A Free Lunch? - Cheap New 24 volt H4 headlight Kit

[U404S]

Well, both headlights were out on my new-to-me M43. I thought it might be wiring, but everything checked out. The old sealed beams were just completely burned out.

So, I looked into a number of different solutions, the first being my preference which was to stick with the conventional military style sealed beams which were going to be around $92 with postage for a pair. That seemed like a lot and with the days getting shorter, I knew I would be driving in the dark more often so I investigated whether a brighter cheaper solution could be found.

In my research I read a very helpful 2004 internet post by Garbee who gave some Hella part numbers to convert to H4 bulbs. That sounded pretty good, but was going to be over $100 including shipping.

My neighbor suggested I drill out the back out of the sealed beam and epoxy an H4 headlight mount to the back side. That actually seemed like a good and really inexpensive idea, but I never drilled into glass before, so I am leaving that idea on the shelf for now.

I also thought about using Mercedes Benz Unimog 404 S headlamps which are essentially the same design as the Hella model with H4 bulbs. Going the Unimog route, new headlight glass and H4 bulbs were going to be around $90 with postage. And, despite being a NATO used German made military vehicle, they actually plug into the Douglas connectors without any modification.

But then, I came across an outfit on the internet called Octane Lighting. They sell a kit that includes two 24 volt H4 bulbs with two 7" glass enclosures for $44.95 plus $17 postage - about $62.00 for a pair. A number of different wattages could be selected. I chose 90/100 watt low/high beams.

I have not read anything about the origin or quality of these lights, or Octane Lighting for that matter. Regardless, the price was right so I decided to try them out. The part number I ordered was #15903. The same kit is on eBay and Amazon for varying prices. I also ordered, a couple ceramic plugs to crimp onto the pig tails cut from the old headlight lights. I'm leaving the M43's original Douglas connectors in place so I can go back to original headlights if this gamble doesn't work.

I'll post up the results when they arrive which is expected around November 5. Hope they are not sub-standard Far East made copies of Hella products that melt and turn yellow after the first long drive.

Cheers, Jerry

[m-37Bruce]

Sounds like a crazy good deal/idea, please let us know the final results, post a couple of pic's too.

[U404S]

The new headlights and 24 volt bulbs arrived from Octane lighting sooner than I expected.

They looked fine and the H4 bulbs were mounted inside the reflector dome with some kind of spring wire clamp. Easy to replace the bulbs when the time comes. The lights fit inside the M43 headlight buckets just fine and I am still able to unplug them from the Douglas connectors if I want to use replacement military sealed units.

I also had to buy the little orange ceramic three way plugs from Amazon - $3 each. Total cost for everything including postage was $68 including the ceramic pigtail adapter plugs. So, about $24 savings from buying the military sealed beam replacement and it gives me the go-forward option to use off-of-the-shelf 24 volt H4 bulbs which about $12.50 each.

If I was going to do this over, I would get the lower wattage bulbs. The 90/100 watt bulbs might be too bright, although the illumination is nice.

I was right about it all being made in China...we'll see how long they last. Except for those few reading this post, no one will ever know unless they can differentiate the sealed beam glass pattern from these.

Photos follow:

[U404S]

More Photos:

[U404S]

Last Photo: had not really noticed until now, but I think this truck looks a little homely.

[ashyers]

Nice plan! Now for the durability test .