Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

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Klaus Weiswurm
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Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#1 Post by Klaus Weiswurm »

Has anyone successfully accomplished this process?
I have a 65 SC and wish to have a little more forward looking light.
Thought I would drop in some H4 reflectors and look for LED bulbs.
I find some that are set up for 12 volt and though about using a DC to DC converter.
LED current draw should be much lower than with regular bulbs.
Does anyone have experience or thoughts?

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Tom Tate
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#2 Post by Tom Tate »

After a run from Boston down to the ECH in NC I am also taking a serious look at an upgrade. The cars discussed below are 6 volt. My brother, Bill, installed the Leoni relay kit in his Speedster and after cleaning all contacts and replacing the sealed bean units they are as bright as a modern light. Amazing results. He tells me that the standard sealed beam lights do degrade over the years and replacing them was a factor.
I spent some quality time in the garage this week on my Speedster and discovered that wiring headlights direct to the battery made a big difference so I have ordered relays to make that happen. Clearly I am losing voltage through the original headlight switch and bypassing that with relays will show a big improvement. I had a set of H4 lights (bulb type) on the shelf and tried them to find that when wired direct they are as bright as the 12v, new sealed beams in my '57 coupe. No more remarks about candles for headlights from driving companions. They are 55w bulbs and will draw some significant current but nothing my 160 watt generator can't handle and with relays in place (I'm putting them in the headlight buckets) they won't be drawing that power throught the switch on the dash.
I know that Jeffrey Feldman had offered some 6 volt LED's for headlights but the trigger point for them is near 5,5 volts and if the system drops below that number they disappear, not good. He's working on a fix, so for the time being I be going with the relays and 6 volt H4's.
I should note that I am using the Cu Layer tail lights and they are terrific. Many who saw them at the ECH remarked at how bright they were. Brake, turn and tail lights are as bright or brighter that anything else in my garage and that includes some Audis and BMWs. They are so effective (brake uses the entire light, and turn signal does when the lights are on) that I don't believe the third brake light is needed. OK, OK, some people wear suspenders and a belt too, I get it.
I hope that helps. KTF

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Eric Cherneff
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#3 Post by Eric Cherneff »

I will echo Tom's experience with 6 volt H4's - they can be as good as modern car headlights. I have Narva 6V H4 bulbs in Bosch headlights, and they are as good as my modern Audi.

You must ensure all the grounds and connections (including the fuse box) are clean. On my car, I disassembled and cleaned the headlight switch, and I even soldered the rivets on the backside of the fuse panel to minimize voltage drops. When I installed the Leoni relay, I noticed very little improvement because the connections were already very good. Another thing to consider is the actual lights you are using. If the reflector is not in top condition (like an older Euro assembly), there will be a significant degradation of light output. If it has visible scratches or polishing marks, they are probably already too far gone.

If you have done all of the above, you will probably no longer feel the need for an improvement!

If you do consider using something other than a H4 bulb in a H4 reflector - remember they are designed to be used together. A poorly designed aftermarket LED bulb solution to fit in a H4 light may not work as desired, and do a better job of blinding oncoming traffic with glare than actually lighting the road properly. I believe that LED headlights used in cars operate directly through a lens rather than via a reflector - that may be a key problem to properly overcome.
Eric Cherneff
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Eric Cherneff
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#4 Post by Eric Cherneff »

I stand corrected, there are LED headlights with reflectors:
http://www.harley-davidson.com/store/da ... 7700189--1

But those will require the complete assembly, not just a bulb to put in a H4 housing. And they will look a little different from stock...
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Jim Nelson
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#5 Post by Jim Nelson »

Eric Cherneff wrote:I stand corrected, there are LED headlights with reflectors:
http://www.harley-davidson.com/store/da ... 7700189--1

But those will require the complete assembly, not just a bulb to put in a H4 housing. And they will look a little different from stock...
Those are 12v, no ?

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Mark Roth
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#6 Post by Mark Roth »

Here is the solution. I bought the 6 volt LED bulbs from
http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.c ... s-shop.php
and put them into my Euro H4 headlight housings.
120 British Pounds or about $170 including shipping. 6 or 12 volt.
The bulbs just replace the existing H4 bulbs. No fans or alignment problems. Top quality materials. Like aircraft quality.
Get a tracking number as I had to track the package in the US. There are websites that will allow you to track Royal Mail packages in the USA.

