What are the different Types of Car Headlights?

[Notes
& PDF]
themechanicalengineering.com/car-headlights/

Er. Amrit Kumar October 15, 2022

Introduction to Car Headlight:

Table of Contents

Introduction to Car Headlight:

History of Headlights in Automobiles:
Different Types of Headlights used in the Car?
#1. Filament bulb:
#2. Halogen:
#3. HID
#4. LED:
#5. Matrix Headlights
#6. Laser
#7. Reflector headlights
#8. H4 Conversions
#9. Projector Headlights
#10. Quad Headlights
#11. Non-quad headlights
#12. Driving & Interior lamps
#13. Parking lights
#14. Direction-signal lights
#15. Blinker lights
#16. Tail Light
#17. Brake Light

A car headlight is a device used to illuminate the road ahead in vehicles and is
located at the front end of the vehicle. These are also referred to as Headlamps.
But in terms of usage, the headlamp is the term used for the light source device
and the headlight is the term for the beam of light, which is produced and
distributed uniformly by the device.

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These are one of the most essential features of a car as they play a very significant role
in ensuring safety and drivability.

According to the US NHTSA which is a traffic safety administration, half of all traffic-
related fatalities occur in the dark, despite only 25% of traffic traveling during darkness.

The primary objective of using headlights is to illuminate the road ahead and facilitate a
fatigue-free visual for the driver.

Car Headlights and other light sources are thus the visual components associated with
vehicle safety. These require official approval and are not the components to tamper with.

The nature and position of the lights on the vehicle and their design, colors, and
photometric values are regulated by law.

The use of headlights in automobiles dates back to the 1880s with the use of gas
headlamps.

Headlights come in different shapes and sizes along with various types of lenses and
bulbs. These characteristics are used to differentiate between the types of headlights
along with the likes of focus, the energy required, and light color.

Let’s see what are different types of headlights used.

History of Headlights in Automobiles:

The earliest headlights were fueled using acetylene gas or oil and operated during the
late 1880s as the lamps were popular because the flame is resistant to wind and rain.

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Pockley Automobile Electric Lighting Syndicate, located in Birmingham England marketed
the world’s first electric lights as a complete set in 1908. It consisted of headlamps, side
lamps, and tail lights and was powered by an eight-volt battery.

Cadillac integrated an electrical ignition and lighting system in their vehicle, which formed
the modern vehicle electrical system in 1912.

The Guide Lamp Company integrated low-beam or dipping headlamps in 1915. The 1917
Cadillac model allowed the dipping light to be switched using a lever inside the car rather
than requiring one to get out of the vehicle.

The foot-operated dip switch was introduced in 1927 and it became a standard.

Steering-linked lighting levers were integrated into the 1947 center-mounted Tucker
Torpedo’s headlight.

In 1962, European headlamp makers introduced the halogen bulb for vehicle headlight
use. These became available for use in the United States years later in 1979.

BMW introduced the High-intensity discharge (HID) systems in the BMW 7 Series in the
early 1990s.

Different Types of Headlights used in the Car?

#1. Filament bulb:

A Filament headlight contains a thin tungsten filament that is surrounded by a vacuum in
a glass filament capsule that is used, due to its extreme resistance to high temperatures.

These simple filament bulbs were used in the oldest cars and are similar to the bulbs
used for household purposes.

These bulbs are heavy duty usually found in sealed beam reflective headlights and the
tungsten filament is suspended in a vacuum.

The working of the filament bulb headlights depends on the passing of electricity through
the tungsten filament inside the glass capsule. When electricity is passed through it, the
filament heats and gives off light.

These headlights produce a yellowish-colored light and consume more energy for their
function.

Moreover, these are generally much hotter than other headlights. The tungsten
evaporates during the process and is deposited on the inner surface of the bulb.

This causes the bulb to blacken out, which makes the filament weak and eventually
breaks. As a result, many European countries have begun a phase-out of these bulbs
due to inefficiency. 

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#2. Halogen:
A halogen headlight contains a thin tungsten filament that is surrounded by a halogen gas
in a glass filament capsule that is used, due to its extreme resistance to high
temperatures. These are almost the replica of the filament bulb lights, except that these
headlights use halogen gases like bromide or iodide inside them.

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The tungsten heats up to approximately 2,500° Celsius due to the electrical current and it
starts to glow, this is called an incandescent process.

The bulb requires an inert gas and a small amount of a halogen such as iodine or
bromine for its work. A halogen bulb is similar to a regular electric bulb used for
household purposes. The regular bulb has a filament wire that heats up and emits light.
But the halogen lamp uses halogen gas to increase brightness.

The primary objective of a halogen gas involves extending the life of the tungsten
filament.

