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Trainman
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« on: February 11, 2010, 05:18:06 pm » |
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So the low beam headlights on the Forester are not that great. They also use a fairly new and hard to find bulb, the 55w H11. A solution that Daniel Stern ( http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html ) recommends is to replace the H11 with the 65w H9. It is a quick and easy modification to the lightbulb itself and with the rather extreme cut-off of the beam pattern, should not cause any issues for on-coming drivers. But I was wondering what potential issues there might be with using a higher wattage bulb? Will it damage the housing? Cause more current to be drawn through the circuit (ie headlight switch and wiring) that may cause problems? Any potential for fire? Thanks for any thoughts or real life experiences with this sort of modification. Tman
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2009 Subaru Forester X Touring Edition  |
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The Mighty Duck
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« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2010, 05:21:37 pm » |
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I seem to recall from my time working the Parts counter that some people had problems with the harness warping and melting when installing brighter bulbs. But IIRC that was with regard to replacing 55W driving lights with 100W bulbs...
In any event, the solution in that case was simply to replace the entire harness, which was still a relatively inexpensive and easy fix.
Not sure if that will be necessary going from 55W to 65W, though. |
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Demosthenes [noun], dem-aws-thene-s
1) (384 BC – 322 BC) the greatest of the Ancient Greek orators
2) pseudonym used by Valentine Wiggin in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game to alter the events of world history
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DrJay
Enthusiast
 OfflineVehicle: 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8L GT, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2007 Honda Fit, 67 Mustang Convertable
Gender: 
Location: Guelph, On
Posts: 418
 
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« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2010, 05:30:37 pm » |
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Did that accidentaly on my jetta (put the wrong size in) figured it out when I kept blowing the fuse from then on I learned to let the pros handle it. |
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DrJay.
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rrocket
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« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2010, 05:36:43 pm » |
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I have had no issues when running bulbs that are 10W more than recommended. |
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How fast is my Supra? I sh*t on Cessnas from a roll....
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jamie1
Auto Obsessed
OfflineVehicle: 2009 Acura TSX, 2001 Toyota RAV4 AWD 5sp.
Gender:
Location: Edmonton,Ab.
Posts: 735
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« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2010, 08:13:28 pm » |
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Daniel Stern knows his stuff. He would sell you something that would damage your car. He would also not sell you some BS gimmick lights. I've used him a couple of times with good results. |
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Enjoying the Alberta advantage
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Trainman
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« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2010, 10:51:37 pm » |
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Thanks everyone, I did not think there would be any issues. No one who has done it on the Forester Forum has noted any, just much better light. |
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2009 Subaru Forester X Touring Edition
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dr_spock
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« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2010, 11:57:17 pm » |
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Test it and see. I guess it depends on how much "safety" margin the engineers put into the housing and wiring design and materials. |
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Trainman
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« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2010, 02:08:55 pm » |
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So while doing the H11/H9 conversion (on the Subaru Forester, not a Toyota  ) on the low beams, I could see that something was happening on the high beam bulbs:   These are 9005 GE Nighthawks, with about 40,000 kms on them (not all on high beam of course  ). They still work but I wonder for how long, so I replaced them with new ones. Any idea of what might cause this? The drivers side is the worst of the two but both show signs of this weird burning. The burnt part faces up btw, if that matters. And I know not to touch the glass part of the bulbs; I have been using these types of bulbs since the early 80's and have never seen this before. |
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« Last Edit: February 12, 2010, 02:23:33 pm by Trainman »
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2009 Subaru Forester X Touring Edition
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airbalancer
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« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2010, 02:10:57 pm » |
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Time for another Toyota recall   |
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vdk
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« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2010, 02:18:48 pm » |
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The VW's left side headlight went out last night. But you know, it's a VW at 58k. |
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Trainman
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« Reply #10 on: February 12, 2010, 02:22:51 pm » |
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Time for another Toyota recall Hmm, I guess maybe if Toyota made Subaru's. Hasn't happened yet! (these are from the Forester, sorry for not being clear) |
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2009 Subaru Forester X Touring Edition
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airbalancer
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« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2010, 02:26:52 pm » |
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Time for another Toyota recall Hmm, I guess maybe if Toyota made Subaru's. Hasn't happened yet! (these are from the Forester, sorry for not being clear) Does not Toyota own 17% of Subaru |
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airbalancer
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« Reply #12 on: February 12, 2010, 02:27:58 pm » |
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Have you tried cleaning the bulb socket ? |
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dr_spock
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« Reply #13 on: February 12, 2010, 02:42:13 pm » |
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Rising heated vapour or they think they were installed in a VW.  |
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« Last Edit: February 12, 2010, 02:50:09 pm by dr_spock »
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initial_D
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« Reply #14 on: February 12, 2010, 02:46:29 pm » |
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Time to get a new car.  |
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roundupready
Learner's Permit
OfflineVehicle: 2010 Legacy 3.6R Ltd
Posts: 155
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« Reply #15 on: February 12, 2010, 03:22:43 pm » |
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I've been using the Osram Rally 65w for almost a year. http://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.htmlNo problems so far. Was using the Nighthawks before and they lasted almost exactly 1 year. |
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2005 Legacy GT 5EAT Stage 2 (gone)
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CD_Brian
Learner's Permit
Offline
Location: GTA, Ontario
Posts: 5
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« Reply #16 on: February 24, 2010, 10:44:05 pm » |
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Trainman,
I've noticed this to a lesser degree with headlight bulbs plenty of times. I suspect that the bulbs in question are being used as DRL's on that vehicle, and it's the continuous use that overheats them. Typically they just go cloudy, but I have seen that before. Normally it's third brake light bulbs that melt that badly. Replacing them wasn't a bad idea in any case.
I wouldn't be concerned about the bulb swap idea either, provided that the bulb is not only physically interchangeable, but that the filament's position and orientation will be the same. Otherwise, optically, all bets are off. From a power perspective, the greater wattage shouldn't be a problem. At 14.0 volts, the extra 10 Watts only increases the current required by 0.7 Amps per bulb. |
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