Why Do My 9007 Bulbs Have Covers Over Them? 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan. Removable?

[therock]

Also, does anyone know of anyone who has made the European conversion so I can see or ask about the wiring mods needed?

 

[-Virgil-]

I go shopping on ebay.de (German Ebay) all the time to get European-market lamps for various analysis projects around the lab. There are exceptions, but generally Germans tend to be willing to ship wherever you want as long as you pay the shipping costs. Translate.google.com is of great help.

The H7 is a high-precision single-filament bulb. There is no such thing as a "high beam H7" versus a "low beam H7"; all (specifications-compliant) 12-volt H7s are 55w. Osram makes a very good 65w H7, but I think I would start with a good quality 55w H7 (Philips/Narva, Osram, or GE) in those headlamps and get a sense for how they work with normal bulbs before changing.

Wiring modifications are not difficult; aside from physical connection differences the only electrical difference is to wire them up so the lows stay illuminated with the highs. And you can kill two birds with one stone by building up your wiring harness (or having it built) to incorporate the right plugs and sockets, etc. I think Dan Stern had (maybe still has?) one of these minivans that was retrofitted, but I may not be recalling correctly.

 

[therock]

That auction price looks like it is for 1 headlight. Kind of tricky. It says let them know which one or they will send the left 1st. That is $400.00 US for one side. Is that a common price for those? I see one has sold. Mercy!

 

[-Virgil-]

Chrysler spent money on those European-market headlamps; they went to a reputable Tier-1 (ZKW) and specified lamps very similar to the ones ZKW was making at the time for BMWs. This is in contrast to the low-bid/no-name cheap junk they put on the domestic-market vans. That means, yes, the European lamps are going to cost more.

Ebay rules and etiquette differ country to country. It's common on European Ebay sites to see auctions like this where you get to pick left or right for one money. It's even common for Germans to part out their cars on eBay, and the text usually looks like "This auction is for the left front door handle. Contact me for any other parts you might be interested in".

 

[therock]

I'm working on him. If I'm lucky I'll get them for around $425.00 shipped. Not much over OE here. We are bickering. I am waiting for a reply and asked him what else will be in the box. I told him I really want the rear connectors. They are 7 hours or so ahead of me so.

Then there are lamps and the wiring fun. I have a message in to Mr Stern.

Tell me what you see in this 200% zoom. There is something under the low beam and looks like a DRL under the high beam. The main lamps look funny. Is the thing under the low beam just the reflection of the H7?

I see he has one sold and one left so I dunno whats happening. I am waiting for his reply. What I am fearing is if someone gives him full price for one he will be money ahead. I made a package deal offer. He told me to hold on.

 

[-Virgil-]

Then there are lamps and the wiring fun. I have a message in to Mr Stern.

I don't think the wiring will be very difficult. You don't really need the rear connector, it's better to string good wiring the whole way directly to the bulbs anyhow; the wires inside headlamps like this are often on the thin side. On the other hand, you will need the turn signal bulb socket (and any bulb holders that may be necessary to hold the H7 bulbs into the low and high beam compartments -- I don't recall how that is set up on those lamps).

Tell me what you see in this 200% zoom.

A headlamp in apparently very good condition.

There is something under the low beam and looks like a DRL under the high beam.

That's the parking light. In Europe, American-type amber parking lights aren't allowed, they have to put out white light. The turn signal bulb produces only the turn signal function.

The main lamps look funny. Is the thing under the low beam just the reflection of the H7?

Looks like the bulb shield support and reflections of it.

 

[therock]

What happens when you put right hand drive assemblies is a left hand drive situation?

 

[-Virgil-]

Two things happen: You have no seeing distance down your side of the road on low beam, and you zap all oncoming drivers with dangerous levels of glare.

 

[therock]

Heh! Well you have swayed me in the right direction from sure headlight oblivion. I got the lights coming from Germany for not much more then dealership prices on US issue. I'm going to keep the van so.........
The seller was tough. I low balled him and he came down after lots of volley's then I went after shipping and we met in the middle.

Thanks for putting me on to Dan Stern. He can whip me up a harness in short order. He had good things to say about them. = "The European lamps are quite different. They're made by Zizala (ZKW), an Austrian OEM who make a lot of high-spec headlamps for BMW and Volvo. Much more advanced optics and substantially better performance. If you are buying used lamps, make sure they are in good condition (better quality plastic lenses on the Euro lamps, but they are still plastic so you would want to scrutinize them carefully to make sure they're not fogged up with age/use).

He also made suggestions on lamps and such so I am going to go with his recommendations.

Can's wait.

