1993 940 Need brighter headlights

bcall · Post by **bcall** » 04 Feb 2014, 07:23

I have a 1993 940 Turbo Wagon and the headlights are not very bright. Anyone have recommendation on what bulb I can replace the original with? Thanks, Bill

Post by **jimmy57** » 04 Feb 2014, 08:18

Are the lenses yellowed?
Are the reflectors failing? The reflective coating can become dull,

If either of those two conditions exist then no bulb can fix it. You migh be able to buy one of the headlight refurb kits at an auto store to get rid of the lens yellowing. The reflectors becoming dull has no cure that anyone has found to be effective.

I can't recall which lamps the 93 940 used. DOes it have the glass lensed headlights with the adjacent integrated fog lamps? If so then yellowing is not an issue with glass lenses on those.

If none of this is a problem then the Silverstar Sylvania bulbs do offer a little better light via tweaking the light color through bulb glass tinting.

bcall · Post by **bcall** » 04 Feb 2014, 13:35

Thank you Jimmy. The 940 lens are clear and it does have the fog lamps next to the headlights. I'll look for the Silverstar Sylvania bulbs.
Thanks again!

Post by **JDS60R** » 04 Feb 2014, 13:50

You can also get a dedicated headlight harness with heavier gauge wires and a direct connection to the battery using the light switch as the relay trigger .

I also like sylvania bulbs in the reg/orange package as they are not tinted and allow full spectrum light.

Here is a link on how to make your own harness . use good wire and stainless connectors. You can also but these for almost any type bulb. many China built sets on the market. Every off road enthusiast gets/needs an upgraded harness.

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/Electri ... pgrade.htm

Post by **QuirkySwede** » 25 Feb 2014, 00:57

jimmy57 wrote:the Silverstar Sylvania bulbs do offer a little better light via tweaking the light color through bulb glass tinting.

No, they do not. Can you put "better light" into empirical terms, not just subjective ones? Keep reading.

JDS60R wrote:I also like sylvania bulbs in the reg/orange package as they are not tinted and allow full spectrum light.

Winner!

"Volvo Bulb Guide and Cross-Reference" (see part 5)
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61483

And those SilSt bulbs will burn out faster because they have to overdrive the filament to make up for the light lost by adding a "color changing" tint. They cost more AND you have to change them more often.

Jimmy57 is correct in that no bulb will make up for a lens or reflector that are not up to spec, and JDS60R is correct about going to larger gauge (bigger number in metric, smaller in AWG) and using relays.

Volvo1man · Post by **Volvo1man** » 13 Mar 2014, 17:20

I have a 1994 940 Turbo and had a problem with the headlights as well - they weren't bright any longer. In my case the lenses were dull and cloudy, but not yellow. I had some work done on the front car body and while they were in there I had them replace both headlights with new ones from a popular Internet auto headlight company. The reflectors are new and shiny, and the lenses are as clear as glass. I am using standard Sylvania 9004 halogen bulbs and they work fine. I have used SilverStars before but found that they burned out quickly.