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Who is running H-4 Halogen headlights?

BwoncoHowie

C-4 Wizard
Joined
Nov 11, 2002
Messages
3,571
I know this subject has been beaten to death on this forum but wondered if there were any fresh ideas out there.
I just wanted to see what you have and how did you do it.
What did you do for a relay harness?
What wattage bulbs are you driving?
Since Cibie lenses are to hard to find at a reasonable price, (replacement may be difficult if you break one) what is comparable. Bosch, Hella?
Where did you get the materials?
I would really enjoy seeing lots of pics.

Thanks ~BH~
 

Heus33

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 1, 2005
Messages
7,407
I started with the cheap eBay H4s with the stock wiring harness and it was a good upgrade as far as light output was concerned. But after reading about the potential to melt the wires and start a fire (with the stock harness) I looked into getting a relay and wiring harness. I then figured that for just a few more dollars I could go HID - no need to change your wiring harness and a relay and wiring kit were included with my purchase. I also upgraded to a projector style headlight but lets just say its not as good as I had hoped.

There was a recent post about a cibie-like replacement for $55 a pair: http://classicgarage.com/ne7roh4hecul.html The cutoff on these look good to me but I haven't seen a lot of pics yet.

Here are some pics of my HID setup. More info and pics on my build there here: http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123750&page=12
 

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Justafordguy

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Sep 26, 2009
Messages
6,253
I used some cheap H4 housings I got off Ebay and a relay harness I got from LMC for $30. It plugs right in to the stock harness and hooks to the battery. Took about 10 minutes to install. They work much better than stock sealed beams.
 

JMurray

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2002
Messages
800
http://www.midnightdsigns.com/james/headlights.htm
I did this a few years ago & I run, if I remember 55/80 watt bulbs. You can get everything at a local parts house, 40 bucks maybe. I have to set my drivers headlight lower to keep from blinding people. But you really are going to use the xtra light for highbeams anyway. I used Hella lenses, 80 bucks or so. Not hard at all, but make sure to use the right wire & fuses.
 

surfer-b

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Sep 7, 2006
Messages
2,972
I have used the Cibie's but I prefer the Hella housings and PIAA H4 Super White 100/80 Watt bulbs with a relay, however the PIAA's kept blowing on low beam after limited use, so I switched back to the Hellas and have had no prob. They arn't as bright as the PIAA's but have had them in for 5 or 6 yrs. and no problems.
 

phred

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Messages
3,432
Loc.
Earth
several vendors sell a pre-made harness that includes the relays an the fuse. Quick and easy mod. I have done it on several trucks. It gives you the ability to run different wattage bulbs. I run delta lenses. fairly inexpensive. BCB stocks the lenses.
 

Socal Tom

Bronco Guru
Joined
Feb 12, 2004
Messages
2,442
Loc.
San Diego, CA
I was using Hella lenses with 55/100 bulbs. The harness was a summit racing harness. The first high beam relay died ( looked like corrosion coupled with high amp load killed it). The replacement relay I bought worked fine. I really liked the setup. The harness was smaller guage than some of the others, but it worked fine for me.
Tom
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,355
Some of the vendors use the overkill-factor for their wires. BC's are larger than needed for most setups, but I bet they're factoring in all the unknown's that the Bronco owners are likely to do with bulb power.
For anything up to 100 watt bulbs, even the smaller wires I've seen are fine, for their length.

I'll second the 55/100 watt setups. Most of us don't use our high-beams unless we really need some serious light, and don't do it (hopefully!) with oncoming traffic except to flash someone momentarily anyway. So the higher wattage highs are a real bonus, while leaving the low beams legal.
With the right lens and reflector, even 55 watts puts a huge amount of light out in front of you.

Very happy too, with the Hella e-code lamps. Never used their DOT versions, so can't comment on them.

Paul
 

fungus

Bronco Guru
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
1,548
Loc.
Kaneohe Bay, Oahu
I used the Wildhorses IPF setup. Love it! Got all the parts in one box and had them in and wired up in 30 min w/o running back and forth to the parts house. A real "no-brainer" install... Worth the extra coin to me.
 

fungus

Bronco Guru
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
1,548
Loc.
Kaneohe Bay, Oahu
Yeah, real nice! Makes driving at night a whole different experience... ie; you can actually see where you're going far enough ahead to stay on the throttle! Alot more side lobe light for trails offroad as well.
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,355
Great to know. We can add that info to our good/bad lighting experience database here!
Another bonus of that high right-side light flare is you can really see street signs without straining.

Paul
 

Deano

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
1,182
I like my IPF from wildhorses they put the light to the sides and out in front in the rite spots but oncoming trafic don't like em.
 
OP
OP
BwoncoHowie

BwoncoHowie

C-4 Wizard
Joined
Nov 11, 2002
Messages
3,571
Reading this is really sweet, Thanks for all your input!
Keep the comments coming. The Hella lenses are looking pretty good to me, unless there is something better available out there for less duggets. Still havent decided on the bulb wattage. I already bought stuff to build my own harness several months ago, but now am looking at the time to finish buying the materials and putting it together. I mounted the relay sockets in the engine compartment on the right side fender well back near the firewall. I was going to squirt some spray Dielectric Grease on the prongs before I plug in the relays.

Thank you Heus33 for the pics.

Does anyone else have more pics?
 

oldiron

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 21, 2005
Messages
1,032
I've been using the sylvania silverstars now for about a year and love them. Not as bright as HID, but available in any parts store, no relays or wiring, and much better than anything else I've tried.
Greg
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,355
Heard good things about them as well, from several users.
Doesn't really change the need for relays though. Silverstars likely use the same wattage as standard H4's (55/60), or at least close. So the main reason for the relay upgrade is to make sure that the full system voltage reaches the headlights in the first place.
With wiring this old, and the potential for corroded connections and deteriorating wire, many (most?) Broncos are not getting the full available voltage to the lights.
So you might still find that even your much-improved lighting with the Silverstars, gets even better with the use of relays.
I did. Mucho bettero

If your harness is newly updated though, the relays don't have that much more to offer. Still not a bad idea, but not quite as spectacular results.

Paul
 

Heus33

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 1, 2005
Messages
7,407
Reading this is really sweet, Thanks for all your input!
Keep the comments coming. The Hella lenses are looking pretty good to me, unless there is something better available out there for less duggets. Still havent decided on the bulb wattage. I already bought stuff to build my own harness several months ago, but now am looking at the time to finish buying the materials and putting it together. I mounted the relay sockets in the engine compartment on the right side fender well back near the firewall. I was going to squirt some spray Dielectric Grease on the prongs before I plug in the relays.

Thank you Heus33 for the pics.

Does anyone else have more pics?

Sure, but get your checkbook out.... take a look at these LED headlights.... http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wc...S/12vLEDHeadlamp.html&storeId=10001&langId=-1
 

hdfx81

Sr. Member
Joined
May 13, 2008
Messages
523
Here's a few pics of mine, I have the classic garage Cibbie clones with 55/60 watt ultra white H-4 bulbs.
 

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