Superlite Bulb Replacement - Very Pricey

Fratzog

Old Man with a Hat
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Below is the reply from the first vendor I could find that carries these bulbs. Guess I will keep looking...


To
  • cbody70@yahoo.com​




Hello,
Sorry for the delay in replying
We have 2 of this part available for $135.00 + shipping - NOS Chrysler
Please contact us @ 1-800-414-4462, ext 2 to order
We accept the 4 major credit cards & Pay Pal.


Thanks,
[h=1]Greg Swank[/h][h=3]Collectors Auto Supply[/h]Thousands Of On-line Catalogs
By Make/Model/Year!
Toll Free: 1-800-414-4462
Website: CollectorsAutoSupply.Com





 
Remember Fred, I was taught the lesson more than a dozen years ago and shared it with the Polara board. Collectors is a broker of sorts, someone else actually has the bulbs for half that price
 
I use Engineering websites for bulb stuff. Been surprising what I have been able to cross reference.
I'll play with it.
 
Just seeing what's out there. I have a few lenses so I may experiment with a modern bulb in one of them.


This is absolutely the best I could do.
The only problem is that it is 100w vs the Super-lite's 85w.

http://www.amazon.com/White-Halogen-Daytime-Running-Light/dp/B00GYR2S4Y

http://www.sourcingmap.com/warm-whi...-daytime-running-lamp-fog-light-p-464094.html


prod_3989189123


Bend the male terminal 90 degrees and the base appears identical.


ZkSi12j.jpg
 
The only possible issues that come to my mind are, that if the substitute bulb is longer than the original;

1. It may not fit in the lamp.
2. If it does fit, it likely won't focus properly, which may still be fine if you only want
the lamp to light up for show and don't intend to actually use it to see with at night.
 
I have H1 lamps laying around at home, if someone would like to share the measurements of the original Superlite for comparison.
 
You're on the wrong track looking at H1s. The focal length is too long, the filament orientation is wrong (H1 has an axial filament; the Super-Lite's optic needs a transverse filament), and the base won't fit even "kinda sorta". The closest standard bulb is an H3, which has a transverse filament but the focal length is too short and the base flange, while round, is too small. A clever person with the right tools and materials can remove the base flange from a dead Super-Lite bulb and from a 100w H3 and attach it to the H3 bulb's shank, further aft than the H3's original base flange, thus resulting in a very close approximation to the original bulb. The H3's feed terminal is at the end of a short wire instead of directly on the back of the bulb shank, but that's of no consequence; it's the same ¼" male spade terminal.

Start with a 100w H3 from a reputable maker -- Philips, Osram, Narva, or GE. Get the kind with colorless clear glass; forget the "super white" or "xenon white" type of garbage with blue glass. Don't worry about the difference between "85w" and "100w"; both are nominal wattages, and the actual wattage of the original Super-Lite bulb and the 100w H3 are extremely similar.

No, I am not that clever person -- I had it done for me by a colleague some years ago (automotive lighting is my professional field), and the result worked/works perfectly not just by eye, but by lab photometry in my NOS Super-Lite assembly. I was just photographing my Super-Lites yesterday in prep for putting them up for sale. Here are a couple pics of the custom bulb:

Superlite_Newbulb_3.jpg


Superlite_Newbulb_2.jpg


I do not know if the guy who built this bulb for me is still alive and equipped.

All the above is if you care about being able to use the lamp as intended (midbeam/turnpike beam). If all you need it to do is light up to show it off at shows and stuff, then you can just apply a Dremel tool to the base of an H3 and it'll fit well enough to light up the lamp, as you can see in this post.

(Also, be careful out there. I've seen at least one NOS vendor offering ordinary H3 bulbs under p/n 2949241, at eyewatering prices.)
 
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Axial filament: the filament runs front-to-back, parallel to the length of the bulb. Also called a "vertical" filament.
Transverse filament: the filament runs side-to-side, parallel to the width of the bulb. Also called a "horizontal" filament.

Look at the base-modified H3 bulb in the pics I posted. The filament runs across the width of the glass tube. That's a transverse filament.
Look at the H1 bulbs in post № 10 of this thread. The filament runs along the length of the glass tube. That's an axial filament.
 
I ended up using an H1 just to make it work. Even when I had the correct bulb workingbin there I didn't notice much difference. I honestly think it was a bit of a gimmick. But a cool gimmick. Now I need to mess around with the wiring since it only works while the high beam is on. I suspect the foot control is wired back asswards.
 
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