Replacement Sealed Beams For KC Lights

[peytonkristen]

I have some old 6" KC Daylighters on my 76 FJ40 that still have the old sealed beams (4048) in them and one is broken. KC no longer makes the sealed beams but there has to be other aftermarket bulbs that fit. I could do the upgrade to the lens and halogen bulbs but just don't want to spend the money to do that right now.

Since I hardly ever use them I just want to replace the one that is broken. Does anyone know of a replacement for these bulbs?

Thanks!

 

[Fast Eddy]

As I recall, they're the same as the smaller size car headlamp, but that's probably not what you want.

Post up in the wanted section. Someone has one for you.

I remember my brother had KC bulbs in the high-beams of his '68 Malibu and Cibie hi/low bulbs in the low-beam location.

 

[peytonkristen]

I have found a GE 4537, Aircraft Landing Lamp. I'm wondering if that would work? Anyone tried these?

 

[Fast Eddy]

I have found a GE 4537, Aircraft Landing Lamp. I'm wondering if that would work? Anyone tried these?

Cool. Those will work. They may be different than the original KC bulbs, but maybe not. They are used in lots of aircraft. In one place I found they had an average life of only 25 hours though.

Here's a picture I found of them mounted in a corvette:

 

[Mark W]

Generic 6 inch aircraft landing light. Napa caries them (GE) and stocks them. higher quality than most aftermarket driving lights and inexpensive. I use these and the 4 inch version all the time.


Edit: The once I have are long lived. I don't remember ever having one burn out, but I know that I get at least four or five years out of them, running them slaved to my high beams (I use them a LOT during Alaska winters).

Mark...

 

[MoCoNative]

Do you like the light pattern the landing light throws out Mark?

I've read a little on that bulb, I was interested in getting some cheap rubber tractor lights or the like and putting in the aircraft bulb. But some guys said it was a pretty narrow beam. Sounds like you are using your stock brights for side illum. and the aircraft beam for longer range.

 

[Fast Eddy]

They are certainly pretty narrow beams for slow wheeling. For a cheap solution that's great for slow wheeling, get a pair of Hella 500s and maybe upgrade the bulbs.

I wonder if some glued-on plastic lenses could divert some of the light off to the sides? My neighbor gave me a box of six of these KC lights.

 

[Kipper7]

Peytonkristen, I recently had a similar problem finding a KC 6" sealed beam fog lamp (4412A) after hitting a deer and breaking one out. I was finally able to locate one for about $15 at Atlanta Light Bulbs. Light bulbs, ballasts, LED lighting, light fixtures, lighting parts, and accessories | Atlanta Light Bulbs, Inc. Atlanta, GA
Hope this helps. Kip

 

[Mark W]

Do you like the light pattern the landing light throws out Mark?

I've read a little on that bulb, I was interested in getting some cheap rubber tractor lights or the like and putting in the aircraft bulb. But some guys said it was a pretty narrow beam. Sounds like you are using your stock brights for side illum. and the aircraft beam for longer range.

Driving lights (or Landing lights) are for road use. ( Or open country trails) In that use the beam is not at all overly narrow, and the incidental side scatter throws more illumination to the shoulders than the regular headlights do (low or high beam).

For tight trails, I hate this type of lighting. The "hot spot" draws your eyes and degrades your ability to see off to the edges.

I am not a fan of the cheap 35 watt "tractor lights". pretty dim and yellow. But some decent flood lights like used on skid steers and similar equipment work GREAT in tight treed trails for lighting up everything evenly.


Mark...

 

[MoCoNative]

I know what you mean about the cheap tractor lights, I meant buying one for the housing and replaceing the PAR 36 bulb with the aircraft bulb.

Thanks for the input on the pattern and light scatter. I don't have alot of trails, but I drive alot of wide open gravel roads around here in open sage country, seeing way down the road is pretty important.