamonds and platinum in display cases because this color range makes everything "Pop". I've been using LED for well over 20 years now and have done so many nightclubs, bars, restaurants, lobbies, etc, before most people knew what it even was. It has come a log way since then, and it's the way to go now as far as any type of lighting whether automotive, commercial, residential, etc.
                                                                                              Bobby
1947 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Coupe
1968 Mustang Convertible
1973 Mustang Convertible
1969 Jaguar E-Type Roadster
1971 Datsun 240Z
1979 H-D FLH

harvey b

Does anyone make a replacement bulb in the 2330 or 2350 6 volt style, i would love to improve my cars drivability at night,i dont drive much at night,but would love the option.Harveyb
Harvey Bowness

jackworstell

Bobby

Do you happen to know the amperage draw of the halogen version of
2530 bulbs ( amperage draw of the incandescent version is about 6.5/4.2 amps )  ?

Also......is there a LED substitute for the 2530 ?

Jack Worsell