Just ridden home from the first fenland branch meeting , which was a good night and well attended , but it was also my first night ride on theT3 and the headlight is terrible. The dip seems to go to the right but it has an mot so it must be ok , it’s just dim. Has anyone in a similar position put a a more modern, brighter headlight in an older  Guzzi?  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Cheers. Dougie.
Hi Dougie,
I had problems with my T3 headlight. At MoT it was found to dip the wrong way, something that had been missed in all its previous tests.
The solution is dead easy. The light unit is the same as the one used to convert old style minis from sealed beam to halogen. Car accessory shops normally have them in stock and they are not expensive and include bulbs.Â
The back plug for electrics is the same as Guzzi standard so the whole job takes about 5 minutes.Â
Afterwards you will be delighted.
All the best,
David
My T3 headlight was bright enough, but had a right hand (continental) dip - and still had an MOT, so that is no guide. As David says, you have plenty of choice of 7" units that will go straight in. I put a Cibie in mine, but the Wipac in my Ural is as good, if not better. If your headlight is dim, the problem may be voltage drop, which can have a drastic impact on light output. It may worth investing in a mini-relay (details elsewhere on the forum): I didn’t do that on the T3 as the headlight was bright enough, but have done on my wife’s old Fiat 500, where it made a big difference.
Glad to hear the Fenland meet went well. I couldn’t make it last night, but hope to get along in future.
Thanks for both answers, at least I’m not going mad. The dipped beam has a definite spread of light to the right and some lighting up the trees also on the right. The only name on the glass is Siem ( Siemens?). Â I will look into both ideas and report back. Thanks again. Dougie.
The original 850T3,and others, set up was a 45/40 bulb in a Siem unit , nowhere near good enough for night time riding, I remember changing my T3 bulb first for a 60/55 one and then later fitting a Cibie unit with the 60/55 bulb, the 45/40 bulb was indeed a candle in the wind, I still have the Cibie unit on the bike but as that was fitted back in the 1980’s I dont know what replacements are on the market these days. the Cibie headlight was the most common headlight fitted to T3’s-Spada’s etc in the 1980’s onwards.
I think Cibie z beams are still available…well they were 4 years ago when I got one from Corsa Italiana
The Cibie I bought 18 months ago was advertised as a z beam, but it’s not as I remember them in the 80’s, as it seems to have a normal beam pattern. It’s a perfectly good headlight, but not as good as I recall (but memories can be tricky things…). I find the 7" Wipac on my Ural at least as good, and they are cheaper to buy.
I ended up fitting a Wipac headlight and returning last night from the fenland branch meeting the improvement was bright and clear. Thanks for all the help. Cheers. Dougie
Glad to hear you have the headlight sorted. I completely missed the Fenland meet last night - bugger!
You can fit a standard aftermarket lens unit such as the Wipac Quadoptic which is good.
I found a Cibie Z beam for my T3 which is excellent. Â Fit a Xenon H4 bulb as they are brighter.
The light may be dim due to the cumulation of small resistances at each of the many electrical connections between the battery to the bulb, which reduces the voltage at the bulb. Â Fitting a lights relay removes this problem.
Wipac sealed beam replacement light (normally comes in pairs but still dead cheap) with a 100/80 H4 bulb rewired to go through relays and you’ll compete with AA searchlights.
Alternator is more than man enough.