would these kits work o.k. with my Hella H2 headlights.? thanks for any help with this.

 

Sounds like them. Because at the time anyway, they were the only DOT H4 lights out there. Certainly the only ones from Cibié, but pretty sure the first ones from any company using the replaceable H4 bulb.
From my experience at least, that would explain why you were disappointed with the performance as I was.

An H1 is not compatible. Unless it says H4, it's not going to be an exact fit.
There is the newer HB2 (also known as a 9003) that is visually the same as an H4 and a compatible "fit" into an H4 housing.
I'm not sure if the filament location is the same, but they sure look like it. I have not read the recent history of the numbering system, but it sounds to me like the US wanted it's own standard (H1, H2, H3 and H4 follow an international standard I believe) so created a new numbering system for the same parts? I don't know, but now you've got me interested enough to look it up.

Not sure what the H2 designation is that you're speaking of. Got details?
Maybe it's an HB2 instead? An H2 bulb is nothing like an H4 or the similar HB2, so if that's the case, don't leave out the "B" when ordering parts.

The old H2's were kick-*** bulbs. Very tiny, relatively inexpensive (in the beginning) and put out more lumens-per-watt than most others. But for some reason they were never very popular with the aftermarket. Not sure why, but maybe it was something simple like reliability or ease of manufacturing? Or maybe they just could not be focused the way they wanted with new lens designs. Whatever, they kind of fell out of favor by the '80's and you just don't see them much anymore. By contrast, the H3 bulbs were kind of "THE BULB" of choice for companies like KC and Hella and Piaa and all that, for their aftermarket fog and driving lights. And super cheap even today.

Sorry for the ramble. Just make sure you keep any letters in the description or you might end up with bulbs you can't use.

Paul

 

1TonBasecamp the Hella headlights that i am talking about are HB2,s Quadratech the Jeep people have them in their catalog. the part #is 97009.01. their on sale for $46.40 each plus free shipping. thanks for the help with this.

 

Are Osram Night Breaker Laser H4 Halogen bulbs DOT approved?

They are much brighter & whiter than my standard H4 halogens. They are 60/55 W

 

Well, if they're not, they are at least the DOT legal wattages. And that's what most look for when wanting proper bulbs anyway.
Not sure if the bulbs need to be DOT "approved" or not. Or if just the lenses do, or not. Or if it has to be both in combination. But there is a fine line between DOT approved and DOT compliant. And at least those are DOT compliant, being 55w low beams and 60w highs.

If I was looking for whiter and brighter and I could find it in a main-stream company's bulb like that, I'd run them without worry.

Paul

 

Thanks Paul, As you know from this thread my eyes need all the help they can get. I agree with all you have said and maybe I am using Dot approved where I should be saying DOT compliant. As you are from CA you know how we have to toe the line on car & truck stuff.

I think I will try a set as they are somewhat cheap at $20 pair on Amazon, got to be better than the standard H4 halogens I am running now.

 

They are European lights with no mention of US DOT regulation compliance in my googled flyer. I would just get them and just see if you get stopped.

 

Me too. I doubt you'd ever get called on it, unless they were built poorly and caused the beam to aim incorrectly. Otherwise nobody could ever really know, due to the fact that they're legal brightness. Or at least legal wattage.
Not sure how they're getting that much more brightness out of the same wattage, but they can change the "color" of the light by varying the gas mix and filament metallurgy.
Chemistry rules!

Paul

 

I just installed a set of Hella headlights (European lens with USA legal bulbs) on my rig:

I upgraded to a relay wiring harness at the same time using this harness:

I am very impressed with the increased output. An unintended benefit was that the interior dash lights seem brighter as well. Evidently taking the headlight load off of the factory wiring harness allows more voltage to the dash lights.

A cautionary note on the wiring harness; I ran the wiring alongside my horn wires over the top of the radiator support. The wiring kit was a little short and I had to splice in about a one foot extension to reach the opposite headlight. If you are willing to just string the harness across the front of the radiator behind the grill you would probably be alright, but I did not want to do that.

 

That's been my experience with "universal" relay harnesses. Heck, even some direct-fit harnesses are too short.
I refused to sell one of our two harnesses for years (the USA made one no less!) because it was just too darn short even for the Early Broncos. Trying to use them on a full-size was an exercise in futility.

Glad you've got better headlights now. What do you think of the beam pattern on yours? Is it nice and flat, with a high flare-up on the right side? I noticed mine right away when I could actually see street signs on my right for the first time!

Paul

 

One Ton Basecamp ------ I ordered a pair of the night breaker H4 halogen today. Hope to get them in to try when we return from MI. I think you are right on how they vary brightness. As they are still 60/55 W I don't think I will get pulled over.

Florida Chris ----- I did install a relay wiring harness and I did run it in front of the lower radiator inside the grill. Had no problem with length on the two bulb plug in's but I did need to add 12" to my 12 volt input wire as it would not reach my hot side of the starter relay. It works fine and has improved the wattage feed. Don't know if it will help my dash lights as they currently are not working. Need to replace the light switch.


RichS2659 ----- Im going to give them a try.

 

Yes Paul, the lights have a nice flat cutoff beam with a diagonal flare up on the right side. The cutoff on the left side means you can aim the lights a bit higher without blinding oncoming traffic. The brights, well they are really impressive. Out where I am in the country I use my high beams a lot.

I have used these European spec Hella headlight lenses in other vehicles since the 70's and have been pleased with them. I have not seen a need to increase the bulb wattage to non-legal levels, nor have I ever been stopped for having non-DOT lenses.

 

Chris, I will try the brighter bulb that are still 60/55 wattage with the lenses I have now. If I had it to do again ( and I might later) I would of installed the same Hella units that you used as I think the lens design is much better.

 

As with all the talk about lighting being "legal"........I have never seen any cop open a hood, remove the actual light bulb, to check to "see" if they are "legal".

I have seen plenty of tickets issued for people driving with "blue" color lights, driving with offroad lights on, and driving with lights on which were mounted too high.


Your average street cop has no way of measuring how bright your lamps are. And most have no idea what the accepted range might be.

 

Fifty150 -- Well put, but it only takes one that has had a bad day to get on my case about them. As long as I stick with the 60/55 watt compliance I will have no problem. As a note my wife's new Ford Explorer has lights that are much brighter than my F250 lights and I know they are legal.