Headlamp Modifications

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1. Variable intermittent front windscreen wiper. May be as simple as tweaking whatever gives the present interrupted first position wiping.

Again, Maplins be your friend here. I have a kit from them that cost pennies on my ambulance since that had only two settings. On, and Off.

I'm no electrician but even I managed to plumb it in, in minutes, and it worked fine for years, probably still does, but the old girls been off the road for 7 years so I've not had cause to use it.

Very interesting thread this BTW..
Since the lights are shite on the TD I might have a little dabble at this...
Although I'll wait until Mk2 comes out of course!

[electrokid]

1. Variable intermittent front windscreen wiper. May be as simple as tweaking whatever gives the present interrupted first position wiping.

Yes - adding a pot (potentiometer / variable resistor / volume control thingy) to the existing cct has got to be the simplest way to do it if its possible - I'll look into it when I have a mo.

It was triggered by setting the wipers to intermittent, at which point the wipers would operate once. The interval was then set by flicking the wipers on to continuous briefly, from then on the delay was set at the time between first selecting intermittent and switching to continuous.

That sounds like the too-damned-complicated sort of scheme that I usually come up with

Since the lights are shite on the TD I might have a little dabble at this...

You'll probably get as much improvement by washing the headlamp housing with a decent quantity of IPA - fairly quickly in case it dissolves anything. Certainly time takes its toll on the connectors and with the skinny original wiring my tests suggest an 11% improvement with the mod - doing the wash and the mod is ideal.

Although I'll wait until Mk2 comes out of course!

Yeah - don't mention that to Mat though

I'm going to try out something here... A while back I started using a different process to keep notes about stuff - rather than scribble it on a piece of paper then lose it / carelessly toss it somewhere, I started writing it on a simple html page - that way I can stick it in 'my favourites' and open it in the browser rather than have to go looking for it or opening a different application to see it. I'm trying to do that with the Mark 2 headlamp thingy - and since it's a web page I can load it to my host so you guys can see it as it progresses (?) - I'll post the link when it's reached a half reasonable state.

[Vanny]

This is what i'm tending towards;





(PS added this to the 'Analogue' thread)

[electrokid]

Picture printed - I'm only doing electronics when it rains at the mo - if it's fine I'm outside working on the workshop extension. Tomorrow looks as though it's going to be wet - and Friday too.

I've breadboarded the LM317T reg stage and just need to write that up. The 555 stage is to be breadboarded next - but the ww delay will be first on the slipway but a 1 second waveform is only a small mod of that one.

What I was thinking of - part of it simpler than your version - to have wig-wag as part of the main beam function - so you turn on main beam then press another button to wig-wag.

Another thing I thought of is to have one function (main beam on or main beam slow wag) while stationary and auto switch to another function (wag or faster wag) - I didn't mention it because there's a lot of dry weather around at the mo and it may have confused things - but...

What do you think should be monitored to give the stationary / moving signal ? Or would a push button suffice ?

I've printed your circuit and I'll have a closer look tomorow.

[electrokid]

Here you go
A simple circuit that doesn't need any extra dash switches - it uses 2 functions you wouldn't normally use together to provide wig-wag.

The only modifications are around the headlamp area.

Operating 'emergency flashers' and 'main beam headlamps' together will provide wig-wag running at the rate of the emergency

flashers (and emergency flashers will be running as well).

Emergency flashers and main beam work as normal when operated individually.



Circuit description.

Blue lines are the original wiring and the red is the mod - note the wire cuts at B and C. All cap letters are notes refered to in this text.

Relays are drawn with the normally connected NC contact as a filled-in dot, and the normally open NO contact as a clear circle.

Power for the circuit is derived from either main beam headlamp feed - A - and if main beam only is switched on power goes to both filaments via the NC contacts of RL3 and RL4 which bridge the wire cuts B and C.

When indicators operate RL1 and RL2 operates as well but when BOTH operate together as in emergency flash power in the form of pulses appear at D.

Pulses from D charge the capacitor C1 through D2, R1.

Current through R2 is amplified by TR1 which feeds current through R3 to TR2 which turns on and operates RL3 and RL4 thus disconnecting the main beam filaments from their normal feed.

The pulses at D also operate RL5 which supplies power from A to the NO contacts of RL3 and RL4 alternately.

RL3, RL4, RL5 must be 5 pin 'changeover' relays but RL1 and RL2 can be 4 pin.

D1 is the catching diode for relays 3 and 4 - only one diode for both relays needed but it is essential - 1N4007 etc.

The electronics not breadboarded but ball-park values from some 50 years of dabbling...
R1 - 100 ohms
C1 - 150 microfarads at least 16v
R2 - 10k
TR1 - 2N2222 - any signal NPN
R3 - 220 ohms
R4 - 100K
TR2 - any 2 amp or more NPN transistor with a gain greater than 10.

If you build this and the above values don't work then I'll breadboard it for you.

[kevlights]

I have found my notes on the headlamp wiring.

If anyone wants a copy, pm me and I will email it.

Mike

Hi im thinking of up dating my head lights especially,for country driving,as i feel the lights ,are too dim compared the the peugeot 505 and the Croma i had before i bought the BX, be great if you still have the wiring details ,Thanks Kev

[Philip Chidlow]

You could always fit spots - like we did on the Green Hornet for the BXagon. They worked brilliantly!

And the set up was demountable.

[BX Bandit]

/\ Looks cool too!


Erm, what's a wig wag? Is it a toupe wearing dog who's pleased to see you?

[Oscar]

Wish I knew something, anything, about car electronics. I'm going to get out the Haynes book of 12v systems again. I'm ashamed of myself.

[electrokid]

Erm, what's a wig wag?

I had to ask as well - alternating left and right main beam - track car safety car etc. See also the parallel universe at

http://www.bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12622

BTW I think the value for C1 is probably too high - if I remember, I did the math for 12v where it only needs 1.2v to operate so 10 to 20 microfarad is probably fine - I'll breadboard it anyway.

[Vanny]

Call me old fashioned but i'm not fan of adding complex electronics to the car, if you can call a transistor or a capacitor complex. Hence i'm tending towards the relay method.

In terms of not using main beam and hazards, i've got to say i use that combination a LOT. Consider at a night stage rally, you need to see the stop line so you have the full beam on in the direction of traffic flow (usually with the back of the car on a little hill if you can find one). You also have the hazards on so the numpty drivers don't run into the back of your car. Not that it really matters because they take off so quickly on the gravel that it hammers both you and the car in shrapnel. Especially the 4wd's

[JayW]

This thread got far too technical for me ages ago...

I'd have just gone for a couple of relays with heavier wiring, fused off the battery and using the original lamp wiring to switch them.

What's the problem?

[electrokid]

but i'm not fan of adding complex electronics to the car... i've got to say i use that combination a LOT

That's easy then - don't fit any of the electronic components and just fit a switch where TR2 used to be to link flashers to main to produce wig-wag.

[kiwi]

[Oscar]

Oh shit.

Kiwi, Medway Citroen have new - brand new, never been opened - BX headlights if you need one. I'm sure they could ship. Or I could.