7 inch budget lucas-style round headlights

[Smosh]

In one place is great. Just maybe a summary someday of the options.

so far I have:

- you can buy these budget headlights that need a homemade clip fitted. these will replace standard option. give much for much but at significantly reduced price.

- You can fit put a new section of wiring with a relay "headlight relay upgrade" which reduce the amp lost in the standard system thus resulting in brighter lights. this could be done as per the wiki or using one of a number of kits around including a Landrover one?

- You can put in Nightbreaker H4 bulbs into the existing light unit to increase brightness.

SO... the best thing to do would be the relay upgrade, buy the lucas lights and stick in nightbreakers? or start eating a shed load of carrots? oh and check and clean all earths

[itchyfeet]

To me this is about a long term solution, the replacement headlights are £ 90 a pair and poor quality so if I can invest in some bezels then I can keep my headlighs going indefinately with budget replacements.

[itchyfeet]

In one place is great. Just maybe a summary someday of the options.

No doubt it will end up in the wiki once we have done it to death here

[nicktennear]

I've bought the T3 Technique relay upgrade, even with postage the exchange rate makes it cheaper than the Landrover kit. Once it's in I'll post some feedback. As well as sticking the Lucas lights, Nightbreakers and relays in I'm also going to add a warning buzzer. Yes, I did leave them on.

[CovKid]

For lights on warning, I just added a yellow LED to the redundant ones in dash. Hard to miss it even in daylight but not annoying. However, like most T25 owners, I do a set routine cockpit check getting out anyway.

[Oldiebut goodie]

So do I check - except that I am always leaving the parking light on - maybe I should stop signalling before I stop.

[itchyfeet]

Kill switch on fusebox power, just one thing to do

[CovKid]

If its that bad I just pull the earth lead from under drivers seat. Incidentally, I really like those quick-clamps. Got them on both batteries now.

[nicktennear]

I do have a kill switch but since sorting the power drain I sometimes forget. In school I reverse into the bay so kids can see if I've left my lights on and let me know.

[boardmonkey]

Today I had some time so I decided to investigate why everybody else can fit these with just some small brackets and I could not.

To be clear the budget headlights here are from Eurocarparts and have loops welded on the back other variants may not be so easy and need brackets.

The reason is below, I also found you can indeed fit these headlights to existing original frames with just three cable ties so this makes a very interesting upgrade for people with the right frames and old style lamp bases.

Before I did anything I drove my van up to the gates and marked where the peak beam and top cut off of the dipped beam were so I can check them later when I put it back



Bloody brilliant, cheers Itchy - took an hour to replace both my headlights....had to take the surrounds out and 2 screws were rotten, which took the time - but well chuffed with the result.


When I took both headlights out I could see my problem, the right had one in the pic is an original and it has an adjuster ring which the headlight screws into, the left hand one does not have this adjuster ring, the headlight has the mountings of the adjuster ring to frame welded onto the headlight.



If you look closely on the original you can see the old headlight screws on to the adjuster ring but on the adjuster ring are three cutouts that are not used in the original headlight, fit perfectly with the budget replacement



So it was clear to me that three cables ties is all that's needed to hold this in place and there is your upgrade, what could be easier, you may even be able to do this without removing the frame from the van!
only time will tell if the welds on these loops are strong enough to last, if you are concerned then make some brackets.






Now to the other headlight, this was replaced a few years ago as the original got smashed, but I can't see any easy way to adapt this, it can be seen that the adjuster points are off set from the loops on the budget headlight so to make anything is going to be quite complicated.

So DON'T throw away your old headlight surrounds if you are buying new as new headlights may not have the adjuster ring.

It looks like I could add an adjuster ring to my frame so Just need to stick an ad in the wanted section now.

Can anybody tell me please do early headlights with the bigger lamp base have this adjuster ring?

[weldore]

fitted mine today and took some pics just in case anyone wanted to do theirs...but found this thread and its been done to death

and fitted the cheapo radiator

[CovKid]

More to the point ECP have stopped selling them I think. This thread morphed into:

http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... &start=105" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[weldore]

oh..thems fancy pants ones..i just used the cheap ones we got about a year or so ago when them rads were on offer

if anyone is still interested in a way to make the 3 clips from your old lamps let me know

[Negativegravity]

Has anyone had to adjust the beam direction/height once fitting these budget ones and some z-clips? If so, how did you go about it?

Cheers

[CovKid]

Depends. Sometimes they're fairly close but I created a WIKI on how to adjust them if you have issues. Its actually very easy:

http://wiki.club8090.co.uk/index.php/VW ... Adjustment" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You just need a quiet road in the evening to set them up then check again on several roads, tweaking slightly to get them just right.

Most of us have switched to the units sold by powerful-uk as they average just £30 a pair and are like a lighthouse in comparison to the £8 units.

E-marked and simply pee on Hella units: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crystal-7-Hal ... 27f684caaa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

See: http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... 8&start=45" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;