I've just taken one of my headlamps apart.....

[Ade Ray]

and I am very confused at what I found.

 

I noticed on the way home that one of my headlamps was not working.

 

The headlamp seams to be a sealed glass unit. The only bit that comes out the back is a tiny 5W bulb with E2 2E3 printed on the side. The rest of the internals of the headlamp seam to be sealed in with connections coming through to a black plastic box (my descriptive skills are not good this evening).

 

I cant believe that the bulb I have taken out is the main bulb so how do I access the rest? Is the small bulb available from Halfrauds/local motor factors.

 

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp

 

Ade

 

Make the world a better place, hug an estate agent

[p williams]

it sounds as though you have a sealed unit type headlight so you cant replace the bulb, ( it doubt vey much that your current one is halogen or else you should be able to replace the bulb) it would seem you ve taken out the side light bulb. You can buy a new sealed unit but it may be worth buying a halogen upgrade kit which isnt that dear at all. Moss in bristol have them as they deal with older cars looking to upgrade on the standard, things like triumph, MG etc

[Allen Payne]

You've the same head lamps as my car. I think they come from the old Mini, or may be a Morris Minor, either way the local car spares shop should be able to help.

 

Before you replcae the unit have you check the fuses?

 

Regards

Allen

[Ade Ray]

Nothing seems to be simple on my car at the moment ❗

 

I will check the fuses tomorrow, other than that it is a trip to my local motor parts place.

 

Does anyone know what the upgrade to Halogen lamps would cost ball park?

 

Many thanks for advice

 

Ade

 

Make the world a better place, hug an estate agent

[Big Brother]

Ade,

Sounds like you have 7" sealed units fitted.

These were pretty standard a while back and as already mentioned, were fitted to Minis.

You can replace the entire unit with the same - they cost around £10.00 each.

An alternative is to replace with a Wipac kit.

These are basically a 7" shell that can be fitted with a H4 halogen bulb. This gives you far superior vision at night and also means that "standard" or "upreted" halogen bulbs can be fitted.

The kit costs around £35.00 (for both sides inc bulbs) and is very easy to fit.

I carried out this conversion around 6 months ago and it made a huge improvement to night driving.

 

Try Holden here for a full description.

Part No is 010.006

 

Steve

 

 

Se7en-Up!

One day, all cars will be made this way!

 

[Ade Ray]

Thanks Steve

 

Great info, I think I will get a replacement sealed unit to tide me by and then order the Halogen set as recommended.

 

Ade

 

Make the world a better place, hug an estate agent

[Smegnoguk]

Hmmm! I have just had my loft done so instead of sitting in my garage, my Super Seven had been sitting on the drive in four months of the wettest weather I can ever remember. The only damage is rusty front discs (which will polish up a treat when I go out this afternoon) and rusty chrome cups that the headlamps sit on. I asked Caterham for two replacements and they only sell the whole headlamp unit! £120 the pair (plus VAT no doubt - Caterham only ever quote prices without VAT). Is there a cheaper solution?

 

P.S. I once saw an episode of Driven in which they riduculed the Caterham weather gear by asking some cretin to erect the hood badly and then sprayed it with a high pressure hose. Surprise, surprise - it leaked like a seive. Very unfair. After four months of torrential rain, my Caterham is as dry as a bone.

 

 

[Mcalvert]

This is great info - thanks for the link to Holden.

 

Can the Halogen lights be fitted without upgrading the wiring or do they draw more current?

 

Thanks - Michael.

[ashaughnessy]

Watch out when replacing just one headlamp. I had one break and replaced just that one but the lens of the new one didn't match that of the old and I kept getting comments at MOT time until I eventually replaced the other side. If the MOT garage hadn't been so friendly, they probably would have failed me.

Anthony