Head lamp conversion H4 headlamp with LED 6 volt bulb

[Thomas Sottile]

I had H4 bulbs in my sc before changing to LED they were good but the draw much to much amps in my 6 volt system in fact I have burnt two generators because of that condition. It took a time to discover that. If I was running the headlights and the gps and wipers the generator would smoke. My experience.

[Mike Ruddy]

Hello Merv, can you tell me what I'm looking at here ? ^ What is the black collar ?

I've purchased some of the 6v LED headlight bulbs from CDRC... part number 4 on this page. The same as Mark has fitted I think.

http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.c ... s-shop.php

And some some adaptors from CDRC with are the same design at the grey ones you bought from ebay Merv.

I have Euro style buckets with the same spring fitting as yours I think but I cannot for the life of me work out how the LED bulbs are held in place. The LED bulbs sit well in the adaptors into the bowls but the galvanised collar with the blade connector for the sidelight bulb is too small to fit over the heat sinks of the LED bulb.

I know I'm doing it wrong.

What is the correct way to fit these dastardly bulbs ??

[Juha Vane]

Installed these:

https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/collec ... h4ledx2kit

The LED lamps are so long that had to remove the "cup" in the reflector, but that is
not difficult and the you need not to dismantle the reflector assembly. Haven't tried on
the road yet, plenty of snow here, but soon.

Also bought LED parking lights, so now all my lamps are LED and the current draw should
be lower. Have CuLayer rear lights, really bright that is good nowadays when "everybody"
is fiddling their phones while driving... My 356 is 6V.

[Mervyn Hyde]

Sorry Mike I just noticed this. The black 'collar' is part of the of the LED kits that I have. The LED 'bulb' has a couple of o-rings that slide through and hold the bulb in place. The heat sink sits at the rear/outside of the collar. Like Juha I also removed the reflector cup. Let me know if you need some photos.

[Mike Ruddy]

Ahh ! now it makes sense. The three pronged collar on the LED bulb is removable, I can see the O rings now holding the collar in place. Very neat.

Thanyou Merv, I'll try and make some progress this evening.

[Jay Broemmel]

The LED lamps are so long that had to remove the "cup" in the reflector, but that is
not difficult and the you need not to dismantle the reflector assembly.

I was able to bend the cup farther in toward the glass with my extra long ape finger to get the needed clearance. You could use an extension from your socket set also. It bends pretty easily. J

[Richard Colella]

I looked on http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.c ... s-shop.php looking to replace my H4 bulbs with LEDs to reduce power draw and found Part No. 4 is 12v only (perhaps a change in product line). However, they do have a 6V H4 LED, Part No. 6, which is different in a few respects, like the heat dissipation pigtails, the extra box, and a lower brightness (2500 lumens, as opposed to 3600 for Part No. 2, but the same 19.2W power draw for both). Still better light output than H4 bulbs, and reduced power consumption (which is the real goal). Anyone tried these?

Here's the description from the website:

6v and 12v H4 (472) replacements suitable for most applications.
A cheaper option. [yeah, not so much--rc]
Part No. 6

Excellent pure white light
6v and 12v 60/55w equivalent direct replacement LED H4 dipping bulbs. P43t fitting.
[...removed for brevity...]
This latest version features high quality chips by Philips, the largest manufacturer of LED chips for automotive use.
2500 Lumens (a std H4 is around 1500 Lumens)
Colour 6000k (std H4 is 3500-4000k)

Current consumption on high beam
12v - 1.6a
3.2a @ 6v

Heat dissipation belts can be shaped to fit the inside of any headlamp.
Left or right hand dipping.

Part No. 6.jpg (392.35 KiB) Viewed 1749 times

[David Jones]

If you do not mind doing a little bit of extra work then it is relatively easy to pick from a number of 12 volt LED replacements for H4 tungsten or quartz halogen. I settled on some HIKARI lamps from Amazon for a shade under $40 a pair plus two 6 to 12 volt converters. One for high beam and one for low beam, plus one 12 volt instrument light for the High beam warning. Converters were 10 amp output just to be safe and are heat sinked with mounting holes. Bought from Amazon for $15 each. Easy to install, just take the input to the two high beam and the input to the two low beam fuses and interface the converters between them. Now the headlights work as before but way way brighter. See my before and after pictures. One thing to look out for is the depth of the power head for the lights. I had to modify with a big hammer my headlight housings for the HIKARI bulbs as they were touching down at the rear of the housing. I had to put about a 1/4 inch impression in the housing. Other bulbs are shorter so may fit better. Look at the pictures of the cut off pattern for the low beam. I bought some about 5 years ago and the beam pattern was not very good though there was decent amount of light and the reduction in power draw made them worthwhile.

[Mark Roth]

Richard,
I have no affiliation with the UK company, just a satisfied user. The photos you attached from their website are not of the 6v units. See my photos on the first page. I bought the 6 volt units and am very satisfied. Instant response when flashing the lights, not a one second warm up like the old filament lights. Update - I bought some new headlight assemblies at a reasonable price so now I can actually aim my headlights properly! There were a few others who have tried these bulbs and liked them.

[Richard Colella]

David, thanks, yes I read your description of using the Hikari 12v lights. Going to 12v with a voltage converter is my backup plan. Do you remember which converter you used? I've looked around on Amazon, but any specifics would be greatly appreciated.

[Richard Colella]

Mark,
The only 6v H4s listed on that page are the ones in the pictures I included, which I agree are not the same ones in your photos. My assumption (I know...) is that the ones you bought were previously offered as either 6v or 12v, but are now only offered in 12v. I'll reach out to them and ask, as the specs on the ones you bought and the overall appearance look like a better engineered solution.

Glad you got the new assemblies and can now aim those headlights better.

[Richard Colella]

FYI, I heard back from the guy at Dynamo Regulator Conversions:

“We are currently re-designing our 6v H4 bulb so it might be worth waiting as it will be a better bulb.”

As in, better than the 6v h4 currently on their website, referenced in post #22 above. I’ll be waiting....

[Peter Poulikakos]

20181021_192833.jpeg (284.43 KiB) Viewed 1662 times

Hi Richard
I have a few sets of 6v only h4 globes n stock. Which base do you require? P45 or the 3 prong base?

[Richard Colella]

Peter, I have 3-prong (p43t).

[Peter Poulikakos]

Which of one of the two pics? The black globes or silver?