Hella E-Code H4 Headlights
 

I want to replace my sealed headlights on my 1983 300d. I have seen places online that sell Hella E-codes. On the glass lens, I see the E4 code, which makes them ECE lights, but also see "SAE" on the bottom toward the right outside? So, are the Hella E-Codes that are being sold actually E-codes or are they SAE which means they are DOT approved?

I want a true E-Code. Is there a difference between a real E-code and the ones that are being sold online with "SAE" on the lens???

Thanks

Hella sells the Vision Plus lenses which have the replaceable bulbs but comply with DOT using the 3 "alignment pins" on the glass, typical of sealed beams. Not sure how the beam pattern of these compare to the true E codes.

If you want ECE Hellas for your 83 300D, I recommend these:

https://www.amazon.com/Hella-Halogen-Replacement-Headlight-Standard/dp/B000FKIURK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1484036923&sr=8-4&keywords=hella+7+inch+h4+headlight

Be wary of these ones below - the beam pattern is not correct for North American driving (cutoff is on the wrong side):

https://www.amazon.com/HELLA-002395991-Type-Single-Headlamp/dp/B0002M9QJM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484036923&sr=8-2&keywords=hella+7+inch+h4+headlight

When I installed mine these were things ones I bought:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001G76Q2W/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And if you want to convert your fogs to headlights:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002M9QKQ/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The shape is a little different than the stock lenses, these are flat as opposed to have a curved face. I loved mine and was one of the best things I changed on my car.

I installed these when my driver side lens broke from a rock impact.

They are basically the same guts as the ecode, except the beam pattern is different.

I sold them and went with the true ecode lenses that have the sharp cutoff.

If the beam pattern doesn't matter to you, they are great lights and have the same output. Assuming you are on stock wiring.

I went through this recently myself. The hella e- codes on Amazon are fantastic. Just be sure you're not getting a set for right-hand drive vehicles. Quite a few of their marketplace vendors (that are not actually Amazon.com) are shipping grey market Indian made lamps (RHD). Another thing, the product picture for all of the hella e-code lamps on both their website and amazon are for their RHD lamp -ignore this. If you buy from Amazon directly, you'll be in business.

I have the Hellas on my Mr2 and like them quite a bit.

I believe the Cibie's are supposed to be better, albeit at ~3x the cost.

Is anyone also installing relays with the Hellas?

I did relays. Relatively easy and a HUGE upgrade. For halogen lamps, a 10% drop in voltage causes a 46% drop in light output. With our older wiring it's very easy to get a 10% voltage drop.

what's involved with installing relays? have not heard of this before...

Basically you turn the OE headlight power wire into a trigger to route electricity from the battery directly to the headlight. You can do this with one or two relays, two fuses and a bunch of wire and connectors. This is a sample circuit -

http://dsl.torque.net/images/relaycircuit.gif

You might need to do more for an '86-up model with bulb warning system... like remove the warning bulb :)

Sixto
83 300SD
98 E320 wagon

The change from US sealed beams to H4 is major improvement. To someone who doesnt particularly see anything wrong with sealed beams (or hasnt used halogens) the Hellas may seem super. They are junk. I have tried to cheap-out with them before, and the present car had them when I got it. I tried to convince myself they were "good enough" given the financials, but every time I turned them on, the folly of that was in my face.

Get the Cibie and enjoy the light. If you want my used Hellas I will send them to you for postage.

Sixto, thanks for the write up! Haven't experienced any dimming of the beams, but should I, I'll know what to do :)

I did the same thing that Sixto showed, except that I went straight to the battery instead of the alternator. I picked up some quality ceramic conectors so that I could run higher output bulbs, when aimed properly they don't blind other drivers and increase the range of sight even more.

Well, I might be one of those people then, because I wouldn't go so far as to call the Hellas junk. The main difference I read about between the Cibie and Hella H4 conversions was the difference in aim point between high and low beams, making achieving proper aim for both difficult. The Hella low beam is aimed significantly lower than the high beam, so when you aim the lights correctly for the low beam, the high beam will be pointed up in the sky a bit. The Cibie's are much closer.

I've run the Hellas on my Mr2 for nearly 100k miles and haven't had any issues. Compared to sealed beams, either would be a significant improvement. Neither will be as good as a good set of projectors or modern designed headlamps using HID or LED light sources.

There is lots of info about how to grab a fuse or relay box out of a yard car and create a nice sealed relay box with additional wiring circuits if desired. That keeps the extras from being hung on the battery post.

Here's one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL3KLzCVhmI