Astra H halo headlights in junkyard

[PaulR]

Last week while walking through the local mega auto junkyard I came across an Astra XE with a perfect pair of aftermarket halo headlights installed. It was too late in the day to remove them so I came back later the next day. In the five working hours while I was away, the car had since been moved and the right side headlamp smashed to smithereens. Too bad. Is anyone familiar with these replacement headlights? It's a little too late pick up these pair, although the left side one is still perfect, but is the projector beam from these much better than the originals or is it just the cool factor with the halos?


Although I did remove a very nice Boomerang center arm rest from this car.

[Astra08]

Don't know about the headlights, but sounds like you got a score anyway.

Why do people have to smash stuff in wrecking yards? Just stupid.

[PaulR]

Originally Posted by Astra08

Don't know about the headlights, but sounds like you got a score anyway.

Why do people have to smash stuff in wrecking yards? Just stupid.

No, I did not get the headlight unit because I really don't know what I could do with just one and besides, I am no Thomas Edison when it comes to electricity. I would have to check the backside wiring connector though they are probably not a plug and play installation.

The people working in the yard don't much care how they move cars around. I needed a rear fascia off an Astra this past winter and the car next to it needed to be moved over a foot or so. I did not know the guy would put a fork through that other cars windshield to pick it up by the roof just to slide it over. But I watched it happen.

Here is an eBay ad. These are not cheap.

Headlight Set Opel Astra H Year 04-10 H7/H7+ Engines Angel Eyes BlackHeadlight Set Opel Astra H Year 04-10 H7/H7+ Engines Angel Eyes BlackOpens in a new window or tab
Brand New
$325.52Buy It Now+$100.44 shipping from Germany

[velocast]

More likely is a plug and play headlight because it uses an incandescent bulb filled with xenon gas (little more powerful than our old halogens). It does not need a HID ballast.
LED technology has improved a lot so you can replace the H7 bulb with a LED bulb that supports canbus using the same halogen projector.

[Astra08]

Originally Posted by velocast

More likely is a plug and play headlight because it uses an incandescent bulb filled with xenon gas (little more powerful than our old halogens). It does not need a HID ballast.
LED technology has improved a lot so you can replace the H7 bulb with a LED bulb that supports canbus using the same halogen projector.

Yes, I've done that in several of my Harleys. Huge difference, especially for daytime visibility.

Those are nice lights however, might have to keep an eye out for a reasonable used set.

[AstraFasta]

We did two things which significantly boosted headlight brightness:

1. Polished headlights with one of those kits from the auto parts store.

2. Added a ground strap. The main ground wire at the starter is not well protected so corroded a lot. The voltage at the alternator was about 1v higher than at the battery terminals (idle with all accessories on). Adding the ground strap resolved the voltage difference and made the headlights much brighter.

[Astra08]

That additional ground strap is an interesting idea. What did you use and where did you connect it?

[AstraFasta]

We had low voltage between battery + and -, and between battery - and chassis. Almost 1 volt lower than what measured at the alternator or from battery + and the engine block. And the cable connecting to the battery got very hot after the car ran for a while.

1. To fix this, we just ran another thick ground cable from the starter ground terminal to the battery. Result was higher voltage showing on those points, higher amperage coming out of the alternator, and brighter headlights.

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...&postcount=141

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginn...rnator-diodes/

2. Alternatively, I think somebody recently posted that he just ran a wire from the engine block to the chassis. I might have seen a few people do that. As it is the main ground, a heavier gauge wire might be more appropriate than a lighter gauge wire.

Our Toyota Camry had a braided ground wire from the engine to the chassis. That deteriorated and we replaced it with a thicker braided wire from Autozone.

Ideally, one wants to run the exact ground path designed by Opel. In practice with a 15 year old car, I don't know if it matters.

[PaulR]

Originally Posted by yaaraaja4

These are actually ccfl halos, and if you look closely (hard to tell in the pic) there's bubbling at the base which is not seen on the other halos. I'm tempted to take them apart and replace both halos with led rings, but I'm afraid I will not know how to wire them. I appreciate your input, thanks!

No, actually looking at this headlamp the discoloration at the bottom of the cover is almost a dust or fine plastic shavings, for a lach of a better description. I do not know exactly what to make of it, but it is not bubbling of the plastic.