Foglight Shuffle

[BLUTO]

Just got my XJ back on the road after a month of downtime for mods. Added C-4x4 dbl-tube rock rails :thumbup: , ProComp 6" x 130W lights, rear taillight guards, and Hella fog/driving lights in place of the factory fogs.
I drive the vehicle down 6 or 7 miles of dirt road to check out my new lites; when I get back, there is dirty water inside the lens :gonnablow . The Hella Optilux dual beam lamps were a good idea (conceptually) and when the were DRY, they shed a nice light pattern.
The roads were wet, but I did NOT go wheelin'. So I'll return them and get something better. Does anyone know of a decent driving/fog lamp that I can replace this with? If not a combo light, then maybe a good (well sealed) driving light;...and I'll run a set of projector fogs or something on the front hitch. :helpme:
Thanks,

BLUTO

BTW,
The ProComps are nice lights, they put out a DECENT beam for a H3 bulb and really make a difference on these country roads! :sunshine:

 

[woody]

Let there be lights for all occasions...

I had bad luck that way with Hella 530s...water = rust on the reflector. A new set of reflectors is 3/4 $$ of a new kit. A $.25 glop cocktail would have prevented it too. Grrr for being lazy & retroactively anally reflector sensitive. A smidge of GB Oxgard, a taste of dielectric grease, and a smear of RTV would have been 'smart' pre-op maintenance...

Folks who don't have a headlamp relay harness, H4 lenses, and good bulbs are missing out on a huge improvement in night driving safety. I am one night & one early morning commute into a fresh IPF setup with 170-100 bulbs and it is amazing (all over again) to be able to see. They are probably illegal on every paved road on earth :dunno: but since I did my best to aim them, I reckon it's just too bad for the oncoming half of you earthlings.

Those PC 130s are probably great for distance lighting. I loved my (150w Sealed Beam spot lens) Daylighters, but they ended up with the crap beat out of them from wheeling with mounted on top of a stock bumper. If /when they get rebuilt, I'll probably use a 150w spot and a 100w flood bulb... - for extra light on hi-beam. For trail only, I think Wal Mart $9.99 floods are kickin. I've found too much forward light on a night trail ride to be disturbing in the Eastern woods. Going -5 mph over well known trails requires no distance light. A full moon can do nicely as well if trees haven't took root yet.

The only two dual-beam lamps Ive seen that I 'sort of' like are IPF J-01 and PIAA. Both are pretty much some bucks though, and I dunno what 85w would do on top of hi-octane hi-beams. (probably much less than your 130s do, especially if the 130s are spot lenses) The PIAA housing is rectangular/horizontal where the IPF is round/vertical.

For pure fogs, IMO the lowest & widest you can safely mount a pair the better. I lust after Hella Micro DE 2.25" round x 5.5" long, magnesium body 55w. At $100-120 looks very good for all weather lighting... Probably great slow trail light as well... I'd wire mine up independantly of anything else...so they are the get homers. Need tucked up into bumper? http://www.susquehanna.com/susq/hella/microde.htm

Some 19 year old advice...150w Daylighters don't mount well to an 84 roofrack crossover bar. The glare off a clean hood is amazing and the flop effect on FUBAR yankee roads will sick ya up... More recent advice: my H4 Hella headlight buckets leaked water every time they have been submerged. The IPFs probably will too unless I seal the rubbers up with hi-temp RTV. Don't fire up a wet bulb either

 

[BLUTO]

Good advice Woody,
I think that Hella has/had a fairly decent product (depending whether it comes over on a Zeppelin or a "slow boat from China" Too bad we :us: can't build things over here anymore. When you consider that 90% of the items that Walmart carries are imported (and Walmart is China's 6th largest trading partner) :shocked: .....kinda makes you wonder.....
Enough of the Free Trade speech atriot: .....
I saw the IPF's and PIAA lights in 4wheelparts catalogue (a little pricier than my post-Christmas budget will allow). I may end up cleaning and re-sealing the ones I have with RTV on the back plate and hi-temp silicone on the lens/body joint and where the wires penetrate. They did a fairly decent job of lighting up the road (round spot for driving and wide beam for fog). The 130's are phenomenal for back-40 roads (the deer have taken to wearing RayBans when they cross my path at night! :sunshine: )
I just received my Hella E-code 6054 replacements and SUVlights just shipped my harness yesterday. A friend at work (DC) gave me a set of OSRAM (German) 80/100W H-4 bulbs that a supplier gave him to try out. Soon as the harness gets here, I'm going to switch them out. I'll run thru the comparisons as I go from Silverstars to Silverstars w/harness to Osrams 80/100W. Only problem is I can't post pics (from what I read on the posting rules) how can I get these on this site? And how do I go about getting the ability to post attachments?
Did I understand you correctly in your reply, that you coat the reflector with GB oxgard or dielectric grease to eliminate corrosion? Does this mess-up light beam?
Thanks,
BLUTO :wave1:

 

[woody]

I just use a SMALL dab of GB Oxgard on the bulb terminals, The grease would go on the plugs, and the RTV to seal up where the bulb goes in the back of the lens, and around the rubber boots.

From what I've seen, pictures of (headlight upgrades) don't do justice to the actual improvement you get, but if you must, email them to me at [email protected] and I'll post them as part of a tech article. Do you have a Voltmeter? if so, do some measurements before & after the harness install, and add those as comments along with the pix.

I assume your silverstars are sealed beam and not H4 bulbs...I'm curious to see how they compare to the new Hella lenses & 100/80 bulbs.

FWIW pictures must be remotely hosted and then just add the URL to your post. www.sb-host.com is where I keep all my pix uploaded, but you may have plenty of space with your internet provider.