I just replaced the stock sealed beam 7" round headlamps to BOSCH H4 which came with a pair of 60/55 watts light bulbs. The lighting is much BETTER.

Using the stock wiring and alternator, is it possible to upgrade the 60/55 watts light bulb to a higher wattage? If so, what would be the next step-up?

Thank you for your time.

If you go any higher you should probably rewire the lights with relays and higher gauge wire. I did it (I have 90/100w bulbs), it didn't take more than a couple hours.

__________________
'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

Do every other driver good and leave the stock 55W low beams in there.
A better headlamp is the Carello, even a (made in India) Autopal headlamp is better than Bosch IMHO. They put a lot of light flat on the road where you need it.

__________________
'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

If your headlights are adjusted properly, the low beam will not blind oncoming drivers even with 100 watt bulbs. Use a Bosch standard relay to power low beams and high beams separately. A 20 amp inline fuse for each relay will complete the job.

I like to use SEV Marchal Ampilux H-1 headlights. Alas, they haven't been made since Cibie bought the headlight division. Anyone knowing the whereabouts of any Ampilux headlights, please PM me.

i had a 1980 jetta and installed cibie light on the front. 90/100 on the outside and 100 in the middle. i had to include relays to handle the drain and heat. later for a winter i also added cibie fogs under the bumper. it was awesome to see from behind the wheel when i was in open country. the fogs i had on a seperate circuit so i could use them seperately.

You might try the Phlips plus 30 or +50. The +30s seemed as good as the over wattage bulbs that I was running before I learned that over wattage could damage the wiring.

__________________


1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

If you can't see, get your eyes checked. Light pollution is a serious problem. Even if you do have excellent reflectors aimed properly that only protects other drivers when you meet on flat ground. Laws exist to prevent people from settling differences with stones and clubs. Install illegal lights and if you are a victim of road rage you have nobody to blame but yourself.

Just bought some sylvania silverstars for my 82 300SD, they are rated at 60/55..... $20 @Autozone, no conversion and no problems either....plenty bright too!

The Silverstars are an ok bulb, and have a decent light output, just be prepared to replace them within a year. Every person I know, has had to replace them within a year

I'm sorry I meant 55/65, and yeah they don't last as long I guess cause they run hotter.....

I went with Hella 7" Round E code, these have a better light pattern then a DOT H4 light.

The 90/100 is looking for trouble in street use and also carries a pretty stiff fine and in some states is also reported to insurance companys. Cost me $200 almost 20 years ago and nasty letter from insurance company.

Something else to remember is higher the watt's, shorter the bulb life and the more criticial it is for good clean solid grounds. Also do not have any type of lens saver material on the light or it will melt.

Something else from a guy whose career field was optic's for many years. Better to have a well designed lens & reflector then lots of usless light scattered everywhere and any bulb that is tinted (such as blue to make the light white) will decrease light output.

__________________
'10 Chrysler T&C Stow-N-Go White. Grandpa's ride.

'13 Chrysler 200 Touring Candy Red. Grandma's ride.

Age and cunning will always over come youth and vigor.

I have heard that the highway patrol in Washington State regularly stops drivers with non-spec (ie. Blue or green or ultra bright) headlights. Good for them, too bad Calif doesn't crack down! So. Calif is full of cars with colored bulbs, ultra bright bulbs you name it its there. I hate to drive down there
The best place to find info from an expert on this subject is Daniel Stern's web site. See:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/tech.html
As a local Indy said, when a car comes in with melted headlight bulb sockets or associated wiring, they pay full dealer price to get it fixed. One customer, a gal with a late model SL I believe, was warned not use 100 W bulbs. The next time she came back *****ing about the poor quality that the shop performed, and they found she had installed high power bulbs and melted the sockets again she was told to pay up and don't ever use those bulbs else find another shop.

__________________
'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

Were you using e-code headlights back then? I have 7" e-code Cibies with 90/100w bulbs and haven't had anyone complain about the brightness, probably because of the better e-code beam pattern (and I make sure to keep them aimed properly!). When I first installed them I had my friends drive their cars around the streets with mine (in the oncoming lanes towards my car, with my car behind theirs, etc.) to make sure they weren't too bright or aimed improperly; they passed all the tests.

I just finished a 10,000 mile cross-country road trip without incident, except when one of the low-beams burned out... I hadn't noticed yet because it was right at dusk, and I got pulled over. The officer just gave me a warning; he didn't complain about the brightness of the working bulb or even notice my lights weren't DOT .

Living in So. Cal I do notice a lot of bright and/or improperly colored (annoyingly and painfully blue) lights, but most of the former (too bright) are a result of @$%##* SUVs and giant trucks whose headlights are at my eye level (or higher!) when I'm sitting in my "tiny" 300TD. I imagine the rest are due to terribly aimed lights (perhaps in concert with higher wattage bulbs).

__________________
'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

Yes, the Washington State Patrol will pull people over for non-spec color headlights, as well as non-spec exhausts (glass packs)...

We've got a lot of those blue bulbs here too. How annoying.

Even if your headlights are properly adjusted, you can still blind the oncoming driver due to wet roads. The glare off a wet road is much stonger with those 100w bulbs.

Here there is a law that states if the blue bulbs are not from the factory, they're illegal but how many cops know which cars came with them and which ones didn't? The cops around here only know how to work a speed gun

Cheers,

Bill