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Headlight Upgrade/Replacement

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:33 pm
by GRIMACE
Dillema: The headlights on my rover have always been sh*t, now one is pretty much blown (10%light) and the other is still sh*t.

I was looking at the IPF headlight upgrade kit with globes & loom, price around the $330 mark. Now i had a quick inspection (from the exterior) of my current lgihts and they have the little H4 on the lens, this led me to beleive these may not be a sealed beam light and I may just be able to replace the globes.

Now my main Q, even if the globes are replaceable will they be as good or near the quality of the IPF Light and Loom upgrade kit or not?

Does/has anyone installed a upgraded loom kit from elsewhere or the same and what feedback do you have on em?

Cheers
Anthony

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:40 pm
by HSV Rangie
fit decnt leses
good globes

FIT RELAYS

job is done.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:47 pm
by GRIMACE
HSV Rangie wrote:fit decnt leses
good globes

FIT RELAYS

job is done.
so the loom isnt realy any bonus?
Are my H4 decent lenses?
if yes to both above I can just go get sum good globes and relays, right? (thats assuming my H4s arnt a sealed beam)

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:55 pm
by DaveS3
Anthony look here--->

http://www.aulro.com/modules.php?name=F ... pic&t=5356

Just follow the diagram and you should be fine.

Dave.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 1:35 pm
by GRIMACE
wow thats a neat diagram, only bit that confuses me is its got a connection to the original vehicle headlight plugs,
so i assume the old headlight wiring is just left in the car (i originally thought you replace/remove it)

EDIT: and the conection to the original headlight plug is wat triggers all the relays right???

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 1:41 pm
by GRIMACE
wat about custom fitting in a front set of later style lights from a P38 rover ? ? ?
Or are the lights/globe in these not very good either?

Thanks for the diagrams and help full directions, this is actually the first bit of electrical work i can seemingly understand :armsup: gotta start sumwhere

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:05 pm
by TuffRR
I just replaced the globes with some $60 ones from Autobarn, cant remember the type off the top of my head but it made a huge difference.
And yeah, they aren't a sealed unit.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:06 pm
by DaveS3
I think you just geta conversion kit for the H4's then you plug your new wiring onto there.
Get rid of the old crap and start again following that diagram.
At least then your headlights are fused so you dont burn out all your wiring like me :roll:

Dave.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:32 pm
by GRIMACE
DaveS3 wrote:I think you just geta conversion kit for the H4's then you plug your new wiring onto there.
Get rid of the old crap and start again following that diagram.
At least then your headlights are fused so you dont burn out all your wiring like me :roll:

Dave.
Yeah thats wat i am gonna do, and seein as my H4s can have replacment bulbs i just gonne keep em too.
Keep the one semi dodgy globe as a spare (throw out the shitty one)

So all i need to buy is two globes, sum wire, 4 relays and a fuse box.
main Q now Wat relays and wat globes ? ? ?
Wat size fuses ?

I already printed out that diagram, and studied it :D

Thansk again for all the help.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:39 pm
by 86MUD
Hi Anthony

I bit the bullet and fitted the IPF upgrade kit...and I am glad I did. I am running 90watt low beam and 140 High beam...I now no longer need spotties.

The new lenses are very well cut and produce an awesome light - can could steak at 100 metres...

The wiring and relays are professionally put together...far better then lucas crap.

But they still don't stop roos hitting the bullbar....

Just my 2 cents worth....

Cheers

Andrew

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:54 pm
by DaveS3
Use 15 amp fuses, should be heaps and low enough to stop wiring from buring.
55/60w globes should be cool, maybe some of those clear jobs.
Relay - just check how many amps it can handle? Are there different size relays for stuff like this?

Dave.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:57 pm
by GRIMACE
86MUD wrote:90watt low beam and 140 High beam...I now no longer need spotties.
Andrew
:shock: them figures seem huge

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:59 pm
by HSV Rangie
no is good.

Michael.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 3:02 pm
by 86MUD
thank you...thank you very much...

but seriously, the bulbs are available at ARB for about $50 each, so they are not cheap. I have already blown one bulb after only 12 months use...

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 3:13 pm
by GRIMACE
will these bulbs be safe to use in my H4 beams?
wont i need larger fuses (maybe 20amp) to allow enough current flow :? :?: if i decided to use such high wattage bulbs.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 3:35 pm
by 86MUD
The IPF kit has a 30amp fuse in the main line from the battery...so they do suck a lot of juice...but amazingly the wiring harness does not get hot, mainly due to the mammoth size of the wires included in the upgrade kit!!

If you are going to use the bigger bulbs in your standard lenses, you will have to upgrade the wiring and use a 30amp relay on each lamp. Over time your lenses may go yellow from the brightness of the bigger bulbs.

Cheers

Andrew

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 3:45 pm
by RaginRover
86MUD wrote:thank you...thank you very much...

but seriously, the bulbs are available at ARB for about $50 each, so they are not cheap. I have already blown one bulb after only 12 months use...
Call Queensland Diesel spares, ashdowns or Auto Electrical Importers and ask how much the NARVA ones are with the same figures and I think you will find they will be a lot less than ARB charge.

