1994 Pickup H4 Headlight conversion questions
10-27-2016, 02:21 PM
#1
1994 Pickup H4 Headlight conversion questions
Hi all.
This all started while driving way up in the mountains on a bumpy road at night, the lights going completely out. Turns out it was just the High Beams. I have been reading the past couple of weeks on how to deal with it, and this morning, cleaned the contacts in the combination switch. The high beams work again. Pulled the SW trim, and the under dash trim, removed the SW, removed the entire switch assembly, removed the headlight switch, unsnapped the cover, found the contacts. I could not really see any obvious issues, but with a magnifying lens I could see which contacts were obviously taking the High Beam load. I pulled some sandpaper across the contacts, 220, then 600, reinstalled, and all is well.
I understand that this will happen again without changing the harness, and installing some relays to carry the load. I plan on doing this.
While driving around with only the low beams, I realized how badly they suck. I want brighter lights up front. I have spent hours reading about this, but still have some questions. I do not want to waste time by installing junk, but I also do not want to spend big bucks in doing all this.
So far, I think that installing some new H4 housings that have replaceable H4 bulbs ( a single bulb with both High and Low?) is the way to go. What is a good housing for this? (Brand/ Model/ Link?) I have seen a few, and do not want junk. I also see some projector H4 housings, that are pretty spendy. I want brighter lighting.
If I install right now, some bulbs, say 55/100 watt, without having the harness completed yet, is that going to cause immediate problems? Or can the harness wait a couple of thousand miles (after an upcoming trip) I understand fully why routing the current directly to the lights, using the combination switch to actuate relays, is a good idea, and will do this. I do not want to have to pull the steering wheel off again, or be stuck with no high beams again.
Any suggestions for a good quality H4 housing? And, Are there any good projector housings that are less than $500 for a pair?
I absolutely do not want to cause problems for other drivers, and this should be easy to avoid with the correct parts. Also, I want these parts to last, so bonus points for those who are making recommendations based on years of experience with their conversions.
Thank you all for a great forum!
This all started while driving way up in the mountains on a bumpy road at night, the lights going completely out. Turns out it was just the High Beams. I have been reading the past couple of weeks on how to deal with it, and this morning, cleaned the contacts in the combination switch. The high beams work again. Pulled the SW trim, and the under dash trim, removed the SW, removed the entire switch assembly, removed the headlight switch, unsnapped the cover, found the contacts. I could not really see any obvious issues, but with a magnifying lens I could see which contacts were obviously taking the High Beam load. I pulled some sandpaper across the contacts, 220, then 600, reinstalled, and all is well.
I understand that this will happen again without changing the harness, and installing some relays to carry the load. I plan on doing this.
While driving around with only the low beams, I realized how badly they suck. I want brighter lights up front. I have spent hours reading about this, but still have some questions. I do not want to waste time by installing junk, but I also do not want to spend big bucks in doing all this.
So far, I think that installing some new H4 housings that have replaceable H4 bulbs ( a single bulb with both High and Low?) is the way to go. What is a good housing for this? (Brand/ Model/ Link?) I have seen a few, and do not want junk. I also see some projector H4 housings, that are pretty spendy. I want brighter lighting.
If I install right now, some bulbs, say 55/100 watt, without having the harness completed yet, is that going to cause immediate problems? Or can the harness wait a couple of thousand miles (after an upcoming trip) I understand fully why routing the current directly to the lights, using the combination switch to actuate relays, is a good idea, and will do this. I do not want to have to pull the steering wheel off again, or be stuck with no high beams again.
Any suggestions for a good quality H4 housing? And, Are there any good projector housings that are less than $500 for a pair?
I absolutely do not want to cause problems for other drivers, and this should be easy to avoid with the correct parts. Also, I want these parts to last, so bonus points for those who are making recommendations based on years of experience with their conversions.
Thank you all for a great forum!
10-27-2016, 05:02 PM
#2
The best H4 housing is the Hella E-codes. Put some good bulbs in (I like Osram night breakers but look up other bulbs) and you will have a winning combo. Second to them is the ebay autopal E-codes (what I run). Not as good a beam pattern as the hellas but they are very close and only like 1/2 the price. A third option if you wanted to go real big, is the truck-lite LEDs. They are spendy but they are supposed to be really good.
10-27-2016, 05:22 PM
#3
Truck light LED's? You mean, like this?
https://www.carid.com/1994-toyota-pi...9.html#reviews
So, for the Hella's, it looks like this kit might be the ticket? :
http://www.rallylights.com/h6054-hel...dlamp-kit.html
A question about the Hella's... Are they going to last? (the housing) Is this a quality unit? And, on the link I posted to the Hella kit, I think the 100/55 bulbs might be a good choice. Any feedback?
Are those going to cause an immediate stress to my stock wiring harness? Will it be okay for one long trip?
https://www.carid.com/1994-toyota-pi...9.html#reviews
So, for the Hella's, it looks like this kit might be the ticket? :
http://www.rallylights.com/h6054-hel...dlamp-kit.html
A question about the Hella's... Are they going to last? (the housing) Is this a quality unit? And, on the link I posted to the Hella kit, I think the 100/55 bulbs might be a good choice. Any feedback?
Are those going to cause an immediate stress to my stock wiring harness? Will it be okay for one long trip?
10-27-2016, 08:50 PM
#4
No, not those. Truck-lite is the name of the company that makes them.
http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs...ce:&pageSize:&
Those are the correct Hellas. Hella make a damn good product and they should last the rest of the trucks lifetime. I wouldn't run 100w bulbs on the stock wiring. That's a big draw on wire that's already pretty old and small. Of all the ones on that list, I would probably go with the Philips bulbs but I like a whiter light.
http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs...ce:&pageSize:&
Those are the correct Hellas. Hella make a damn good product and they should last the rest of the trucks lifetime. I wouldn't run 100w bulbs on the stock wiring. That's a big draw on wire that's already pretty old and small. Of all the ones on that list, I would probably go with the Philips bulbs but I like a whiter light.
