5 or 12 watts bulbs

[twvenezuela]

Hello, my Renault Twingo uses on head tiny (fog)lights 5W bulbs one of them is burned and I only find here 3W or 12W, I don´t wanna go low, at least higher but no low, Can I use 12W bulbs on it witout fear of burning something like cables or fuses?

Thanks Folks

TWV.

 

[George7941]

Tough to answer this because we are not familiar with the Renault Twingo but wiring and fuses should be OK with 12W. However your foglamp itself might not be able to dissipate more than twice the heat it was designed for. Only one way to find out and that is to actually install the 12W bulb and keep a close eye for signs of overheating.

 

[johnd]

Would it be possible to use 12 watt bulbs and hook them in series? This should give you 6 watts each if my math is correct. If there is just a hot lead and a ground you are screwed unless you want to put a 10 watt 12 ohm resistor in series with each 12 watt bulb. And again, 12 watts might work as is.

 

[mechtech]

A higher wattage bulb can indeed melt wires, connectors, and melt fuses and relays.
Consider aftermarket lighting kits.
A car named 'Twingo' would not sell in the USA, except maybe San Francisco.

 

[andyd]

quote:

---

Originally posted by mechtech:
A higher wattage bulb can indeed melt wires, connectors, and melt fuses and relays.
Consider aftermarket lighting kits.
A car named 'Twingo' would not sell in the USA, except maybe San Francisco.

---

ahh well, cars named Nova didnt do so hot in Latin America either

 

[97f150]

Cute car

I couldnt squeeze my *** into one of them

 

[Shaman]

Would it be possible to put an aftermarket light in it’s place? 5 watts sounds more like a city light or daytime running light than a fog light. Do you need more light, or do you just want to put something in there to work?

 

[twvenezuela]

Link to Twingos:

http://www.twingo.net/twingos2.html

thanks folks

TWV

 

[twvenezuela]

My Twingo:

http://www.twingo.net/nicolas/alvaro.htm

TWVenezuela

 

[George7941]

Good try, Johnd, but two 12W bulbs in series only gives you 3W each (do the math with Ohm's law) and running a bulb at a quarter of its design power gives you light output which is much less than 25% of the light output at 12W. Also, using a resistor to run a 12W at 6W will cut the light output by much more than 50%. Re mechtech's argument, since the wattages involved are so low, I doubt there will be any problems with overloaded wires or fuses.

 

[johnd]

You got the goods on me, the calculator was in the house so I did the calculations in my head-so much for accuracy. A resistor could be used to drop light level output though. I won't offer a value this time.

 

[Schmoe]

I'd be more worried about the amperage and overheating than anything else. You might start popping fuses like crazy.

 

[twvenezuela]

Well, gonna give it a try, thanks friends again

keep fine

TWV

 

[George7941]

Look at the wattages involved! The total load is being increased by 14W, which is just one amp of increased current. There will not be any overheating of the wires or popping fuses.

 

[mechtech]

I'm used to guys who put in screaming bright headlights, and the connectors get melted frequently.
Car Mfrs. are quite stingy with their copper wires, and everything seems to be only adequate, not over built, anymore.
But when you put amp #s down, it sure doesn't seem like a lot, and probably will be OK to get brighter bulbs.
I like the Twingo, BTW!

 

[twvenezuela]

Mechtech, thanks for your input, sure Twingo is a cool French car

TWV

 

[Tosh]

Owners of my car have replaced the 168 size 5W "road lamps" with larger W2 size 18W bulbs. Some have had problems melting the housing, as well as problems installing and removing the physically larger bulbs. TWV: If the larger 12W bulbs have the space around them to diffuse the extra heat, then try them. But if it's a small, closely-fitting housing, then you may run into a problem. I don't think the wiring or fuses will be a problem.

 

[twvenezuela]

ok, Tosh (Peter?), now that you say, i don´t know is housing have space to let enter the 12Watters

I will keep you informed

Thanks

TWV