Bulbs. 886 vs H889, 12V27W ?

[Guest wally888]

Wondering use for H889, 12 V27W? I found 8 new ones.

[NCReatta]

Wondering use for H889, 12 V27W? I found 8 new ones.

Pretty sure thats the fog light bulb..

[Barney Eaton]

There are three criteria that I can find on the numbering of that style of halogen bulb.

(1) is the connector straight or 90 degrees

(2) wattage, there is 27w, 37.5w and 50w and maybe others

(3) the tip is black.......this was used for fog light applications.

Example. A 90 degree clear (no black tip) is either a 894 = 37.5w or 889 = 27w

I don't have space or time to type all the variations at this time but I have found a total of 11 different bulb numbers that will at least plug into the fog light.

[Guest wally888]

These are 90*, clear (no black tip) and 27W. Can be used for fog lights?

[Barney Eaton]

Sure........

and they will appear to have a slightly different pattern since there is no black tip.

[wws944]

Reatta fog lights are supposed to have 881 bulbs, not 886 or 889. Both 881 and 889 are 27 watt bulbs, and 886 is a 50 watt bulb. The 881 is intended for fog lights. The 886 and 889 are intended for "driving" lights. All three have 90 degree bases.

Black tips are typically used in low beam applications where all the light must be properly focused by bouncing it off the reflector. This helps avoid glaring on-coming drivers by avoiding unfocused light being emitted from the front of the bulb. The 881 has a black tip, the 886 and 889 do not.

Edited October 14, 2011 by wws944 (see edit history)

[Barney Eaton]

Wally did not ask if I would use them........ he ask "These are 90*, clear (no black tip) and 27W. Can be used for fog lights?"

I have found conflicting documentation in Sylvania, GE, and other catalogs.

Example, 881 bulb is listed at 27w one place and 32w another, both with black tips.

[wws944]

Well, the answer depends whether one considers fog lights a fashion accessory or a tool to get through inclement driving conditions.

Proper fog lights are designed to emit little or no light above horizontal. Any light above this could be reflected off the fog back into the drivers eyes causing 'back dazzle'. I would imagine that most people who have driven in dense fog (or heavy rain or snow) have tried turning on their brights once. Then immediately turned them back to low-beam due to this back dazzle. Same deal here. If someone were to use a bulb without the black tip, unfocused light could easily be emitted from the front of the bulb upwards - contributing to back dazzle.

Now how noticeable is this? It is certainly measurable. And if I were stuck driving my Reatta through Californias infamous Central Valley tule fog or the fog along the Pacific coast (both areas just 30-50 miles from me), I'd want as little back dazzle from my lights as possible. Same with driving up in the mountains during a snow storm.