Halogen headlights are found to be used on approximately 80% of the cars on the road
today which makes them the most commonly available type of headlights.

The lifespan of these headlights ranges from about 450 hours to 1000 hours. The reason
for the lifespan is because of heat and efficiency, which are both big factors.

The lamp used is also known as quartz halogen and tungsten halogen lamp. It is a
processed form of the incandescent lamp.

The filament consists of ductile tungsten and is located in a gas-filled bulb just like a
standard tungsten bulb. While operating at a higher filament temperature, results in more
lumens output per watt input, a tungsten-halogen lamp has a much longer brightness
lifetime than the other similar filaments operating without the halogen regeneration cycle.

The gas used in a halogen bulb is at high pressure (7-8 ATM) and the glass bulb is made
up of fused quartz, high-silica glass, or aluminosilicate.

The glass used is stronger than the standard glass as it helps to contain the high
pressure. This lamp is preferred as an industry standard for work and film/television
lighting due to its moderate size and high-lumen output.

The halogen lamp is being replaced slowly by the white LED lamp, the miniature HID and
fluorescent lamps, etc.

Advanced technology for increased efficiency halogens with 30+ lumens/watt is being
brought into the market to change the sales decline in the future.

Halogen Headlight Advantages:

The advantages of Halogen-based headlights are that the lamps are small and
lightweight, the production cost is low, and they do not use mercury as in CFLs i.e
fluorescent or mercury vapor lights.

These also have a better color temperature than standard tungsten (2800-3400 K), it is
more similar to the sunlight than the “orange” standard tungsten.

It can sustain for a longer amount of time than conventional incandescent.

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Moreover, it does require any warm-up time and can be switched on to full brightness
instantly. It is also dimmable.

The disadvantage of Halogen Headlight:

The disadvantages related to Halogen headlights include extremely hot surfaces which
are easily capable of causing severe burns if the lamp is touched, the lamp is too
sensitive to oils left by the human skin and if you touch it the oil left behind will heat up
once the bulb is activated and the oil may cause an imbalance resulting in a rupture of the
bulb.

The bulb also has a chance of blowing up and sending hot glass shards outward. A
screen or layer of glass on the outside of the lamp is required to protect the users.

#3. HID
HID is an abbreviation for High-intensity discharge lamps which are a type of electrical
gas-discharge lamp producing light utilizing an electric arc. It is between tungsten
electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc
tube.

The tube
contains
noble gas
and often
also
consists of
a suitable
metal or
metal salts.
It is also
known by
the means
of xenon
lights due
to the
involvement
of the noble
gas in the working.

The filament does not get heated up, instead, xenon gas is electrically charged. HID
produces a bluish-white light that is similar to natural light.

The arc’s initial strike is enabled by the noble gas. Once the arc starts, it heats up and
evaporates the metallic mixture.

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Its presence in the arc plasma helps to increase the intensity of visible light which is
produced by the arc for given power input.

The metals tend to emit many spectral lines in the visible part of the spectrum. High-
intensity discharge lamps are considered a type of arc lamp.

Different types of chemical variations are used in the arc tubes of HID lamps. It is
dependent on the desired characteristics of light intensity, color rendering index (CRI),
energy efficiency, correlated color temperature, and lifespan.

Varieties of HID lamps include Mercury halide lamps, Metal halide (MH) lamps, Ceramic
MH lamps, sodium vapor lamps, and xenon short arc lamps.

The light-producing element of the lamp types is a stabilized arc discharge. It is contained
within a refractory envelope arc tube with a wall loading of more than 3 W/cm².

Mercury-vapor lamps were the first commercially available HID lamps and they produced
a bluish-green light. But the latest versions of these can produce light with a less defined
color tint.

Metal-halide and ceramic metal-halide lamps can be used to obtain white light useful for
applications such as entertainment and sports lighting.

Low-pressure sodium-vapor lamps are more efficient as they tend to produce a deep
yellow-orange light and have an effective color rendering index (CRI) of about zero. Items
viewed under low-pressure sodium vapor light appear monochromatic which makes them
effective and useful as photographic safelights.

High-pressure sodium lamps are the opposite as they tend to produce a much whiter light
with a characteristic orange-pink cast.

Advantages & Disadvantages:

The advantages of HID lights are that these lights are about 2 1/2 times more powerful
than comparable standard halogen lights. They tend to produce a white-hot beam against
that of the sunlight in halogen.

The disadvantages are that like fluorescent lamps, even HID lamps require the ballast to
start and maintain the arc.

The methods used for the initial striking of the arc vary, namely mercury-vapor lamps and
some metal-halide lamps use the third electrode near one of the main electrodes to get
started, while other lamp styles are notably started using pulses of high voltage.

