Lvangundy

Mods - please don't move this as I already tried asking in the lighting forum and had no responses and 48 views
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The 1990 LS's have 9004 type bulbs correct?

The 1993's have H4?

Can I upgrade to an H4 bulb? Or do I have to swap out the whole headlight unit?

thx

LSPiNoY

iTrader: (1)

does the h4 require more power than the 9004? wouldn't you burn the wires if you tried to do something like that?

cnacne

Now, I'm no pro on anything here... I'm still fumbling to find some direction on the easiest way to change my o2 sensors, like access, but on to your problem.

The 9004 and h4 are completely different in the way they mount to the housing. You could go to a salvage yard and chop off the h4 plug from any vehicle that has them (a 2000 kia sportage has h4's). The housing I think is where you'll run into trouble. Totally different mounting. You will probably have to replace the whole light.
If you are not nuts about cutting the fittings, try this site www.fastforward.ca, they are a VW site but do mention having a wired adapter for changing the lights over.

HTH,
Joe

Lvangundy

Good info. Now I gotta think what to do!

For a while I thought I had H4's in my 9004..but I guess they are 9004.

Totally different plug - cool thanks!

LOTC

9004 are the same bulbs as 9007, but a 10 wattage difference. You can take a chance if want with the 10 wattage difference, but you can still burn your wires.

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

They're the same base, but I believe the 9007 bulb is positioned perpendicular to the base whereas the 9004 is parallel to it...which could possibly mean that it can affect the light output?

kreativ

The headlamps in the '90-'92 have a lousy lens reflector. Switching to the '93-'94 LS headlamps would be a big improvement, and the 9003 (HB2, H4) bulbs used in these are much more efficient than the 9004. While it'd be a simple remove/replace, it'd take a complete set of headlamps, including dust boots, from a '93 or '94 LS. Unless you can get them from a junk yard, it's a lot of $$$. Not to mention you'd want to run relays and good wiring if you actually want them to work well. But if you do that, your lamp-outage warning on the dash might object.

You could try the HID route. A member here with a '90-'92 LS got some aftermarket HIDs, and from what I remember, was happy with them.

Give Jen of suvlights.com a call (number on his website somewhere) if you're interested in HIDs. He's pretty cool, used to work for McCulloch. He's in SoCal, and if you're local, he'll even put in a set for you to evaluate. I ended up not getting HIDs, but wouldn't hesitate to recommend him based on my conversation with him and the experiences of others.

Lvangundy

Why would I have to re-wire and run relays?

Are you suggesting that because there might be a wattage difference between 9004 and H4? I don't know if there is.

Where does the power for the lights come from? Straight from the alternator right?

I don't know if 1993 headlights will fit. The grill from 1993 won't fit on a 1992 because it won't line up with the hood therefore the headlights might be bigger from 1993.

ARG!

damon

Just got done with this.
The 90-94 LS Models use the same headlight assembly housing. Only the lenses & perhaps plugs are different. My 94 LS lenses/ lights ( Headlight & Fog) fit perfectly in a 90 LS housing.

Very happy with this. Also have a 90 LS Passenger side headlight ( 90-92) only in case anyone needs it.

damon

A deer impact had left my lights in fine condition , but everything that adjust them ( read plastic!) was shot to hell & the headlight was pushed 2" back.

bicol-ini

hello,did you try silverstars by sylvannia theyre close to hid with regards to light output, if thats what you want out of H4, i have it on my 96 ls

ychachad

Bicol,
Yes, I too have the Sylvania Silverstars H4 4000°K bulb in my 95 LS. I also did a 9006 to 9005 swap on the fogs. The light output is almost double when you go from 9006 to 9005, and the wattage increases from 55 to 65. The 9005 bulb has almost twice the lumens because of the higher wattage and there is no Black paint on the bulb, absolutely clear. No problems with burnt wires or fuses, I have been running this since September. The bulb needs a minor modification with a dremel. Go for it. I am using 9005 Blue visions, as they were on sale with a rebate for $6 each
BTW I did a corner/parking light swap to 921 (same as the centre stop lamp) and bumped the wattage from 5W to 18W. Provides great lighting when turning off dark interstate ramps. No burnouts or fuse problems there either.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Did the 921 on mine as well...this is a good bump up.
I'm waiting for the fogs to burn out to swap the 9005's in. I just wish it would throw a bit further out.

damon

Kind of missed the boat on improving performance during this swap. I had no light output performance at all prior to getting everything somewhat pointing in the right direction. Would greatly appreciate any tips that improve my night vision & safety.

ychachad

Hahaha, don't wait too long, The lamps in my 92 LS with 220k miles and 95 LS with 126k miles were all original OEMs before I decided to just throw them out!!!! Those suckers will never burn out. Do the swap, even with regular halogens your cost can be as little as $15, like 1/2 a tank of gas.
Now, does anyone know how to adjust the aim of the fog lamps in this 95 LS beast? The 92 is so easy, but I am totally flummoxed on the gen 2.
Does anyone know how to adjust the headlamp beam on the 95?
Anyone? Anyone?