Darren Roberts Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Hi All, With the nights starting to draw in, but with more lanes on the agenda to drive, I'm frequently coming back from lining trips in the dark. I have 1992 Classic hard dash - I''ve got a couple of LED spots which are very bright mounted above the number, but only work on the full beam. I'm looking for a budget (say max £100) main headlight upgrade. I can't seem to find any details about the "Clearview?" ones they did on DIY SOS. Not fussed about LED but just better than the standard 1992 ones that are on it at the moment, One is already starting to deteriorate so only a mater of time before they are an MOT fail. Any suggestions appreciated..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 These are very good, add in some night breaker bulbs and a that's a great budget option: http://www.paddockspares.com/pm678-wipac-crystal-halogen-headlamp-conversion-kit-pair-left-hand-dip-uk-and-australia.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Roberts Posted September 11, 2017 Author Share Posted September 11, 2017 2 minutes ago, Bowie69 said: These are very good, add in some night breaker bulbs and a that's a great budget option: http://www.paddockspares.com/pm678-wipac-crystal-halogen-headlamp-conversion-kit-pair-left-hand-dip-uk-and-australia.html Cool......I'll check them out......thanks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 As per howie's suggestion, plus either buy a loom or wire in yourself the headlamps directly to battery and relay switched via your existing connectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
task Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 I ran those wipac lamps, halfords 120% bulbs and made a relay loom, it was a good upgrade over standard. I now have a pair of Trucklite LEDs fitted which are in a different league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teabag Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) Although I thought my old 1987 RR, that's before the days of being called 'classic', the lights wen't brilliant compared with the car I had before, reduced no doubt by the tinted windscreen that's fitted to the RR, so I replace the head lamps with the Cibies items, and the change in light output was dramatic still using the existing bulbs, it would been unbelievable if the Xenon gas filled 120 % etc bulbs were available then. Anyway forget about rewiring the lighting circuit there's no need, the relay (with additional complications) kits available are for the 50-60s vehicles that may or not benefit depending on the state of their wiring now. Edited December 5, 2017 by teabag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintman Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 (edited) Changing the headlights wiring so the dip/main switch is only required to power relays is a worthwhile operation. Mine's a 1986 & I did that a few years ago. DIY, not any of the kits which appear to have a mixed review. Improvement in light output was surprising. Also takes the load off the contacts in the switch which are known for overheating with resultant failure - occurs on other non LR vehicles that use the same switch. Edited December 6, 2017 by paintman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Roberts Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 (edited) So one of my mates upgraded the headlights on his 50th 90, from one set of LEDs to another. At £100 for the set which were only a few months old (£260 new) I went down that option instead. At some point I will be looking for some LED's for the side lights as now they look carp compared to the headlights and spots. Thanks for the feedback everyone - if the LEDs hadn't come up so cheap I would have gone down the route that Bowie suggested.... Edited December 6, 2017 by Darren Roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 What model / manufacturer LED headlights have you ended up with Darren ? cheers Steve b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Some years ago I had reason to have the headlights apart on my 1990 RRC, and performed some general cleaning up in that area. When looking at the bulbs I found they were 80/100w items, which I realise are not E approved or legal or anything like that. It goes to explain why I had always found them to be so much better than my Defender's headlights. I guess the Rangey's headlight switch must be made of sterner stuff than Defender ones as it has given no trouble due to the extra current being drawn. Anyhow, the addition of relays to the wiring is normally considered to be a worthwhile upgrade. I am not advocating the use of high wattage bulbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintman Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 (edited) The switches PRC4606 and PRC2956 are the 'overheating contact' ones. The plastic body around the contacts melts, so not practical to try & repair them. Edited December 6, 2017 by paintman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Those numbers look like the early type RRC indicator stalks. In Defender context I've always found it was the main light switch that melted all too easily. The switches I've bought have been too cheap really. I wonder if a genuine part is any better quality. It only needs a different type of plastic around the terminals to tolerate the heat better. Thicker (more expensive) terminals would probably not get so hot either. The later RRC main light switches that were sourced from the Maestro/Montego parts bin must have been a bit more robust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintman Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 14 hours ago, mickeyw said: Those numbers look like the early type RRC indicator stalks. In Defender context I've always found it was the main light switch that melted all too easily. The switches I've bought have been too cheap really. I wonder if a genuine part is any better quality. It only needs a different type of plastic around the terminals to tolerate the heat better. Thicker (more expensive) terminals would probably not get so hot either. The later RRC main light switches that were sourced from the Maestro/Montego parts bin must have been a bit more robust. I'm inclined to agree. Mrs P has a 307 & they're well known for the multiplug to the heater blower resistor that controls the heater fan speeds getting too hot & melting/burning the plastic of the plug. Symptom is one or more of the speed settings on the switch stop working. Peugeot have a modified replacement harness which replaces this section & has one less wire than the original. I fitted one of these. It lasted around 18 months before the symptoms started again & examination showed this too had gone at the plug. I then bought one of the kits from ebay which replaces just the multiplug & a few inches of each wire. This appears to be a different plastic and - so far! - has been fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Roberts Posted December 10, 2017 Author Share Posted December 10, 2017 On 06/12/2017 at 1:15 PM, steve b said: What model / manufacturer LED headlights have you ended up with Darren ? cheers Steve b E-Marked, paid my mate £100 for them....almost certainly Chinese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 How are you guys getting on with those lights i the snow? I understand that a handful of top end LED lamps have heated lens options, but not most. Is the snow sticking to them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Roberts Posted December 13, 2017 Author Share Posted December 13, 2017 On 11/12/2017 at 5:57 AM, Snagger said: How are you guys getting on with those lights i the snow? I understand that a handful of top end LED lamps have heated lens options, but not most. Is the snow sticking to them? Haven't tried them yet. It's not been out since I've fitted them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Roberts Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 Looks like with the latest MOT changes they might be being replaced anyway......I still haven't tried them in the snow but they re great at night, sealed units so no condensation build up..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Roberts Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 I've also noticed when dark, engine running but headlight switch off, they pulse on and off........any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 (edited) They are obviously getting some juice from another circuit. With halogens you wouldn’t see this, but with LED’s they typically switch on at 9v, and draw so little current. When you installed them, did you just plug in or look at removing dim/dip modules, isolating wiring etc.? To get them working ok, you’d need to look at isolating the circuit and directly wiring them in to the main beam and hi beam switches. If you want the option to be able to retrofit in halogens in the future you’d have to do this via relays for a good install. Hopefully this helps. cheers, Steve Edited March 7, 2018 by SteveG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Roberts Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 Thanks Steve. Just wired them in on the stand 3 pin flat bladed plug. I think I'm going to sell them and go with the suggestions made previously on the thread. I prefer the original look of the Classic new to these anyway, even if they are better than candlelight power! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Roberts Posted March 21, 2018 Author Share Posted March 21, 2018 Any thoughts on this in the context of previous comments about rewiring? http://www.paddockspares.com/boomslang-performance-headlight-loom.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Roberts Posted March 21, 2018 Author Share Posted March 21, 2018 On 11/12/2017 at 5:57 AM, Snagger said: How are you guys getting on with those lights i the snow? I understand that a handful of top end LED lamps have heated lens options, but not most. Is the snow sticking to them? Last weekend in Kent - yes...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 So, worth either having the gucci heated ones or staying with halogens, then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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