Thanks for the info Fifty150; I just found some on Amazon that have a 3 year guarantee! Looks like might be worth trying.



Link to Uni-Light headlights on Amazon

 

1TonBasecamp -- Paul, Have you been running the Hella Vision Plus H4 Halogens lens in your rig? What do you think of the beam pattern? Have you used the Hella 80/100 H4 bulbs?
Tom

 

Well after testing Light plug & harness plugs and seeing good voltage reading at the relay plug in point for the H4 bulbs of 14.42 PS & 14.47 DS I have decided to change my lens a pair of Hella Vision Plus H4 halogen E-code units that a couple of you have purchased from Amazon #002395801. I will try them with the 55/65W Hella bulbs in the kit. Then I will try my Osram Night Breaker 55/65W and lastly try the 80/100W Hella H4 bulbs. Will post results when done.

 

There is a review on Amazon, with photos, of that kit installed on a Mercedes with drop-in LED lamps. Post photos of the beam patterns if you can.

 

Well I got the new Hella Vision Plus E Code lens mounted in my 1971 F250 last Sunday. I tested the pattern on my garage back wall with the Hella 65/55W H4 bulbs, the Osram 65/55W H4 Night Breaker bulbs & the Hella 100/80W H4 bulbs. All three have a more condensed light pattern with the Hella & Osram 65/55W look about the same on low beam, the Hella 100/80W were a bit brighter on low beam. The test was at 6' from the wall only.

It has been raining for last two days and more coming so I have not been able to do a proper 25' headlight alignment as of now but will complete when our rain stops. I was able to drive around in our housing track and even with the lights set very low (about 10' out from front bumper) the area being lighted is much better than with my other H4 lens. So far So good. Will post results after full alignment is done.

 

To my naked eye, almost every name brand lamp looks about the same, since they are all the same wattage. Only time you'll be really able to tell the difference is when you compare a good name brand lamp with a generic discount item.

With 80W low beam, it will be brighter. Maybe not as bright as you think it will be. I felt that they made a difference. But I also know that it wasn't 50% brighter, It just doesn't work that way. The filament is burning more electricity and hotter, but the light wavelength is still using the same beam pattern of parabolic reflection.

The 100W high beam will make a true difference where there is low light or no light......on an unlit country road, at a campsite, in an underground garage during a power outage.....places where you really do need that extra lighting. From my recollection, 100W high beams in a headlamp are usually bright enough that you won't need other offroad lighting.

My cars are currently using LED lighting. A lot less amp draw. Most LED drop in replacement lamps use less than 1 amp. I can power an entire LED light bar with less than 5 amp.

Looking forward to seeing those photos.

 

Fifty150 --- Thanks for the reply. I agree with what you said. My Osram Night Breaker 65/55W bulbs in the Hella Vision Plus E Code lens were a little brighter than the Hella 65/55W, I think they use a different gas blend, not sure. The Hella 100/80W were the brightest on low beam. The high beam would be for no traffic roads only, very bright. Like I said I will see how they are after I get the headlights reset.

A question on LED bulbs? Do you have a part number for a LED bulb that has the same mount as the H4 bulb and will fit in a Hella H4 E Code lens with the same 3 prong plug in as the H4. I may change to this setup later.

 

There are a ton of them out there these days. From mild to wild too, in the price department!
The issue usually crops up that it's hit-or-miss as to whether the manufacturer nails the alignment correctly, or is way off. Unfortunately that leaves the general public to be the beta-testers out here in the real world. If you can find someone that's posted up light output and beam pattern with them (in Hella lamps preferrably) you'd be a head of the game.
One other issue is that some of them have big-*** fans (or other cooling implements) on the backsides that make them not compatible with all housings without a little bit of tweakage. Our trucks probably have enough room behind the buckets for the extra bulk, but that might depend on the individual bulb.

But if you can't find someone with a good report and you buy a set, be prepared to either be blown away by how bright they are, or how crappy they are, or get blown away by the number of people flashing their lights at you!
I've heard horror stories, but not all that many yet. Haven't been that many reports in the circles I roll in unfortunately. Can't wait to read a comprehensive test with 20 of the most popular LED's in 10 of the most popular housings!

I actually have a couple of sets of H4 LED's that were given to me, still waiting in the garage for the time to play around. But haven't gotten there yet because there are too many other things higher up on the list.

Good luck.

Paul

 

1TonBasecamp -- Thanks Paul for the reply. I was hoping that by posting I might get someone on this forum that has replaced some H4 bulbs with some LED's bulbs that fit a H4 mount & have 3 prong rear plug like all H4 have. I have seen some on the net, all prices, but I have no idea witch are good or bad. Maybe someone will chime in.

 

LED lamps are almost all made in Shenzhen, China. A handful of factories produce for 90% of the market. Then the lamps are branded and packaged for various resellers. There are literally hundreds of resellers. Some are US based, with product made in China. Some US companies import the parts from China, then finally assembly in USA.....but all that really means is glueing together 2 parts, or snapping a few pieces together, maybe putting in the last screw.....and call it Made In USA. I have personally seen clothing imported from overseas, with the label being sewn on in USA. They sew on a Made In USA label, as the final stage of assembly, then sell the product as American.

So whether you buy for $5 off Ali Baba, $20 off ebay, $40 off Amazon, or $100 from a US vendor......you are getting similar quality. Difference is in product support and warranty. With LED, the technology keeps getting better. In my F-150, I have $20 lamps that are better than the $200 lamps I bought 10 years ago. The hard part will be in doing all of that research to find a unit which you will have enough confidence in ordering. Or buy from Amazon. If you don't like it, send it back, and order something different.

That big fan isn't a drawback. You want that fan to draw away heat and it prevents dust from settling. Lamp will still fit. You will not be able to use the rubber dust shields Or you may want to re-engineer the dust shield by making cuts. I'm not so worried about dust. With a fan blowing, very little dust will settle. And since you have used dielectric grease with sealed, waterproof connectors.......dust will not interfere with your electrical current. If you are really worried about dust, then that's just another maintenance issue. Pull the lamp, wipe everything down, then plug the lamp back in. One more thing to do when checking the dipstick.

 

Been a few months sense I installed my Hella E code headlight lens with Hella H4 100/80w bulbs. After setting my headlights more towards straight out with little to no light in the incoming lane driving around town at night was a new enjoyable treat. Freeway driving in slow or second lane was real good on low beam. The super bright hi beam is for when no other cars are around, they really light up the road.

Very happy with the results and it is nice to be able to drive at night again. Key is to get the headlights pointed so they work for you and do not blind oncoming traffic.

Thanks to all that helped with informational replies.