Bulbs

[Kev0607]

Hi all,

It appears that my dipped beam bulb has failed (offside).

My car doesn't have xenon lights, so its a H7 halogen bulb that I need. However, the "ordinary" halogen bulbs are pretty much useless, as in they don't give a very good light output.

Are there any alternatives that you recommend? It has to be halogen obviously, but I want something brighter so I can see where I'm going!



**I'll be buying a set, so both lights are the same.

[jasmith44]

Osram Nightbreakers

[GrahamBrown1]

Always had good light output from either the Volvo long life bulbs sold as a pair for about £20 and they do last or any of the Osram bulbs like the night breakers ect. The likes from Halfords which claim to be whiter and brighter tend to be ok but don’t last any length of time really.

[Kev0607]

Thanks for the replies.

I've heard/read about Osram's being good, but there's that many of them, its hard to choose!

It appears there's different variations of the night breakers... 100% brighter, 150% brighter and 200% brighter.

Then there's ones called Osram cool blue intense, which claim to look like LED lights (5,000 kelvin, 100% brighter than ordinary halogen).

[jasmith44]

Unless you travel a lot at night out of towns etc, the ordinary Nightbreakers are fine.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

Hi all,

It appears that my dipped beam bulb has failed (offside).

My car doesn't have xenon lights, so its a H7 halogen bulb that I need. However, the "ordinary" halogen bulbs are pretty much useless, as in they don't give a very good light output.

Are there any alternatives that you recommend? It has to be halogen obviously, but I want something brighter so I can see where I'm going!



**I'll be buying a set, so both lights are the same.

volvo sell the proper "Long-Life " H7 bulbs...

[Stu B]

Hi Kev, I fitted some upgraded bulbs to my old 850 T5 which worked well, have a look at post #3 on here for some info:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=283304

I also fitted a pair of Osram night breaker bulbs to my Dad’s VW campervan which worked well. On that vehicle like some other older ones I’ve had myself I added a new relayed loom as the voltage drop on the original wiring had a drastic impact on light output regardless of bulbs

Stu

[Puffster]

Caveat re-legality for MOTs, not that I've ever had it failed but LED bulbs work well, keep the same beam pattern and cast a lot more light. I've never been flashed for being overly bright/dazzling and the benefit is that you can also run LEDs on main beam, which is not MOT dependent AFAIK.

[seanc]

I had the Osram nightbreakers and the Phillips equivalent in the S80, but found with the headlamps being on 24/7, they really didn't last long. The long life Volvo ones stood the test of time.

It's not like it's a pain to change the bulbs on these cars, but for me they'd always fail in winter when the car is dirty

[Kev0607]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I went to Euro Car Parts to buy some H7 Osram bulbs (the 150% brighter ones for £12.99 a set). The guy at the desk took payment and someone else collects the parts from the warehouse. I waited a few minutes and a chap came out with H1 Osram bulbs... I told him I needed H7's. So, he goes into the back to look again and they had none in stock, despite their website saying they had. He offered me the Phillips ones for the same price, so I couldn't complain (Phillips were much dearer).

I got home and fitted the Phillips bulbs, and, being honest, I was very disappointed. They look like ordinary yellow halogens and the light output wasn't very good, despite the parts man telling me they have a "real white output, which is really modern". I planned on returning them, but they were so difficult to open in the plastic packaging, you'd think you were opening some kind of hazardous chemical substance. I figured I'd just keep them as an emergency spare, as there's no way they'd accept a return on them. Not the end of the world.

I went to another parts shop and got some other H7 bulbs made in Germany and the difference between them and the Phillips is literally night and day. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but they're made by Osram. I'll post it here when I find the box.