Dim headlamps

[Bryan]

Hello can one of you gentlemen please advise on how to upgrade my headlamps on my 1988 T25, the current lamps have a flat face and are marked Hella 7097R7 / 7097/R1 they have a large round bulb internally marked Ring 12v 45/40 WR2 (E15) 3E1. The bulb sits behind a chrome dome. Is there a better replacement bulb or do I need to change the whole headlamp assemblies and if so buying used ( but better) replacements is there better bulbs than they will probably come with, thanks in anticipation. Bryan.

[California Dreamin]

Strangely it sounds like someone has 'DOWN GRADED' you lamps in a past life. I doubt very much that it came with the old style tungsten lamps and bulbs with it being a 1988 model, so taking it back to H4 units with Halogen bulbs will make a vast improvement.
Just check and see if you can see H4 printed on the lens..
VW Heritage have new ones but at £90.00 a pair I would put a wanted add in the appropriate section on this site.
Also...I would highly recomment a pair of Osram NightBreaker Plus H4 bulbs.

http://www.vwheritage.com/vw_spares_Hea ... tartPage=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OSRAM-NIGHT-B ... 3cba6fda21" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Martin

[CovKid]

And the best difference you can make, apart from the Osrams, is to upgrade the wiring with good relays (as in WIKI). Do both and you'll have a lighthouse.

[Bryan]

OK me being dim now, so I can fit new night breaker H4 lamps into the existing mountings which are currently three prong electric connections right ?

[California Dreamin]

Obviously we haven't the benefit of actually being able to see your lights....but you describe the bulbs as large round and internally marked Ring 12v 45/40 WR2 (E15) 3E1. These are the early low wattage Tungstens with a round fittings so it follows you have the early lamps that go with these bulbs.
Both early and late bulbs have the same electrical plug but the H4 bulb is not a straight fit into the older lamp.

You can buy 'crossover bulbs' a hybred of the two but to be honest these don't give the best results and replacement lamps (Second hand or otherwise) with decent H4 bulbs is a much better option.

Martin

[Graham81]

I had these tungsten bulbs in my camper when i got it, 40 watt think they were
I bought an adaptor to take a h4 bulb, you can get conversion bulbs but I like to know that if a bulb blows then I could pick up a h4 bulb anywhere.
These are the ones i have http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/P45T-P43T-H4- ... 0510406437" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[California Dreamin]

Yup....adapters as well....

However, old fashioned lamps are extremely critical on the positioning of the illuminating ellements in relation to the lamp reflector. Just 1mm out drastically effects both the pattern and beam.
Adapters are..............a 'make do' and may lead to MOT failure if they don't give a flat pattern or flat with N/S kick on dip beam setting.

Martin

[Bryan]

OK gentlemen thank you very much for such good advise. I will order a couple of H4 night breaker lamps and see if they will fit into my light assemblies. If they don't then I have two options; a couple of second hand later lamps assemblies being the best option. I then may put a relay in to reduce current drop through the light switch.

[tandemsandy]

the relay mod really is staggeringly effective. Before the mod we were driving along little lanes in the Lake District with me shining one of my LED bike lights out of the window so we could see where we were going.
After the mod, people start getting out of bed because they think its morning

Rob

[California Dreamin]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/vw-t25-one-pa ... 2575367d04" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lucas equivelents....ring first and check the details as I don't know of anyone who has bought these...could be a right bargain.

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Volks ... 044&000176" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Martin

[phil miller]

ive got a pair of used H4 headlights if you need them mate?

[CovKid]

Martin, the Lucas ones have come up before and they don't fit.

[California Dreamin]

Martin, the Lucas ones have come up before and they don't fit.

Hmmmm last time they came up they weren't in stock....are you sure they don't fit as they were pretty standard around that era for a whole list of cars and not just VW.
Is it not worth a phone call then, just seems a shame to miss out if there is any chance they will fit.

Martin

[phil miller]

hmm thinking about it back when i started in the garage we use to stock llb 012, 410 and 472, now for some reason i remember the round based one with a glass bowl for the lamp being a 012 and im sure the 410 was a halg one just with the older type base, i may have the numbers wrong, cant look on the bulb rack but will have a look in the bulb catalog in the morning

[California Dreamin]

Well I've phoned Euro Car Parts and the Lucas lamp is a H4 unit, as expected and comes bare, so you would need to fit the old mounting bracket onto the new lamp.
He said that these are pretty generic, which is as I remembered it, lots of cars at that time used H4 7 inch rounds. Now at that price, if I were close enough to a Euro Car Parts outlet I would be taking mine down to the counter for comparison.

The mounts themselves are bayonett (turn through 90 degrees) and they come off....you need a little care as they can be brittle.

I'm not saying Cov Kid is wrong, I'm just saying has someone actually tried to fit one. As I said earlier, these were out of stock a few months back but are listed as available now.
So at under £14 each.......for a quality Lucas units, I would at least be trying to see if these actually do fit as they are listed for a T25.

There part Number is: 471770091 says it's a Lucas unit.

Martin