"Off Road" 9004 bulbs for W124?

Hi listers:

The headlights on my 91 300TE are terrible. I tried re-aiming them and still I find myself out driving my lights at night. We live in a rural area and having a good set of headlights is a must for night time driving. I know I can swith to Euro headlights but I am not about to do all the work: new grill, new wiper assembly, etc. Has anyone on the list ever try putting in "off road" 9004 bulbs they come in 80/100 watts and I can get them from Imparts for under $20 a bulb. I am afraid that they might be too hot and melt the wiring harness. Any experience and comment much appreciated.

Thanks

Paul

[J.HIDALGO]

Do a search on the subject. It has been discussed before in this site. You will find the information you are looking for I am sure.

[chupr98]

Do not use anything brighter than the factory bulb. I learned it the hard way and melted both of mt light assemblies. I am switching over to euro soon

Peter

Paul,

The power of the bulb is a small part of the effectiveness of the headlight. The 124 US headlights have extremely poor reflectors and lenses. By adding a brighter bulb, you will gain little in the way of lighting effectiveness. What you WILL gain is an overheated light fixture.

I am facing the same problem and plan to put in European headlights, this is the only real way to fix your problem.

Good luck,

I have replaced the lights in my '73 Volvo 164E, '83 300D-T, and '86 911 turbo with Hella European Headlights combined with 55-100 bulbs and I have never had a harness burn or assembly problem. I opted not to use the 80-100 because the dazzle from the low beams at 80 watts, especially if they were missalligned, would be dangerous to others. I found that the lens pattern as well as a non sealed halogen lampule provided better lighting in each case. The high beams are nothing less than superlative.

I can only relay my experience.

Gregory
CONNECTICUT

Paul

I melted both my bulb sockets, and had to replace them.
I have heard the you need to install a relay to keep this from happening.
I learned the hard way

Tony

[rich30769]

Paul,
I've used these bulbs in the W124 us version, without any problems(guest I was one of the lucky ones).I have them in for about 7 months. I've since have changed to the euro headlights, looks and lites much better I may add.

RICH,

EVERY NOW AND THEN YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR BULB SOCKETS TO CHECK FOR BURNS. MINE LASTED ABOUT 7-8 MONTHS, I ONLY REALIZED THAT THE SOCKET HAD MELTED WHEN A BULB GREW DIM AND WAS NOT GETTING ENOUGH JUICE.
ONCE I TRIED TO REPLACE THE BULB, I FOUND A MELTED SOCKET.
LUCKILY, THESE SOCKETS ARE AVAIL AT MOST AUTO PARTS STORES,
FOR THE 9004 BULBS

TONY

Whoops!
I now realize that the discussion was the placement of a Euro bulb in a US market assembly, therefore, I retract my previous comment. None-the-less for any 7" round light, I highly recommend Hella or Bosch replacements.

good luck

I ran a set of Hella replacement with standard wattage H4's for several years in my 240D before I put in the Euro lights. They weren't as good as the Euro's, but definitely worth the money.

Good luck,