High Quality H4 Headlights for 12v Cars (Cheap!!)

[Sam Buchanan]

This topic came to my attention on the Triumph TR6 forum and after installing this kit I'm really impressed with the quality of the components and the price is amazing. Here is what is included in the kit which was offered by Toyota as an upgrade to Toyota Land Cruisers.

 

Two 7" Kioto (compare to Cibie) reflectors (very high quality with sharp low-beam cut-off pattern)

Two H4 halogen bulbs

Wiring harness with weatherproof connectors, two relays, and two fuses

 

 

 

 

This is high-dollar stuff and blessed by the Toyota mothership. Now, for the kicker. This kit is surplus inventory that Toyota wants to unload since these headlights haven't been used on their vehicles for nearly three decades. We can purchase this overstock for the ridiculous price of:

 

$16.91 + $15.00 shipping

 

I have installed one kit on my TR6 and have another on the way for the '69 Beetle. These lights are a great upgrade over the standard sealed beams and as a bonus the relays take nearly all the current load off the headlight switch and dimmer switch. Included in the harness is a plug that goes into one of the original headlight harness sockets and takes a signal current from it and drives the relays which supplies full battery voltage to the lights. 

 

Here is the Toyota dealer in Lakeland FL where I've bought my kits:

 

https://parts.lakelandtoyota.com/

 

This is the link on their site for the lighting kit:

 

https://parts.lakelandtoyota.com/p/__/16033390/8111060P70.html

 

I have no idea how long this overstock will last. Some of the TR6 guys have purchased the kit through their local Toyota dealer. This should be a great upgrade for the 12v cars since the alternator can easily pull these lights. Conversion to LED would be a matter of removing the H4 halogen bulbs and installing LED H4 bulbs. But these lights are so good I wouldn't take the chance on messing up the great light pattern by using LEDs with unknown pattern.

[Young Ed]

Anyone know if there is a 6v bulb?

[Sniper]

4 minutes ago, Young Ed said:

Anyone know if there is a 6v bulb?

 

I was going to say Google is your friend, but they aren't.  DuckDuckGo on the other hand isn't your enemy, lol.

 

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=6v+H4+bulb&t=ftsa&atb=v399-1&ia=web

 

1 hour ago, Sam Buchanan said:

Two 7" Kioto (compare to Cibie) reflectors (very high quality with sharp low-beam cut-off pattern)

Two H4 halogen bulbs

Wiring harness with weatherproof connectors, two relays, and two fuses

 

 

Ordered one for the Cuda.  I was thinking on ordering 2, just in case, but they just double the shipping, lol.  Thanks

Edited August 1 by Sniper

[Sam Buchanan]

There is one installation issue you may need to resolve. The black ground wire in the socket that plugs into the car's headlight harness to pick up the relay signals must be grounded. You can cut the black wire, connect the Toyota harness side of it to ground and all will be good. The plug only needs to see high and low beam voltage from the car harness to activate the relays.

Edited August 7 by Sam Buchanan

[Young Ed]

I also thought about a second one and did the same thing with the shipping 

[Sam Buchanan]

Don't be surprised if it takes at least two weeks for the kit to arrive, it appears Lakeland is ordering the kit from the Toyota warehouse then shipping it to us. It'll arrive in Toyota packaging.

Edited August 1 by Sam Buchanan

[Sam Buchanan]

58 minutes ago, Young Ed said:

Anyone know if there is a 6v bulb?

The relays may not function on 6v.

[46Chris]

32 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

There is one installation issue you need to resolve. The black ground wire in the socket that plugs into the car's headlight harness to pick up the relay signals must be spliced into and grounded. For some reason, maybe something unique to Toyota, that wire doesn't ground through the plug. Cut the black wire, connect the Toyota harness side of it to ground and all will be good. The plug only needs to see high and low beam voltage from the car harness.

