The main beams on my camper look pretty dim. I'm new to T25 ownership so I'm not sure how bright they should be. I'm guessing that they are both blown and that its just the parking lights that are casting a glow. I'm finding that I have to use my driving lights on the bottom to give me a decent throw of light when driving at night.
I know these square lights aren't standard T25 headlamps so I'm not sure where to get any replacements. Can anyone suggest how to confirm the part I need to replace and where to get some bright new ones?
The lamps have are 185 mm accross. They have HELLA stamped on the lenses and have the following numbers: 7R 017414 then E1 in a circle then 04 7414R8
Thanks
Llamapup
PS the red stripe has been added in photoshop as part of my efforts to consider how to jazz up my camper. I doubt I'll be going for the Starsky and Hutch look, but I though I would just have a go and see what it would look like.
Last edited by Llamapup on 08 Feb 2009, 19:27, edited 2 times in total.
I think you need to wip off the grille, remove the lights and check the bulbs. It won't be too difficult to see if they have blown.
Martin
On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar now sleep xxHayleyxx
Ok, in true VW camper spirit heres a non patronising, non sarcastic answer! Tut Tut BundeswehrBrick!
Of course the first thing to try is replacing the main beam bulbs, if these still shine dim then you can go with xenon bulbs i think ive got H4 xenons in mine but dont quote me on that.
The alternative to this if you are still not happy with the brightness is to check various earths/high resistance contacts the best place to check earths is just to the left of your glove box once opened there is what is known as a earthing rose, i unscrewed mine and sandpapered it clean it had oxidised (white crusty crap around it causing poor connections) try those two options first and of course just check for any poor connections in general the lights can have oxidised connections on them too.
The best tip is to get a decent lengh and thickness of wire (around 1mm would be fine) and take that straight from the positive of your battery to the positive of your light, also do the same with negative. If the light goes brighter when you briefly directly connect the wire you either have a problem with the positive feed or negative feed (most likely poor earth if negative).
I spent two days cleaning every earth and general connection i could find and now i love putting my lights on!
cubensis wrote:Ok, in true VW camper spirit heres a non patronising, non sarcastic answer! Tut Tut BundeswehrBrick!
Hmmmm..... I just thought they were sealed beams like on my Triumph Dolomite. I can appreciate they are sepparate bulbs like on a modern car.
Thanks for the advice Cubensis. I'll check my connections. That may well work.
But seriously though..... Where do I get replacement parts for these non-standard VW headlamps that have been fitted to my camper? On closer inspection there does appear to be a crack on the right hand side lense. Any suggestions?
Mine were like your when I bought my camper. I tried washing them out...but an old trick, get a box of fishing lead weights, or a handful of lead air gun pellets. Put em into the headlight & keep shaking until the glass is nice & clean.
My Nan used to clean difficult glassware in a similar fashion, but we used shotgun pellets in those days.
Well the lamp units may well be non standard but the headlamp bulbs themselves will be readily available from ANY automotive supplier.
I think the only bulbs that are more difficult to get hold of are those fitted to American imported vehicles. I'm fairly sure that these will be standard bulbs.
If you have the option......Philips and Osram do ultra brite options that use the same power but offer 30/40% more light....a bit more expensive but worth the extra.
Martin
On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar now sleep xxHayleyxx
Agree with RedWestie. Osram Silverstars are very good, but you really need to fit relays to get the best from them, or a booster unit as I did, it'll transform your lights.
As an aside, the booster unit I got came with ridiculously huge wattage bulbs that appear to have heat sinks on. I did try them and quickly decided that 'lighthouse' power was over-egging the pudding so stuck with the Osrams. If you really want to sort them, upgrade the bulbs for Philips or Osram and for maximum power from those, fit relays. Well worth the upgrade.
Roller paint your camper at home: http://roller.epizy.com/55554/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for MP4 download.
These are aftermarket so their performance could depend alot on how they have been fitted and conveted (who dun it?).
Normally the outers have dip/main using a twin filiment H4 bulb and then theres a seperate sidelight. The inners are H3, main only. Dip filiment goes out when main is on to stop the bulb overheating.
As your outer ones apear to be projector style (thats good as they should be more efficent), they will probubly be dipped beam only, which would mean the vans dipswitch wireing has been modded so dip stays on with main beam (MOT requirement). Bulbs will be H1 I'd guess, but maybe H3 or H7 instead. Not sure about the yellowy look to them, might be dirty inside. Note some projectors have leavers on the back that moves a shutter to convert them properly from right to left hand traffic so the stickers might not be needed if your lucky - worth a look!
Inners will be main beam, with a seperate sidelight as they won't fit in the projectors - again, bulb could be H1, H3 or H7 (H1 has clear cap and is small, H3 has a short wire hanging off the bottem and H7 is bigger with an opaque cap - should be written on the base anyway, don't touch the glass with fingers! All are common on many modern cars so easy to get, though H3 is becoming a bit of a relic and not so common in the latest uprated forms).
They are a bit unusual but theres no resion why they shouldn't work as well as or maybe better than OEM, but check the whole lot over carefully first as if someones bodged anything it won't do it any favours, even if it apears to work at the moment. Make a note of what bulbs they use so you don't get the usual OEM ones my mistake, as they are probubly different!
