Halogen headlights

[herald1360]

Hi all
Has anyone fitted replacement halogen headlights?
Have seen a 'Crystal halogen kit' on ebay for a good price, or should I stick to Cibe units as sold by C Witor ect?
Any comments appreciated
Paul Barlow
Exeter
2500TC

[rrhool]

The Cibe units are very good, with H4 lamps in. You really ought to put a relay in the system though.

[Mike Stevens]

I have a Halogen set in the PI, (H1/H4s). A vast improvement. (And replacement bulbs are cheaper and easier to get than sealed beam units!) They came from Rimmers when they were having one of their sales. I agree about relays too. I have done some measurements on the standard system and on main beam there is a 2V drop from battery to headlamps by the time the current has gone through the wiring, lamp switch and dip switch. This means a drop in light output of up to 30%! A good relay setup reduces this a lot.

Cheers,
Mike.

[Brian]

I have the Cibie on my PI Estate, they are brilliant. Highly reccomended! As said before though, relays are a good idea because the dipswitch can fry with the extra current.

Brian

[raceyredcar]

I have Cibies in the pi (but with blue Xenon bulbs fitted - great!) and Rimmers halogens fitted in the S. Much a muchness but halogens are a worthwhile mod especially for the dark nights!

[andyborris]

I have fitted the Crystal headlamp kit with Osram nightbreaker bulbs to my MK1.

It's a great improvement over the sealed beams and they (I think) look good. I fitted fused relays (3) with direct feed from the battery and also wired the dip to stay on with the main beams.

Comparing to other headlights I've used in the past, almost as good as Cibe and much better than Wipac.
Needed a bit of "adjustment" to the headlight holders to fit, very light in weight (half of the sealed beams!) and at almost half the price of Cibes, worth the money.

If it's the same Ebay seller, good people to do business with too.

Will try to post pics later.

Andy

[sorbs]

Some say that the Wipac units aren't particularly long -lasting.

I'll probably get a set of lights with replaceable bulbs next time one of my sealed beam units fails. I don't find any problem with the output of the sealed beams, they're actually quite good, but it can be difficult to get a replacement unit in a hurry. At least you can get bulbs from anywhere and you'll have a selection of wattages to choose from. I think the sealed beams are lower wattage than the typical halogen bulbs.

It may be worth searching the scrapyards to find something suitable. Capri, BMW, some older Japanese vehicles etc?

If the existing lights are really dim it'd be worth checking the connector and wiring. The lights on my 2000 estate were like candles but cleaning up the connector contacts and pins on the back of the lights restored normal operation.

[andyborris]

I fitted the relays with new feeds and connectors first, which did improve the sealed beams. But the light output and pattern is much better with the Crystal lights and at £50 (and a mornings work!) for four lamps, there're worth the money!

Andy

[andyborris]

Should also add, not been dazzled by an Audi since fitting these lights, one quick blast of main beam and they dip their lights very quickly.

I know, I'm very childish !

Andy

[ken]

Hi andy I do the same with the one,s who drive with there front fog lights on very childish !
and with 100watt main beam bulbs in each unit. dont they know it illeagle to doso when its not foggy as one of the lights is pointed up at eye level?

moon over
regards Ken