Thanks @Sam Buchanan for this install note.  I ordered a set for our '48 12v Buick Sedanet.  I also plan to give the company a call tomorrow to confirm that I'm correctly ordering a couple lap & shoulder belts with retractors for our 2017 Highlander, the two that our dog chewed through when he was still an anxious rescue pup.  Been on my to-do list for awhile, and the assemblies they advertise are $70 less than the price from the local Toyota dealer.  And thanks in general for all your help with the LED flasher issue, and for this hot headlight tip.

Edited August 2 by 46Chris
kudos

[Plymouthy Adams]

solid state DC - DC  3-32 volt relays are very available and very affordable......you do not need to buy from e-bay but they will list these so you can see what you looking for

[Sam Buchanan]

2 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

solid state DC - DC  3-32 volt relays are very available and very affordable......you do not need to buy from e-bay but they will list these so you can see what you looking for

 

The Toyota relays may function fine on 6v but I don't have any info about that.

[Plymouthy Adams]

the relays as shown in you posted pictures presents these as BOSCH style relays and function via an energizing coil which requires x volt/current to clamp....they may well energize but that is not to say they will effectively clamp the output contacts for high current flow.  Solid state eliminates this possibility.  

[Sam Buchanan]

13 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

the relays as shown in you posted pictures presents these as BOSCH style relays and function via an energizing coil which requires x volt/current to clamp....they may well energize but that is not to say they will effectively clamp the output contacts for high current flow.  Solid state eliminates this possibility.  

 

Plymouthy, here is the relay, I couldn't find any data, maybe you are familiar with it.

 

 

 

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

G8HN | DC small power relay | OMRON Device ＆ Module Solutions - Americas

 

very common relay in the auto industry today.....mainly you see these with the OMRON name

 

cut an online page with these same lights offered and the above relays were installed....

Edited August 2 by Plymouthy Adams

[LazyK]

Ordered from my local Toyota dealer. Will be here tomorrow. $34.00 all in with taxes and shipping. I'll report back

[Sam Buchanan]

I installed a set in the '69 VW yesterday, test drive last night was significantly better than the standard sealed beams that were in the car previously. I chopped up the harness to make it fit the car better and everything worked as it should first try. Considering the quality of the components it is a steal!

[rustyzman]

I just bought 4 sets from my local Toyota dealer.  $29.67 each set, no additional shipping, arrived next day for pickup.

I had him search and he says there are 1700 sets left in the warehouse.

 

He was actually quite confused by all this.  He was sure that I bought four of the same side headlight.  I explained it was a kit and we opened one up so he could see what they were, but the round headlights really threw him for a loop.  He really was unsure what these could possibly fit.  

 

They fit my dodge RV perfectly.  The '54 stake bed is next.  I am only using the bulbs, the harnesses and relays will be saved for the future.  Nice bag of zip ties too.

 

 

[TodFitch]

5 minutes ago, rustyzman said:

He was actually quite confused by all this.  He was sure that I bought four of the same side headlight.  I explained it was a kit and we opened one up so he could see what they were, but the round headlights really threw him for a loop.  He really was unsure what these could possibly fit.

Parts person at that dealer must be a really young whippersnapper if they haven’t seen round headlights.

[Sam Buchanan]

text deleted

Edited August 26 by Sam Buchanan

[Bob Riding]

Just ordered 2 sets. $ 17 per set. Will pick them up locally. Thanks for the heads up!

[oldodge41]

I just ordered a set from Lakeland Toyota using the provided link. $31.91 total with shipping. Thank you Sam Buchanon for the links! 

Edited August 8 by oldodge41

[Plymouthy Adams]

those lights do sound like a good deal for certain.  I have a set of the ones shown here and as compared to the Kioto ones at the dealership....that for no other way than to say totally lucked upon finding a set NIB to begin with but, 10.00 was the ultimate BUY OF THE DAY......This likely will be used in one of the sports cars on hand and not in my mopars.    

 

 

 

 

[LazyK]

My observation. For what it is, an upgrade to a Toyota seal beam system, it's more than adequate. The cost of the individual components exceeds the cost of the kit. All components are marked 12 volt. 