HID lamps have a small delay before lighting up and take some time to achieve full
brightness.

#4. LED:

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This lighting is an advanced technology used to produce crystal-clear light. LED
abbreviates for Light Emitting Diode. It is a simple semiconductor that emits light when
current is passed through it.

The current in the semiconductor flows only in one direction. The energy drawn from the
battery to emit light is less than the halogen and xenon lights in the case of the LED, as it
requires relatively little current to illuminate.

The working of the LED lights is based on the flow of current from cathode to anode
passing through the semiconducting material, which is a material with conductivity
somewhere between metal and rubber.

It is made by mixing a material that can conduct electricity with an insulating material.

The semiconductor then emits photons which then illuminate the road ahead. These
headlights produce a brighter, whiter light and tend to put out around 2,000-4,000 lumens.

As a result, LED lights illuminate more areas and get a clear view.

The classic standard variant LED is cylindrical and is a hemisphere at the end where the
light is emitted.

A simple LED contains parts such as an LED chip, a reflector tray connected to the
cathode, a gold wire connected to the anode, and a plastic lens to combine and hold the
components.

Different types and designs are present in LEDs. The most important ones are leaded
LEDs, Superflux, SMD, High power, and COB.

A Leaded LED consists of a cathode shorter than the anode. SuperFlux LEDs are more
powerful than leaded LEDs, achieving broader beam angle, hood heat dissipation, and
long service life.

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SMD i.e Surface Mounted Device is a diode that is surface mounted. These are
insensitive and shine intensively.

These LEDs usually consist of three to four chips with contacts soldered to the
connection surface.

The advantages of LEDs are that they are energy efficient and produce very little heat,
provide superior durability with a long-predicted lifetime of about 20000 hours which is
almost 20 hours longer than halogen lights, provide an alternative method for daytime
running lights, and provide a clear and effective view of the road at night.

Although the brightness is not as significant as HID, LEDs are around 2.75 times stronger
and have brighter light than halogen.

These also have a fast switch on-off capability and require low operational voltage. The
disadvantages of LEDs include the requirement of an extra cooling component for the
small amount of heat emitted, difficulty in designing an optimum LED lamp, and incredibly
expensive and complex design.

#5. Matrix Headlights

A matrix is an advanced form of LED light. These consist of many individual smaller LED
lights working in unison to make a headlight. All of these smaller LEDs are controlled
independently.

Termed “smart” lights, it is also called Adaptive LED or Pixel lighting. It has a camera
mounted on the inside rearview mirror to detect the lights of oncoming vehicles.

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An onboard computer detects and registers the lights from the incoming vehicle and
sends the signal to the housing.

The system turns OFF the individual LEDs that affect the lighting of the oncoming vehicle
while the remaining LEDs are ON.

As the vehicle approaches, the individual LEDs cover up the gap, lighting ahead.

The advantage of Matrix lights is that the driver can use the high beam lights without
needing to switch between low beams, even when there is incoming traffic.

The disadvantage of such lights is that many components need to work in unison for the
lighting system to work and as a result, if one of the components fails the whole system
can fail.

#6. Laser
The use of lasers is the latest technology introduced in the automobile industry. The Laser
headlights contain one or more solid-state laser diodes, mounted inside the headlight.

These emit blue lasers fired at a yellow phosphor, similar to that used in white LEDs. A
powerful, vibrant white light that can then be bounced off reflectors and out of the
headlights towards the road is produced.

The regular low-beam

lamp LED is used
with the laser to
create an incredibly
bright and focused
spot which is used for
high beams.

This provides
illumination up to 600
meters ahead of the
vehicle, double that of
conventional LED
high beams.

The lights use indium

gallium nitride diode
lasers with the layers above with power levels above worth 1 watt.

It is based on light from 3 sources that fall on a mirror inside the headlight housing.

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The blue laser out of this is reflected from the mirror through a lens that contains yellow
phosphorus and this yellow phosphorus is excited by the blue laser light and produces a
white beam.

The reflected white light is reflected on the shiny reflective surface which throws the light
through the lens on the road.

The advantages of Laser lights are that they are about 1000 times more intense than LED
lights and consume nearly half the energy required (30% more efficient). This leads to
less lead formation on batteries and better life. The size of the laser light source is smaller
than that of LEDs.

The disadvantages to be mentioned are that these are the most expensive of options,
almost three times the price of xenon lights, and are not as precise as the LEDs. Laser
headlights are not available as dual beams and generate a considerable amount of heat.

#7. Reflector headlights

Reflector headlights were the lighting standards until 1985. The design of reflector
headlights involved a bowl-like casing that consisted of a reflective headlight and mirrors
attached around the headlight to reflect the light.

