Newer LED bulbs

[dhaavers]

^^^

- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[superreggie]

Conclusion: I'm overthinking it. I checked the original bulbs, and the ring is loose on those too. It's just that the LED bulbs don't fit quite as snugly.

I just took the little circular rubber band off the old bulbs and swapped them for the ones on the new bulbs, and VOILA. Bright lights. Cheap bright lights. Yes I would love to get a fancy new setup for $1000, but...

[dhaavers]

^^^ I’d think you could use a thin o-ring to snug up that gap.

I’ve put LED headlight bulbs in three different vehicles and all have taken at least
some fiddling/modifying to mount properly.

“You must do what must be done”…

- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[superreggie]

[DuncanS]

I turn the light on about ten feet from the white garage door and turn the screws until they are right.

Duncan

[do.dah]

[LarryMart]

What criteria do you use to aim the headlights?

[DuncanS]

Never had a problem rebuilding the adjusters. Vaseline on the metal and glob some JB around. Maybe a bit of Dremel clean up afterwards, but not a prob.

Duncan

[hardway]

The adjusters and anchors for the rectangular light are NLA for the originals. The "Classic Line" parts now available leave something to be desired. Go Westy sells the small pieces that snaps into the lamp body and receive the post separately. If your adjusters are just broken at the lamp housing end you are better off just the tip clamp.

[DuncanS]

[superreggie]

I actually contacted TorchBeam, the manufacturer, for help, and I think they are going to mail me something.... I'm crossing my fingers, because if I can get this to work, it's straight up a bright solution for $40 with no work involved...

[superreggie]

[quote="DuncanS"]

[superreggie]

[superreggie]

[DuncanS]

[VicVan]

[bobbyblack]

[DuncanS]

Any attempt to "fix" the headlight problem while still using the factory glass bulb housings will be disappointing. The scattering from 30 plus years of sand blasting by the cars in front of you and the fact they were designed for European villages and cities with narrow streets make them unsuitable for our open roads. Up grade the entire package and you will be much happier.

Duncan

[bobbyblack]

I went all-in on being as friendly as possible to oncoming traffic. I got all new headlight adjusters after years of DIY type solutions with sheet rock screws and fuel hose. BUT, the brand new adjusters also are quirky! First, they are extremely terrible to get started 'moving' .. I used a heat gun to warm them up, and then after I got hem started, I lubricated them with some dry lube and very carefully screwed out and in a couple of times before installing them in the housings. Even now, I find them to be difficult at best. BUT, I persisted in the aiming process. I've had Mrs. Black drive the bus with me in another vehicle oncoming, to see them after the aiming, and they were good.

I definitely would advise that if you are going with the 18000L units, be VERY sure your aim is perfect. Even the ones you have now are going to take a few nights of aiming to get them right. The aim is different from the standard 9004's. Most likely ALL bulbs are different, so any time you change bulbs, you should re-aim.

I'd say Good Luck, but you need to use good skill instead.

-bobby
_________________
'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[superreggie]

Wow, those are bright. And cheap too. I'd like to hereby apologize to all of you who I will be blinding on the roadway, but I had to find a solution...