Author Topic: headlight problem (Read 4272 times)

AL GReeNeRy · « **on:** May 13, 2007, 07:06:20 PM »

my right low beam bulb (passenger side) doesnt come on with the low beams, but comes on with the high beams. i swapped out the bulbs and the same problem occurs. i checked all the fuses and they are all good. i thought it could be the low beam relay, but that wouldnt allow the left bulb to come on at all. any ideas of what could cause this problem?

also, i removed the left high beam bulb for my intake mod if that makes a difference..

Febi Guibo · « **Reply #1 on:** May 13, 2007, 07:35:02 PM »

I'm assuming you have sealed beams; the low beam is an H4 style dual filament lamp; like two bulbs in one. The lo-beam part has gone out, the hi-beam part is still working.

If you look at the wiring, you will see two positive wires and one negative going to the lowbeam lamp; one positive is for the lo-beam hot, the other for the high-beam hot.

This is why sealed beams lows stay on when highs come on (h4 style lamps) but euro ellips lows go off when highs come on (H1 lamps), even though the relays are the same.

ak96ss · « **Reply #2 on:** May 13, 2007, 07:38:22 PM »

Check Fuse 14.

AL GReeNeRy · « **Reply #3 on:** May 18, 2007, 06:31:51 AM »

lol old thread, but turns out it was the bulb. thanks febi. anyway, has anyone seen those h4 conversions. ive seen a couple up on ebay but theyve dissappeared.

tjts1 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 18, 2007, 08:00:03 AM »

Theres a lot of good information out there about H4 conversions. This has some very good detailed write ups.
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/tech.html
The 2 main large brands used for H4/H1 conversions are Cibie and Hella. Cibie is sold by Daniel Stern and a few other small vendors, while hella can be found at rally lights and a few others.
http://www.rallylights.com/hella/5.75_lo.asp
I'm not trying to promote either vendor. I have bought from both in the past but they have a lot of interesting tech on their sites which you might find useful. I think both are overpriced. Cibie tends to have more even and wider beam pattern while hella is slightly cheaper.
That said, you'll find cheaper stuff on ebay but if it doesn't say Cibie, Hella, Marchall or Bosch, 99% of the other stuff on there is garbage. The only other brand that seems legit on Ebay is Autopal.
http://search.stores.ebay.com/Autopal-Lights_5-3-4_W0QQfciZQ2d1QQfclZ4QQfsnZAutopalQ20LightsQQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftsZ2QQsaselZ107774186QQsatitleZ5Q203Q2f4Q22QQsofpZ0
Its substantially cheaper than both Cibie and Hella because its made in India. But if the reviews I read are anything to go by, they should be just as good. I stuck my neck out and ordered a set of Autopal headlights yesterday. I should have them installed within the next 2 weeks. I'll do a thorough review in the near future to see if they are the real deal or more garbage. I installed e-code headlights in all my previous cars including 2 volvos and a neon. The main advantage of H4/H1 headlights over US projectors or euro smilies is they allow you to run 4 high beams. Like sealed beams, the outer lights have 2 filaments (one for low and one for high) and inners are high beam only.

AL GReeNeRy · « **Reply #5 on:** May 19, 2007, 04:16:47 AM »

thanks tj. nice info. please post pics of your setup when you get em..

the reason i want to go with the h4 coversion was for the fact of bein able to have 4 lights (3 for me because of my intake) and euros are juss too expensive for the time being. ill prolly go with autopal as well. theyre cheap enough to try and if somethin bad happens ill have my stocks to fall back on since everythings plug and play.

gearheadE30 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 22, 2007, 04:45:26 PM »

^^ don't feel too bad about not having smileys, I think my H1/H4's are almost as bright, and a heck of a lot cheaper. Also, wiring independant foglights helps with the high-beam lighting quite a bit.

tjts1 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 22, 2007, 10:41:12 PM »

Thats the thing. Smiles look nice. I'm not denying that by any means but I need 4 high beams. I do a lot of my driving at night on some very twisty unlit roads with lots of wildlife around. At one point I had 400w worth of high beam on my volvo (over 1/2 HP!) and that was almost adequate. The e-code 760/940/960 headlights have H4 low/high beam, H3 driving light and another H3 fog integrated into one unit with glass lense. This was designed way back in 1988. The problem with these headlights is the reflector for the driving light was small and square. Square reflectors are inherently less efficient than round. If anyone here has traveled to Sweden or any of the nordic countries, you'll notice that drivers like to add a pair 7-8" driving lights in front of the grill. This isn't for show. Its a matter of safety when you have 18 hours of darkness and 2000 lb moose's roaming the darkness. The E30 has an advantage in this respect because it comes from the factory with room for 4 round high beam reflectors.
This is a 940 with the 3 bulbs integrated into one headlamp. This owned added two 8" driving lights.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/230/510330100_dc5dc18526_o.jpg
An early 80s setup on a 240GLT from the volvo museum.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/191/510355837_b94ee38ac1_o.jpg
And since this is still a BMW board, a few Swedish BMWs that you'll never find in the US.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/510335452_50dd2a7e38_o.jpg
This one was on the grounds of the volvo factory in Gothenburg.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/510335498_c63d6f9c26_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/510335532_a8281a6218_o.jpg