I have Hella500s on my bumper, with the stock 55 watt bulbs. My wiring is all setup to run 100 watt bulbs...with correct fuses and relays. I swapped the bulbs, and they dont "seem" any brighter. Its kind of overcast today, so its not even bright out. I turned them on with one 55 watt and one 100 watt...seemed about the same. maybe i'll notice it at night, when its REAL dark?

 

Maybe you need to bump the wiring gauge up a bit for the load , maybe like you said it will be more apparent at night instead of the day and or maybe the bulbs are different kind of light ie: Halogen , Incandescent etc. where Halogen and a couple other new types of bulbs will produce much brighter light at lower wattage/current usage.

 

have a multimeter?

check the current going to the lamp when you have the 55w and when u have the 100w.

this is just math but lets say u are at exactly 12 volts.

power=voltage*current
p=vi so i=p/v

p=55
v=12


current for 55w at 12v
i=55/12 approx 4.6 A


current for 100w at 12v
i=100/12 approx 8.33 A

check your current values with a multimeter, if you dont have one...


... buy one, they are VERY useful


got questions?

 

I may have to buy one these are H3 100 watt halogen bulbs i put in BTW

 

Why don't they seem brighter?

'Cuz they're not Lightforces! LOL

(just a little hijack to say I love my lights!)

 

Ohm's Law Rules !!!!!