I ordered replacement bulbs for my fog lights and received 100 watt bulbs. I thought they were supposed to be 55 watt.

Which is the right wattage?
Will the 100 watt bulbs cause problems (wiring, fuses)?

Thanks in advance,

Dave

 

correct is 55 watt the 100 will get too hot , very bright but too hot .

 

Fuse 30 is rated at 15 Amps and appears to serve both right and left fog lamps, unlike the headlamps which have separate fuses. 100W bulbs will pull 8.3A each, so it should blow if you fit them.

The first thing I did when I bought my car was fit 100W high beam headlamp bulbs (and change the fuses from 7.5A to 15A).

Why do you guys have to put up with those chrome rimmed headlamps? Do they work at all?

 

now will the 100W get hot enough to melt the housing, or will they just melt the wires?

 

i've had the hundreds in two of my cars for a couple of years and there have been no fuse or wire issues. i have had 2 lenses crack with stoneguards on them , though. i think the heat is unable to dissapate and causes a stress crack.

 

Are they dramatically brighter than the 55s?

 

i think they are.

 

I have had both of my NEW lenses crack due to the heat @ $150 ea that hurts.

 

as they are not truely a sealed unit what about adding either some spacing to the lens so it sits further out from the bulb, or adding some heat sink fans to the back of the housing (if metal housing)?

 

Ditto times 2. One w/ stoneguard and one w/o.

Not worth it. Stick w/ 55's.

My headlight sockets even melted w/ 100W bulbs installed by a PO. Burned badly at the ground terminals.

Scott

 

Hi,
instead of the 100w bulbs the Xenon-Halogen bulbs ( both H1 and H4 ) at the original wattage give a huge increase in usable light

I use Xenon "yellow" in fogs and "blue" ( icy white ) in others - Osram and Trifa brands - both are German
They are very expensive but do not generate more heat than the original

I have used them for about a year in the 928 and I have used them in other vehicles too over some years

Xenon or Zenon ? - its one or the other!

Regard

 

Put 85W in mine, not much change. Thinking aircraft landing light so I can burn the paint off of oncoming cars.

 

GT,

An old friend of mine had a Fiat 124 done up as the Rally version w/6 extra driving lights in addition to the regular headlights. Once we were driving around at night and someone flashed him with their high-beams. He just had his regular lights on, but one by one he kept adding more lights...

I still get a kick out of that !

Rob

 

I think I'm starting to notice a trend here...

Add me to the list.

My 100W H3s + Stongards = cracked lens.

I'm back to 55W bulbs. Anyone want some 100W H3s, barely used? I think I've got 4 slightly used bulbs and probably another one or two new ones.

 

My previous car, a VW Corrado, had a recall for the fog lights cracking. The Corrado Club of America has all the details on how to get VW to fork over for the $300 worth of glass...

An airplane that I used to fly, the DeHavilland Dash-8 had a problem with it's taxi light cracking and blowing out. This light was mounted on the nose gear, and the first time you landed on a wet runway....it was history.

That seems to be the trend. The temper of the glass is basically non-existant, so it will crack when hot. 928 driving lights are high enough up that with normal bulbs, cracking is not an issue. Apparently if you raise the wattage, you get too much heat.

The headlights on my S2 are awesome. I get people flashing their brights at me, and I have them aimed pretty low! The European dim headlights are 55 watts, as opposed to the US 45 watts, and the diffuser is far more efficient. Converting to these would probably be a far better idea, since I would bet that the US cars have the same wiring. And for once, the Euro parts are cheap- they take an H4 bulb, which is a typical motorcycle bulb in the US and is available in any auto parts store.

N!
'85 S2 5 Speed