Euro H4s Repros or original ?

donporfi · 12:51 PM

Recently bought a pair of new Euro H4s in evil-bay. They were advertised as original Bosch.
The price very good $360.00 for the pair. When they arrived I discovered that these are not original Bosch that are repros or that are made by a subsidiary of Bosch. They do not have Bosch markings on the glass and on the sticker on the reflector. The company is Automotive Lighting of Czechoslovakia and the markings on the glass are AL instead of BOSCH.
I have other Bosch headlights and all have the Bosch logo and BOSCH lettering on the glass.
I did not check a larger picture of the advertising where you can see clearly that the glass does not have the Bosch logo and the lettering, my fault.
This post just to let you know if you are looking for original Bosch headlights these do not have the correct markings.

Box

Reflector sticker

H4 glass

H4 glass

The following pictures from Bosch H1s with the correct markings.

H1 Glass whith Bosch logo

H1 Reflector Sticker

H1 glass with Bosch logo

Canada Kev · 03-03-2012, 12:57 PM

I could be mistaken, but I remember reading in a post here not that long ago, that Bosch has moved their headlight facilities to Czechoslovakia. Or maybe they sold that particular branch off. Something like that. I think it possible that even if you bought them off Pelican, you might get the same thing. Others will chime in to confirm or disagree. Don't freak out yet.

donporfi · 03-03-2012, 01:15 PM

Arne 2
Solved this, his answer:
"In 1999, the Bosch Lighting Technology division was transferred to Automotive Lighting GmbH, a joint venture with the Italian company Magneti Marelli S.p.A."

Thanks Arne2

Lukesportsman · 03-03-2012, 03:50 PM

It was recently discussed that "Porsche" boxed signal lenses are also marked differently for similar reasons. I bought a pair of these too and they seem nice enough for driver quality restorations.

OttawaDave · 03-04-2012, 03:06 AM

I had the exact same question when I bought the same set a couple of years back....they install and work quite nicely, and as the others have noted, the story of the transfer to AL seems legit.

Enjoy the upgraded lighting! Don't forget the relays.

Cheers

bavaria911 · bavaria911's Garage

Dave (PM sent),
Team,

What do you mean about the relays when installing the new H4s to an older 911.

I have a 1970 911T with the flat style / scooper shaped chrome trim ring. I posted a project of rebuilding the H4s on the Pelican parts tech site, but haven't installed them yet.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/603282-putting-h4s-together-re-chromed.html

The reason is the small lip on the front fenders (Lf & Rt) don't hold the new chromed
H4 trim ring in place ... when I go to screw the bottom screw in tight, the top of the trim ring pops off the fender. Is there a fix?
Also - what do you mean by upgrade the relays?

Vr,
Scott

Tidybuoy · 03-04-2012, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bavaria911

Also - what do you mean by upgrade the relays?

Pleican sells the relay that you need. Pelican Parts - Product Information: JWST-911-HLPR

This is very easy to install and takes abou 10 minutes to do.

Basically, all of the current to your lights flows thru the light switch and ignition switch to the lights and this puts a lot of stress on those switches. When you add H4's, even more current runs thru the switches. The relay system re-routes the power to go directly from the battery to the headlights and the stock switch now only "switches" them on without the current running thru the ignition switch.

This will allow you to safely increase the wattage but also will make your standard wattage get brighter.

OttawaDave · 03-05-2012, 06:56 AM

Hi Scott,

Tidybuoy has correctly pointed out that the relays are primarily to protect the light-switch. The addition of these relays is often recommended as a good idea, even with stock wattage bulbs, but when people do the H4 upgrade and have everything taken apart, it's a convenient time to upgrade the wiring as well.

Do a search for H4 and relays and you'll find lots of good info from folks way more knowledgeable than me. Daniel Stern is also a great resource.

As for fitment, some have posted comments indicating that they needed to bend the metal lip on the top of the bucket a bit to help the ring 'grab' and seat properly. Others have indicated that they needed to bend the lower anchor outward (the piece that receives the mounting screw) so that the screw is properly aligned and applies some slight downward pressure on the assembly as well. For my install, I found that some strong downward pressure on the top of the light assembly was enough to seat the ring correctly, and my lights installed fine after that.

Good luck with the upgrade!

jimskiwithsoul · 03-05-2012, 03:47 PM

Hello Donporfi
Want to sell your H1's
I am interested.
jbell@seq.org

80-911SC · 80-911SC's Garage

Is it just me .. the first picture of the box does the drawing on the box look like an early VW light and not a Porsche H4 ... the screw is not in the ring it is below it ....

IDK something smells fishy in Chex..........

djdsc · 03-05-2012, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 80-911SC

Is it just me .. the first picture of the box does the drawing on the box look like an early VW light and not a Porsche H4 ... the screw is not in the ring it is below it ....

IDK something smells fishy in Chex..........

Don't worry about the small $hit. These are a great deal on eBay. They are what they are, the current Bosch H4 that are available from any vendor for way more $$$. I have bought them with no worries and will again. Nothing fishy just a drawing on the box.

HarryD · 03-05-2012, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tidybuoy

Pleican sells the relay that you need. Pelican Parts - Product Information: JWST-911-HLPR

This is very easy to install and takes abou 10 minutes to do.

Basically, all of the current to your lights flows thru the light switch and ignition switch to the lights and this puts a lot of stress on those switches. When you add H4's, even more current runs thru the switches. The relay system re-routes the power to go directly from the battery to the headlights and the stock switch now only "switches" them on without the current running thru the ignition switch.

This will allow you to safely increase the wattage but also will make your standard wattage get brighter.

The kit offered by Pelican does work with pre 1974 911 without modification. I made my own using parts from Daniel Stern.

A great discussion on the topic is here: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/476950-headlight-relay-wiring-early-911-a.html