Well, it f'n took long enough

Holley has paired with Morimoto to FINALLY make some classic sealed beam LED headlights that should fit / plug without modification, offer 2 colors (warm 3000k yellowish & cool 5700k whitish) with EXCELLENT low beam pattern, more light output over stock and use less power than stock, etc... & as HR said, they don't look like those alien space ship lights offered by other companies, they offer modern lighting with a classic look.

As for Morimoto, they make excellent products. I purchased a set of HID beams for my 2017 Outback (in 2016) and I'm STILL using the original bulbs! I can attest they make excellent products.

Here are some videos from Headlight Revolution & The Retrofit Source, I've nothing but praise for both companies, I've bought from both and had excellent customer service from both too! And a video from Holley too...




They seem to run about $359 a pair as of 12 / 3 / 21.
They do come apart so LED / Lens can be replaced if needed.

 

Also noted for Camaro's they have a cable that enables you to use 4 low and 4 high instead of 2 low / 2 high....

 

Whats wrong with the Glass Lamps from Hella?
They look stock, and will fit any Standard, HID, or LED that fits H1 or H4 Housings.


I have been using these for almost 20 Years.

Now I use them with H1 or H4 Adapters for HB3 and HB4 Bulbs...
This allows for a sealed Delphi Metri-Pack 280 Connector.
Here is an example of different Adapters:

New HB3 or HB4 Bulb style, and sealed Delphi Metri-Pack 280 Connectors:







Then I modify the Stock type Head-Lamp Connectors:



That I Pot, Boot, and Seal... similar to the combination of the next Two Images:




Once I have good-sealed Connectors everywhere, I used either a short Adapter-Harness...
or make a new set of Circuits with Relays to take the Load/ Amperage of off the Head-Lamp Switch.

With either the Adapter-Harness of the Relay-Harness... the Connectors are:
-Like the last Two Images but uses Male Terminals instead:




The other Connector goes to the HB3 or HB4 Connectors...
It is also a sealed Delphi Metri-Pack 280 Connector, just the Male version:





When the Relays are used...
They are a sealed Delphi Metri-Pack 630 based Connector.
I like these Aftermarket GEP "Push to Seat" Metri-Pack 630 Connectors:

 

Here is what the Sealed-Skirted Relays for the sealed aftermarket GEP made Delphi Metri-Pack 630 Connectors:




I personally usually go with HID Lighting...
at least until LED Technology evolves a bit more to reduce size and heat output some more.

HB3 or HB4 HIDs:

 

As you noted, those options are a bit more involved...
I had to modify my housing in my 91 firebird to get some of those styles to fit...
These new Holley should be plug and play...

 

to the Original Poster of this thread...
.....I guess you missed it, but we already have a pretty long thread going about this topic over the past week
it can be viewed here:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...le-sealed.html


.

 

Yes, Missed it! I did look first though.....

 

@vorteciroc,
Do you have any pics of the beam pattern with your headlights?
There are a few in the thread below, these are ECode glass housings and LED's...

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/afte...milar-hid.html

Not bad for what they are, but not quite as precise as the Holley ones...
I believe I even have another set, housings and leds recommended from HR, but they're still in the box...

Rafael

 

How many of you actually drive the car at night?

I don't. Guaranteed bug-a-palooza. Too much hassle washing off the bugs the next day to make it worthwhile.

 

I do not at the moment...
But the Size, Shape, and Intensity look far better than any of the weird Lamp Housings that are all over the Internet.

Hella was one of the Best and Largest Lighting Manufacturers.
This is why they had all the Light Bulb Contracts for so many Years.

Generally, it the Light Bulb Model starts with an "H", it is a Hella Design (H1, H3, H4, H7, HB1, HB3, HB4, Etc).

 

I'm aware Hella is very good and reputable...
Are you running HID's?
I believe they're still brighter than LED, but LED's are catching up...
I'll check into Hella soon, I'm getting work done this summer, so before then
I was impressed with the Holley cutoff line, brightness across, etc... Best I've seen thus far, but I've not seen Hella / HID yet... Plus I have a firebird, so would need Hi / Low HID's if I were to go that route...

Raf

 

Just added these to our website and have them in stock (1982-92 Camaros and 1991-92 Firebirds), we will also be getting the 1982-90 Firebird headlights soon. We will be installing them on our 1991 Z28 in the near future and do some in car videos. We also have other headlight options available for Camaros and Firebirds.
1982-92 Camaro/Firebird Headlights (screamingchicken.com)

 

Got my lights in, but not the harness to run 4 bulbs. Did a test fit and they fit just like stock.

Unfortunately, when I plugged in the 2nd light, both of the low beams stopped working completely. I didn't have time to figure out why yet, hopefully there is a fuse or something for the headlights... One worked, plugged in the 2nd, then nothing. Cant test the brights until I get the wiring harness which still hasn't shipped yet.

