Thread: Spotlights on D1

Originally Posted by sich nich

Howdy,
In my 95 D1 300tdi I run 100w globes in my headlights and have been running 2x 100w spotlights. Now i have got 2 more 100w spots and I want to run all 4 of them at once. Thats 600w usage from just lights. On top of that I run a 250w(max) amplifier aswell. What else uses power from the battery when running, apart from the tiny cabin/dash lights and taillights?

Can my alternator handle all this? I cant find any markings on it to tell how many amps it can produce. Will i experience engine lag from added load on alternator, or suffer from a flat battery more often? Should i go a dual battery setup and enjoy the added benefits?

TDI only uses power to energize the injector solenoid so no lag will be experienced. Are you trying to mimic the MCG or something with all that light ?
TDI wont go fast enough to need to see that far away !

to work out your current draw it is power (watts) x voltage so add up all the bits then times them by 12v to get how much current - amps you are using easy

cheers Blythe

haha, the roos at my place are far from an endangered species, and they love to ambush you at 100kmh in the dark. Just what everyone wants!
Especially need more lights after hitting black bull in my rig in the dark, just because i didnt see it in time. Will eventually post pics of that blunder..

Another option - go out and buy a cheap Chinese HID conversion kit for one set of spotlights. Change the globes and install the ballasts. Will produce about three times the light output of same light with 100W globe, but only draws about 35W. Also the light put out by these is a very "white" light, as opposed to the "yellow" light put out by conventional QH globes. This makes for a big improvement in spotting roos before you hit them. There's plenty of roos where I live too.

I'm running the Hella Predator HID's on my Disco - this is a pretty expensive option (but I got them for nothing). I've also got a set of Hella Rally 4000's in my shed that I've converted to HID with a Chinese kit - these lights were fitted to my work car (until I stopped working there). Virtually impossible to pick the difference in performance between the 4000's with the cheap Chinese kits and the much more expensive (like around $1000 each) Predators.

If you go for HID's, then your next problem will be that you can't see a lot when you dip your lights back to low beam (especially with the crap lights of the Disco). I've recently also installed a HID headlight kit into my D2. I paid $600 for this kit a while back, but pretty sure that you could get cheaper now from fleabay. Not a great improvement in high beam (but who cares - the Predators look after that side of things), but a huge improvement in light output, and again, a clean "white" light, on low beam. Must be very careful with adjustment of your lights though, as very bright to oncoming traffic if not adjusted correctly. Fortunately, headlight adjustment in Disco is easy and I've been able to set mine up so that I can still see well on low beam, and do not get "flashed" by oncoming traffic.

Again, replacing standard headlight globes with HID significantly reduces your power draw. I was previously running 100W high beam / 90W low beam QH globes. HID power draw is around 35W per globe, whether on high or low beam.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

TDI only uses power to energize the injector solenoid so no lag will be experienced. Are you trying to mimic the MCG or something with all that light ?
TDI wont go fast enough to need to see that far away !

hahahaahahahahahaah.

Xav.

P.S. hahahaahahaha

Originally Posted by sich nich

Should i go a dual battery setup and enjoy the added benefits?

A dual battery system won't help if you are using more amps than the alternator can provide.

Broadly speaking, batteries are for starting, running accessories when the engine is off and as a buffer to voltage spikes.

When the engine is running, the alternator should be providing all of the required power and charging the batteries.

If the alternator can't keep up with demand, the battery (or batteries) will go flat. More batteries won't help the situation (although they may delay the discharge due to more reserve capacity).

My 95 tdi has a 100 amp alternater I assume it's standard.

Originally Posted by blitz

to work out your current draw it is power (watts) x voltage so add up all the bits then times them by 12v to get how much current - amps you are using easy

cheers Blythe

Current ( I ) is Power ( P in watts ) divided by Voltage. ( or it was when I went to trade school )

P=IV
I=P/V