As some of you know a while back I posted about using Hella 90mm modules to replace the old sealed beams; some liked the idea, most did not. I was browsing e-bay and found a set of the low beam modules, placed a bid (that was actually the price for one from rallylights.com) and won the auction. So I HAD to go ahead and do the conversion--but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be (is it ever?).
The only thing that I didn't think of in advance is that the low beams in our cars have two filaments in them--so they have two hot wires; the Hellas do not so I had to add another relay so that the low beams would stay on when the bright lights were on--so I ripped out ALL of the headlight wiring and rewired the new set-up.
My main objective was to keep the car's parts intact in case things didn't work out, I wouldn't have a lot of scrap on my hands. When I recieved the lights I noticed that they wouldn't fit in the headlight bucket without modification--not good! It really increased my "puckerfactor" to take a cut off wheel to a $75 light.
Next I had to modify the back of the headlight bucket to allow the bulb housing to sit further back making it flush in the front. This did not destroy the bucket, a sealed beam will still sit in there and function.
I also had to cut off the end of the Hella adjusters--they were crashing into the back of the headlight bucket, and I did not want to plasma holes in the bucket. I didn't need the extra adjustment anyway. This pic also shows the material that was removed from the Hella light housing.
Here is the back of the filler panel that I made to adapt the Hella light to the factory headlight trim ring. I used the mounting plate that comes with the lights as a template, wrote a program for a CNC plasma that I have access to and plasma burned the parts out of 14 gauge material. The trim ring is FREAKIN THIN, TIG welding that was fun!
Here is a shot of the unpainted part from the front, sorry so dark.
Here is the finished part, sealed, painted, and mounted with a plexiglas cover.
Now I can't wait to get the high beams; they are not as long as the low beams. I shouldn't have to modify the headlight bucket at all, and no re wiring!
There is a place near me that is a Hella dealer-that is where I got the low beams and will be ordering the high beams from on Monday. http://www.yellowandbluelighting.com...0/Default.aspx
Cost: I paid $73 for BOTH lights, bulbs, mounting plates, and Hella's watertight connector. I will pay $123 for the same set up on the high beams. Total-$196
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