Sucro relay. Narva? 80/100 bulbs. What went wrong?

[Moses]

I ordered Narva bulbs online. The bulbs are labeled CANDLEPOWER. They are 80/100 Watt. Made in Germany. I'm not sure these are Narva bulbs and I'm not sure if this is my problem.

The Sucro Relay kit went in easily. After installation, I checked the lights with my old Hella bulbs and they worked as they did before. Next, I installed the new bulbs. The left side headlight is remarkably dimmer that the right. (See pic). The Left bulb socket was kind of gummy, so maybe the contact isn't good. That didn't seem to affect the old bulbs. What the heck?

1) Are these Narva bulbs?

2) What did I do wrong?

3) What do I do next?

[Neilk]

I doubt you want to take anything apart, but have you tried putting the left headlight on the right side to see if it brightened up?

[Embs]

Moses I think it is the work of an EVIL electrical gremlin that is also haunting me on the other side of the country. No really It seems like a weak connection/bad ground somewhere.
Does the weaker of the two lights flicker at all?

[89911]

Along the same lines, at AutoZone the other day, their "Wagner" bulbs in the foreign car section also had "Narva" inscripted on them.

[Craig Stevens]

I agree with Neil. Try switching the lights to see if the one bulb is faulty, & the wiring & ground on the dim side is ok. Electrical problems suck. Craig

[Moses]

Well, THIS doesn't look right! Blown new bulb on left. Old Hella on right. (Yes, I clean the fingerprints with alcohol before install.) Is this blown bulb the result of bad wiring of the relay? Anyone know if CANDLEPOWER = NARVA?

[Randy Webb]

swap the bulbs and see if it changes

if not, thn there is addl resistance somewhere in the dim bulb wiring

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by Moses
1) Are these Narva bulbs?

2) What did I do wrong?

3) What do I do next?

I have a different box..

and does the bulb metal base have NARVA written on the glass side ?

[Moses]

Originally posted by RoninLB
I have a different box..

and does the bulb metal base have NARVA written on the glass side ?

No. Mine says CANDLEPOWER. Apparently Candlepower is the NA rep. for Narva: http://www.candlepowerinc.com/

Anyway, I went down to the local parts place and put in a pair of Hella 80/100's. So far they are both burning brightly! Waiting for dark for a road test. Are the Narva bulbs worth switching out my Hella's if I can find them? Thanks!

[carreradpt]

Moses, do you have a picture of your install?

[Moses]

Originally posted by carreradpt
Moses, do you have a picture of your install?

I can take one if you want. The Sucro relay install is incredibly easy... I mounted the hot lead to the battery terminal with a ring terminal. The ground to the chassis.Wires joined with solderless terminals. Relay mounted below fuse panel with sticky Velcro.

Looks something like this: (not mine)

[fintstone]

IMHO Hellas are as good or better than NARVAs, just keep the working "Candlepower" bulb as a spare...Hard to find iif you lose a bulb in the midddle of nowhere.

[Early_S_Man]

Your bad bulb has the appearance of a bulb that was damaged by cracking the quartz envelope ... then oxide deposits quickly fogged the envelope after power was applied. Was the packaging visibly damaged in shipment? If not, it was probably dropped on concrete prior to shipment. Those boxes don't provide much protection against damage ... even though the box doesn't appear to have damage presemt!

Cracked vacuum tubes often had the same appearance when powered up after being cracked. The bottom line is ... don't blame the damage on the mfr!

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by Moses
. Are the Narva bulbs worth switching out my Hella's if I can find them? Thanks!

I never compared the two mfgs.

Narva's claim to fame is the way the filiments are wound... you can't go wrong with Hellas.

The non-DOT lens are critical to the bulb's light control.. If your using the Bosch H-4, I hope they don't have the DOT 3 tits on the lens. and real 80w low may be a stock bulb socket problem.. it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep an ocasional eye on them, maybe after 10hrs of use.

you'll really notice a difference on non-lighted roads at higher speeds..
enjoy......Ron

[fintstone]

Here are some install pics of my '74 911. Note the relays mounted behind the left side of panel.

[Moses]

Originally posted by RoninLB
The non-DOT lens are critical to the bulb's light control.. If your using the Bosch H-4, I hope they don't have the DOT 3 tits on the lens...

No tits. Just H4 embossed in the lamp. (These are the H4 replacements for the sealed beam units, not the euro-type.) Got them at Pelican.