 

Received my set Friday from Screaming Chicken and installed them yesterday.

 

That is sooo much nicer than stock, or factory or such. Just a nice solid, wide beam of light. Out on a dark road with no street lights that is .....'light years' ahead......

 

Here's a closer shot for anyone wanting to see how they look up close.

 

5700K? I think it's important for people who post pictures to let everyone know which color they purchased. Thanks.

 

I personally like the whiter color lights, not blue, but white. The 5000-6000 max, I never drive in rain or bad weather, as best I can help it, so I don't find the more traditional yellow side of color appealling. I find the white gives a crisp output, signs and lines almost glow.

 

I love 'em, but $400, ouch!...

 

Yea, price is high, it does sting for sure. I looked at it like buying things like tires and such, I wouldn't drive on bald tires, and when buying new tires I choose higher performing tires, paying more. Kinda like the lights, I want the best performing lights so it is the same logic. Heck, we pay a good amount of cash for catbacks, for site and sound difference. Just my approach to it all.
But they are expensive for lights yes.

 

Yes, expensive, but there are other more expensive lights that look non classic, aren't as bright and don't have such a great pattern...
It's nice to have good headlights when needed

 

Yes, those are the 5700.

 

I really like that, it's on my to do list

 

I finally figured out why my headlights were not working. The wiring harness they sell you has the ground pin on the wrong side, as well as they have the brights tied into the the low beams.... this means even after swapping the ground pin, you always had all 4 bulbs at high only. I ended up cutting up the harness and rewiring them to be stock. Outside for low beam, inside for high beam.

 

Why not de-pin and move the wires?

 

Too bad you had to go through all the extra work.

Re-pinning plugs on aftermarket headlights is pretty common for older cars like ours. TGO members have had to do it with other models of new LED headlights. And the harness they include is specifically for running all four lights together, all as low beams, then all as high beams when so triggered. It's an optional feature, not mandatory to use it.

HR has several videos for the Retrobrights, with some being actual installation videos. Chris might not have covered the pin situation in the promotional video, but IIRC, he did cover the use of the additional harness. But in the installation videos, the installers do show the re-pinning of the plugs, as well as how to use the additional harness.

Maybe the instructions didn't cover all of it well enough, because I think you might've more work for yourself. But at least you seem to have gotten everything working now.

 

After about an hour of trying every combo possible with the harness blown apart and using wire nuts, there was no combination that wouldn't cause the brights to always be on. By bridging the low and high beam wires on the high beam bulb they created a loop.

 

StevenK is correct. The 4 way harness doesn't work not matter how it is pinned. You will need the 3 pin non-standard adapters or cut up the harness to separate the two lights. Once the harness is separated you get four lights on the high beam and two lights on low beam. Holley and Morimoto will tell you that you pinned it wrong and there isn't a problem with their harness (spent quite a bit of time on that). This is for Camaros only, btw. The 5X7 Firebird lights are plug and play with no re-pinning. When you buy the Holley/Morimoto headlights thru Screaming Chicken we repin and include adapters for you so they will be plug and play.

1982-92 Camaro Holley Retrobright Headlights (screamingchicken.com)

 

And this right here is why I love the thirdgen community, the Vendor support for vehicle specific parts.

 

I know it's been a little while, but I just got a pair of these (LFRB120 Classic White) for my 91 Z and when I opened the box I was very surprised to find them very loosely wrapped to the cardboard with saran wrap... I immediately thought for sure, someone had bought them, tried to install them, but then returned them and just grabbed what they had in the kitchen to make them look untouched. There was also nothing else in the box except the bulb/housing. No instructions, and no adapter cables/connectors, as the online manual says are included!

Straight out of the Holley manual:



Now, looking at your picture and others I have found on the web, makes me think this is really the way Holley packaged them?!?! Can anyone else share how theirs arrived please?

The other thing that concerns me is that the housing was so loosely wrapped, that the little nubs on it made many marks on the inside of the box from the housing/bulb repeatedly slamming against it during shipping/handling. Shouldn't I be worried it could be damaged or have a reduced lifespan do to this? Or, is this really how they all come, and I should just re-pin my factory connector and move on with installing them???

 

That is the way they come from Holley/Morimoto. We sell them, but we make sure the adapter is included, add 3rd gen specific instructions and add more bubble wrap before shipping them.

1982-92 Camaro Holley Retrobright Headlights (screamingchicken.com)

 

@scfbody: I'm starting to wish I had ordered from you guys...

So what you're saying is that the loose flimsy saran wrap packaging is the norm, but there should have been some generic instructions and the adapters they mention in their generic instructions?

Anyone have any longevity issues as a result of the loose packaging?

