Headlight conversion report

[Brian Diehl]

I recently converted my 4x6 rectangular sealed beams to Hella E-Code lens with H4 lights.  I bought these kits: http://www.amazon.com/Rectangular-E-Code-Conversion-Headlight-Adapters/dp/B001QGL1O6.

I bought the best H4 bulbs offered by Hella to go in the lenses.  The bulbs come with an adapter so you can just plug your current wiring right into the bulb without doing any additional wiring.  I ended up running all new wires and new relays with a known good connection to my 12v power supply.  The new wiring was principally because the connectors on the original wires were very corroded.

The results of this upgrade are fantastic!  The low beams actually light up the road and the beam cutoff pattern allows light to hit road side signs so I can actually read them while going bye.  The high beams are significantly brighter then what I had before.  The road is LIT up now.  I can truly say this is one of my better upgrades I've done and makes driving at night a much better experience.  I highly recommend this upgrade to anyone looking to improve the quality of their night time driving experience.

[Chopper Scott]

I did a similar change also this winter. Tremendous difference!!! I used the bus's original wiring to run relays to the 12 volt system I added. Well worth it!!

[Dreamscape]

Brian, I tried the link you gave, no worky. 

[JohnEd]

It was a no-go for me also

[robertglines1]

I used set up also good results

[JohnEd]

The 4 by 6 is the worst light ever put in a car if you ignore those carbide fueled jobbies of yesteryear.

Soooooooo, if he upgrade impressed you just imagine if you had gone to 7 inch round or projectors.

Given that is true I am still very happy for you if yours perform.  Good lights make a profound difference.

John the guy with 7 inch Hella's and lets not talk about wattage and never had anyone flash me since 97.

[belfert]

I have 4 x 6 lights in my bus.  They aren't bad really, but they could use improvement.  It is a whole heck of a lot easier to install different 4 x 6 lights than to retrofit a different size headlight assembly.

Brian, I assume these are E code lenses?  Do you have any issues reading unlit road signs after installing these?  I read that DOT lights don't have a distinct cutoff like E codes in order to light up unlit road signs.  Appareantly in Europe they light up a lot more of their signs.

[JohnEd]

Brian,

You are correct, the E code doesn't light up the overhead signs like a US spec.  By comparison the E code is quite dim, but, only by comparison.  Lets face it, how bright must a sign be "at night" to be readable?  We put an awful lot of light into the eyes of "oncoming" for the sake of over-lighting overhead signs?  Makes no more sense than a lot of SAE specs.  E spec, with the sharp focus and cutoff, puts tons of light off to the right with an up-swept pattern that makes pedestrians at the roadside, and deer, conspicuous.  I do find that street signs with their unreflective property are near impossible for me to make out using E spec.  My being able to see at knight is very important to me, but, no less important is that I not interfere with "oncoming's" ability to miss me completely.   I think the E spec improves things for everyone and I wonder that we aren't picking up on their bright and shining example.

I have gotten "away" with running E spec since the early 80's.  Legal wattage now.  I can only assume that the cops didn't see anything wrong in their performance.  Pun intended.

John

John

[RichardEntrekin]

As I have posted before, I also did an E code conversion with relays. My result was the same as yours. The best money I have spent on the coach.

If you want to see undoctored before and after pictures taken at the same camera exposure.  http://www.newellclassic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=785&highlight=headlight&page=2  Scroll around until you see the pics.

It seems some of us are Ecode evangelists, however, it's not a case of "you need to do it like I did it", it's because they are SO superior to the DOT stuff.

I have not had any issues with headlight police. Now, headlice police might be a different story  :-)

[Brian Diehl]

I fixed the link in the first post. 

I had no problem with overhead signs getting enough light to be visible.

[gumpy]

I fixed the link in the first post. 

I had no problem with overhead signs getting enough light to be visible.

Yeah, the link still doesn't work.

[Just Dallas]

Removed

[Brian Diehl]

Sorry guys!  I "fixed" the link again and think it should work now.

[bevans6]

Brian, my bus has the 4 by 6 lights, two on each side.  One pair is high/low beam, the other pair is high beam only.  What does your bus have, did you replace all four lights (if you have four) and did you install high/low's in all positions or go with the high beam onlys for the high beam position?

Brian

[Just Dallas]

Removed