Headlight bulbs

[Randy B]

I would suggest keeping a spare under the seat just in case. I actually lost both the low and high beam and didn't know it. Thankfully it was daylight and I swapped it out when I got home.

[gbpack89_imp]

I swapped out the stock bulb for a PIAA. H4 and adjusted the headlight aim. Makes a huge difference. At 12 feet i think had to move the center of the beam by almost 4 inches over what it was set at from stock

As someone mentioned earlier you will either have good low beam or good high beam. You can't get both out of this reflector. I personally prefer the low beam to be slightly low (still higher then stock) and the high beam to be perfect for when I use it

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[Jim21680_imp]

Despite my original concerns, I dropped in an H4 LED from ADVMonster last weekend.
http://stores.advmonster.com/h4-led-headlight-rev2/
It was a fairly simple install, I only needed to shorten and reshape the bulb retaining spring. (Which is now worrying me a bit, as I can't seem to find a part number if I ever need to replace it.....)

Anyway, with all that I've read about LEDs not being compatible with buckets designed for an incandescent bulb, I thought I'd at least give it a try. It was a $45 dollar gamble I was willing to make.

Over the past few nights, I can tell you that it's a remarkable difference, and I am totally thrilled with the results. The low-beam coverage is similar to the stock, but just a lot whiter (as one would expect). However, high-beam takes it into ludicrous mode.

I really wasn't expecting these results when I saw the bulb. It's just two LED's with a lens over each, but the light output is simply amazing. It's only the first week into it, although they come with a one-year warranty, and 30,000-hour expected lifespan.
I'll keep you all posted of any new developments over the next few months.

[Lord Popgun]

Jim, where is the retaining spring you mentioned. I can't find anything on the parts listing that even begins to show it. Any pics?

[Randy B]

You don't see the retaining spring because it isn't sold separately from the housing.

http://www.hondapartshouse.com/oemparts/.../headlight

[the Ferret]

Have to be careful, these are plastic headlight lens, not glass. Heat can be a problem. Not sure about heat from LEDs though.

[Jim21680_imp]

I'm definitely not worried about the heat...not anymore, at least. After the very first hour's ride, I took the lamp cover off to check exactly that. The bulb has a significant amount of heat-sinking, but it never felt too hot to hold on my hand. I'm pretty sure the stock halogen may have seared my fingers at that point. I've also done a few tests with seeing how it affects on-coming drivers. The upper line of the low beam seems to be in about the same place as an incandescent bulb. Riding slowly next to parked cars, it doesn't seem to illuminate the headrests very well, so that's telling me it's aligned properly. Lastly, I have not ridden in heavy traffic yet, but there haven't been any flash-backs from oncoming drivers yet.
With that, I'm still pretty darn happy with my purchase. I have no doubt that this bulb is decreasing my night vision more than a stock bulb, as many have warned...but if the area is being illuminated as well as it is, is that really a detrimental aspect?

As for the spring, it seems to be fairly common to not be offered as a replacement part (but why???). I have no idea!
Regardless, even if I did have to go back to a stock bulb, it would still work as it is now; just without the built-in "handle" part of it.

[Randy B]

I'm definitely not worried about the heat...not anymore, at least. After the very first hour's ride, I took the lamp cover off to check exactly that. The bulb has a significant amount of heat-sinking, but it never felt too hot to hold on my hand. I'm pretty sure the stock halogen may have seared my fingers at that point. I've also done a few tests with seeing how it affects on-coming drivers. The upper line of the low beam seems to be in about the same place as an incandescent bulb. Riding slowly next to parked cars, it doesn't seem to illuminate the headrests very well, so that's telling me it's aligned properly. Lastly, I have not ridden in heavy traffic yet, but there haven't been any flash-backs from oncoming drivers yet.
With that, I'm still pretty darn happy with my purchase. I have no doubt that this bulb is decreasing my night vision more than a stock bulb, as many have warned...but if the area is being illuminated as well as it is, is that really a detrimental aspect?

As for the spring, it seems to be fairly common to not be offered as a replacement part (but why???). I have no idea!
Regardless, even if I did have to go back to a stock bulb, it would still work as it is now; just without the built-in "handle" part of it.

My only thought on this is because it's simply not a wear item and they figure the assembly will get damaged way before the clip does so it's not listed as a separate part.

[kmoney_imp]

Is the clip a universal part? It looks pretty similar to every other H4 bulb I've clipped in.

Like these.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/PEUGEOT-UNIVERSAL-...1528927035

[Randy B]

Not really. I did some looking and even though the bulbs are used in a ton of applications, the clips tend to be different shapes and are mounted to the housing differently.