 

[therock]

The nerves are calming down, with the translation awkwardnesss and it being so far away I was wary.
I have a DHL tracking number which is like USPS over there. Now I wait to see if he sends the correct side drive we discussed.



What do you guys predict the arrival date to be? Any guess? I'm in N. GA.


Fri, 24.08.12 16:16 h
---------------------------------------------------------------
The instruction data for this shipment have been provided by the sender to DHL electronically
Sat, 25.08.12 11:41 h
Germany
---------------------------------------------------------------
The shipment has been posted by the sender at the retail outlet
Sat, 25.08.12 17:09 h
Kitzingen, Germany
---------------------------------------------------------------
The international shipment has been processed in the parcel center of origin
Mon, 27.08.12 01:58 h
Saulheim, Germany

---------------------------------------------------------------
The international shipment has been processed in the export parcel center

 

[Alaric Darconville]

I hate to be so nitpicky, but that's what OCD will do to a person.
Headlamps are not designed according to the position of the driver in the vehicle, they are designed according to the directionality of traffic. Therefore, forget that your vehicle has "left hand drive", but remember we drive on the right side of the road (Right Hand Traffic).

 

[therock]

I hate to be so nitpicky, but that's what OCD will do to a person.
Headlamps are not designed according to the position of the driver in the vehicle, they are designed according to the directionality of traffic. Therefore, forget that your vehicle has "left hand drive", but remember we drive on the right side of the road (Right Hand Traffic).

You're not nit-picky I'm sure. I never thought of it until this situation. Upon the language translation fun between the seller and I, and him having both available asking me which I want, knowing I live in the US, and the two different ways of looking at it, Heh, (RHD = Right Hand Drive/Steering Wheel on the Right) & (RHT = Right Hand Traffic/Driving on the right side of the road) I was in a dizzy nervous spin about getting the wrong ones and dealing with that from across the pond.

Another thing that came up in translation fun was the word one, and ones. When he says left ones its translated from German to English in the software as one. So, I am still a tad puckered until I open the box and see two lights with RHD markings.

I told him thanks for his patience in all the clarification emails sent and he said he had the same thing to say as it was the same way on his end. He finally said for me not to worry, I send you the one you need for driving in USA. Again with the one instead of ones, heh! Away we went again.

I learned you just do not open Google translator and type in your text and copy and paste the translation over to them. I found that I needed to first paste it back in for German to English. Sometimes when we use one word as a plural, they use two, or a completely different grammar rule.

If OCD is the only fault I have I am way ahead of the game in life.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

So, I am still a tad puckered until I open the box and see two lights with RHD markings.

You'd rather see no markings, or the ↔ marking. An arrow in one direction on a low beam headlight (→) signifies that it's for left hand traffic, the double-arrow means it's suitable for either directionality, but it requires adapting by reclocking the bulb or moving a lever.

For lamps that incorporate turn signal and/or parking lamp functions, it gets a little more complex. The arrow on them will signify which side of the car they are for, but the arrow will be close to the marking signifying the parking lamp function. See this for more information on this.

And, again, it is best to dismiss any notion of "drive". There are many RHD vehicles in the US that are equipped with RHT lighting (mail/UPS trucks, imported vehicles that have been properly localized, etc).

 

[therock]

Thanks, I have been corresponding with Dan about this and a harness. We wait.

And Dan says with DHL, sometimes the package arrives before the tracking info indicates it left the country. We wait.

 

[-Virgil-]

Also keep in mind these lamps have a completely clear front lens which may well contain markings applicable to both the LHT and the RHT versions of the lamp. There should be a maker's label on the housing that will likely say "RV" or "Rechtsverkehr" (German for "right hand traffic"), or, if you're unlucky, "LV" or "Linksverkehr" (left hand traffic).

 

[Alaric Darconville]

/crosses fingers for therock.

I'm still sorely tempted to get the glass-lensed Previa headlamps (with fogs, although that'll complicate my wiring because my Previa doesn't already have those circuits lain out) from the UK. Would be nice if the dollar were a bit stronger than the Pound Sterling.

 

[Marcturus]

/crosses fingers for therock.

therock seems nervous already, sorry, but does anyone else think that one unit's inboard tab looks broken off?

 

[therock]

Heh!

 

[Marcturus]

Mid picture, central area: The black handle-like protrusions seem to differ at 3 o'clock on the left unit; 9 o'clock on the right unit, where the black and grey plastic meets. Not sure it's anything, but couldn't tell from the angle of the lower picture, either.

I hope I'm wrong, and it's really nothing.

 

[therock]

I don't see it, but maybe I don't want to. He also has these to offer. What kind of performance do these look like they would provide?