 

Your correct on how they are supposed to show up. Fortunately, we haven't had any failures so far. Due to the price point we don't sell a lot of them but the ones we have sold haven't had any problems.

 

So, the screaming chicken and holley headlights are the same just different vendors? ****!! I bought the SC's and while the low beams are a vast improvement over the stockers, the high beams are completely worthless unless you assign points for visually filling the housing up. I was considering doing the holley high beams to supplement the SC lows for some sweet lights. I really like the low beams on my car but there are still times when some additional lighting, like high beams, would be nice. While my high beams make things brighter, they provide no light farther down the road . I think I'm going to read the other thread linked above and see if some of the older tech glass lights could work for me. I have the low beams I want and I'm quite happy with them, now for the second half of the equation.

 

@Clubber I'm not certain I understand you. I think SC sells the Holley Retrobright kits, but also sells some other LED and Halogen conversion kits as well for our cars. He should be able to clarify for you, or just browse his site.

I went back and forth with my vendor, and they confirmed the packing is normal, they claimed only to avoid scratches during shipment. They also agreed to send me out the adapters, but we'll see if those ever show up. Since it was so simple, I just ended up re-pinning the factory connectors, and installing the new lights. They are WAY brighter than the old sealed halogens! They throw a much wider pattern too so you can see the road ahead but also the shoulders of the road on both sides. I feel like if there was a deer waiting to jump out I may actually have a chance of seeing it now! Aligning them was a little tricky, but I think I got it about right.

One tip I would give thought and I feel stupid for not realizing it right off the bat... Make sure you use a smooth chromed or polished screw driver for installation and adjustment. I used my extra long one because it made things easier but it has a phospated maybe black oxide finish that is almost like that of maybe 800 grit sand paper, I'm pretty sure there is no way to keep the screw driver shaft from rubbing against the headlight surround in the bumper, and mine made a few little marks in the paint, not a lot, but I still wish I had used one of my smooth ones that wouldn't have done that...

Behind the local Walmart trying to get the pattern right.

Left is factory style sealed halogen (Wagner?), right is the new classic white Retrobright.

 

That isn't the issue. The lights have terrible focus and aligning them is kind of pointless.

 

We sell United Pacific and Holley headlights. Aligning either headlight properly will make a difference in the performance of the headlight. The United Pacific headlights have led bulbs that can adjust to change the beam pattern, that would help with the terrible focus. I believe we talked on the phone in the spring and went over how to adjust the beam pattern. The back of the bulb turns to change the beam pattern. You can also remove the bulb from the light and rotate in 180 degrees which flips the high beam and low beam part of the bulb. Once adjusted correctly the United Pacific beam pattern looks similar to the Holley picture raptere posted above. The Holley headlights have a better cut off and the beam spreads out more, but they are also double the price compared to the United Pacific headlights. We do not design or manufacture either one of them. We supply any needed hardware, wiring adapters and install tips on how to install as easy as possible and make them work as well as possible in 3rd gens (Camaros & Firebirds).

 

Alignment should help as the Lamp Assembly is adjusted just like the OEM Sealed-Beam or a Hella Glass Composite H4/ H1 Lamp.

I do not know enough about the Beam Pattern of these (as I have never used them) but @scfbody would be able to Help you.

Optics (and Physics) are actually very interesting.
The Design of the Lamp Assembly and its Components:
The Reflector Surface behind the Bulb, the Shield in front of the Bulb, (some have a Dispersal Deflector, or a Projection Lens), and the Lens in front of the Bulb.
All of which will affect the Light Output in several ways.

Those Lamps should have all of the same components (less any Projection Components) and be adjustable via the OEM adjustment Screws.

The more advanced Bulbs (LEDs or other) further complicate things...
Thus the reason that I personally like to just use Hella glass H4 Lamps, and use 9005/ 9006 HIDs on H4 Bulb Bases.
It works wonderfully!

 

For my lights, the housings sit on the four "pads" that the stock headlight housings sit on which holds them in alignment so the housing is aligned properly. I have had the bulbs in and out of the housing and rotated in a full 360 degrees as told to me by scfbody when we talked. It made little difference. I put the bulbs in right side up and up side down to see if that made any difference. It did not. I have invested a serious amount of time getting them to work and they do not do anything but light up the road 50 feet in front of the car REALLY well. In order to get the light pattern to go up (almost) high enough, the adjusters have to be adjusted up enough that the light housings look like they are pointed to look at the underside of freeway overpasses.
At this point I have given up for a while. I will revisit this one more time when I don't feel like taking a baseball bat to them in a month or so and then I'll find something that will really work. I will say that the low beams are great though.

