From: Wally Plumley [wplumley@bellsouth.net] Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 6:54 PM To: 928 Subject: [928] Headlamp Types At 09:53 AM 11/28/01, you wrote: >I never cease to be amazed by your knowledge of this car. Thanks for filling >us in. I mentioned the headlight problem on the list-- broken face-lens. I >have a bulb in my glove box from PO and I fear I have the Euro set up. Does >the Euro set up entail a replaceable bulb rather than a "sealed beam" (i.e., >replace the whole face and bulb unit together for $20)? Just curious-- >though I have not yet removed the broken lens for inspection. Thank you in >advance. Very, very few cars have replaceable headlamp lenses. 928s may have any of the following types of headlamps: *Standard 7" sealed beam. Non-acceptable performance. *Quartz halogen 7" sealed beam. Marginal performance. *"Sealed" H4 7" lamp. This has a replaceable element (dual filament H4 bulb in any of several wattages) that inserts into a glass bubble on the back of a sealed lens/reflector unit. Rare. Acceptable performance. *H4 7" lamp. Same as above, but there is no bubble - the hole in the back of the lamp unit is open to the inside of the lens/reflector unit. "Off road only". Good performance. *H4 8" European headlamps. No chrome trim rings, no aiming bumps on the face of the lens, no DOT approval on the face of the lens. Replaceable H4 bulb. Good performance. *H5 8" DOT-approved headlamps. No chrome trim rings, but has three alignment bumps cast into the face of the lens, has DOT approval on face of the lens. Stock on '88 - up USA 928s. Good performance. "H4" and "H5" are bulb types - dual filament quartz halogen bulbs that fit into lens/reflector units. H4 is the old standard European headlamp bulb. H5 is the newer DOT-approved version. They are not interchangeable - you must get the type that your lens/reflector unit uses. The connectors are different for the H4 and H5 bulbs, but the H4 connector is the same as the standard USA 7" sealed beam bulbs. With a little effort, you can put any of the above units into any 928. BTW - Fingerprints can drastically shorten the life of any of the peanut-sized quartz halogen bulbs. Wally Plumley 928 Specialists From: 928 SPECIALISTS [p928sp@928gt.com] Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2002 1:29 PM To: 928 Subject: [928] RE: H-4 Headlights / 100Watt Bulbs Hi Michael, > Yes, that obviously helps a lot. Based on your experience (again, as a > friend, enthusiast and having no association with 928 Specialists) is it > then your personal based on your own experience that upgrading the bulbs to > 80/100 does not pose a threat to the oem wiring of an unmodified S4? I have been running 80/100 headlight bulbs in 928s since 1989 without any problems. Same with 100 watts in the fog/driving lights. I have also run 100/130 headlight bulbs in my H4 equipped 928s, BUT if your connectors are not clean and have a perfect connection I have seen them overheat and burn from arcing. Also of note from personal experience on pre-S4s is that the high beam 130 watt will blow the factory rated 8 amp fuse after a few minutes of use on the drivers headlight only (furthest from fuse, most resistance) stepping up to 10 amp solved this issue with me. Due to these issues we discourage use of 100/130 bulbs. > Hypothetically speaking, of course. Of course :-) David Roberts 928 SPECIALISTS Phone: (828) 766-9280 Fax: (828) 766-5098 Website: http://www.928GT.com or www.928.cc E-Mail: 928@928GT.com Proud owner and driver of these 928s: 90 928GT 5-Speed Schwarz(Black)/Schwarz 89 928GT 5-Speed Schiefer Metallic/Schwarz 85 928S Euro 5-Speed Indischrot/Schwarz PCA Member - Carolinas Region 928 Owners Club - http://www.928oc.org