1100 headlight bulb

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm now appreciating the ST headlight housing after seeing what needs to be done to replace a bulb on my 2013 Dodge Ram pickup.

Figured I'd pop the hood, pull the old bulb out, and put a new one in, no biggie. Wait, the bulb isn't visible, its hidden inside some housing with no access port. Go online, see that I have to remove a top cowl above the radiator/grill that runs the width of the truck, then remove the entire front grill assembly. Then I can get to the bolts to remove the headlight housing, but have to open up an access panel in the wheel well to reach a plastic retainer clip, and then finally I can pull out the housing from the frame and access the bulb. I always gave Honda credit for hiding the most basic things behind a million fasteners, they'd bow in praise of the Dodge engineers who dreamed up this assembly. Nothing all that complicated, but cmon, over a dozen fasteners to change a headlight bulb, all so the dealership can make more money on simple service items.

I got an NOS European headlight off eBay for the cost of a pair of OEM 45/45W bulbs and it came with A set of new H4 bulbs. To e that was worth the cost of not having to deal with shims. You never know when another one might show up.

kiltman said:

I got an NOS European headlight off eBay for the cost of a pair of OEM 45/45W bulbs and it came with A set of new H4 bulbs.

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Sweet deal! You guys who scour eBay continue to amaze me at the deals you find.

I suppose if you had the patience the headlight assembly could be removed and the socket Dremeled to accommodate the Euro H4 bulb. In fact I thought somebody here did that with a 1300 headlight.

ST Gui said:

I suppose if you had the patience the headlight assembly could be removed and the socket Dremeled to accommodate the Euro H4 bulb. In fact I thought somebody here did that with a 1300 headlight.

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I know it's been done with a ST1100 headlight, I just don't remember who did it.

Uncle Phil said:

I know it's been done with a ST1100 headlight, I just don't remember who did it.

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That was Martin B. The American Martin, not the Austrian Martin, neither of whom have posted here in a while.

Bush said:

That was Martin B. The American Martin, not the Austrian Martin, neither of whom have posted here in a while.

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Thanks!

I Dremelled mine way back in the day (ST1100 Newsletter). Worked OK. I hung PIAA 910s under the mirrors though and also added a shielded HID in the right socket for more light and conspicuity. Then installed a Euro headlight module and gave my old one to Bob Hover who'd holed his. Sadly, Bob totaled that beautiful SSMST soon after.

John :STOC: Ten Fifty-Eight

If you want to save some $$$ , Rock Auto has a Hella H4 60/55 Watt bulb ( PN H83140101 ) for $1.98 + shipping. I like to replace the bulbs before they burn out ( this drives Bush crazy, I bet - sorry about that Mr. Bush ). I ordered four on my last order and carry a spare in my top box.

Jim Van said:

If you want to save some $$$ , Rock Auto has a Hella H4 60/55 Watt bulb ( PN H83140101 ) for $1.98 + shipping. I like to replace the bulbs before they burn out ( this drives Bush crazy, I bet - sorry about that Mr. Bush ). I ordered four on my last order and carry a spare in my top box.

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I thought about changing mine every year over the winter when I have all the plastic off. At that time it sure is easier to do than trying to get your hand in behind the bars. For some reason the bulbs are harder to get at on my 97 then it was on my 90. Though the 97 has ABS and more computers in the way in the fairing is probably the reason.

Now a question - I've looked real close at the ST1100 headlight (I've got a spare to fuss with). I can see where you could 'dremel' for one of the lower H4 tabs, but the other H4 tab goes right where the screw goes that holds the bail wire. How does that work?

Uncle Phil said:

Now a question - I've looked real close at the ST1100 headlight (I've got a spare to fuss with). I can see where you could 'dremel' for one of the lower H4 tabs, but the other H4 tab goes right where the screw goes that holds the bail wire. How does that work?

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It's been years since I did the mod, Phil. "Rock" Rhoades wrote it up in the Summer 1993 issue of the ST1100 Newsletter, p.2. IIRC, I moved/remounted the screw holding the wire bail. That part wasn't mentioned in the article.

The newsletters are in digital form here: http://www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=3471

John

I just installed H4 bulbs with shims! a little dremmel work and project done! havent tested at night yet

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Youse guys are so much more precise than I am. I just took a pair of pliers, gripped one of the tabs and bent it back and forth a couple of times until it broke off - the "poor man's dremel"....

mstrong01 said:

Youse guys are so much more precise than I am. I just took a pair of pliers, gripped one of the tabs and bent it back and forth a couple of times until it broke off - the "poor man's dremel"....

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I juts took a pair heavy duty linesman pliers and clipped them off - but I do have a Dremel!

John - I read both articles but they did not mention the problem that the left lower tab (facing the back of the headlight fixture) goes right where the screw that holds the bail is located. I looked at it again and it appears that if you remove the bail and the screw, you can just barely cut what you need to cut on that side.