From the website:

4000 Lumens (a std H4 is around 1500 Lumens)
Colour 6000k (std H4 is 3500-4000k)
Max. current consumption
12v - 1.8 amps
6v - 2.2 amps
A standard 60/55w halogen bulb uses
5 amps at 12v and 10 amps at 6v.
30,000 hrs life expectancy.
Manufactured from aviation aluminium


Tips:
1. Align the arrows from the front of the bulb as described. Then mark the alignment at the back with liquid paper so that the arrows are aligned when placed into the housing. You won't see the bulbs again.
2. I tried to use the arrow offset to change the high beam angle but it seemed to just make the low beam distorted.

Attached are some photos of the bulbs and the light pattern. The top light pattern photos are the low beams and the bottom photos are the high beams. I will add a photo of the box in my next post as I could only post ten photos at a time.
I couldn't get my headlight housing to adjust left or right. I was lucky to get them adjusted up and down. Also lucky to get the right headlight bucket into the body. Without a gasket. (This had nothing to do with the unit, which was fine, but rather the fit of the headlight bezel to the body). The lights are not as bright as in the photos but the pattern is correct.

No affiliation - just a satisfied customer.
Attachments
B.jpg
C1.jpg
D1.jpg
E1.jpg
F1.jpg
G1.jpg
H1.jpg
I1.jpg
J1.jpg
K.JPG
Last edited by Mark Roth on Sat Dec 23, 2017 7:15 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Mark Roth
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#7 Post by Mark Roth »

Here is the box.
Attachments
A.jpg
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WilliamVaughan
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#8 Post by WilliamVaughan »

Aha! Just as I suspected. As illustrated in image K.jpg, the new LED bulbs are aimed to the left, to blind oncoming (elderly) drivers.

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Mark Roth
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#9 Post by Mark Roth »

Robert,
Only the high beams. Which should never be used when facing on coming traffic regardless of headlight type. I was very concerned about blinding other drivers so I made sure that I had Euro H4s, not SAE. As you can see, the low beams have a sharp horizontal cutoff so that almost all the light falls below the level of oncoming car windows. I checked that against the back of some parked cars. You concern is well founded as I am sometimes blinded by blue headlights aimed too high.
Mark Roth
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WilliamVaughan
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#10 Post by WilliamVaughan »

How many watts does each lamp consume?

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Wes Bender
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#11 Post by Wes Bender »

Amps X Volts = Watts. 2.2 X 6 = 13.2 Watts
Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.....

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Mark Roth
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#12 Post by Mark Roth »

I recently corresponded with a member who asked me about the LED conversion I did. Gave him the information and here's how it came out. He needed the adapter as he had euro H4s which are larger. No affiliation - just a satisfied customer.

Original query:

Hello Mark,
I enjoyed reading your recent 356 registry comments regarding H4 conversions.
Is CDRC in England still the best option to up grade my headlamps ?
I assume their Part No. 2 5th Gen H4 is the correct item.
My 1964 has the Euro glass lens reflector, and 6V bulb. I assume original to car.
Not sealed beam USA style.
After a year or so how is your conversion working for you?
Any recommendations or suggestions that may help me?
Thank you in advance for your reply,
Mark

Follow up:

Hi Mark,
Just a heads - up.
LED/s installed. No problem with the adapters. everything fits as should.
The lights are amazing. Just as good if not better than my neighbors new MB
we rode in last night. Maybe just luck but did not need to adjust angle of low or high beam.
The low bean shins to the sides better than the MB . great for all the Deer in our area.
One hell of a time reinstalling the lights back in to the car. They came off OK but what
a PIA to install. There must be some kind of a trick or maybe the spring clips need to be
in a certain place?
Thank you again for your information and help. Excellent up grade.
Mark
Martinez Ca
Mark Roth
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Mark Roth
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#13 Post by Mark Roth »

Deleted duplicate post.
Mark Roth
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Mervyn Hyde
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#14 Post by Mervyn Hyde »

I bought similar ones for my 6V system, from a colleague here. I have the Euro style buckets and reflectors and found an adapter for the new H4 LED bulb mounting (they fit under the existing twist on bracket-around $15). Cheap (overall less than $100) and easy fix. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/H4-Headligh ... 723&_uhb=1

Image

Very pleased with the result. They are brighter than the lights on my Boxster!

Image
Last edited by Mervyn Hyde on Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Peter Poulikakos
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Re: Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

#15 Post by Peter Poulikakos »

If anyone is interested I still have a few sets of 6v only H4 leds for sale.
Send me an email so that I can workout shipping costs.
See pic attached.
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