sealed beam units

If you indulge in deep water frivolity then non sealed beam units tend to fill up with water that is very hard to remove. The result is far worse than a poor sealed beam unit! If you don't then go for the halogens every time.

In message , Patrick Manuel writes

You make a good point there. Mind, this is an ex-army item so its a little higher than normal and the relays are out of the way. Just few minutes work to swap back to the sealed unbeams if paddling is planned :D

Or go for the halogen sealed beam units - you get most of the light increase but they won't fill with water.

In message , EMB writes

Excellent! The world *is* perfect!

I just bought a Ring halogen conversion kit to replace the sealed beam units on my 1972 Series III. When I tried to fit them, I was puzzled by the fact that the bezel from the sealed beam units did not seem to fit the new headlights properly. The moulded glass locating lugs on the sealed beam units seem to be different from the locating points on the halogen replacements . Am I missing a trick somewhere? Do I need to modify the bezels? Or do I need to buy different bezels for the halogen units to complete the conversion successfully?

In message , Simon Oates writes

There are 3 lugs. They are arranged in such a way that the lense can only fit in a set orientation. Try rotating the new units until they all line up. Mine were a snug fit.

That's what I expected them to do, but they didn't seem to want to line up so that the bezel sat squarely and securely. The moulded glass lugs on the sealed beam units have sheer sides that locate the bezel very effectively, whereas the metal lugs on the halogen units have stepped sides (so that they are wider at their base than they are at their top, and it is only the top that is the same width as the glass lugs on the sealed beam units). That said, I'll try them again tomorrow, daylight and frostbite permitting, and report back.

No, you're quite right, the Ring units dont fit properly. Certainly on Series. Thanks to the poor design of the halogen replacement units. I remember bending the lugs about (carefully so as not to break them off) so they fit the bezels better. Also I seem to rememeber having to bend the chamfer on the bezel, on the edge you see unfortunatly, back to nearer 90degrees to clamp them effectivly.

Wether there are different bezels that take the Ring replacements I dont know, but I've NEVER had a problem fitting original sealed beam units of various manufacturers to various differing designs of bezel/mounting. The only ones I can think of which might fit corretly to the Ring units are the bezels which have 3 little metal clips on the back rather than a one which comes in two separate rings. The 3 little clips screw onto the bezel and locate onto the lugs on the glass lugs.

Alex

Alex

I've had no trouble retro fitting halogens into both my 2A and my 101 without any forced modifications. Do you mean the bezel that clamps onto the light bulb unit?

The Wipac units have similar mountings and they fit ok, can you find one to compare with yours to see the difference?

Yep, the bezel that clamps onto the light unit is the one that I have been struggling with.

I've had no trouble retro fitting halogens into both my 2A and my 101 without any forced modifications. Do you mean the bezel that clamps onto the light bulb unit?

Well, it's reassuring to know that it's not just me being stupid and that there is a problem with the Ring design. The bezels on my Series 3 are the type with the 3 little metal clips, so I'll see what a bit of judicious bending might achieve. I might also pull the bezels of my 2A to see if they are different in any way and fit better. But why, I wonder, do Ring market a halogen conversion kit with a design of unit with locating lugs that are different from the original sealed beam unit? Doesn't make sense to me.

In message , Tom Woods writes

My truck is a series 3 ex-mil. For my sins I have an offside with the old military bowl, bezel, clamp and infra red filter mounting ring :) The near side has a cheapo plastic bowl with chrome bezel and the 3 little metal clips. (Still looking for a healthy ex-mil set up for this...hint hint)

The new halogen lenses with the pressed out lugs are quite a snug fit in the cheapo bezel and at first I worried that I might break something but it does fit. The little clips don't quite fit as well but once screwed up it's all quite secure. On the military side the bezel is much meatier and it all fits fine. The halogen units I used were Britpart items.

I've got a Ring set of halogens in my 101. Had them in the military bowls until last week when i fitted some new plastic ones (as all the adjusters on the military ones had rusted up).

Gave away the originals last week!

I had no trouble like the OP - but my lights have been in there for 3 or 4 years now so maybe the design has only changed recently?

In message , Tom Woods writes

Argh!!!

On or around Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:09:20 +1300, EMB enlightened us thusly:

never seen those...

My "work" motor (which doesn't get required to do deep wading in mud etc) now has HID units, which are bloody impressive, and only 35W each running load. About the only gripe is they're not much good for flashing at people in the daytime, as they take about 10s to get to full brightness - although when cold they do give a momentary bright flash on strike-up.

Could always fit some halogen spots for flashing with, I suppose.

White mac? :-)

I bought some ring ones a while ago and at the price then I bought a spare set. They do seem quite cheaply made and made in India but they work.

Had no problem on my 68 S11A - the H4's were just a straight replacement, no adjustments required :)

If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.' Catherine Aird