Last time I bought ones like that we put them in a mates alfa and the cost me $30 a pair from memory

Tom

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 4:21 pm
by kaistuff
You want 40 amp relays and 30 amp fuses for each lamp and if you use 6 mm2 wire all the way to the globe plug (get new one ) and it will mack a huge difference even withe the standard globes but if u want get the 65/100 w once and it will be better

tacks about 2-3 hrs to do

if u can fit the relays and fuse in to a water prove box on the l/h mudguard

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 4:25 pm
by BIg StEvE
What about purple headlight uprgrage big man! At least some Grimace purple parkers! :rofl:

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 4:40 pm
by GRIMACE
kaistuff wrote:You want 40 amp relays and 30 amp fuses for each lamp and if you use 6 mm2 wire all the way to the globe plug (get new one ) and it will mack a huge difference even withe the standard globes but if u want get the 65/100 w once and it will be better

tacks about 2-3 hrs to do

if u can fit the relays and fuse in to a water prove box on the l/h mudguard
Sweet
Might fit them inside the cabin sumwhere as I am modding the wheel arches, wont be much room on em.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 4:56 pm
by turps
AnthonyP wrote:
kaistuff wrote:You want 40 amp relays and 30 amp fuses for each lamp and if you use 6 mm2 wire all the way to the globe plug (get new one ) and it will mack a huge difference even withe the standard globes but if u want get the 65/100 w once and it will be better

tacks about 2-3 hrs to do

if u can fit the relays and fuse in to a water prove box on the l/h mudguard
Sweet
Might fit them inside the cabin sumwhere as I am modding the wheel arches, wont be much room on em.
Thing is though even with big wires you still want to keep them as short as possible.
On my PAtrol, I have the relay for the driving lights mounted just behind the grill on the radiator support panel. With power coming direct from the batt and then using a long wire that goes back into the cab with a switch, then it goes to the highbeam circuit.
Setup like this it keeps the main wires nice and short. The switchable wire can be pretty long doesent need much power to activate the relay.

Also to keep it a bit more compact I have a relay that has more than one output. And is fused on both lines. So the whole thing is fused with 30amp. Then there are 2 15amp(they might be 10amp) fuses mounted on the relay itself.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:54 pm
by uninformed
i just put in some + 30's (h4) "narva" $18 a pair(supa ceap) they didn't have any +50's but these have made a good difference in my d110, i would recomend fitting some relays aswell
cheers, serg

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 8:17 pm
by Ralf the RR
I just bought some "crystal" lenses with super white 90/100 globes off ebay ($86 delivered).
These will replace my LH sealed beam & RH H4 - both crap.

I was planning a relay upgrade a while ago, and bought 2 relays with 2 (87) outputs each.
Since seeing that wiring diagram mentioned earlier (4 relays), I reckon it's better, and will go with it.
The relays shown are change over relays (87 & 87a outputs).
This is not necessary, just standard 4 terminal relays will do.
If you're keen, then relay bases will make it look neat.

Fuses are required to protect the WIRING.
Assume 100W for Hi & Lo each (400 total), then the current draw will be less than 10A per relay, so 30A fuses are the go.

6mm cable is slightly large. 4 or 5mm should be OK.

I think the tip regarding the earth wire to the battery is a great idea.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:15 pm
by one_iota
I upgraded the wiring on my Disco following the AULRO diagram above and achieved a 13% passenger side improvement and a 20% drivers side (measured with a luxmeter). The improvement was noticable visually.

It took about 3 hours.

I already had 50+ Osram lamps.

My lights are as good if not better than most other cars on the road and comply with the ADR's.

Now the Lightforce spotties have been added to the equation.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:31 pm
by Bush65
I haven't tried this myself, and dont recommend it, but have heard about connecting the power side of the relays to the output from the alternator, instead of battery. This gives about 14V for more light.

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 10:03 pm
by Davidh
I haven't tried this myself, and dont recommend it, but have heard about connecting the power side of the relays to the output from the alternator, instead of battery. This gives about 14V for more light.
But the alternator is connected to the battery, and if you're not getting 14v at the battery when the engine's running, then your alternator isn't working right.
And if you turned off the engine and left the headlights on, you'd be drawing the power from the battery through the alternator to the headlights, which would be a very inefficient circuit.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 9:56 am
by andrew e
Ralf the RR wrote:I just bought some "crystal" lenses with super white 90/100 globes off ebay ($86 delivered).
these crystal ones are great, i got some off ebay too about 6 months ago and have not looked back. They have a clear lens on the outside and ripples on the diffuser instead of the other way around.

How much is the ipf upgrade loom? remember, you can get a HID headlight upgrade from ebay for about 400.

Andrew

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:01 am
by HSV Rangie
andrew e wrote:
Ralf the RR wrote:I just bought some "crystal" lenses with super white 90/100 globes off ebay ($86 delivered).
these crystal ones are great, i got some off ebay too about 6 months ago and have not looked back. They have a clear lens on the outside and ripples on the diffuser instead of the other way around.

How much is the ipf upgrade loom? remember, you can get a HID headlight upgrade from ebay for about 400.

Andrew
will agree to this, (crystal lenses and super whites.)
I have these ordered and delivered to office.

Michael.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:08 am
by GRIMACE
good stuff i just looked at a set of crystals with +60 bulbs for $99 as i think my current H4 have goone abit off colour and the seals are also leakin on em.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 11:03 am
by kaistuff
Ralf the RR wrote:I just bought some "crystal" lenses with super white 90/100 globes off ebay ($86 delivered).
These will replace my LH sealed beam & RH H4 - both crap.
let me know how they perform and if u happy with the result