Driving Lights

Hi there Rosscoe, will get back to you on that one. Wifes buying them for my birthday so knowing her she will want new ones, you know in the box looking pretty BUT I will speak to her when she gets home later tonight and let you know. Can you give me the dimensions of them so I can check they will fit or not in space provided on bullbar. Regards Steve M

Stephen,

Same as my missus. I understand.

Have to measure them tonight. I have a 100 series LC with an OEM Toyota nudge bar. The mounting holes are too small for a start but that's not a huge problem.

They will fit but it'll be very tight.

One of the reasons I am not going to use them is they take up most of the grill area and as I will be towing a 2500 kg Caravan I am bit worried about cutting down the air flow too much.

Rosscoe

Hi There Rosscoe, spoke to the wife and she did say a big thankyou for the offer and offering to me before you put on ebay BUT she wants to get them new for me as they are for my 40th so feels she cant buy me second hand ones for my birthday. So again thankyou for the offer. I am getting the 900 IPF's I think the model number is 900dc ??. Got a price of $347 everything + the clear lense covers and the special lock nuts. Yeah I know, an extra $150 could have thought of other things to get with that like another BFG for the spare (well close to it anyway) or some tyre deflators (staun) + a new tyre repair kit etc. Oh well cant argue with them eh. All the best thanks again. Hope you get a good price on ebay for them. Might get more then $200 hopefully. Regards Steve M

are you saying that yours leaked? I hope not for your sake at that price. I believe they have an awesome light output though.

Hi There Willie, I hope you just hit the 0 button once extra by mistake. $2300 christ for that much I would want the bullbar to go with it LOL. Thats pretty bad eh to spend that much for them to take on water. But thanks for the heads up looks like hella's off the list even in the cheaper range. Regards Steve M

willie maybe correct Steve
if I recall correctly, when i was being looking for some lights, BIL who has own autoelect business wanted me to fit HID Hella's which were around 600 plus fitting each...and i couldnt afford them either, even at brotherinlaw's cheap price...obviously Willie had just won lotto

Prices are still dear i believe for HID

Never had a problem with my 4000's after many drowings.

Oh What a Feeling!
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Hey Phil ,

Nice photo ! I have seen a similar one in one of the 4x4 mags when they took the then new Hilux on a test drive to Cape York .

When I filled mine up the first time , it was with very muddy water and I was never able to get them totally clean . Now I keep a roll of plastic bags in the car , speciffically as Hella raincoats .

The HIDs are brilliant lights , especially for an old fart who has failing eyesight and is having trouble spotting roadside roos at dawn and sunset . But what a pathetic design . If the wiring came though the bottom instead of halway up the back , there would be an airlock . As it is , they fill halfway immediately .

A quote from the Hella NSW sales manager
"Please note that the Predator lights are designed to the highest standard, however they were not designed to be submersed. If you are looking at making river crossings where the lights will be submerged then we do have a light that has been specifically designed for this function called the Hydrolux."

Cheers ,

Willie .

Phil ,
I forgot to ask you what model Hellas were in the photo - I could not see it in your rig section .
Thanks ,
Willie .

Hi
I bought Hella 4000's last year and yes after 4 X 1 metre crossings to Twin Falls they were full of water. I got in touch with the local Hella manager who said the 4000's were not sold as waterproof but then offered to change them over to the Hydrolux which are twice as expensive but guaranteed waterproof to 1 metre (if you are 1 metre above the driving lights you are in trouble!!!). I returned the 4000's got the Hydrolux at no extra charge and very friendly service. The manager just said he wanted me to be happy with his products.
The 4000's were a disappointment but I cannot fault Hella service. I did approach them in a friendly way, was not confrontational and actually did not expect the service I got.

Cheers

Dave

has'nt anybody on here ever heard of silicone...if ya can build houses with the stuff it must be good enough keep water out of the spotties...:)))

Unfortunately MN1 you cannot seal them completely. They get hot when in use and air expand, so it just makes a new crack in your silicone seals and it is it. If you submerge your cold spotties into water you need to wait quite a while before they get damaged even if they not specifically design being underwater. But if they put under water hot, then air inside shrinks creating vacuum and water came inside spelling doom, unless they been specifically design to withstand such treatment.

Cheers
Serg

Willie,
Those lights were on a friends car - brand new in the year 2000. I'm not sure whether they were the Hella 2000's or 4000's?

MN1,
You can spend $2300 on a set of lights, and then have for fork out $8 for the Selleys All-clear!! I'd demand that $8 be taken off the price :-)))

Serg,
I don't know anybody who does deep water crossings at night.

Cheers
phil

Yep, Phil, exact reason why I am not so paranoid with water sealing and happy with 100-something Narva. There was explanation of theory.

Cheers

David T ,

I also contacted Hella in a non confrontationalist manner .

I was told the immersion / flooding was not covered by warranty , but if I wanted to get them out of my car ( big job ) and freight them to Melbourne at my expense then they would " have a look at them ".

Hella continue to advertise their driving lights in 4WD magazines and I think that they are ripping people off with false advertising . I spoke to their sales rep about this and he said that it was OK , as most 4WDs never went off road !

There is no warning on the packaging saying that the lights should not be submerged .

Hella stink .

Willie .

I don't know what model IPF's your talking about, But my 930's on the Patrol throw out more than twice the light than the Narva's on my young blokes Zuke.

Dave....

Put better bulb inside and make proper wiring (8G including negative to battery) – you will be surprised indeed. And still heaps cheaper.

I have had the same Cibie Oscars on my last 5 vehicles and have had them since 1975.

No cracks or problems with the mountings as you get with plastic bodies.

Bullet-proof and a real good light.

Dave

I also had the same set of Cibie Oscars on three cars and now they are on another members car as good as new ( I replaced the reflectors after the second car ).

I only changed to HIDs because of my failing eyesight .

Cibies are bulletproof and I never had one leak .

Willie .

Stefan,
I'm the same as you. I got the $99 rectangular Narvas because the fit nicely under the headlights on the 79series, and I didn't want to waste money on expensive lights that would get stolen.

But no matter how much I tighten them up, they still droop down when you hit some corrugations. I reckon they're only worth $100 still.

I got Narva's and saved up for the Lightforce XGT's, will never go back to anything Less I think

Not that easy. Not only it required seals everywhere including cable entry, but also it need to be put into consideration that air inside expands when hot and shrinks after use – so air should be able to go in and go out while water not.

Moronically stupid design is the biggest problem .

Hella have their cables coming into the light halfway up the back cover . This allows immediate water entry to the half full point .

If they had the cables coming in the bottom , there would be an airlock in the lights which would prevent water incursion during water crossings .

Willie .