i wanted to upgrade the stock lights of my 1979 bronco with some HID headlights but i'm not sure what all i need to change ?? Is the wiring harness ok to handle the swap ? any help would be great thanks in advance.

 

On earth why? HID's are prone to yellowing (actually they go "green" in short order), premature failure, they are absolutely terrible on human eyesight because they burn so far towards the blue/UV end of the spectrum. Ok, ok, its your truck, you are certainly free to do what you choose with it.

Conversion kits will include the necessary wiring upgrades. The HID lamps themselves cannot be powered as any typical headlamp, they require a high-energy ignition source to get them started. Again a conversion kit will include all of this. If the actual amperage draw exceeds the capacity of the internal circuit breaker in the headlamp switch, the kit should provide the necessary fuse or circuit breaker to supply an appropriate power feed to the new system. Forget about headlamps as you know them because the HID lamps are nothing like any in any automotive electrical system. unless you are used to dealing with the headlamps in high-end luxury vehicles.

 

There is also hi end bulbs you can buy, albeight a little pricey but can upgrade stock bulbs for a fraction of the HID kit. Ive had the same bulb in my motorcycle (Vmax) for 2 years. I still have my eyesight

 

Just make sure your headlights are not foggy, go get a headlight resto kit $14-$28.00 at Walmartian!

 

I agree... try the silver star or higher end bulbs and resto kit... it really works.. Here's mine using the one of the kits without removing the headlights. But, I plan doing it with headlights out soon...

Before...


After...

 

I should just ban myself from threads about lighting. I've explained all this stuff before but here goes, you are LOSING lamp life with headlamp or fog-lamp replacements that claim greater light output from a lamp (lightbulb) that runs on an UN-modified circuit (OEM headlamp breaker or fuse and wiring harness). The mired (pronounced "ME-red") shift applied to the lamp by tinting the glass blue REDUCES light output but the human eye is fooled because the lamp appears to burn over a broader rang of the spectrum. In short, you pay more money for less light because the manufacturer has tricked your eyes.

With the "silverstar" lamps, not all of these are mired shifted (tinted blue). With the ones that have NOT been tinted, the filament has been redesigned to burn brighter using the same power source. The ONLY way to achieve this is to make a thinner weaker filament that glows brighter under the same amount of power that other lamps run on. And while this works, you are losing considerable lamp life. Up to 50% in fact. Now I don't know about the rest of you but the price tag on Silverstars and other similar lamps is a bit much when you consider that your cost per hour of operation has been as much as DOUBLED. I know it doesn't seem like much because who drives around with their headlights on 24/7? Read the fine print on the packaging. Oh and remember when light bulb manufacturers talk about "lamp life" they are referring to a very specific LABORATORY situation wherein the lamps are run in a climate-controlled, vibration-free environment day and night until the lamp fails.

Its just physics folks. Incandescent lamps work the same way and always have. If you want more light from the source without changing the amount of power you are feeding it (rewiring for greater amperage), you have to weaken the filament to make a lamp that burns brighter. This comes at the cost of significant loss of lamp life. But don't take my word for it, Ask GE, Sylvania, Ushio, Philips, or any of the hundreds of lamp manufacturers out there.

 

I use a bulb where the low beam is 100 watt. It is much brighter and farther. That is on my motorcycle. I def agree if same wattage than you actually lose brightness. Ive had it on my bike over a year and it vibrates alot. I got it from JCwhitney but I will have to dig up name.

 

BUT make sure your wires can handle the extra draw. Again this is my opinion, and always open for debate.

 

every headlight bulb box tells you on the back the life expectancy.... for that reason and the pain the @$$ it is change them on 90's Broncos, I buy the stock replacement...they last longer.

 

This is a great idea, but not needed on a 78/79.
The bulb is an assembly that includes the glass, unless you go with something like this.

 

Thats what i was going to say, 78-79 is sealed beam unless you buy open unsealed ones. Besides HIDs on a 79? Oh well your truck.