Ooops I have H1s not H4s

[Neilnaz]

I recently installed the J West headlight relay kit with a plan to change the headlight bulbs to some halogen ones. I went to install the H4 bulbs this evening and found that I have H1 headlamps with H1 bulbs behind H4 glass. I imagine that the glass was changed some time in the past and the H1 and H4 glass must be interchangeable.

Are H1 bulbs that are available from normal motorist shops suitable and, if so, what wattage do people recommend? Please note I have the relays fitted.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Regards, Neil

[Bill Douglas]

Your best bet is to take the old bulb into Repco, or Supercheap, and see if you can match it.

[Neilnaz]

Thanks Bill. I take it that H1 bulbs are not all interchangeable then and not only vary in output but in other respects also from what you are saying.

I want to get higher output bulbs than are currently installed so checking what they are is a good idea.

Cheers, Neil

[Arne2]

The term "H1" describes the bulb's physical size, shape and connections. Any H1 labeled bulb will fit. I would recommend using brand-name bulbs, Phillips, Hella, Osram, etc.

I believe that replacement H1 glass is still available if you are interested in making your lights "correct".

[javadog]

The H1 and H4 glass is the same shape but the patterns on the front of the glass are different, so you should change the glass. If you run relays and aim the lights correctly, you really don't need higher wattage bulbs. Look at the Daniel Stern website for some information about bulbs and what to avoid. There's a lot of hype and crap out there.

JR

[rshea]

Rally Lights, Hella, TerraTrip, Hans, WRC, ZAMP - RallyLights.com

check out this web site they have it all! Name brand H1 bulbs!! reasonable price.

[Porboynz]

Supercheap has some Narva Artic Plus at $30 each, claims 50% more light, brighter whiter etc etc but still 55W, if you buy these please report what you find. Generally I would recommend less hype and go for stock Hella from Repco. Your relays are going to ensure they get more voltage so you should see an improvement anyway plus preserve the column light switch. BTW I was able to get genuine RHD H1 lenses from Giltrap Parts a few years back, about $80 each from memory.

[Neilnaz]

Thanks all, I will definitely look into replacement lenses for the headlights at some point when I am going through 'the nice to dos'. I established that one headlight also lacked the correct (H4?) connector (the 3-pronged plastic connector) that is part of the headlight assembly. Instead someone had 'adapted' 3 crimp connectors to connect the wiring.

I have ordered an H4 connector and will replace some of the wiring. I have also purchased some 100W H1 bulbs. The dipped beams had 55W bulbs and the main beams 22W bulbs when I checked.

I decided to try 100W bulbs in the dipped and 55W bulbs in the mains. Does that sound like a reasonable idea? I am not sure whether 100W will be any brighter than standard 55W bulbs but I thought I would give it a go.

I have read some of the information regarding halogen bulbs and it seems extremely variable as most bulbs are 55W as that was what was allowed by regulation especially in the US. The actual output of the bulbs varies and anything that purports to be higher than 55W is not adhering to regulation. I don't believe anyone will actually check what bulbs are installed but they will check that they are correctly aimed.

I will let you know how I get on.

Cheers, Neil

[Porboynz]

I suspect that the condition of the reflectors is going to have more impact on light output than the wattage of the bulbs. My WOF guy laughs at the light output of the H1's and reckons it doesn't matter where they aimed they will never dazzle anyone. He does have a point, but where get the reflectors re-aluminised in NZ?

[Bill Douglas]

Those cans of spray on silver that looks like chrome work well. My mechanic did a one minute fix on an old Corolla for me and it improved things considerably.

[Neilnaz]

Mmmm, I do understand your point about the condition of the reflectors. I can only say that they currently look in OK condition in the area that I could see, although it is difficult to assess without a total deconstruction. I will look into chrome paint to see if I can find get some here.

Cheers for the pointers,

Neil

[javadog]

The wattage matters. 100W bulbs will be brighter than 55W bulbs. Like I said before, read the info on Daniel Stern's website about bulbs. The web site link posted above is a good example of some of the crap that is out there in the market.

