Mag Bulbs

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: Mag Bulbs
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Glenn Edwards on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 11:05 am:

Working on a friend's 15 tourings mag lights. We have put in a new light switch on the firewall and have the lights wired correctly (I think). We ordered a new set of bulbs from Snyders. They are different from the old Mazda bulbs that were in the car. The old bulbs had what I guess would be called a bus bar between two of the filament support wires and the new bulbs don't have them. Also the new bulbs are marked 24v. Is that ok for magneto light bulbs? Don't plan to use the lights for night driving, just want to see what mag lights should look like.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 11:25 am:

Glenn:

If you want to see what mag lights actually looked like then you may have to look quick since they burned out fast. Original bulbs were 9V each and wired in series. Very few of these survived for very long since unknown by Ford at the time was how sensitive tungsten filament bulbs are to voltage. If you use 24V bulbs you will need to change your stock wiring to wire the bulbs in parallel rather than series. I have no idea how much current those bulbs draw but I doubt they will be very bright when you are moving along at less than 25 MPH since the mag voltage will likely be below 24 and I wonder if your car's magneto can operate coils while driving with the lights on. Please understand I am not saying it will not work I am just saying that you need to measure the current draw of those bulbs since drawing more than about 2 amps from the magneto may result in your coils starting to not fire correctly but that really depends on how strong your magneto is.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Glenn Edwards on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 12:05 pm:

John, Thanks for the response. Would you explain a bit more. I am wondering why the new 24V bulbs should be wired in parallel rather than series? Is it to get brighter lights? If the 24V bulb is in series then each bulb would have 12V available if the supplied voltage is 24V. Dimmer lights? Is anyone reproducing bulbs like the old original bulbs?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John F. Regan on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 12:37 pm:

You analysis is correct. Put 6V power to any 12V bulb and see how bright it is and you will see what your 24V bulbs are going to look like at 12V but remember you only get close to 24V at 25 MPH with a typical magneto. AT idle your lights will be very dim if wired in series.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ockert van der Berg on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 04:44 pm:

Glenn

On my 1915 back in South Africa a friend and I experimented a lot to get my lights working on mag. I have tried 24V globes connected in parallel but when the lights was "on" on idle it would draw to much current for the mag and the car would die. We used 12V globes in series. They are from Massey Ferguson plowing lights that we could get at our local suppliers. (and being in South Africa they are a lot cheaper than importing from the USA)They are double contact single filament globes and are 36 candle power. They also look the part with a big glass bowl if you understand what I mean. They work good under normal driving conditions but still burnt when running the engine to fast. My friend took a scrap coil and took the secondary winding, he then connected this coil in in series with the bulbs and started unwinding the coil until there was 28V at full RPM between the switch and body.(It is about the thickness of my little finger 12mm) Subsequently the coil was put in a small wooden box and "prettified" and mounted on the firewall. I have good lights when running the car and at a stop at idle they dim to a yellow color but still do their part.
Hope this helps
Ockert


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 05:31 pm:

Did Ford keep on using the 9v Mazda bulbs wired in series in the headlamps of the non electric models also after the dimmer coil was introduced to take care of the excessive voltage at high rpms?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 08:37 pm:

Yes.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William Harper - Keene, NH on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 11:44 pm:

Hi Glenn,

My '14 has had the gas headlights converted to run off the magneto by the original owner. By the time I aquired the car they had been rewired to 12 volts from a battery under the rear seat.

I have since rewired the lights, in series to be powered by the magneto. I use a 12 volt single filament double contact bulb number 1141. I have been happy enough with them. At a slow idle the bulbs almost pulse or flicker.

Good luck with your project. Bill


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jay - In Northern California on Saturday, July 27, 2013 - 12:35 am:

Here's an accessory Magneto headlamp equalizer that helps the blubs run brighter running slow and prevents them from burning out when running fast.











Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jay - In Northern California on Saturday, July 27, 2013 - 12:54 am:

Here's another accessory magneto headlight regulator that wires up the same as the ULCO unit above and mounts on the firewall.





Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ted Dumas on Saturday, July 27, 2013 - 11:03 pm:

I think the 1142 lamp is the lamp of choice for the magneto headlamp.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By HARRY A DAW on Saturday, July 27, 2013 - 11:55 pm:

On our 1915 I found a coil of resister wire. We hooked it up to the light switch then put an alligator clip on the wire going to the head lights. The brightness was controlled by moving the alligator clip to different places on the resister wire based on the anticipated speed we intended to travel. I have looked for an adjustable reestat that could be mounted and adjusted but have never located one that would carry the amperage.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Glenn Edwards on Sunday, July 28, 2013 - 03:32 pm:

We ended up wiring them parallel and using 24V bulbs with a grounded base. The light bucket had a decent ground. Ran the wire to left light from connector on right side. It is working pretty well but I wouldn't want to ride around at night very much with them. Thanks for the assistance. Glenn


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ockert van der Berg on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - 04:28 pm:

Jay or any body out there

Do any of you have any literature on the Eisen Regulator?
I am looking for period literature on it any advert, wiring diagram etc.
Ockert


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jay - In Northern California on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - 04:36 pm:

Ockert, Sorry All I have is the regulator. Perhaps someone else here may know of some paperwork or ads for it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Darren J Wallace on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - 09:57 pm:

I have one of those Eisen regulators exactly like the one Jay posted the photo of...haven't got around to installing it on my '15 yet.....I wonder how you can check it to see that it still functions correctly. Where would be a good place to mount it in a '15 with a speedo....not much space in the car.


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