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Sealed beam conversion kt

 
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dreygata  



Joined: 03 Oct 2016
Posts: 18
Location: Huntsville, AL

PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 10:55 pm    Post subject: Sealed beam conversion kt Reply with quote

I finally got around to working on the Porsche for the first time this past weekend, fixing some minor things and starting to create a list of things I want to replace/upgrade. One of the things is the sealed beam, especially since my driver's side low beam is out.
What sealed beam to H4 conversion kits do you guy's recommend? HIDs or halogens?
Also, what kind of wiring will I need to do? It appears that the PO wired in a relay to the headlights, presumably to get brighter lights? Not entirely certain, but I'd want to replace that shoddy wiring with at least something that doesn't involve translucent blue speaker wire. Are there any recommendations for a kit to do that?

Thanks guys! I look forward to getting back under the hood/behind the dash
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edredas  



Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 861
Location: Charlotte, NC

PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 8:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe someone will have a recommendation on some nice housings, but any ones you choose should work just fine. I do recommend getting this wiring kit or building one like it before trying to use higher wattage bulbs.

http://rennbay.com/944-headlight-relay-harness.html

As far as bulbs go, I put some sylvania silverstars in my car in 2008 and they're still going. They are really bright for H4 bulbs and have lasted a long time.

Just something to note:

The last time I checked it is illegal to have HID installed on a car in the US that didn't come with them. They require special housings that focus the light so it won't blind on coming traffic. H4 housing cannot focus HID bulbs and you will blind on coming drivers. Also Unlike H4 bulbs that have two separate filaments for high and low beam, HID lights are mechanically dimmed. So without the mechanical actuator you will be riding with high beams on all the time and putting a lot of that light into on coming traffic. If you are pulled over for blinding an officer and they find that you do not have the the mechanical actuators installed you could be facing a serious fines... just something I thought I would point out.

Just because the kits don't say "off road use only" doesn't mean they're legal. Technically they are assuming you are going to put them in the right housings, which don't exist for our cars.

Stay safe out there! I hope this helps!
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ideola  



Joined: 01 Oct 2004
Posts: 15548
Location: Spring Lake MI

PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 8:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

These are direct replacements for sealed beam units, available in both Euro and DOT-legal configurations.
http://garage.ideola.com/prod-ElectricsUpgrades.html#H4

While it's never a bad idea to improve the aging wires in our cars, I've never understood the insistence on replacing wiring just to run H4s. Every car delivered to Europe comes with H4s, and having two bonafide Euro cars in my collection, I've not been able to identify anything different about the light wiring harnesses between Euro and US cars. I've also put H4s in about half of my collection, and have never had any issue whatsoever. Good grounds and a high output alternator make a huge difference on stable, bright lights.
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edredas  



Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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Location: Charlotte, NC

PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 9:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ideola, the idea here is to add relays that will pull power directly from the battery instead of through the headlight switch. Adding relays alone should drastically reduce resistance and improve lighting...
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edredas  



Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 861
Location: Charlotte, NC

PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I pulled out my multi-meter and here's my results...

In the first picture with engine running, the stock wiring only musters paltry 12.38 volts.

The second picture is of what the voltage is with a relay setup that runs a wire straight from the battery to the lights. This improved the voltage to 13.54 volts making the lights much whiter and brighter. This setup allows for higher wattage lights to be installed without risk of burning up the headlight switch and ensures you they're as bright as they should be!

I hope that helps!




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ideola  



Joined: 01 Oct 2004
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 9:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As I said, I have no argument that it's a good idea and that it will improve performance of ANY light you put in there.

My point is that some people have posted dire warnings that the car will melt to the ground (OK, I'm over-exaggerating), and have essentially said it's *required* before putting in H4s.

It's definitely a good idea, but in my opinion, not required.
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dreygata  



Joined: 03 Oct 2016
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Location: Huntsville, AL

PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 11:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks guys!

I do remember hearing about pulling current straight from the battery, which is what I believe the PO did but homebrew. I'm going to remove the wiring in the meantime until I can get a kit like what you guys are showing.

Winter is coming and so my headlights will become more of a priority.
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edredas  



Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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Location: Charlotte, NC

PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 5:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ideola wrote:
My point is that some people have posted dire warnings that the car will melt to the ground (OK, I'm over-exaggerating), and have essentially said it's *required* before putting in H4s.

It's definitely a good idea, but in my opinion, not required.


Right, I'm not trying to tell everyone it's a dire need, I just want people to be aware that the stock wiring is pretty lousy. Modern cars can run high wattage bulbs because their wiring is a much better design than ours. I believe our wiring is only meant to handle 60 watt high beams, and as you can see it doesn't even do that well.

Adding higher wattage bulbs may work fine and add brightness, but with the stock wiring harness they may not be as bright as they should be... that's all that I wanted to demonstrate.
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ideola  



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 5:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Agreed!
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