I wouldn't touch the reflectors unless they are in really bad shape. The reflectivity given by paint is nowhere near as good as what was there originally and it is very hard to find a place that will refinish them for you. It's a very delicate coating, I wouldn't even try to clean it. Taking an H1 light apart is not easy at all and all of the little parts you will disturb are NLA, so if you screw something up you've just ruined a light.

You can put the higher wattage bulbs in the low beams if you want, as you'll use them more often than the high beams. You can also use the lower wattage beams and rig them to run all four bulbs at once on high beam. Lots of possibilities.

I'd suggest changing the glass, installing the relays, aiming them properly and then driving with them a while before screwing with them any more. You might find they are adequate. I used them for more than 30 years and never felt a need to run higher wattage bulbs.

JR

[Neilnaz]

Thanks Javadog - message received and understood. I will put 100W in the dipped and 55W in the main (they are 55W and 22W respectively at the moment). That should make a difference. I must admit I hadn't thought of ganging dipped and main together but maybe that is to be considered further down the track. I did read the Daniel Stern information page - very interesting and concluded that there is a great deal of misinformation. I bought higher output bulbs 100W with the hope that they may be slightly brighter than the existing 55W bulbs. I didn't go for super-white/blue or any other marketing b*******.

The headlights, as it stands, are mediocre but I do believe that one of the headlights is poorly aimed which will not help matters and I think that is because one of the headlight adjusters has failed on one side of one of the units so the threaded rod does not move the reflector. I cannot remember which reflector it is but I do believe it would be a good idea to resolve that.

I will look at addressing this and will probably have to resort to making something up for the small plastic part that I think has failed. I can see that the units are delicate (well they have been around for 40+years) and slightly complicated. However I do think that they are a clever design. I certainly wouldn't want to change them just put them back to good working order, clean if easy to access and update the bulbs

I will let you know how I get on. You never know I may take some pictures and post them when all this happens.

Cheers,

Neil

[Bill Jennings]

Neilnaz,
You mentioned you were going to buy a new three pronged connecter for one of the lights.
Make sure you buy a quality one not the cheapo one off the rack at supercheap auto as it may melt due to the higher heat from the higher wattage bulbs. I upgraded my Harley last year to 100/55 and the connector melted.

Cheers
Bill

[donporfi]

You can use an H4 male connector nad adapt it instead of the plastic part which is riveted to the reflector body of the headlight.

[donporfi]

Like Bill Jennings said, if you are going to use higher wattage bulbs change the connectors, preferably use ceramic ones.
To avoid this

This is an H5 connector but you get the picture of what can happen.

use this type of ceramic connector

[Neilnaz]

Thanks for the warnings - I will make sure the connector is a ceramic one.

Cheers, Neil

[gtc]

The ceramic connector is more of a requirement on high wattage H4s, since the connector plugs directly onto the back of the bulb and as such is more affected by the bulb's heat.
On H1s, make sure your wires and grounds on the headlamp assembly are in good shape and not corroded, and that the connections are clean and secure, and you should be fine.

[964TargaC2]

I had my reflectors redone by a place in town that resilvers mirrors

If you are going to put those 100 w bulbs in you definitely need the relay setup

I think I have some 160w H1s around here somewhere

[Neilnaz]

Thanks GTC I take your point about the connector not needing to be ceramic. I can imagine that the burning pictured is due to a poor connection resulting in extreme localised heat rather than heat from the bulb but all words of caution are noted. This is the main reason why I am trying to ensure that the wiring is up to scratch rather than just plugging in higher wattage bulbs.

I intend to rewire both sides as someone has 'grafted' wires together and done so in a less-than-satisfactory manner.

Thanks 964TargaC2, I understand your point about the installation of relays and have already installed them. I decided not to install the higher wattage bulbs until I had the wiring sorted as it was only apparent when I took the headlamps out to replace the bulbs. Replacing the wiring and connectors will give me peace of mind.

I may look at cleaning the reflectors but I am aware that it is not easy and maybe better left to getting them re-mirrored professionally.

Cheers, Neil