Mark - Steve's bro'

During my 5 hour drive home Sunday night on the interstate in the dark, I realized my headlights are a LOT dimmer than everyone else's. Any ideas why this could be? New cars, cars the same age as mine, old cars, etc. They all give a much brighter patch on the road in front of the car than my 100s. Is this typical of these cars, or is there something wrong with my lighting. Both lights work. I aimed them against the garage door, so they're not perfect, but they're really lame in the dark.

Mark - Steve's brother

Maini

Cheapest and works pretty good along with your fogs...<ul><li><a href="http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Upgrade/More_light.htm">http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Upgrade/More_light.htm</a</li></ul>

Wagonmann

If your lights are like mine, they are focused in two rectangles, the lower right in front of the car and the upper shifted to the right to provide a black-out area for oncomming cars. Cebe used to refer to this as the "z-beam" I would recommend a light bulb upgrade, although I'm not a fan of the lowbeam/high beam mod. You can get ultra whites or increased voltage lights to plug and play.
Jim

Decolliber

... or voltage regulator failing? Is there corrosion on the reflector?

Mark - Steve's bro'

alternator? I know on most cars it's about 14V. As for corrosion on the reflectors, I'm going to try cleaning them with a long Q-tip or something. I'd like to do it w/out removing the headlight modules.

Decolliber

Others can answer this better than I can, but yes, you can check the alternator by testing voltage across battery terminals with engine idling and at about 2000rpm. I think it should rise from about 14v to about 17V?
Not sure about voltage regulator. When the voltage regulator in my Porsche 911 started to fail, the head lights would go from bright to dim while driving, indicating (I guess) fluctuating voltage.
You might also try cleaning the fuse terminals, as they can get corroded and reduce voltage getting to lights. When a/c failed in my 911, it was because of corrosion on the fuse terminals.
If you have corrosion inside the reflector, you are not going to be able to clean it off, I think. I had to replace both reflectors on my 911 for that reason.
Higher wattage bulbs might not be a good idea, depending on how much wattage your wiring can take. Better to use a relay if going that direction. Bosch sells a good relay for about $30. Seen it in Tweeks catalogue.
Also check wiring to headlights. may have frayed wires?

Wagonmann

depending on wattage of lights, 15 amps per light should be fine (you need about 10 amps per for 100W lights). However, your car is probably fine without a relay.