Crappy tire hits new low

[binch]

The right headlight gave up the ghost on the 93 RRC.   "No problem!"  I thought to myself... "I'll just zip over to Crappy Tire and pick up a replacement."   Oh...but I was in for a rude surprise.....    Apparently no one uses round sealed headlights any more....?!??!   Yes, you read it right...no one uses the old standard round, 7" sealed beam head lights any longer!!!!    AT least that's what the piss-ant parts puff told me this afternoon.    And Crappy tire will not be carrying them any longer.   Except maybe in Newfoundland as they are a half hour behind.    So I went over to Wally World next door and sure enough they had a couple there.   But since I didn't have my reading glasses with me I couldn't see the letter on the box to confirm it was a high/low beam bulb.   So I took it to the service counter and asked the young lad there if he could read the small print and tell me if it was a high/low.    Let's just say I left there without a headlight.   Next stop...... Fart Source.   Crappy Tires specialty parts supply store.   And being true to the mudder ship they said they don't carry them anymore as no one uses them.    AHHHHHHHHHH!      BONE HEADS!!!!!!!     

In the end I went home and took a bulb out of the donor RRC....worked fine.     okay rant over....but I'm still as pissed about it as I was before.....Idiots, Dip-sticks, putz's, etc, etc, etc

[Red90]

You should grab some Hellas. Not very expensive and much better light. Then you just replace the bulbs.

[binch]

I may go that route just so I can fix the lights with less hassle.    Replacement bulbs for my Disco 11 are under 2 quid each still.

[Matt H]

When the LED lights become more affordable I'm going that route with the Mighty Range Rover. Seeing as Jeep JK's use a round 7" headlamp the aftermarket has it well covered.

Stock sealed beam Rangie headlights are terrible. It helps if you run power direct from the battery not through the vehicle wiring harness and just hook up the switch via the relay.  Still crap though.

[Red90]

Hella are $90 for a pair and the light is as good if not better than LEDs. Add some relays for a few dollars and it is even better. The LEDs are around $400 now and I doubt will get much lower.

[binch]

I'd never put LED's on a vehicle that's going to be used in the winter though as they don't produce enough heat to clear ice and snow from them.    I've been looking at the BP aftermarket options with the halogen replacement bulb and the zenon replaceable bulbs.   reasonable price options there too.

[Red90]

Truck lite have a version with self defrosting lens. More money though.

[Rosco]

that's strange, I went into crappy  tire here and bought a couple of sealed beams a couple of weeks ago, had a few on the shelf.
if I can help it, I never ask the parts guys, they don't usually know too much, pays to do a bit of searching online before hand.

[binch]

Oh trust me....asking for help there is a waste of time.....    All they had for sealed beams were rectangular and they told me they won't be getting any round ones in.    >:(

[Rosco]

That's such useless customer service, I have bee told by them before that something I'm looking for doesn't exist, only for me to find it on the shelf a few minutes later.

[Mark]

You should grab some Hellas. Not very expensive and much better light. Then you just replace the bulbs.

I second, third, and forth that suggestion!

I had a 1974 BMW 2002 that had 7" sealed beams. The light at best was barely adequate. I installed the Hella kit and never looked back! Even with regular halogen bulbs the light was better than 95% of the cars I've driven with Xenon lamps! Well worth it!

[binch]

I've kinda gone that route now...but not Hellas ;)

[Red90]

While on the topic....

This is what I use currently on the Defender: http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=23781&langId=-1  they are more costly than the Hellas, around $200, maybe a bit less.  Light quality is similar, but they are fully sealed, which I needed due to my off roading practices.  The other big plus is they use the 9007 bulb, which have substantially longer lives than the H4 bulbs.   

I'm not sure about the RRC, but on a Defender, the stock wiring is not well designed for the headlights.  All the power runs through the headlight switch and there is a lot of power loss by the time it gets to the headlights.  In addition, the load tends to kill the headlight switch.  Adding in a pair of relay will make your lights a lot brighter and prevent the switch from failing.  You can just buy a couple of relays and wire it in or use a kit.  There are a few around, but I think this is the best deal I've seen: http://www.paddockspares.com/boomslang-performance-headlight-loom.html

[binch]

While on the topic....

This is what I use currently on the Defender: http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=23781&langId=-1  they are more costly than the Hellas, around $200, maybe a bit less.  Light quality is similar, but they are fully sealed, which I needed due to my off roading practices.  The other big plus is they use the 9007 bulb, which have substantially longer lives than the H4 bulbs.   

I'm not sure about the RRC, but on a Defender, the stock wiring is not well designed for the headlights.  All the power runs through the headlight switch and there is a lot of power loss by the time it gets to the headlights.  In addition, the load tends to kill the headlight switch.  Adding in a pair of relay will make your lights a lot brighter and prevent the switch from failing.  You can just buy a couple of relays and wire it in or use a kit.  There are a few around, but I think this is the best deal I've seen: http://www.paddockspares.com/boomslang-performance-headlight-loom.html

I have all my vehicles headlights running battery to headlights with relays in line.   thanks to dave.