Headlight

The earliest headlights were fueled by acetylene or oil and were introduced by drivers in the late 1880s. Acetylene was popular because the flame was resistant to wind and rain. The first electric headlights were introduced in 1898 on the Columbia Electric Car from the Electric Vehicle Company of Hartford, Connecticut, but they were optional. "Prest-O-Lite" acetylene lights were offered by a number of manufacturers as standard equipment for 1904, and Peerless made electrical headlights standard in 1908. In 1912, Cadillac integrated their vehicle's Delco electrical ignition and li ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - History of automotive headlights

Several different methods of automobile ancillary power exist. The ultimate source of power for most of them is the automobile's main power source—normally an internal combustion engine of some kind—but some way of transferring power to the vehicle's ancillary systems is required. This may be through direct mechanical connection, electricity, hydraulic systems, vacuum, or compressed air. The trend in modern vehicles is toward making all ancilliaries run on electrical power, simplifying the vehicle's systems and making them ...

Including:

• Automobile ancillary power - Mechanical
• Automobile ancillary power - Electrical
• Automobile ancillary power - Hydraulic
• Automobile ancillary power - Vacuum
• Automobile ancillary power - Compressed air

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Automobiles have had electrically driven systems from the beginning, since the spark-ignition engine used in most vehicles requires electricity to generate the spark. Initially this was generated by a magneto and was only of use for ignition, but it was not long before an engine-driven DC generator was fitted. Because of the varying electrical power available from such a generator as engine speed changed, the generator was not connected directly to a car's electrical systems but rather through a lead-acid battery which enabled a more constan ...

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Automobile ancillary power, Automobile ancillary power - Mechanical, Automobile ancillary power - Electrical, Automobile ancillary power - Hydraulic, Automobile ancillary power - Vacuum, Automobile ancillary power - Compressed air

Read more here: » Automobile ancillary power: Encyclopedia II - Automobile ancillary power - Electrical

Some automobile accessories are connected directly to the engine through gears or belts. These may include ancillary systems that directly service the engine; the water pump, fuel pump, oil pump, cooling fan, etc. Another class of mechanically connected ancilliaries are those that require large amounts of power; for example, an air conditioning compressor. Also mechanically connected to the engine are components to convert this mechanical power into other forms; for example, an alternator to charge the ...

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Automobile ancillary power, Automobile ancillary power - Mechanical, Automobile ancillary power - Electrical, Automobile ancillary power - Hydraulic, Automobile ancillary power - Vacuum, Automobile ancillary power - Compressed air

Read more here: » Automobile ancillary power: Encyclopedia II - Automobile ancillary power - Mechanical

An easily-accessible source of power from an internal combustion engine is partial vacuum, available by tapping the inlet manifold. The piston engine is fundamentally an air pump, and it produces suction and partial manifold vacuum on the inlet side. This can be used to power accessories or advance the ignition system spark timing. Inlet manifold vacuum varies depending on engine load and throttle position. Therefore, rather than being connected directly, "vacuum canisters" are sometimes used to smooth things out, also to have a vacuum 'reserve' on turbo charged engines where, when the turbo is active, there exists ...

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Automobile ancillary power, Automobile ancillary power - Mechanical, Automobile ancillary power - Electrical, Automobile ancillary power - Hydraulic, Automobile ancillary power - Vacuum, Automobile ancillary power - Compressed air

Read more here: » Automobile ancillary power: Encyclopedia II - Automobile ancillary power - Vacuum

Hydraulic systems in the automobile generally have a hydraulic pump, driven electrically or directly from the engine via a belt. In passenger cars, the most common use of hydraulics is in the power steering system, which is hydraulically driven in the vast majority of vehicles. Convertible tops can be raised and lowered using hydraulics, although other methods, such as electrically, have also been used. Historically, windshield wipers were sometimes hydraulically driven, although this use mostly ceased after the late 1960s. Aside from these, ...

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Automobile ancillary power, Automobile ancillary power - Mechanical, Automobile ancillary power - Electrical, Automobile ancillary power - Hydraulic, Automobile ancillary power - Vacuum, Automobile ancillary power - Compressed air

Read more here: » Automobile ancillary power: Encyclopedia II - Automobile ancillary power - Hydraulic

Headlamps require very little care. Sealed beam headamps are modular. When the filament burns out, the entire module is replaced. Most 1985 and later-model vehicles in North America use headlamp lens-reflector assemblies that are considered a part of the car, and just the bulb is replaced if it fails. There are many different bulb types, and they are not interchangeable, so the correct bulb for the specific vehicle year, make and model must be purchased. Manufacturers vary the means by which the bulb is accessed and replaced. Headlamp aim must be properly checked and adjusted on a regular, periodic basis. Misaimed la ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Care

A light source (filament or arc) is placed at or near the focus of a reflector, which may be parabolic or of non-parabolic complex shape. Fresnel and prism optics moulded into the headlight lens then shift parts of the light laterally and vertically to provide the required light distribution pattern. The lens may use both refraction and TIR to archive the desired results. Most sealed-beam headl ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Types of headlights

A light source (filament or arc) is placed at or near the focus of a reflector, which may be parabolic or of non-parabolic complex shape. Fresnel and prism optics moulded into the headlight lens then shift parts of the light laterally and vertically to provide the required light distribution pattern. The lens may use both refraction and TIR to archive the desired results. Most sealed-beam headl ...

See also:

Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Types of headlights

Modern headlights are electrically operated, positioned in pairs, one or two on each side of the front of a vehicle. A headlamp system is required to produce a low and a high beam, which may be achieved either by an individual lamp for each function or by a single multifunction lamp. High beams (called "main beams" or "full beams" or "driving beams" in some countries) cast most of their light straight ahead, maximizing seeing distance, but producing too much glare for safe use when other vehicles are present on the road. Because there is no ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Automotive headlights

Night driving has long been dangerous due to the glare of headlights from oncoming traffic which temporarily blinds drivers approaching from the opposite direction. Therefore, headlights that satisfactorily illuminate the road ahead of the automobile without causing this effect have long been sought. The first attempts to address this problem involved resistance-type dimming circuits, which decreased the brightness of the headlights when meeting another car. This gave way to mechanical tilting reflectors and later to double-filament bulbs with a high and a low beam. ...

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Headlight, Headlight - History of automotive headlights, Headlight - Automotive headlights, Headlight - Laws and regulations, Headlight - Types of headlights, Headlight - LED headlights, Headlight - Dual-beam headlights, Headlight - American system, Headlight - European system, Headlight - Care

Read more here: » Headlight: Encyclopedia II - Headlight - Dual-beam headlights