Guide: 90-94 Celica Sealed Beam to H4

**Marc205** · 02-12-2006, 12:40 AM

It's a really straight forward conversion that lots of people have been doing, but I found the research involved a fair bit of stuffing around. The 1989 through 1994 Celicas used H6054 sealed beams (200mm x 142mm, 65/35W). The following conversion kits are readily available (prices current as at time of posting):

Hella 1043
RRP:$190
Expect to Pay: $105
These are what I ended up going with. They're expensive, but the optics are really good - very crisp and bright beam. Came with an ADR notice, so no trouble down the track. Kit is for one light only and doesn't include the bulb.
Raybrig FH06
Price: Seems to be around $120 per light
If anyone has any detailed information, I'd love to add it. FH06 price includes the bulb, although I don't know if it's been discontinued.
Narva 72086
RRP: $36
Expect to Pay: $19
Cheaper alternative. Kit is for one light only, no bulb.
Redstone I940
RRP: $53
Expect to Pay: $29
Kit is for one light only, no bulb.

To perform the swap, it's simply a matter of removing the black plastic shroud around the light (3 screws on my ST185), removing the metal retainer (4 screws) and pulling the light forward. It can be easier to remove the shrouds if you pull off the trim above the bumper, but it doesn't seem necessary. Be aware that you will drop the screws from the retainer down into the body work (they don't seem to grip a magnetic screwdriver well), they will land on the sump cowling and you won't find them again unless you're working on clean, sealed concrete, and don't mind removing parts of the underbody to look.

I'm trialing a set of 100/50W H4s at the moment (Phillips P43T) and they're a marked improvement over the old sealed beams. They run warm on high beam, but not to the point of cooking the paintwork or trim, and the fuses and wiring seems to be in no danger yet. The Hella units come with a built in parking light, but the included leads can be removed easily enough.

I'm planning to do a HID swap in the near future, so I'll update on how that works out. I can organise photos if required, but it seemed straight forward.

Edit: Don't forget to align the lights.
Edit: Updated year range.

**Bahnugget** · 02-12-2006, 03:51 PM

st165/st162 are semi-sealed H4's... so its not from 86 onwards? must be 89/90 onwards

at least thats from what i've seen, my 87 st162 is h4.

weird.

**AndyTTR** · 02-12-2006, 09:00 PM

yeah, i've not heard of a ST162 with sealed beams either.

**tooch** · 03-12-2006, 01:17 PM

I used a set of the cheap 'crystal clear' ones from ebay, with a set of BJ Union (japanese) 6200k (I think?!) globes, it's a huge difference both in the look of the car with the lights up, and the massive improvement in vision

**Marc205** · 03-12-2006, 04:03 PM

Righto - I've removed the ST162 references. I came across a remark that said they were the same on another message board - I never had to replace the globes on my 162s. I wonder why toyota went sealed beam - it seems silly to try to save costs on headlights like that.

**Bahnugget** · 03-12-2006, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by Marc205

Righto - I've removed the ST162 references. I came across a remark that said they were the same on another message board - I never had to replace the globes on my 162s. I wonder why toyota went sealed beam - it seems silly to try to save costs on headlights like that.

yeah they kinda broke celicas after the 162's