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Headlights for an 89 Town car

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    Headlights for an 89 Town car

    I'm new to this forum and wonder is there is a thread on how to upgrade headlights on an 1989 Town car. What are the options? Pros and cons? Many thanks for steering me in the right direction!

    #2
    There are options out there. Others on here will be more familiar with those options.

    For me, a relay harness to take the electrical load off the headlight switch and Sylvania Extravisions are what I'm runing. It also helps to have an upgraded alternater since stock is usually (close to always, dependant on equiped options from facotry) a 65 Amp alternator. Search for 3G alternator to find info on that upgrade.

    A cheap relay harness from ebay will do for the stock setup, although you will have to repin connectors to make it work with stock headlights.
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/H4-9003-12V...m/233167677008

    3G alternator swap thread:
    http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...upgrade-README
    Vic

    ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
    ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
    ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
    ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

    Comment


      #3
      I'm a relay harness and proper alignment on stock lamps kinda guy. Not super picky on the lamps, just fresh ones in general help but having them pointed down the road correctly does more than you'd probably believe. The bump in voltage supply also makes a big difference. Both my Continental and my Towncar got better than 2 volts improvement.

      I have that same harness on my Continental and it works fine. I did add a fuse holder between the harness battery + connection and the battery though, just because un-fused connections are a bad idea.

      Only thing to mention, if your Towncar has the digital dash, it will tell you that the headlamps are burned out when using a relay harness.
      86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
      5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

      91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

      1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

      Originally posted by phayzer5
      I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

      Comment


        #4
        I just changed low beam headlight bulbs on the 89 Signature with automatic headlight dimmers. Since I changed bulbs, the high beams do not stay on when I use the combo switch. I changed the bulbs to Wagner BP9006TVX2 Extra Vision. I wonder if they are too strong. I might have to downgrade. No problems prior to switching bulbs. Only reason to switch was I had water inside the old bulbs.
        Any ideas ?

        Comment


          #5
          not likely related, probably the eyeball under the mirror died if its not just the auto-dim turned up too high. Its one aspect of that design I really hate, it never truly turns off. The other stuff that used it have an actual "off" position on the control, the Towncar just turns the sensitivity all the way down but its still on and needing the sensor to have some amount of function.

          Quick and dirty diag, unplug the eye and jump the two outside wires together with a paperclip. If it works normally, the sensor died.
          86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
          5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

          91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

          1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

          Originally posted by phayzer5
          I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

          Comment


            #6
            Great advice, thanks. Just went with new bulbs---sylvania silver star I think. Hope they last.

            Comment


              #7
              Silverstars are known to be brighter, but burn out faster. If you get a year out of them, I'll be surprised. They also draw more power (typically 10 more watts) than the standard bulbs.

              Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
              rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
              Originally posted by gadget73
              ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
              Originally posted by dmccaig
              Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

              Comment


                #8
                There is a common belief among lighting geeks that you can't buy a good sealed beam new, because nobody is maintaining the tooling, properly QCing the products, or updating optics. I tend to believe this. I've bought many new Sylvania and Wagner sealed beams in the last handful of years, and the beam pattern is garbage. There is no correct way to aim a lamp that throws light all over the place and doesn't really cut off, just gets softer higher up.

                Silverstars are indeed brighter at the expense of shorter life.

                +1 that you need to make sure the lamps are getting the fullest available voltage before doing anything else. This will almost certainly require rewiring the lamps with relays as mentioned.

                If you want a more modern beam pattern (and you are probably asking for this even if you don't realize you are), consider Cibie, Hella, or Autopal brand E-code, left hand drive, conversion housings to let you use H4 bulbs. Even the cheapest bulbs at the part store will perform decently in this combination. Relay mod is essential here too.

                Often times, the amount of light you have is adequate, but it is not being aimed in a useful place. Better housings help with that.

                Current driver: Ranger
                Panthers: 83 GM 2dr | 84 TC | 85 CS
                | 88 TC | 91 GM
                Not Panthers: 85 Ranger | Ranger trailer | 91 Acclaim | 05 Focus
                Gone: 97 CV | 83 TC | 04 Focus | 86 GM
                | Junkyards

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                  #9
                  I’ve found old stock GE lamps have pretty nice beam pattern. I do also recall the Nighthawks I had from them too were pretty solid.


                  My Cars:
                  -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                  -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                  -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                  -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

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                    #10
                    I personally no longer consider anything incandescent to be an upgrade. LED is the future so that's the only real upgrade worth dong IMO. Even HIDs are outdated at this point. Have a look at JW Speaker and GENSSI.

                    There are reviews of a bunch of 4x6 lights here,
                    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv0...UNFWYDsf_t9fqQ

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Thanks to all for the informative replies. Re the silverstars, does the increased power draw create problems? I am just looking for a plug and play replacement. Did I make a mistake? Di I need to modify anything to use them? Rewiring is the last thing I wish to do.

                      I don't drive at night all that frequently. Lasting a year or less is not great, but given how underwhelming my current headlights are, I'm willing to give it a try.

                      Going to LED seems complicated and expensive. Most sites don't even list the car, and I'm not an electrician or a mechanic. Bah humbug.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        4x6 rectangular headlights. Try 1983 Chevy C10 pickup w/quad headlights if you are confronted with drop down menus insisting on make/model/year. (two bulbs high & low beam, two bulbs only high beam)
                        The only complication you might run into with swapping to LED is having to cut the headlight bucket to fit an LED housing, and repinning the connector of your headlight plug if things don't function as expected.

                        Alex.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          I can't stand LED lighting. That blue-white color is an eyesore from either direction. Boring-ass incandescent lamps are a color that doesn't hurt your eyes.
                          86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                          5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                          91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                          1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                          Originally posted by phayzer5
                          I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                            I can't stand LED lighting. That blue-white color is an eyesore from either direction. Boring-ass incandescent lamps are a color that doesn't hurt your eyes.
                            This is the main reason I only added accent LEDs in my grill to help the reflections on the signs so I could read them a little easier at night. I've stood in front of my car and not felt blinded by the lights or LEDs. New cars though... dayum.

                            Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                            rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
                            Originally posted by gadget73
                            ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
                            Originally posted by dmccaig
                            Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by 1989 View Post
                              Great advice, thanks. Just went with new bulbs---sylvania silver star I think. Hope they last.
                              Originally posted by 1989 View Post
                              ... I am just looking for a plug and play replacement. Did I make a mistake? Di I need to modify anything to use them? Rewiring is the last thing I wish to do.
                              ...
                              If you got the H4651 Hi beam, H4656 Hi/Lo beam those are plug and play/direct replacement for the stock lights.
                              Vic

                              ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
                              ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
                              ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
                              ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

                              Comment

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