John Deere HIR bulbs

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

And the 2nd surprise at John Deere is...

OK, So I just picked up my order of these from the John Deere dealer. I bought 12 for under $10 per bulb.

I got curious about what these were supposed to go into and the gentleman behind the counter was very helpful despite it being 5 minutes to quitting time. He made me a printout of the light housing from the PC2800 9450 self-propelled combine. It looks like it may be adaptable. The lenses are available in 'lens' or 'floodlamp' versions for the center and outside lenses.

Why would I even consider this? They're rectangular. If the picture is to scale they're about 5" wide and 3" tall. They're $14 each for the lenses. I would still have to engineer a mounting adapter for them.

I'm thinking about buying 1 of each and playing a bit after Christmas.

Oh, and if anyone beats me to it... They're part numbers:
AH159333 - Center
AH159332 - Floodlamp
H130299 - Compression spring (3 per lamp)
H130298 - Screw (3 per lamp)
H132900 - Retainer
AH211917 - Bulb (But then, if you're reading this, you know that.)
 
Last edited:
I think I am gonna do the JD bulb upgrad but what is the deal with putting a high beam bulb in the low beams? Some people say this is even better and dosent cause problems with other drivers on the road.

Any input on this?
 
Ordered mine yesterday, should be in today. $9.99 each from my local dealer.

I'll do the Slee upgrade later, too many irons in the fire right now.
 
I think I am gonna do the JD bulb upgrad but what is the deal with putting a high beam bulb in the low beams? Some people say this is even better and dosent cause problems with other drivers on the road.

Any input on this?

IIRC, only 1 member here in the 'Mud 80-Section has done this and he reported that he got "flashed" the first day but he hasn't been "flashed" since. I take this as a sample size of 1.

My reasons for not putting high-beam HIR bulbs in the low beams (and I'm in that age group that needs more light) are:
* It is illegal
* Blinding oncoming traffic is unacceptable behaviour
* 100w bulbs are not designed for continuous duty
* Danger (albeit minor) of overheating the wiring system
* I wouldn't want someone like me being the one blinded in a curve on a 2-lane highway.

If I need more light at night, I'll turn on my high beams and my driving lights when traffic conditions permit. I would also consider putting 100w bulbs in the high beams because I can turn those off at night when traffic approaches.

-B-
 
IIRC, only 1 member here in the 'Mud 80-Section has done this and he reported that he got "flashed" the first day but he hasn't been "flashed" since. I take this as a sample size of 1.

My reasons for not putting high-beam HIR bulbs in the low beams (and I'm in that age group that needs more light) are:
* It is illegal
* Blinding oncoming traffic is unacceptable behaviour
* 100w bulbs are not designed for continuous duty
* Danger (albeit minor) of overheating the wiring system
* I wouldn't want someone like me being the one blinded in a curve on a 2-lane highway.

If I need more light at night, I'll turn on my high beams and my driving lights when traffic conditions permit. I would also consider putting 100w bulbs in the high beams because I can turn those off at night when traffic approaches.

-B-

I think you missed the most important reason, the low beam HIRs work great!:)
 
I think you missed the most important reason, the low beam HIRs work great!:)

And this is 100% correct. I got in on the 1st Group Buy and the HIR low beams are excellent.

-B-
 
Just ordered 4 from my local dealer. He said no one has ever ordered them either. Will get them on Friday.
 
My reasons for not putting high-beam HIR bulbs in the low beams (and I'm in that age group that needs more light) are:
* 100w bulbs are not designed for continuous duty
* Danger (albeit minor) of overheating the wiring system
I would also consider putting 100w bulbs in the high beams because I can turn those off at night when traffic approaches.

-B-

Without commenting on the ethics and legality of running 9011 HIR bulbs (the high beam replacement for 9005 bulbs), it is important to clarify a couple of factual errors.

The 9011 HIR is a 65 watt bulb, not a 100 watt. The 100 watt bulbs are the crappy 9005 high watt replacements that last about 5 minutes. These are no longer carried by higher end places (like rallylights.com) because the 9011 puts out the same output and lasts much longer.

There is no chance of overheating the wiring harness with the HIR lamps. The HIR bulbs draw the same current (55 watts for the 9012, 65watts for the 9011) as the 9006 and 9005 bulbs they are replacing. Even when doing a high beam swap to low beam (9006 to 9011) you are still only drawing an additional 10 watts, or about 15% more energy.

