Newell Gurus

Same time works for Atlanta.

Kinda dredging up this old thread because I noticed several references to headlight upgrades for night driving. This, obviously, suggests that the stock lights are/were insufficient in the opinion of some. Can anyone add any color to this "issue"? (If this should be a new thread, please feel free move my post.)

On a separate note, I came across Richard's thread where he upgraded his headlights to the round ones...fantastic work!

From 1990 - 1999 Newell used 4 headlights that were dual sets of the headlights used in the Ford half ton pickup in the late 1980's. Those were not great headlights and because at least in the early 1990's Newell did not use relays for the headlights, there was a significant amount of voltage loss before the power got to the headlights. Many of us added relays to increase the voltage (and thus the brightness). Additionally, at one time you could buy the glass headlights that Ford used in other countries that gave much more defined light with a sharper cutoff. Unfortunately, I don't know of any current source of the glass Ford headlights at this point. Some folks, like Richard, who are skilled at fiberglass work took out the Ford headlights and changed over to the small round headlights similar to those used by Newell starting with the 2000 model year. (Yes, the last 1999 had the new front end with the smiley face but we all know that Newell rarely changes things at the model year change.) Hope that helps a little Robert.

I'd say that sheds all the necessary "light" on the matter, Michael...thanks!

(06-18-2018, 02:33 PM)Fulltiming Wrote: [ -> ]From 1990 - 1999 Newell used 4 headlights that were dual sets of the headlights used in the Ford half ton pickup in the late 1980's. Those were not great headlights and because at least in the early 1990's Newell did not use relays for the headlights, there was a significant amount of voltage loss before the power got to the headlights. Many of us added relays to increase the voltage (and thus the brightness). Additionally, at one time you could buy the glass headlights that Ford used in other countries that gave much more defined light with a sharper cutoff. Unfortunately, I don't know of any current source of the glass Ford headlights at this point. Some folks, like Richard, who are skilled at fiberglass work took out the Ford headlights and changed over to the small round headlights similar to those used by Newell starting with the 2000 model year. (Yes, the last 1999 had the new front end with the smiley face but we all know that Newell rarely changes things at the  model year change.) Hope that helps a little Robert.

Just upgraded my high beam lights to LED replacements, had upgraded low beam sometime back BIG DIFFERANCE??

There are two ways to skin this cat. Both have been mentioned here. The cheapest way is to install relays at the lights. Total cost under 100 bucks. Even the newer coaches where Newell used relays for the lights suffer this issue because the wires going from the relays to the lights are too small for the amperage. There are many threads attesting to the increase in brightness just by installing the relays. All the relay really does is provide full voltage to the light.

The LED lights are relatively new to the scene. They get around
The inadequate wiring because they do not require the amperage of a traditional bulb.