Head Lights

Change Over to Seal Beams

mcriverbug 9/24/01 pm

While on the subject of pickups; I have a 47 built in April, it has the bulb headlights and they work fine. When did they switch to sealed beam lights? 

Jim_Bollman 9/25/01

The bulb type lamps were dropped at around CC-38693 which puts it in April of 1948 when they switched to seal beams, finally.

Need headlight Help!!!!!!

rwright24127 9/30/01

I went to NAPA for 2 head lights for the Crosley, they gave me 2 of them but they are to small. I can't seem to find any that fit properly, does anyone know were I can get the right size sealed headlight beams.

crosley19 9/30/01

They must be really stupid kids at your NAPA. The # for the headlight is 6006. That # works at any auto store.

rwright24127 9/30/01

Thanks for the help, but it seems I'm the stupid one. I went out to look at the thing one more time and noticed that one head light bucket is for a sealed beam and the other one isn't. By chance does anyone have a sealed beam bucket to sell or know of a replacement.

crosley19 9/30/01

A sealed beam headlight should fit in your headlight bucket, no matter if it had a sealed beam or a Mazda (2 piece bulb and beam assy)headlight assy, unless it is something I don't know about.

rwright24127 10/2/01

Barry what the problem is, the headlight ring will not tighten down far enough to hold the headlight from moving. It seems to be a bigger bucket. The bucket fits in the fender but the outer measurement is larger, this lets the headlight set further in the bucket.

Dim Headlights

flinttim - 11/25/05

I have not drove my 48 at night yet and got to looking at the headlamps. Awful dim ! Further look showed that someone before me had put in 12 volt lamps. Yep they will work but very poorly. Anyone had luck finding 6 volt sealed beams local, say, Napa, or Farm and Fleet?

Jim_Bollman - 1/31/06

It has been a couple of years but I think you can walk into any auto parts supplier and if they don't have them in stock can get them in a day or so.  They are still made and should not be a problem finding. If you have the original wiring harness still in the car you will want to clean all the connectors in the the circuit.  A new harness, with new connectors will give fairly bright headlights.  Maybe not by todays standards but safe to drive at  reasonable speeds.  Check for voltage drops.

CrosleyMN - 11/25/05

I agree with Jim that a good parts store will have 6V sealed beam. I have found the "Farm Supply" stores usually have them, and also sell 6V halogen headlights. They will give your generator a workout, but you light up the road as well as any modern car.

williamsenechal - 11/26/05

I installed a headlight relay in order to get good brightness in my '47 & '49.  It made a big difference.

More Dim Headlights

PhilP – Spring 2009

With my car's ancient wiring switches, voltage to headlights is low, causing lights to be rather feeble. Has anyone tried adding a relay up front to get more voltage? New wires and switches are pricey.

PeteB – Spring 2009

I have use an eight volt tractor battery. You'll need to goose the voltage regulator just a mite. No need to replace bulbs and the 6 volt radios I've used worked fine. This covers a multitude of sin concerning old wiring and the head lights are amazingly bright. However, if your wiring is so bad that you have bare conductors any place you could burn the car down.

JimB – Spring 2009

I used a headlight relay on my 49, worked fine. I agree with Pete, if the wiring has insulation falling off. you better replace it, cheap insurance. Never been a fan of the 8 volt batteries. If you don't want to spend the money for a new harness you can always go to point to point wiring with modern wire, not as pretty but functional.

SamN – Spring 2009

Use a 6 volt relay designed for headlights load. You can usually find these on eBay. Or try NAPA or other auto parts suppliers. If you run replacement wires, make SURE to use primary wire of a large enough gauge. 6 volt systems require thicker wire that 12 volt systems...and solder your connections whenever possible...crimp connections are NOT appropriate for 6 volt systems. With good (new) wires and a 6 volt relay for the headlights, 6 volts will be "plenty" for your Crosley.