Knowing More Ahead Of Time With Headlights

Do you pay far more attention to your headlights than the average driver? But there's exciting technology behind the glass, claims Popular Mechanics. If you know how your car headlights accomplish the task, you'll be able to maintain them far more effectively and perhaps stay away from some of the emergency dangers in the road.

Open fire began it all

More than a century ago, auto headlights were fueled by either kerosene or acetylene. These open flames were eventually replaced by small electric blubs within a reflector/lens casing. As old bulbs suffered from insufficient insulation, corrosion was common and would quickly dim the lights. Another problem with these lights -before the corrosion took its toll - was their intensity resembled constant high beams that blinded oncoming traffic, so the U.S. government made them illegal in 1941.

Sealed-beam lights go high and low

Tungsten filament bulbs resembled standard household light bulbs. High- and low-beam switches began to appear by the 1920s. Most of the brightness and overall beam control was inconsistence. Those bulbs were very cheap though. By 1973, sealed-beam lights were swapped out by quartz-iodine technology.

What occurred next?

Quartz-Iodine (QI) is the standard headlight technology in use today. The bulb is fairly much tiny. It is better protected too with the sealing materials we have today. Brighter light comes out of the lights since the quartz glass can stand hotter temperatures and the filament can burn hotter. When a QI bulb is swapped out, headlights don't need re-aiming to take place. Modern filaments make this possible.

Now HD bulbs are accessible

HIDs are known as high-intensity-discharge bulbs. They look like little lightning bolts with their arc. Less energy is needed than a QI to keep the HID on even though it takes far more energy to get it on. Most observers claim an HID produces a crisper beam, but because they take a moment to reach full intensity, high-beams on HIDs could be problematic, particularly in emergency situations. For this reason, some modify HID arrays with QI bulbs for the high beams, but this could be prohibitively costly.

Bulbs that shine like crazy

Most taillights have LED (light-emitting diode) lights already. Most headlights will not though. Popular Mechanics reports that there is only one vehicle where they are standard. That is the Audi A8. Light in weight, vibration-resistant, bright and power-efficient, LEDs light up faster than a standard QI bulb, providing quicker warning that could be seen at greater distance.

Many people want to experience LED car headlights although they don't own an Audi A8. There are DIY possibilities for those people, the Instructables site explained. Turn signal switches aren't compatible though since LEDs use so little power. In order to get the right current going, you'll have to switch them out.