Finally, many people seem to not be catching, the JD bulbs only work in the low beams. If you want a high beam HIR (ala 9011 HIR) you will have to purchase them elsewhere. When in doubt read the FAQ, all this information is in there.
 
I ordered them last Monday from a local JD dealer (Vanwall) and picked them up on Wednesday. $10.49 per bulp. Mine were also marked as "Made in Japan".

I installed them on Thursday, after modifying the tabs with a Dremel tool. Took about 5 minutes total.

There is definitely a difference - I would say they are almost as bright as high beams, but don't "reach" out as far. Good mod!
 
Finally, many people seem to not be catching, the JD bulbs only work in the low beams. If you want a high beam HIR (ala 9011 HIR) you will have to purchase them elsewhere. When in doubt read the FAQ, all this information is in there.

Just in case you got that impression from me, I have two trucks.


The FAQ writeup is excellent. You did a great job on that back on 04, man those were the golden years:cool:
 
I put them in this weekend before my trip to Tahoe. They give you a lot more light and safety and are still not as bright or blinding as projection lights. When you are in traffic and cannot run the high beams you can see quite well on the curvy roads. Nobody has flashed me or flipped me off yet!
 
Without commenting on the ethics and legality of running 9011 HIR bulbs (the high beam replacement for 9005 bulbs), it is important to clarify a couple of factual errors.

Cary,
I was confusing/equating the 100w bulbs with the 9011 (hi-beam) HIR bulbs. That was my error as I thought they were one in the same.

Are the 9011 hi-beam HIR bulbs designed for continuous use (ie as low beam bulbs)?

-B-
 
The 9011 HIR is a 65 watt bulb, not a 100 watt. The 100 watt bulbs are the crappy 9005 high watt replacements that last about 5 minutes.

For what it's worth, my 100W hella high beams have been in for over two years now. The 80W low beams blew around 15 months.

I'll be ordering the HIR lows from a local dealer soon.
 
For what it's worth, my 100W hella high beams have been in for over two years now. The 80W low beams blew around 15 months.

I'll be ordering the HIR lows from a local dealer soon.

Either you don't drive at night much, or Hella sent you some screwed up bulbs. You better pull them and send them back to hella asap because you have set a record for the life of those things. Maybe they could then reverse engineer the damm things to work from the ones you have. Myself, I never got more than a month or two.
 
Cary,
I was confusing/equating the 100w bulbs with the 9011 (hi-beam) HIR bulbs. That was my error as I thought they were one in the same.

Are the 9011 hi-beam HIR bulbs designed for continuous use (ie as low beam bulbs)?

-B-

There is no reason that the 9011 HIR can't be used continuously, as high beams are designed to be used that way. They do have a shorter rated life, 230 hours (they used to be 350) vs. 1000 for the 9012, but that is still far higher than overwatt bulbs. Also, if you look at an H1 bulb, which is used for many auto headlamps applications (the LX 470 low beams for example), it is rated at 350 hours for the standard output 55 watt bulb and 150 for the 100 watt overwatt bulb.

So in short, they can be used and the life expectancy would not be out of line of other lamps used in low beams.
 
Myself, I never got more than a month or two.

I'm thinking it's a lot like brake pads and gas mileage... where longevity depends a lot on the operator. You must be flicking your's wrong :flipoff2:.
 
I purchased 2 Hella 100w (Korean) hi-beams on the first Group Buy and had 1 that blew in the first 10 minutes of use. Replaced it with a stock Hi-beam bulb. The other 100w Korean Hella has been in there this whole time. (~2 yrs?) Admittedly, I seldom drive at night, and use the high beams very rarely.

The HIR low beams rock!

-B-
 
I ordered them last Monday from a local JD dealer (Vanwall) and picked them up on Wednesday. $10.49 per bulp. Mine were also marked as "Made in Japan".

I installed them on Thursday, after modifying the tabs with a Dremel tool. Took about 5 minutes total.

There is definitely a difference - I would say they are almost as bright as high beams, but don't "reach" out as far. Good mod!


Mine came in today, $9.99 each made in Japan (Toshiba). Will get them put in this weekend. Guess I'll figure out the "trimming" thing.
 
High beam HIRs, 9011, came stock in the Avalanche, Viper and a few more. They are available from the GM dealer, Part #15094219. They are about 18.00 each. I didn't see that anyone had posted that yet but I may have missed it.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom