Bright driving/parking/running lamps on 69 Charger

[1969chargerrtse]

Here's an idea.  I'm thinking about converting my parking lamps to the high intensity type driving lamps you see on newer cars.  You know the bright orange lamps.  Has anyone seen this done on a 69 Charger yet?  Removing the parking bulb and replacing it with a super bright bulb and socket from a newer car?  Wiring it so they stay on 100% of the time the car is running.  Thoughts?  Like the newer cars, you can be seen much sooner coming down the road.

[moparjohn]

First off, Great looking Charger!!  As for the lights, my vote is NO! I hate daytime running lights with every fiber of my being.  I know this sounds crazy, but it's true.  I also hate 3rd brakelights, can you belive they have been on cars 23 years and I still think they look out of place.  Don't forget these bulbs will also have to be your turn signals.

[1969chargerrtse]

First off, Great looking Charger!!  As for the lights, my vote is NO! I hate daytime running lights with ever fiber of my being.  I know this sounds crazy, but it's true.  I also hate 3rd brakelights, can you believe they have been on cars 23 years and I still think they look out of place.  Don't forget these bulbs will also have to be your turn signals.

( Thanks ) I'm hearing ya, I did think about the turn signal part.  As for 3rd brake lights, I think they are a great idea overall, but of course you would never see them on the Charger.  Hmmmm, I'm wondering, do you wear seat belts?  Is there a front plate on your family car? Just curious if your dislike is really over government and state  safety requirements?

[resq302]

I have to agree with MoparJohn on my dislike of the daytime running lights.  To me, its kinda like a waste of energy.  Lets face it, if someone can't see a huge vehicle coming, daytime running lights aren't going to help you since your vision needs to be despirately checked.

As for the the third brake light issue.... im kind of on the fence about that one.  Yes they are good as it is an additional brake light that comes on (and usually a brief second before the regular brake lights if you haven't noticed) but at the same time, if it is not working (cause hardly anyone checks their lights on their car anymore) it is pretty much useless just like any other light out on a car.

Back to your original question about whether or not you should do this..... my vote is not to change your original part.  Simply cause the original socket was  pressed into the housing and I doubt that you would be able to get another type of socket to fit into the housing and stay.  The socket and housing is actually part of the grounding process.  If this socket is loose or not grounded well, the light will give you problems.

[moparjohn]

Yes, I wear my seatbelt, yes I have a front plate on my regular car, NOT  on my Charger, it has a 1969 plate, regardless if it's legal or not, I don't care. I do dislike goverment  overinvolvement in our lives, most of which is to make money. BUT lets not go there.  New Cars are overpriced because of features I don't want.  I can't blame you for wanting your Charger to be safe from leeser drivers on the road.  Good luck

[resq302]

John, just an FYI, in NJ, as long as you have historic / antique plates on your car, you are only required to have ONLY a rear plate.  However, for some stupid reason, NJ DMV sends you two.  As for seat belts, state law is that front passengers are required to wear them.  (I wear mine also, be it front or back seats)

I also agree that todays cars are WAY over priced for what they are actually worth.  I also agree that it is idiotic with the package options that they have now.  If you want heated leather seats, you have to get the top of the line model package whether you want that package or not.  Whatever happened to the good ol' days of going to a dealer saying I want this option in this car and getting the car you want.  Besides.... I think our older cars are safer and will hold up a lot better in an accident than what todays cars would anyday.  But thats just my 

[tan top]

Here's an idea.  I'm thinking about converting my parking lamps to the high intensity type driving lamps you see on newer cars.  You know the bright orange lamps.  Has anyone seen this done on a 69 Charger yet?  Removing the parking bulb and replacing it with a super bright bulb and socket from a newer car?  Wiring it so they stay on 100% of the time the car is running.  Thoughts?  Like the newer cars, you can be seen much sooner coming down the road.

intresting idea    ..not something i would consider doing though ,not original 
but  thinking that would have to fit some kind of switching relays ..something along the lines of  the latest craze of uprating the headlamps with modern high powered units ! factory switch ,harness going to opperate  relays with heavy gauge cable ...... etc  .................

[Charger-Bodie]

Bad Idea!! 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Bad Idea!! 

Now that that has been said, Rob is out purchasing 110w bulbs!

His next post will be how his 110w bulbs melted his cheapo plastic lenses

[Chargerrtforme]

Hmmm

[1969chargerrtse]

Bad Idea!! 

Now that that has been said, Rob is out purchasing 110w bulbs!

His next post will be how his 110w bulbs melted his cheapo plastic lenses

Ahh my buddy Chris and his silly comments.  It was just a thought.  I thought it would be cool, I'm kinds surprised so many don't think so.  Oh well.   

[resq302]

Everyone has their own opinion.  It all comes down to its your car and you can do what you want with it.  Me, personally, I would leave well enough alone.

[1969chargerrtse]

Everyone has their own opinion.  It all comes down to its your car and you can do what you want with it.  Me, personally, I would leave well enough alone.

I'm hearing ya.  I probably will leave it alone as I have waaay to many other more important things to take care of, I thought it was a cool idea , but I was wrong. 

[resq302]

Cool idea..... yes.   Practical..... questionable.  I've found that once you start deviating from a factory set up, you tend to run into other problems down the road and then you have really nothing to compare to, such as wiring, part numbers, etc to go by and refer to.

I tried that before with putting a custom body onto a Jeep. (body was called a Hum J-7)  Pretty much a fusion of a Jeep CJ-7 and Hummer body.  I ended up getting in way over my head and cost me tons of money only to finish it and sell it shortly there after.  Did it look cool?  Absolutely.  Did it have numerous problems to go along with it.  ABSOLUTELY!  I ended up going from a carburetor (factory) to a custom fuel injection kit and that also gave me plenty of headaches.  Espcially when I died out on the road somewhere and had to bring it to a shop to get fixed since I was not close by home.  The mechanic just looked at the engine and just scratched his head since he had no clue what parts came from what (and neither did I since it was a kit from Howell Engine developments).

Needless to say, since then, I am pretty much a factory guy unless it is a quick bolt in item such as push bars, side steps, etc for my daily driver truck.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Bad Idea!! 

Now that that has been said, Rob is out purchasing 110w bulbs!

His next post will be how his 110w bulbs melted his cheapo plastic lenses

Ahh my buddy Chris and his silly comments.  It was just a thought.  I thought it would be cool, I'm kinds surprised so many don't think so.  Oh well.  

Silly huh?  Did you get the bulbs yet?

[BrianShaughnessy]

   Those running lamps in the valance also function as the turn signals...   what were you thinking that you'd do with that?   Add some aftermarket bulbs someplace?   Or go without turn signals so you become a road hazard?   Or just stick your arm out the window like some rat rodder ?

   It'd be easier to just add a set of small aftermarket bulbs for drl's half hidden someplace out of the way rather than mess with the greatest turn signals ever designed in recorded history.   

[1969chargerrtse]

Bad Idea!! 

Now that that has been said, Rob is out purchasing 110w bulbs!

His next post will be how his 110w bulbs melted his cheapo plastic lenses

Ahh my buddy Chris and his silly comments.  It was just a thought.  I thought it would be cool, I'm kinds surprised so many don't think so.  Oh well.  

Silly huh?  Did you get the bulbs yet?

I'm gonna pass.
As for the signal part, I figured so what, let them flash for a few seconds on a turn.  I was just going to buy a used set of housings, go to my local PEP boys and fit in the best socket I could to match the hole.  My only worries were if they would over heat and melt the housing after long term use, as I have no idea if they run hot?
I may have to do this just to prove a point It can be done, and look cool. 

[1969chargerrtse]

OH Yea Baby!

[BrianShaughnessy]

So why don't you just splice into the front parking light circuit and just have them turn on with the key, or a separate switch through a relay?     You can get some bright 1157 equivalent LED bulbs online I'm sure to replace the old stuff.   It might not be as bright as some sorta aftermarket bolt on driving light but you'd get the look... which sounds like all you really want anyway.     

I see no advantage to try and hack up housings and stuff to make the factory turn signals into some sorta super bright driving light deals without making it overly complicated and compromising the turn signal function...  which is fairly complicated as it is.

[1969chargerrtse]

So why don't you just splice into the front parking light circuit and just have them turn on with the key, or a separate switch through a relay?     You can get some bright 1157 equivalent LED bulbs online I'm sure to replace the old stuff.   It might not be as bright as some sorta aftermarket bolt on driving light but you'd get the look... which sounds like all you really want anyway.     

I see no advantage to try and hack up housings and stuff to make the factory turn signals into some sorta super bright driving light deals without making it overly complicated and compromising the turn signal function...  which is fairly complicated as it is.

My friend, what a great idea!  I'll look into that.  Bright LED's, wire it to be on with the key. All I have to do is run a wire down from the engine compartment off of  anything powered on with the on position.Yes, yes.

[SuperCommando]

Running lights are cool. Do it. It's YOUR car. You can still approach this while still maintaining a somewhat stock appearance. The hardest part would be to modify the factory park lamp housings, though in theory with a miller and drill press you should be able to machine away and drill out the old socket in order to secure a socket for an h3 type bulb. If you intend to keep the factory park lamp lens, you might have to get h3 bulbs of 35w or less as a higher wattage would mean higher operating temperature which might melt the lens. Buy a cheap pair of park lamp housings off eBay or swapmeets to mess with. A harness for the new park lamps could be fabricated which "plugs into" your existing front end lighting without cutting anything up. I have lo beam, hi beam, park lamp, and external driving lights rigged to relays which provide full power to all my front end lighting needs, all connected to harnesses I made which plug into and augment or re-route the original circuits. I have wiring diagrams for future reference but to be honest the circuits are so simple you'd a be fool not to be able to figure it out.

An easier way would be to rig a relay to feed and switch only your park lamps on when IGN hot current is sensed. A switch can be rigged along this circuit to break ground to the relay to turn the park lamps off if need be.

Getting turnsignals to work when your parking lamps are on is a little trickier since now your park lamps would be running full time. I'm probably going to try and add amber LED bumper bolts to my front bumper (visibolts.com) and make a small harness to connect to the left and right turnsignal circuits (ie hood blinkers).

Is this practical? ANYTHING that makes you more visible to the semi you're passing at 65mph, the old woman with the blind spot, to other motorists in general and adds to your ability to avoid a collision is practical, especially during the dawn and dusk hours.

[mopar_nut_440_6]

Why can't you just install a set of these and not change wiring?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/2x-1157-BAY15D-AMBER-36-LED-TAIL-TURN-BRAKE-BULBS-LIGHT_W0QQitemZ190297918443QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item190297918443&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1215|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Cheers,

[Pyper70]

I say do it man. Its your ride, do as you please. I have a set of H4 housings for both sides of my 69'. I also purchased a kit for converting to the TRUE HID lamps as I want to see everything on the road in front of me, plus you can't argue that installing a newer set of relays that draws juice directly from the battery to your lights isnt safe. The factory wiring sends the current through a 12/14 gauge wire...How safe is that....

I just upgraded my tail lights, turn signals and reverse lights to LED. I have 216 individual LEDs in my tail lights, if they cant see all those lights, they have no business on the road. I like to conserve power so I am doing my part for my electrical system

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Any pics of those tails?

[danmc77]

Funny - I just modified a housing yesterday to accept a modern 9006 bulb.  I think it will look great - in fact, I also ordered true HID 9006 conversion bulbs and ballasts so my parking lights will be real HID.  In regard to the turn signal function, well, they can't do that anymore w/ HIDs.  No matter, I just found a few sets of smoked motorcycle turn signal that are LEDs - that way I can mount them in a discrete location - possibly behind the grille, and nobody will see them unless they are blinking. 

I also have HID bulbs in modern H4 housings for my headlights to match.  I don;t plan to do too much driving at night, and personally, I like my 68 w/ the headlight doors closed, so I think the HID driving lights are going to look bad ass.  As soon as I get everything wrapped up, I'll post the finished product.

As far as originality, the lens and housing will appear to be totally stock, so other than the brighter light, it'll look the same sitting there when not in use.  Plus, the housings are cheap enough that I retained my original set if I want to swap back - not likely.  Plus for all those people crying about changing out an original part, Let's see how many of the respondents aren't running headers, non OEM carb, intake, cam, tires, electronic ignition, etc.  We all change out original parts.