ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halogen_bulb
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"Halogen lamps are manufactured with enough halogen to match the rate of tungsten evaporation at their design voltage. Increasing the applied voltage increases the rate of evaporation, so at some point there may be insufficient halogen and the lamp goes black. Over-voltage operation is not generally recommended. With a reduced voltage the evaporation is lower and there may be too much halogen, which can lead to abnormal failure. At much lower voltages, the bulb temperature may be too low to support the halogen cycle, but by this time the evaporation rate is too low for the bulb to blacken significantly....."
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Cheers!
Stuart
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From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM 
Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2013 9:58:26 PM
Subject: Re: High beams not working-lighting upgrades!

Right, well like I say, I will go about chubbying up the wire to the
dash one of these days. I doubt the existing wire will burn up in the
meantime. And are you saying that a halogen bulb lasts longer at 100%
voltage than at 90% voltage? I'd like to see a reference.

--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
Bend, Ore.

On 11/17/2013 05:35 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
> Most auto equipment will work over a large voltage range but performance
> does suffer. However it is not by accident or even cost savings that the
> wiring is "undersized". As the system gets loaded down thee resistances help
> to control the load on the alternator. Also, as so much wiring is not over
> current protected the smaller sizes also help to limit or control fault
> currents. Yes those wires can act as fuses hopefully burning up enough to
> open before the van is gone.
>
> For lighting getting as little as a 1 volt improvement can make a
> significant difference in performance. Halogen bulbs also need full voltage
> get full output and life.