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To add to Tim's correct description, the bulb clips into the reflector in the normal way, & has a cable coming out of the back with a small 4 way connector on it.

this plugs into another cable, which goes into a rectangular box which contains the electronics to supply the bulb with its needs.

That box has a second cable coming out, which has the 3 way "H4" plug on it - this connects to your normal three way connector.

Space can be a bit tight inside the headlamp bowl for all this extra wiring etc, mine fitted in ok (with a bit of jiggling !) you do have the option of locating the rectangular box outside the shell (it is waterproof).

The same company also does another similar bulb which has all the electronics built in to the bulb, & so takes up less space. These are in fact cheaper, but currently out of stock. I have not tried these, but would think performance would be similar.

 

Hope this helps.

Bob.

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On 11/16/2018 at 11:18 AM, HSM said:

Just a point on fitting HID bulbs, Class 4 test manual section 4.1.4 Compliance with requirements states

existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with HID bulbs, if such a conversion

has been done you must fail the headlamp.

 

                                              Harvey S. Maitland DVSA AE

Harvey you are correct that if the tester finds that the car has these bulbs fitted, the car will fail it's MOT. In saying that if the bulbs were engineered to give the correct light pattern on the beam tester and the headlamp had been adjusted to suit, I assume the tester would have no reason to dismantle the headlights to find out what bulbs were fitted.

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Apart from sealed beam headlamps that are checked on main beam most headlamps are checked on dipped beam and

provided the alignment complies with the correct beam image they will pass. It is only HID bulbs fitted in existing H4 halogen

units that would fail under section "C" of the defects light source & lamp not compatible. Always remember no element of

dismantling is allowed during a test. Complete L.E.D conversions should not be a reason for failure provided they give

the correct image.

 

                                     Harvey S. Maitland

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HID are only supposed to be fitted to cars equipped with self levelling headlamps that are also fitted with wash wipe facility, this is just for information purposes as I know a few TR owners have fitted them to their cars. The LED units now provide a viable alternative.

Stuart.

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Hi Bob, thanks for that post!

I found this pair at eBay, it's plug any play and I wonder how they handle with the heat...

1824440616_LEDbulbs.thumb.jpg.09b22fdc73bd4f0c618ed4014bb7dd95.jpg

And isn't the "spiral" for the driving light not "up" to the direction of the middle pin?

I ask the seller.

Ciao Marco

Edited by Z320
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On 11/24/2018 at 1:20 PM, Dave I O W said:

I currently have Halogen Wipac lamp units on my car would thes'e  LED bulbs fit ok or do I have to change to the Valero cibie lamps, 

Or are the Valero lamps better?

Thanks in advance,

Dave.

Hi Bob,

Bulbs bought and fitted and what a difference they make, All the wire's fitted in the bowl  no problems, just had to swap the wires round on the plug,

Thanks for your help all the best,

Dave.

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As it is not allowed at Germany to fit LED bulbs without E-mark (and it will be obvious to see)

I had a closer look on my the headlights today to see if there is somethink different that I could do.

Guess my TR4A had Bilux first, with "Wipac" H4 fited in 1992 when it came to Germany, clear in the center, getting a bit dull coning closer to the rim.

Inside there is a black shield for the driving light, seems it covers the bulb too much, can not see this shield on any new ones.

P1110178-b.JPG.425947dda7b5ed7c1e6b18c3d3092963.JPG P1110179-b.JPG.d881a3d0c9f83948e7a169e90d18212d.JPG

P1110180-b.JPG.a785372ca05332eea72f30f34fbbde7f.JPG P1110181-b.JPG.c48c5c25d2f02c27447e5f28490492aa.JPG

So I will oder new reflectors, use new H4 bulbs and check the cable connectors which are covered with electrical tape.

Ciao Marco

Edited by Z320
Wipac, not Wipex
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Hello Bob,

over here on the continent the rules are complicated:

- CE / RoHS is mandatory to get products into the market
   - RoHS tells you, that no hazardous substances are used in this product - so in case of swallowing it or dumping it somewhere ….. that has nothing to do with the function of this device
   - CE tells you that certain regulations  are met like EMC-regulations, low-voltage directive or others - depending on the product: Again - nothing related to the real function of the device

- additional rules are applied in certain applications. One is car lighting (exterior): There are rules e.g. regarding the brightness of the headlights (or rear lights)
As these rules are coming out of the past, they have not been adopted to todays technique - they talk about wattage. So imagine a 21W brake light equipped with 21W LED power.....
blinded by the light, as Manfred Mann used to sing.
Locking at head lights, there seems to be another rule, forced by the advent of Xenon head lights and the new LED head lights: The brightness is limited to (i think) 1800 lumen
AND each head light has to be tested if its usage is "correct" (not shining to high etc.... this process has to be paid by the car maker. 
IF Wipac/ Lucas/ Bosch would design a LED- bulb  for usage in their reflectors AND if they would pay the tests, then this bulb could get an E-marking and could used.
But as they don't see a large market here and as a bulb would (having the E-mark on its own) this bulb would have to be tested in a lot of reflectors as a an item for common usage, this has no high priority for these manufacturers. And for all others, sitting in China, this process is too complicated and the related market is too small…..

