Probably a dumb question.. (Bulb Wattage question) - Honda Prelude Forum

The Oreo · 12-02-2004, 09:33 AM

I just want to be educated by my fellow po members on something.. i want to know.. WHAT happens if say.. U use a 110W output bulb in our stock bulb harness?? will it melt the harness and wires?? or will the bulb just blow out soon?? I believe our harness is putting out 55W.. this might be a dumb question so i dont know.. could be the reason why alot of us blow bulbs so easily.. besides them being crappy H1 bulbs, it could be human error.. where we either touched the bulb, or we paired a high wattage bulb with a low wattage harness.. thanks for all replies..

Wraith · 12-02-2004, 09:39 AM

If you put a higher wattage bulb into wiring that cannot handle it, the bulb will more than likely be fine however your wires will pay the price. I'm not an electrician but I've installed many stereos and when I was young, fried some wires on previous cars and toasted some amps. someone correct me if I'm wrong but won't the bulb set the resistance for the circuit and if it allows too much power then the wires will go to their max flow which will end up melting them. That's my guess though, don't take my word for it.

The Oreo · 12-02-2004, 09:45 AM

if i have a higher wattage bulb, how can i solve this problem? how can i upgrade the wires? or is it even worth it?

KB798 · 12-02-2004, 09:51 AM

You need to upgrade your harness to withstand the higher wattage. Othewise, you're definitely going to melt your stock harness. If you go to Pep Boys, Advance Auto, Autozone, or other automotive stores, they sell harnesses designed to handle higher wattage bulbs. Or you could buy these (assuming you have H4 bulbs)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=42613

The Oreo · 12-02-2004, 09:52 AM

No i have H1 bulbs still.. how easy is it to install these harnesses?

preludejtstyle · 12-02-2004, 10:02 AM

dont bother. What type bulb? Piaa? cause if its a piaa..your fine. If its a cheaper bulb..say autozone or something.....then you might consider it. But for the price of the harness and the install labour (assuming you do it yourself...) you could easily save yourself some time and get the PIAAs. They run near stock wattage...but preform like higher wattage bulbs. Cheap bulbs actually are higher wattage bulbs.

The Oreo · 12-02-2004, 10:04 AM

really.. these bulbs are nokya artic white. stage II.. 110W

i better cancel them

h22 bb6 · 12-02-2004, 08:56 PM

I would. Get some Phillips Vision Plus. H1, 55W.

As soon as my paycheck comes in next week, I'm ordering some. I don't have highbeams right now.

KB798 · 12-02-2004, 11:40 PM

Well there are bulbs that produce the light of 110W bulbs, but only run on 55W or something similar. If you go to any auto parts store, they should have them in stock. If you're interested in installing the harness, it's quite simple - just splicing/crimping with butt connectors or heat-shrinking the connections would be fine.

The Oreo · 12-03-2004, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h22 bb6

I would. Get some Phillips Vision Plus. H1, 55W.

As soon as my paycheck comes in next week, I'm ordering some. I don't have highbeams right now.

me neither!!

:edit: these are the bulbs i had won..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWN%3AIT

h22 bb6 · 12-03-2004, 10:31 AM

Ya damn ricer!

Those bulbs are rated at 7000K... anything above 4300K and they become more form over function.

The Oreo · 12-03-2004, 10:37 AM

damn it.. i hope this guy emails me back soon.. cuz i want my money back.. i havent received anything yet, and i dont think he has sent em

preludejtstyle · 12-07-2004, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Oreo

really.. these bulbs are nokya artic white. stage II.. 110W

i better cancel them

nokya uses stock wattage on those bulbs. Its just light similiar to a 110w bulb. you are fine without a harness.

The Oreo · 12-07-2004, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by preludejtstyle

nokya uses stock wattage on those bulbs. Its just light similiar to a 110w bulb. you are fine without a harness.

but it says this..

These bulbs are 2x brighter than the original stock halogen bulb
These bulbs have the color temperature of 7000K
Color is Arctic White
Longer life than most other JDM halogen bulbs
12V 80W = 100W/120W output

meaning instead of the stock 12V 55W it uses 80W.. hmmmm

i dont know.. maybe i should try them

blklude98 · 12-07-2004, 07:56 AM

Keith just get the Piaa's again. They were nice, make sure you don't touch the bulb etc. and they should last awhile. www.optionsauto.com or there's a place by me that's pretty reasonable with prices. OR, yuo can save up for an hid kit, they are for sale once in awhile in here. I get it in for ya w/o looking like RICH's BLINDING/GLARING/PISSING OFF OTHER DRIVERS Hids.

THey should out last the car when done right. I've had mine for 2 years....has zero problems.

The Oreo · 12-07-2004, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blklude98

Keith just get the Piaa's again. They were nice, make sure you don't touch the bulb etc. and they should last awhile. www.optionsauto.com or there's a place by me that's pretty reasonable with prices. OR, yuo can save up for an hid kit, they are for sale once in awhile in here. I get it in for ya w/o looking like RICH's BLINDING/GLARING/PISSING OFF OTHER DRIVERS Hids.

THey should out last the car when done right. I've had mine for 2 years....has zero problems.

yeah Rich's setup makes me skeptical about buying HID's.. they are just too damned glarey! i wonder which ones he has so i can stay away from those

Ludefahrer97 · 12-07-2004, 08:12 AM

I've got Phillips Bluevision in my low beams and in my H3 USDM fogs. I couldn't be happier. They are rated at 55w (just like OEM) but put out a brighter, whiter(with a slight blue-tint). Plus, on a comparision thread that Gerhard wrote, they last a long time. The only problem is, I had to order them off the web from the UK.

The Oreo · 12-07-2004, 08:16 AM

yeah i have to upgrade my lighting soon.. i cant see shiet with these oem bulbs..

Gerhard · 12-07-2004, 08:37 AM

The OEM bulbs suck.

Period.

Phillips Blue Vision and Vision Plus bulbs are pretty much the same... and they are MUCH better than stock.

The white light blubs do not work as well under pitch black conditions, but do work well in city envinronments where there are plenty of reflective surfaces.

I use Blue Vision in the low beams (55w) and some other 100w white blub in the high beams.

The high wattage bulbs WILL destroy your bulb holders over time.

I replace them when I replace the high beams (always in pairs).

I don't use 100w bulbs in the low beams, as I've seen what they do to the holders... and I want to prevent destroying the reflector / wiring harness. (You use the low beams all the time...)

The Oreo · 12-07-2004, 08:40 AM

hmmm.. maybe i will put these in my highbeams then.. other than that i have no use for them... the guy had already sent them to me.. and i got them the next day..