 

Sounds like the alignment of the bulb is off. When your ready to revisit let me know. The bulbs should rotate 180 degrees from where they are installed currently and reinstalled, then you can use the back of the bulb to get the led bar vertical. If the led is horizontal instead of vertical it won't work. We set them before shipping, but if you have moved them around they need to be put back to where they should go. When your ready email me at scfbody90@gmail.com and I can send some pics and other information. We selling that same set up for years without issues so I still believe they need some adjustment to work correctly.

 

I bought my retro brights HLY LFRB 140-1 single bulb Hi and Lo beam from Summit for my 91 Formula Firebird . I had the same problem, of trying to get them to work properly, best I could get was low beams . Summit gave me ,(Brothers off road tech service number.800-977-2767 ext 4122.) My original thought was I had a short between my high, and low beam wiring , as I had 3 to 4 volts on a multi meter . The selected beam would have over 12 volt the other would have 3-4 volts. The low beams would light, but the highs would not ,when they were selected. I ran new wiring to relays and then to the bulbs (as I saw on you tube videos triggering the 2 separate relay with each, high, and low beam wires from the car Tan lo green hi . powered direct from battery through an in line fuse the . Same result low beam only, just more volts to the bulb. frustrated I called the tech number and they pretty much said the lows will be brighter than my original highs would ever be. I removed all my relay wiring and was hooking up the bulbs to original plug & play connection. Car... tan (low beam) green(hi beam) black (ground). New bulbs blue (low beam) red (hi beam) black (ground).
In the process I grounded the the red wire on the bulb to the black ground wire on the car . Wa La! light worked . Hi and low beams both .
I think it might be because some where in this process I think I saw, that my selector switch operates on the ground side of the car wiring, but don't take my word for it. It works except my selector switch hi beam on light, is backwards . I think I can switch the wires on the switch and fix that , just more important things to do at the moment . I did not hook the relay wiring back up yet,either. I might in the spring. I have them wired now and they work fine.

 

I bought my retro brights HLY LFRB 140-1 single bulb Hi and Lo beam from Summit for my 91 Formula Firebird . I had the same problem, of trying to get them to work properly, best I could get was low beams . Summit gave me ,(Brothers off road tech service number.800-977-2767 ext 4122.) My original thought was I had a short between my high, and low beam wiring , as I had 3 to 4 volts on a multi meter . The selected beam would have over 12 volt the other would have 3-4 volts. The low beams would light, but the highs would not ,when they were selected. I ran new wiring to relays and then to the bulbs (as I saw on you tube videos triggering the 2 separate relay with each, high, and low beam wires from the car Tan lo green hi . powered direct from battery through an in line fuse the . Same result low beam only, just more volts to the bulb. frustrated I called the tech number and they pretty much said the lows will be brighter than my original highs would ever be. I removed all my relay wiring and was hooking up the bulbs to original plug & play connection. Car... tan (low beam) green(hi beam) black (ground). New bulbs blue (low beam) red (hi beam) black (ground).
In the process I grounded the the red wire on the bulb to the black ground wire on the car . Wa La! light worked . Hi and low beams both .
I think it might be because some where in this process I think I saw, that my selector switch operates on the ground side of the car wiring, but don't take my word for it. It works except my selector switch hi beam on light, is backwards . I think I can switch the wires on the switch and fix that , just more important things to do at the moment . I did not hook the relay wiring back up yet,either. I might in the spring. I have them wired now and they work fine.

 

Over the summer we (Screaming Chicken) had lights from Holley that the wire colors were different than previous shipments, we would test them before shipping them out. For some reason they started changing the configuration when they switched from LFRB140 to LFRB140-1. No info from Holley, we figured it out when a customer called with an issue. We would get a shipment that was configured one way and then the next shipment would be different. It's been pretty consistent starting in September. They should work well without making any additional changes to the wiring.

 

What do you mean by 4 low and 2 low and 4 high and 2 high I’m kinda confused does it make ur lights brighter

 

Camaro's 4 headlights are 2 low beam/high beam outer headlights, and 2 high beam only inner headlights. The 2 outer headlights function as low beams until the high beams are activated, then they become high beams with the two high beam inner headlights, giving you 4 high beams: 2 low, 4 high.

Retrobrights appear to also be available in the same combination, with a low beam/high beam headlight, and a high beam only headlight, so they'd function the same way: 2 low, 4 high. Or some people might buy 4 low beam/high beam headlights and make them function as 4 low beams, then as 4 high beams after activating the high beams: 4 low, 4 high. But the wiring would have to be slightly modded to make the two inner headlights function as low beams.

But I suspect, because of the price, some people just replace the 2 low beam/high beam outer headlights with Retrobrights, at least, to start with, and then they may or may not eventually replace the 2 high beam inner headlights. That would still be 2 low, 4 high, but the difference in light output, intensity and possibly the color might look a little odd with that combination. In that case, getting the classic white might help to minimize the difference in appearance between the Retrobrights and the factory-style sealed beams.