The real problem is: You can use LEDs, you can drive with them BUIT in case of an accident, the insurance company will state  that your car was not according to the regulations and they make you pay for that….

Regards, Johannes

 

(sorry for this bad english - I hope you are able understand the meaning)

(the local TUV = your MOT  did accept my LED rear lights …. they saw the real improvement in visibility)

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Thank you for that information Johannes.  We also have the outdated regulation here regarding the wattage of bulbs, but limited to indicators & headlights.

All other lamps do not have that restriction. I take the view that the spirit of the regs would mean to state "equivalent wattage".

Obviously the beam pattern of headlights is important, especialy if they are very bright. You say your car passed with the TUV test with LED rear lights, I bet it would have also passed with well designed LED headlamps ?

Best Regards

Bob.

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Hello Bob,

in my case the TUV just didn't look too close at the rear lights - and saw (as a technician) no obvious disadvantage of a bright brake light in todays traffic. So he did not want to notice - BUT this is no guarantee for the next test: Another engineer, another opinion….

Rear lights, indicators, fog lights etc are all tested for function only - on/off.

I had discussion regarding may daytime running lights (with the correct E-number, stating them as road legal DRLs!): The engineer saw them as not allowed in combination with my vehicle registration as a "historic vehicle"....  where the original state has to be preserved except for some  (listed) safety improvements.

Regarding head lights: They are tested not only for function but for the correct alignment and beam pattern (especially with modern car systems a complicated task!) - in general it is only allowed to use a lamp with the "correct" bulb. The combination of bulb & reflector has its E-number - the certification will state, that a typical 7"-WIPAC will have to be used with a classic bulb or a H4 bulb.
So to get a legal solution here you would either need:

- A very time (& money) consuming individual test

- A certified "headlight- system" (combination of reflector & bulb) with E-number, approval etc. I can only guess, that this process is not too easy. Basically LED-headlights  are allowed - many modern cars use them. But nobody (up to now) certified an "old style" 7" round lamp for the use as retrofit for old cars. 

As nobody reacted up to now, i can only assume that the market does not seem to be interesting for the "big players". Next problem could probably be the lack of standardization: A H4 bulb is clearly defined in respect of the light emitting area. Looking at LED-replacements I see a lot of different versions…. so you probably end up with certification of only one special LED to run it (this is what is done with modern cars too) - or you get a certification of the head light system (bulb including reflector)

 

Regards, Johannes

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Bob

Big fan of LEDs but stupid electrickery question as I want to understand what's involved before deciding on this upgrade.

I still have an original lighting set up so presumably I would need: Valeo type headlamps + LED lights + 2 female 3 pin connectors to connect the LEDs to the existing loom. If so,  what is the wiring arrangement for the 3 pin female connector from the existing loom? 

Miles

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Hi Miles.

You don't need Valeo type (but they are good) good LED headlamp bulbs are available with several different bases  H4, H7, P45T, P43T, H3, HB3, HB4

It seems a TR3 could have been originally fitted with BPF, P45T, or Sealed beam (same connector as H4), 

You need three wires to drive any of the dipping headlight, Earth (usually black), Dipped beam (blue/red, & Full beam (blue/white) these three wires need to be connected to a suitable connector. If you wish to go this way give me a shout, & I will come over & help.

cheers

Bob.

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Thanks Bob

Never needed to check the headlamp bulbs and as the car was restored a few years ago, not sure what is in place. But, subject to checking what base my existing bulbs have, it sounds as if I could simply swap for LED versions, leaving the existing headlamps in place? 

PS Thanks for the offer of help. Alas, have had to move the TR back to London.

Miles

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Miles.

1st step is find out what you have.  If the headlamp reflectors are not perfect, then it may be a good time to change them anyway, in which case 

Valeo / Cibie would be my recommendation using the H4 base.  If you prefer to use the reflectors you have, then need to establish what  base bulb they take.

 

Bob.

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14 hours ago, SteveB21 said:

Just to add to the debate - I see from my email today that Car Builder Solutions (no affiliation) now stock full replacement Wipac style 7" LED headlamps...

https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/wipac-led-projector-style-replacement-headlamp-with-halo-sidelight-and-chrome-bezel

Cheers

Steve

They are the ones regularly stolen from Landrovers, expensive too!

Stuart.

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Stuart

When you said expensive you got me wondering how expensive, I thought they would be £80 - £100..........not £456 each with post to pay as well!

I call that extravagant!

Best wishes,

Mike

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Got these pair of LEDs today, only for an experiment as I am not allowed to drive them on public roads at Germany.

23 Euros for the pair is very cheap - but finish is very poor, one of them was in pieces when I touched them (but working).

P1110470-b.JPG.cd3b0e320a249e66f58d2f361655bd68.JPG

Pressed the end 2 times on the lathe chuck, now its no loger possible to open.

They are very bright and need on 13 V only 1.5 Amps! Thats only 20 Watt each!

LEDs on the left and right side of each, for the low beam there are shields to reduce the light, like in a H4 halogen,

with the high beam the rear part of the LED gives light.

Very interesting.

Ciao Marco

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