For those who have converted to a 12 volt system it will work fine. If you still run a 6 volt system it is not as simple as replacing the lamps and relays with 6 volt components. The wire size(AWG) in the kit is to small for the 6v system. The power wires appear to be 14 ga and the ground wire is 18 ga (1.25mm). In my opinion it should be a minimum of 12 ga for the power.

The kit I purchased will be used to up date the Duster. I will purchase a second kit for the '51, because as I stated originally the housings, relay sockets, and fuse holders are worth more than the cost of the kit. I can supply the 6v components and larger wire and still be money ahead.

Edited August 8 by LazyK

[Sam Buchanan]

2 hours ago, LazyK said:

My observation. For what it is, an upgrade to a Toyota seal beam system, it's more than adequate. The cost of the individual components exceeds the cost of the kit. All components are marked 12 volt. 

For those who have converted to a 12 volt system it will work fine. If you still run a 6 volt system it is not as simple as replacing the lamps and relays with 6 volt components. The wire size(AWG) in the kit is to small for the 6v system. The power wires appear to be 14 ga and the ground wire is 18 ga (1.25mm). In my opinion it should be a minimum of 12 ga for the power.

The kit I purchased will be used to up date the Duster. I will purchase a second kit for the '51, because as I stated originally the housings, relay sockets, and fuse holders are worth more than the cost of the kit. I can supply the 6v components and larger wire and still be money ahead.

 

Excellent point, glad you brought this up, this is why I'm not using a kit to modify the headlights on my P15. I'm installing solid-state relays and fuses and making my own "harness" using 12g for the short runs to put everything together. If my wiring upgrade works well, I may still buy a kit for the reflectors since my new relays, wiring, etc are sized for 6v. $32 for two nice reflectors is still a good deal.....and the bulbs will be spares for my other two kits.

Edited August 8 by Sam Buchanan

[Sam Buchanan]

Update; The solid-state modules in this post created a voltage drop that I felt was unacceptable. They were replaced with Bosch-style 6v relays which work very nicely with practically no voltage drop. Details are in a post further down this thread.

 

=========================

 

For reasons discussed above I rolled my own relay harness in the 6v P15, still using the halogen sealed beams but may upgrade to the Toyota H4 reflectors. I post this in case someone is interested in doing something similar. The relays are solid-state devices available from the usual sources at very reasonable cost. I used 12g wire to carry the heavy current inherent in the 6v architecture and kept the runs as short as possible. 

 

Are the lights brighter? I don't know, haven't taken any comparison readings. But I like how the light and dimmer switches are now relieved from handling the total headlight load and the risk of overheating (or worse) should be practically eliminated, especially with the LED tail, brake and signal bulbs. Also, the low and high beams now have direct fused feeds from the battery instead of the single fuse on the headlight switch carrying the total load and being a single-point failure. Hopefully this will be an upgrade that will prove to be reliable, time will tell.

 

 

Edited August 26 by Sam Buchanan

[Plymouthy Adams]

16 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

For reasons discussed above I rolled my own relay harness in the 6v P15, still using the halogen sealed beams but may upgrade to the Toyota H4 reflectors. I post this in case someone is interested in doing something similar. The relays are solid-state devices available from the usual sources at very reasonable cost. I used 12g wire to carry the heavy current inherent in the 6v architecture and kept the runs as short as possible. 

 

Are the lights brighter? I don't know, haven't taken any comparison readings. But I like how the light and dimmer switches are now relieved from handling the total headlight load and the risk of overheating (or worse) should be practically eliminated, especially with the LED tail, brake and signal bulbs. Also, the low and high beams now have direct fused feeds from the battery instead of the single fuse on the headlight switch carrying the total load and being a single-point failure. Hopefully this will be an upgrade that will prove to be reliable, time will tell.

 

 

 

 

Won't work as pictured Sam.....your battery is disconnected.......😄

Edited August 10 by Plymouthy Adams