I have a 2004 Defender Td5, and when I first started driving it, found the headlights very inadequate. I made considerable improvements by fitting relays, upgraded wiring, and more powerful bulbs, but still find that the light pattern of the standard Wipacs is pretty poor in spread & penetration.
Has anyone changed the headlight units to better ones, and if so, what are the best to go for. As far as I know, the lights are standard 7" units, so there should be some alternatives available.
graeme . im running a 300tdi defender , i wired the headlights [via relays 1 for main beam and one for dipped] directly from the 12v output of the alternator and fed new wires to each headlight . i cut the headlight wires about 6 inch from each light and then rewired them to the outputs from relays, i teed off of each relay, feeding 2 lights from each relay .
the original wires from the main light switch are disconnected on the drivers side but still used on the passenger side , to feed the relays and switch them .
before i did all this the voltage to the headlights was 11.5v at best , now it is same voltage as the output from alternator, ie around 14.5v when engine revving and 12.5v at idle .
i use CIBIE headlights CIB082439 and i wired the sidelights up too . im not sure of exact cibie partnumber , the number above is from DEMON TWEAKS , also another place in the uk called
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sells these headlight under the part number of H180
i use 100/80w halogen bulbs .
these are extremely bright and show a good pattern of light , very much better than the orignal headlights were and are at least 3x as bright .
if buying a set of halogen headlamps then the headlights you want to buy are the ones without the metal hood inside that covers the bulb .
there are someother headlights available called CRYSTAL , they have shaped bowls , not glass , they arent supposed to be legal here on post
1975 vehicles but work perfectly well .
see here
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see paddock landrover spares website also
measure the voltage at the headlight socket of yours and youll know if you have the right voltage , it will be same as the sidelights. on mine at first my sidelights had higher voltage than the headlights , but now the headlights have same voltage as is coming from the alternator .
i didnt bother with xenon bulbs etc, just use ordinary halogen bulbs, those BLUE light bulbs are dimmer due to the coating on them .
so long as you can get a good 13-14v at the headlights they should be bright .
if setting up on a beam setter inh a garage , set the main beam as high as possible , if not slightly higher than is on machines scale .
Some good advice there, bit extreme but can't fault APART from advising that any bulbs used are of a legal wattage when used on the road.... especially if I'm coming the other way in the 101.
Thanks for your valuable info. I have done the upgraded wiring with relays in similar fashion to what you have described, and with the improved voltage to the lights, I have gained a lot of improvement. It is just the poor beam pattern of the original Wipac units which is the remaining problem, so your information will assist me to find some suitable replacements.
Repco do a decent replacement light insert with a good beam pattern - branded as a Wagner. Add some Narva Plus50 bulbs and you'll be seeing a lot better at night.
I use cibe iode units, they're not too bad. The crystal units already mentioned are now available on ebay in right-hand drive format and "E" marked as well. Badger.
On or around 30 Aug 2006 12:17:30 -0700, "m0bcg" enlightened us thusly:
arse.
they're illegal for road use, in the UK anyway.
if you sort the wiring as suggested (or at least check for decent voltage at the bulbs) then you shouldn't need more than 60/55W bulbs. If you regularly drive at more than the legal limit on ordinary A roads, then a pair of long-range driving lights are good in addition.
super-bright dipped beams should outlawed, IMHO...
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