850 headlight upgrade?

[sleddriver]

1998 S/V/C-70 Owners....
[quote] ..........the S70. Seriously, they are the absolute worst headlights I've ever seen. I leave my highbeams on sometimes and nobody ever flashes their back at me.[/quote]
The correct bulbs make a WORLD of difference. I know because I've been running Osram Rallye H7 65W halogen bulbs for the past 9 years. Yes, they indeed lasted that long in the low-beam, disabled DRL, headlight. Install four as both low & high-beam use H7s. It's very cost effective as well: 4 bulbs x $17ea. = $68 + shipping. Osram Rallye 65W UHO H7.

You can read my original write-up here. As shown below, the H7 bulb you choose indeed makes quite a difference.

Code: Select all

Distance    Old Sylvania     Stock H7's     New Osram's

53'         7.1 Lux          14 Lux         145 Lux
            0.66 fc          1.3 fc         14 fc

98'         1.8 Lux          3.5 Lux        36 Lux
            0.08 fc          0.66 fc        3.5 fc

You may still need new reflectors in an aging S/V/C-70. We all will soon enough.

Note: I don't think the 850's used H7 bulbs. However, they too have higher output options available from CandlePower.

[scot850]

All this info looks really good and appreciate the info exchange. I may have to look at my own car soon to see if I need to do something with that also.

Neil

[misha]

850s use H1 12v 55w for headlights.I just use Osram or Narva standard bulb and that's it.

Stronger bulbs are not recommended because they can melt headlight wiring and damage reflectors because of higher heat.

If you have bad headlights or bad designed headlights...there is no performance bulb in the world which can manage that.
With good and healthy headlights every standard bulb will work like it should.

[DeathRex]

In my 96 US model 850 turbo seems to take a Sylvania 9006 for low beams. When I took the headlight housing apart, there is a bracket around the lamp that looks like it could have held something at one time.

[sleddriver]

Stronger bulbs are not recommended because they can melt headlight wiring and damage reflectors because of higher heat.

If you have bad headlights or bad designed headlights...there is no performance bulb in the world which can manage that. With good and healthy headlights every standard bulb will work like it should.

1. Depends. I disagree with that type of blanket statement as well. The math is easy to do re: current increase. As Stern noted, 10 watts isn't much additional heat, particularly given the huge increase in luminosity. Neither my reflectors nor wiring is any worse for wear due to the Rallye bulbs, which pales in comparison to the heat, humidity, ozone, oxygen and UV light that accompany living 30°N of the equator and within a few hundred miles of the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, DRLs are disabled and due to the above + DST, it's not dark enough to use low-beams until > 9:30pm CDT during the Summer.

2. If Volvo's headlights were THAT bad, they'd never meet DOT approval. I've never thought "they were bad". Someone else did. I was curious enough to experiment though after conversing with Daniel Stern. I measured those numbers above myself using a Sekonic light meter I own. I didn't make them up nor "get them from the 'net". I took the time to actually measure them. I also carefully measured the distances. They are indeed correct and accurate.

"Every standard bulb [may] work like it should" but as proven, all bulbs are not standard, nor are they uniform, nor are they equal in performance and lifetime. Some are far more efficient than "standard".

I suggest you email both Daniel Stern and Kenny Franklin at Candlepower Inc. and ask them yourself!

I question whether you actually read the posts I referenced above and have done the same research I did back in 2007?

As an electrical engineer, I'm not prone to post anything without the facts to back it up. It's the way I'm wired.

[beigg]

Adjust the hb down to a lb position should someone feel frisky in being risky of no alternative when hb are actually needed.

[mecheng]

Remove the wire connector that adds resistance, so the bulbs last longer. I did it with my S70, much better lighting.

[sleddriver]

Remove the wire connector that adds resistance, so the bulbs last longer. I did it with my S70, much better lighting.

-Please elaborate as I'm not aware of this recommendation.

[erikv11]

Here's a thread with details on the extra headlight wiring harness piece: viewtopic.php?t=69223

[DeathRex]

I measured the voltage on the driver side headlight, and got 13.15 volts with 13.86 at the battery. I adjusted the headlights last night and it seems to have enough brightness to the side, just not down the road.
It must have been a 90s thing to have a diffuser in the headlight, my 98 Toyota van has one too. But both 2008 and 2013 Volkswagens have clear lenses.