Electrical: Headlamp replacement

[rbarvai]

Apologies for the dumbest question ever, but how do you remove a burned-out headlamp for replacement (on a '64 Daytona)?

[StudeRich]

You remove the Headlight Door (Bezel) with the Phillips head Screws to access the Screws on the Ring that holds the Sealed Beam in.

Note that once in there, you can see that there are 3 very small screws holding the Ring that holds the Seal Beam, but two more; one makes the Up/Down Aiming adjustment and other the Left/Right adjustment -DO NOT TURN THOSE Two!

The Inner Seal Beams are #4001 High Beam Only, the Outer ones are #4000 High/Low Beams used in Both Hi & Lo Modes with Three Wire Terminals and Wires.

Good One! I'll File that right under: "Where does the Transmission Fluid go" & "How do you fill the Gas Tank"!
Probably from a Lexus Driver?

[Lark Hunter]

The Inner Seal Beams are #4001 High Beam Only, the Outer ones are #4000 High/Low Beams used in Both Hi & Lo Modes with Three Wire Terminals and Wires.

Just going to add a couple of minor details to your sage info: As originally equipped, a 1964 would have used a 4002 low/high beam and a 4001 high beam.

The 4000 was introduced around 1970, with the low beam element increased from 50 watts to 60 watts; the secondary high beam was 37.5 watts on both the 4002 and 4000. Also around 1970, the 5001 high beam came out as an upgrade over the 4001 (50 watt vs 37.5). Many, but not all cars used the 5001 from the early 1970's forward. It's still easy to find the 4000, 4001, and 5001... but 4002's aren't as easy to come by.


rbarvai We're quite a few years past the days when the majority of cars on the road used sealed beam headlamps, and as a result, manufacturers let their tooling wear out and produced sloppy headlights in latter years, then eventually all of them sold their lighting divisions to a couple companies in China... Most of the Chinese made lamps have new molds that produce crisp new lens optics, but all of the headlamps I've seen are of abysmally poor quality and perform as such. What I've been doing for the last 15 years or so is buying older production sealed beams on eBay, new in the box. My recommendation would be to look for General Electric 4000's or 5001's produced in the late 1980's or earlier. Those aren't the only brand that are good, but in the interest of keeping this from turning into a novel... GE's quality was consistent, while most other companies produced some stinkers on occasion.

There were never any good halogen low beams in this form factor; just the weak-chested 35/35 watt H5006, which the 4000 actually outperforms on low beam. There is an H5001 high beam, which is a step up from non-halogens. Once again, the older GE products were generally (and electrically?) the best. If you want any other recommendations in this arena, feel free to PM me or drop a line in this thread... for whatever it's worth, one of my useless superpowers is automotive lighting.

[rbarvai]

Thanks for the advice guys, and yeah, it was obvious once you got me past whatever mental block I was having.

What do you thing of these:

https://www.replacementlightbulbs.com/lamp4000.html

Not GE, but Sylvania seems like a reputable brand.

[Lark Hunter]

Not GE, but Sylvania seems like a reputable brand.

Ehh... Many of Sylvania's sealed beams weren't that hot. The biggest issue was that most of them would end up with condensation inside the headlamp long before it burned out, and the moisture would attack the VDA (vapor deposited aluminum) reflector material and render the headlamp useless, also making the affected headlamps on the car look black instead of the usual reflective silver-y appearance. As I alluded to in our PM conversation, Sylvania farmed out about 98-99% of the production of their round, non-halogen sealed beams to General Electric, so those ones (like the one you linked) didn't have the problems of the ones Sylvania made themselves. The GE produced ones are marked with another small logo on the lowest part of the lens, just above the aiming nub.

It looks like this:

G
E

Another brand that's very good are the old Westinghouse sealed beams. The early Westy #4000's were called "Super Beam", and the later ones were dubbed "Safe-T-Beam"

[Hawklover]

Ehh... Many of Sylvania's sealed beams weren't that hot. The biggest issue was that most of them would end up with condensation inside the headlamp long before it burned out, and the moisture would attack the VDA (vapor deposited aluminum) reflector material and render the headlamp useless, also making the affected headlamps on the car look black instead of the usual reflective silver-y appearance. As I alluded to in our PM conversation, Sylvania farmed out about 98-99% of the production of their round, non-halogen sealed beams to General Electric, so those ones (like the one you linked) didn't have the problems of the ones Sylvania made themselves. The GE produced ones are marked with another small logo on the lowest part of the lens, just above the aiming nub.

It looks like this:

G
E

Another brand that's very good are the old Westinghouse sealed beams. The early Westy #4000's were called "Super Beam", and the later ones were dubbed "Safe-T-Beam"

OMG!.........you just answered a long pondered question!............on my Mercury Grand Marquis every time I would replace a lamp that had gone out, it appeared black when viewed from the front. Then in short order the new bulb would look black. LOL I learn about Brand "X" cars even on this Studebaker site! ;-)

[Buzzard]

For decades I have always replaced the sealed beams with replaceable bulb style lamps from Cibie, Marchal, Hella or Lucas. It was simple to install a relay, sometimes heavier gauge wiring and high output 100+ watt bulbs.
Here is the 7" version but your 5 3/4" requirements are available as well and you get the added bonus of using FOUR separate bulbs:
The beam patterns are incredibly good compared to sealed beams. On my 7" setups in my Avanti and GT Hawk I have 460 Watts of output. It literally turns night into day.
Bill

[jrlemke]

ref. post 7-please post p/n and where to find pictured item! Thanks, Jim

[Buzzard]

Jim,
Here is Hella info you requested:

7″ Round Conversion Headlamp Kit, High/Low Beam (ECE)	002395801
7″ Round Conversion Headlamp, High/Low Beam (SAE/DOT)	002395301
7″ Round Conversion Headlamp, High/Low Beam (ECE)	002395991

I believe the middle item (DOT approved) is the one you want.
I personally prefer the Cibie and Marchal units but they are much more difficult (and expensive) to locate than the Hella (close second place).
Cheers,
Bill
PS: If you pick up a couple of relays and heavier gauge wire 10-12GA) they will be appreciable brighter than your 60 year old wiring which will likely be 16 gauge.

[firestoper 25]

Ref ; Post's 7 - 9
Ok folks this seems to be the perfect time to bring up my Avanti head light question, which high performance light would I use for my 63 Avanti with glass headlight covers?
I worry about heat build up and cracking the covers. I always ran Hella or Cibie in my British sport cars and was very satisfied with the beams.
So am I fussing over nothing?