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Hella Headlight Replacements


SteeevO
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So i found out that hella makes headlight replacements that are twice as brigt as stock ones... so i ordered tehm today through 4wheelparts.. i'm picking them up on friday.. hope it goes together well.

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Just a comment...but they're not gonna be twice as bright as stock if they have the same bulb wattage, and running higher wattage bulbs on stock wiring is asking for a fire (or at the very least, melted wiring plugs) because they used really small-gauge wire for the headlights and didn't use relays.

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What he said. /\ He's also provided instructions somewhere around on how to rewire the headlights with a relay to make them much brighter. A search may be in order to find them.

 

I threw in a pair of eBay cheapo's that were like 80watts or so a couple years ago, and promptly melted not only a bit of wiring, but the actual plug harness that plugs into the back of the bulbs. Luckily, I found aftermarket replacements that even had heavier gauge wire, but I also went back to lower power bulbs as well. Higher wattage bulbs + stock wiring= BAD NEWS.

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I'd start with the heavier guage wire and relays, before changing the bulbs. You may be satisfied with the stock wattage minus the voltage drop through the resistors ... I mean wires. I ran across a kit for doing this - it isn't as good as you can do yourself, but it is simple to install (I believe they called it "plug-n-play").

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do you have a link for this kit?

ive been wanting about upgrading my lights, i might have to look into this. otherwise im just gonna go ahead and start from scratch to converting to E-code lighting with H4 bulbs, heavy gauge wire realays and the hardbody grille. i do pleanty of night driving and i hate the dismal lighting i have. my moms sentra low beam setting covers nearly the same area as my high beam setting.

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Just remember;

 

Power = Voltage x Current P=VI

Power = Voltage^2 / Resistance P=V^2/R

Power = Current^2 x resistance P=I^2R

 

By having small wires, you increase the current through them. Think of them as a pipe. The bigger the pipe, the more flow thay can handle. As a matter of fact, think of the whole system as a pipe, like this;

 

Resistance is the size of the pipe

Current is the flow through the pipe

and Voltage is the pressure in the pipe.

 

They all effect each other, and if you change one, the rest must be changed to get the same output.

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most hella products include relays. Well all the fog light kits do. if it comes with any sort of wiring there's most likely a relay in there. Just dont buy those crappy "h.i.d.-like" bulbs, they are too damn bright for other drivers and they don't have the "cut off line" so the light stays shining on the ground rather than diffusing up into oncoming traffic eyelevel.

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welp i found These hella lights however either the site has bogus info or i cross referenced teh numbers wrong cause the ones i picked up today are not as wide as the stock ones... so i'm going back to 4wheel parts in teh morning to pick up my steering stablizer and also ask them if there are wider ones..

 

but i did see that there is an industry standard number for the lights h6054.. does anyone know what the "industry standard" is for the pathy's lights? cause h6054 lead me to the wrong lights... :blink:

 

take a look at This page out of the FSM

my lights are like teh first pic

if they were like the second pic then the hellas would fit fine. ...or is there a clear cover that i need to take off??...i have never taken my headlight appart before... :wacko:

Edited by SteeevO
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all first gen pathfinders came with that notched headlight. some hardbodies did but they changed that to the sealed beam type. you can convert to those hella lights but you will need hardbody headlight bucket/housings and the associated grille and corner markers. the hardbody and pathfinder use the same radiator support and their parts are interchangable. this is where i got the idea from. i plan to do it as soon as i have sufficient funds.

 

http://www.4x4parts.com/ubbthreads/showfla...rev=#Post369777

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thats awesome.,.. i though that that website was all jacked up w/ false inof... which it is to a certain extent....

 

is that all i need is the other grille and corner lights to make the hellas work or do i need some other brackets too?

 

i'm gonna do the hella conversion.. just a matter of parts.. just like the 4wd conversion...

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welp i found These hella lights however either the site has bogus info or i cross referenced teh numbers wrong cause the ones i picked up today are not as wide as the stock ones... so i'm going back to 4wheel parts in teh morning to pick up my steering stablizer and also ask them if there are wider ones..

 

but i did see that there is an industry standard number for the lights h6054.. does anyone know what the "industry standard" is for the pathy's lights? cause h6054 lead me to the wrong lights... :blink:

 

take a look at This page out of the FSM

my lights are like teh first pic

if they were like the second pic then the hellas would fit fine. ...or is there a clear cover that i need to take off??...i have never taken my headlight appart before... :wacko:

Those Hella's a re standard wattage?

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Those Hella's a re standard wattage?

Yes But euro design...basically the euro's but not h4 bulbs and are allowed on the street in the US, DOT cert.....still way brighter than stock.

 

well you need the headlight mouinting hardware.

headlight mounts

 

i'm still a little confused on what i need to mount them though because the back of the pathy lights are the same shape as the hellas but it's just the front glass that is bigger... so do i still need that headlight mounting hardware?

 

as i see it right now i just need the grille and the corner lights...

Edited by SteeevO
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from my understanding you need the headlight mounts (those things in my link above) so you can mount them on your vehical. the reason is cause those hella lights are basically the the same except they are not a sealed beam. sealed beam being you have to replace the entire light and lens and housing combo to put in a new one. the hella ones are made to be perminant and just replacing the bulb not the entire assembly IE lens and housing. the mount allowed the you to replace the sealed beam headlight with out having to reaim the sucker every time it went out. the hellas are a direct replacement for the sealed beam that would be why you need the mounts for you truck.

Edited by BigMike
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