Upgrade to Brighter Headlights

[alaird]

Great thread!

I installed $40 Beamtech H4 LED lights in my 2006 Prius and ran into the expected issues with the bulb holding bail and rear lamp cover. I ended up not reinstalling the lamp cover and still trying to decide how to modify that. I've adjusted the beams down a little and they do an impressive job lighting the road with acceptable light pattern defects.

I'm tempted to try a set of these in my 02 EV to see how they work. If that doesn't work, it seems like the $299 e-code BusDepot lights are a great upgrade with a little more work.

Had anyone gone this route recently with LED H4 bulbs?

Is the reflector pattern better on the BusDepot parts or is it just a lens difference?

Thanks! Alan

[Motodreaming]

Thanks Busdepot for responding on this site!! I've ordered a relay and headlights- not being able to see well is one of the most frustrating parts about driving my van- and it's high time to fix it so I can see at night this rainy Oregon winter!

[EurovanPete]

Digging up an older thread but I recently added the relay kit to my 03 from bus depot , my van also has daytime running lights as well. I’ve noticed a strange scenario after installingit when I pull out on my light switch for turning on the fog lamps the high beams also turn on and the high beam light in the cluster comes on dimly sometimes flickers. When I turn the high beam switch on the fog lights turn off as they should and the high beam light becomes brighter. Has anyone ever reported this issue or did i do something wrong!?

[ebowk]

I experienced the same exact scenario after installing the relay kit from Bus Depot to my 02 Weekender last fall. I installed according to the instructions (there isn't really any other way to do it) and have since checked the connections, relays, etc and am still at a loss...

[orbeamike]

Last year I purchased the Hella relay kit off ebay and installed the 80/100 watt extreme white bulbs and it made a noticable difference to my 2001 EVC.

Hella 329.317-001 H4 Headlamp Headlight Relay with Wiring Harness: https://www.ebay.com/itm/273864753080

All beams and fog lights operate normally.

[OB Bus]

^^ Nice. So did the eBay vendor include instructions? Did everything make sense to you?

(Electrically challanged individual here....)
_________________
Larry in OB
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
69 Westfalia and 2002 Eurovan Camper.

[Wyotdi]

FWIW-I installed the Bus Depot relay harness with zero issues. I thought the harness and connections were first rate and I'd highly recommend it. I have, however, removed the DRL relay since I've owned the van. Are you running any LED bulbs (headlight or driving lights) that might mess with resistance parameters? Just a random thought.

[orbeamike]

[volkybus]

Give me old school sealed beams anyday....It's sad that both my 73 Thing and 76 Westy have such a simple single light bulb 7 to 10 bucks each and u get a new reflecter and glass lens.. progress is not all it's said to be..My kids say I'm stuck in the seventies and it's only because really are we really progressing or have they just fooled us and we all drank the Kool aid...Bill VT & PR

[EuroTec]

I installed these HID lights last summer. They are a HUGE improvement on my 2003 Eurovan.

[/url]https://ledlightstreet.com/products/9003-hid-conversion-kit-35w-slim-ballast?_pos=1&_sid=0e709bf1d&_ss=r[url][/url]
_________________
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[shirk]

[EuroTec]

All I had to install was the bulbs after wiring up the HID modules. The take the place of the existing bulbs. Easy install.
_________________
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[KRJoye]

Just ordered a headlamp `direct wiring kit' from BusDepot, great Eurovan/Rialta supplier. Many thanks.

[EurovanPete]

[bigfoot_ev]

I feel the same as jjvincent said earlier in this thread. I have a long nose van so I can't comment on the short nose style of headlight. I've progressed through all the ideas here, first trying different bulbs, then added in relays, then upgraded headlights. The standard headlight lens really disperses the light instead of focusing it correctly. When adding brighter bulbs you make it brighter for yourself but you also add a lot of light pollution to oncoming traffic. The best improvement you can make is to fix the lens. This change can be dramatic enough to make standard bulbs seem bright enough. But I also added LED bulbs and adjusted my headlights properly so that I don't blind oncoming traffic. I can still see the sharp cut off of my headlights under bright overhead streetlights and on dark country roads it's really impressive.

[gesoffen]

[VanGeek]

I installed the busdepot kit in my 2001 weekender. Seemed very straightforward to me and I've had zero issues with it thus far. Everything works as it should.

I also replaced my US-spec lenses with European ones I purchased from an eBay vendor in Latvia. The original glass lenses were clear but I noticed the chrome bits on the inside the housings were starting to disintegrate so that's probably making for the best/bright light.

I added some LED's that had good ratings on amazon for brightness, color, and anti-flicker. They are Auxito brand and don't seem to be available any longer. Similar in appearance to these, but had 6000K (less blue) vs 6500K https://www.amazon.com/AUXITO-H4-Brighter-9003-Replacement/dp/B0CLG3WZ8S

Subjectively, the new housings, LEDs, and harnesses seem to produce a much brighter light. I've viewed the beam cut-off projected onto my garage for new vs old and the new seem even more crisp. I don't see any dispersion nor flicker but have admittedly only driven for a little over a month before retiring Vanna to the garage for Winter repairs and upgrades.

My only complaint is with the noise of the fans inside the LED bulbs. When the engine is turned-off and the ignition and headlights are on, I can hear a faint hum from the front-end and this is the tiny fans running inside the bulbs. Barely audible but I can hear it. The harness and bulbs weren't expensive and seem like the best ROI. The new housings are also helpful but a bigger investment.

[bigfoot_ev]

[bigfoot_ev]

I had a chance to investigate the headlights with LED bulbs. Remember, I replaced my headlight switch but I think it works basically the same way. The main difference it that I have a side light only position. Another modification I made was to add relays to the headlight circuit. This had nothing to do with the LED bulbs, it was a leftover from my trials with high wattage halogen bulbs.

So, when I turn the switch to headlight mode and the low beams are on, I can pull the headlight switch to turn on the fog lights and all works well. The high beams are not on. When I next turn on the high beams using the stalk switch the fog lights turn off and high beams are on. This is as expected. I turn off high beams, back to low, and the fog lights turn back on. Also as expected.

I haven't looked at the wiring diagram but since the high beams are connected to the fog light circuit I wonder if the issue you are seeing is due to this 'feature'. Perhaps a relay on the high beam circuit that turns off the fog lights, or something similar. I noticed my LED bulbs are rated to pull 60W. That might be enough current draw to make things play nice. Kind of like adding a resistor to the LED bulbs, which by the way I would hate to do. I would rather use bulbs that use more current and therefore make more lumens. Hope this is helpful.

[gesoffen]

Thanks for the update bigfoot! I'm reasonably certain that my abnormal highbeam behavior is due to the lower resistance of my LEDs.

I'll investigate and perhaps swap for higher resistance LED replacement H4 bulbs.