Hella Predator Lights - $2500 and they leak like a sieve .

Howdy ,

I just thought I should save you a heartache by telling you about my misadventure with Hella HID driving lights .

In June I forked out big money for these lights at Bars N racks at Hornsby in Sydney . When I ordered them I told the guy at the shop that they were foir a Landcruiser . I had checked them out on the Hella Australia and Hella NZ websites and there was no mention about them being unsuitable for 4WD use . In fact the NZ site said they were suitable for "the roughest conditions in mining , the transport industry and 4WD vehicles ".

Well folks , I can tell you that that is a straight LIE . They are unsuitable for 4WD vehicles because you get 2 cm of muddy water in them when you do a creek crossing and they go under ( even for a few seconds ).

The Hella manager Mr Robert Stevenson , advised me by email " that the Predator lights ....are not designed to be submersed ". Their rep told me that they ARE suitable for 4WDs because 90 % of 4 WDs do not do river crossings .

I told the Hella rep , that the lights should have a warning on the packaging saying that they LEAK and that 4WD stores should advise customers that they LEAK . He would not agree and thought it was OK to sell them without a warning . Nice people eh - only interested in a profit - stuff the consumer .

I just took mine apart yesterday and cleaned the muddy water off the reflectors with metho . But hell , dont you have to do that with your $200 lights ???

I had a set of Cibie Oscars for ten years and they went from car to car and through many creeks and rivers - never looked like taking in water .

So if you want HID lights , FORGET HELLA unless you are certain you will never ford a creek . I believe that the 4000 series (non HID ) also leak like a sieve as when I was marooned on a property in the Pilbara ( after 3" in one day ) , it was the station owner who started laughing about putting some goldfish in my Hella lights and explained that the same thing had happened to his 4000 series lights after one brief swim .

Cheers ,

Willie .