These
were
called
sealed
beam

headlights initially due to the lights having a fixed casing.

There was a lens in front of the headlight which determined the shape of the beam of
light. Also, the bulb and lens were in a single housing and the whole housing was to be
replaced in case of any damage.

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Further improvements have led to the lens design being replaced by the reflective
mirrored surface which guides the beam of light.

This advancement separated the single housing system and the bulb can be replaced
individually in case of damage.

The Advantages of reflector headlights are that it takes up smaller space due to their
compact size and has cheaper maintenance.

Disadvantages include non-compatibility to high output bulbs and low beam is often less
distinct for the oncoming traffic. The beam of light produced is uneven with a lot of weak
and intense spots.

#8. H4 Conversions
These are advanced forms of reflector headlights. Similar to modern reflectors, the bulb
and housing assembly are separate in this type of light.

However, instead of a sealed case, H4 conversions use dual filament-type bulbs. These
can adapt to HID and LED bulbs which is not the case with reflectors.

The bulbs can also be

replaced in case of
burnout and the entire
assembly does not
need to be replaced.

The advantages of
these include an easy
replacement and
brighter illumination.

The drawbacks are that

since these are
reflector-type lights, the
light produced is
uneven with hot
spotting, scattered, and
can cause blinding of
oncoming traffic.

#9. Projector Headlights

Projector lights are an advanced form of lights that were initially used in luxury cars only.
Halogen and HID both have projector headlight versions.

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The design of these headlights consists of a metal shield in front of the headlight that
helps focus the light in a specific direction.

These also have

mirrors, just like in
the reflector
headlights, to help
reflect and increase
the density of light.
Moreover, it
consists of a curved
lens that works as a
magnifying glass.

As a result, these
have an increased
brightness of the
beam of light and
provide better
illumination.

The system also contains a cutoff shield, just in case to make sure that the angle of the
light beam produced by projector headlights is correct and prevents the light from
bleeding outside the intended radius.

The advantages of projector lights are that they are brighter than conventional reflector
lights. The lens tilts the beam of light downwards onto the road so that it does not affect
other vehicles or pedestrians on the road. The beam of light produced is a lot more even
with no weak or intense spots.

The disadvantage of projector headlights is that they produce a different beam of light as
compared to reflector headlights and it is difficult to adapt to the lighting.

#10. Quad Headlights

Quad headlights are commonly seen in modern cars and larger vehicles. It has wider
housing and consists of two headlight bulbs per headlight. The two bulbs are for the high
beam and low beam respectively.

As a result, these consist of two headlight connectors each and each connector has two
wires connected to it.

The advantage of this high output system is that it provides stronger light than non-quad
lights due to its dual working nature.

The drawbacks of the quad headlights are that they may result in high maintenance if the

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system fails. Also, a quad headlight cannot be switched to any non-quad type of light due
to its unique dual wiring and it needs to be replaced with a quad headlight itself. 

#11. Non-quad headlights

Non-quad lights are commonly seen in smaller cars. These consist of a smaller housing
and a single headlight bulb inside the housing of each headlight.

The single headlight bulb works as the high beam and low beam. It consists of a single
headlight bulb connector and has three wires connected to it.

The advantage of these headlights is that it requires a minimal amount of energy to work
and maintenance is cheap.

The disadvantage is that it is not as bright as quad lights and as a result, does not provide
clear visibility.

#12. Driving & Interior lamps

Driving and Interior lamps are located inside the car and these are used for the driver to
locate the car parts inside and also help to view maps or directions.

We can also say the interior lamps include instrument panel lights, various warning
indicator lights, and compartment lights. Other different types of keyhole lights, map
lights, radio dial lights, and clock lights are also provided in some cars.

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#13. Parking lights
As the name itself indicates Parking that means this light is being used when we are
going to park the vehicle. This is low-intensity parking lights are usually provided in the
front of the car.

The parking light helps to provide a signal for another object and therefore it avoids the
accident.

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#14. Direction-signal lights
This light helps in turning the vehicle. It gives signals to the vehicle coming from the front
or rear. In addition, some special signal lights are also used.

#15. Blinker lights

Blinker light is also an important type of light and It is used when the car or other vehicle
stop on the highway. This light is much more noticeable than any other steady light and
provides a warning to other approaching vehicles or cars.

#16. Tail Light

The tail light helps at the night or you can say when the sunset. When the other vehicles
coming from behind it are able to see it. The tail light is on all the time at night when the
car is running.

#17. Brake Light

It is a very important type of light and is also known as a stop light. The brake light is
located at the rear of the car and becomes on when brakes are applied.

When you press the brake light automatically gets on to give the signal to another vehicle
behind it and thus it avoids the accident.

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