Headlights

[MidWestAmphi]

Brand new owner and member here. I was going to replace one of my headlights on the new to me Amphi and found that some previous owner had filled the entire bucket with spray foam. Quite the mess but I got everything cleaned out and also noticed some wiring butchery. After looking the setup over and wanting to address some water concerns I have a couple questions and am probably going to make a few changes. 1st off I don't like the idea of modifying anything however the original setup has obvious faults. The 1st is where the wiring enters the buckets. Knowing the obvious potential for water to get behind the headlight and into the bucket, why would they have had the wiring enter the bottom of the bucket. I think I'm going to plug that hole and relocate a new hole towards the top side of each bucket complete with a wiring seal of some sorts. I think I'm going to purchase an LED sealed assembly as well then change the connectors to a weatherpack or deutsch. If the pigtail on the new light is long enough I'll probably locate that connector outside of the bucket. Has anyone else changed headlights / wiring or am I simply overthinking it?

 

[Mark Richardson]

Welcome Mid West!
Where in the Midwest are you? I am in Michigan near Ann Arbor.

Water does find its way into the buckets but usually drains back out, although some will sit and rust them out. The hole for wiring is and entry point and I keep it simple and use a dab of clear silicone to seal it up. There is a hole in the trim ring too that came originally with a plunger thing with a ball in it to release water but I also remove that and cover with silicone and do not have a leakage issue there except for the common dribble or two.

I do not use my car much at night so never had a good reason to upgrade to LED, but that would light things up for sure!

Mark R.

 

[MidWestAmphi]

Hello and thanks for the reply. I'm in North Central Iowa near the Fort Dodge area. Just picked up my 1st a few weeks ago and have been working to resolve some minor issues and trying to learn more about these unicorns. I haven't had it in the water yet but the previous owner did earlier this year. I have a couple wiring gremlins to work through and the carb needs a good clearning/tune but it does run and drive. Hoping to get it wet in the next couple of weeks.

 

[tonni]

That sounds like a good plan. The original design clearly has some weak spots when it comes to keeping water out, so moving the wiring entry to the top of the bucket makes sense. Plugging the lower hole and adding a proper seal should help prevent moisture from getting in. Many people have upgraded to sealed LED lights and noticed better brightness and no water problems afterward. Using weatherproof connectors is also a smart move. You are not overthinking it; you are just improving what needs to be fixed for better reliability.

 

[MidWestAmphi]

That sounds like a good plan. The original design clearly has some weak spots when it comes to keeping water out, so moving the wiring entry to the top of the bucket makes sense. Plugging the lower hole and adding a proper seal should help prevent moisture from getting in. Many people have upgraded to sealed LED lights and noticed better brightness and no water problems afterward. Using weatherproof connectors is also a smart move. You are not overthinking it; you are just improving what needs to be fixed for better reliability.

Thanks for the kind words. I ended up getting some sealed LED headlights which also had the halo ring and turn signal built in. Because of this I needed more wires into the bucket. I bought a few feet of 5 conductor wire to use between the original loom outside of the buckets and inside where I used a 6 position mini deutsch connector. Because of this the 5 conductor cable was thicker than the original cable it fits very snug in through the original headlight grommet. I ended using the original grommet and location rather than coming through the top.

 

[SNOWBIRD]

I have restored LOTS of amphicars,, After i'm done headlights is the least of my worries.
i leave the original drain thingie out. water goes in , water ALL goes out after,
All parts of light fixture are Blasted / painted and undercoated. and will not rust again
Never had a problem with the lower rubber insert ever leaking water in.

I tried those aftermarket super lights in a car once/ they took on water inside glass./ took them out and use Halagone seal beams