2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 4th Gen Cab Light Mod on 2nd (or 3rd gen)

[Shelby Griggs]

I know a lot of members have wanted to or have done a cab light mod to get rid of the stock amber lights. One popular mod has been replacing with clear lens/amber LED assemblies from RECON. I did that mod, in fact twice, once with their 2nd gen lights and once with there 3rd gen lights. IMHO, the RECON lights are junk, they ALL leaked water due to the design, they also just plug into the female 194 socket and that has been problematic on my truck too as they tend to come loose. I am VERY GLAD now as explained below that I didn't cut my OEM sockets off and direct wire the RECON lamps.



Anyway, when the 4th gen pictures started showing up, I saw that they come from the factory with "clear" lenses, bingo, looks like a good mod for older trucks. I looked at a 4th gen a couple of weeks ago and decided that I would order ONE lens and see if it would work, was a special order and I had to pay up front, didn't want five of those sitting around if it didn't work, LOL.



The lens arrived and includes the rubber seal and screws, a complete assembly minus a bulb. The lens is a clear translucent color, not crystal clear and not what I would call smoked either. Best I can tell this lens is the same size and shape as the later 2nd gen trucks all the way to the 4th gen. There was a design change someplace (I think during 3rd gen production) that placed the screws front and back instead of on the sides like my 2001 came with. I had already drilled the small front-back holes when installing the 3rd gen RECON assemblies, so the new 4th gen clear lens will bolt right up. The bulb socket is the same as my 2001, no issues there, essentially a plug and play mod for all 2nd and 3rd gen trucks with the exception of the mounting holes if your truck didn't come with the front-rear mounting screw configuration.



I don't believe the 4th gen trucks come with a LED inside, instead I am about 99% sure it is a 194NA (amber) bulb.



Wanting LED's I source a LED to complete the look.



So, here is what you need:



(5) clear lenses (Dodge PN 55372929AB) MSRP $18. 35 each

(5) LED lamps, I am using WLED-AHP5 from superbrightleds.com at @5. 95 each + S&H of $5 for a total of $35.



I have a request for a quote into moparpartsamerica.com for a price quote on the lenses, for the stock 2nd gen lamps they have a 33% discount from stock which is around their stock discount price on most items and they have a minimum S&H of $9. 95 for orders under $100. So doing the math, the total for the lenses from them is going to be about $71



Total mod cost for clear lenses and amber LED's should be around $106. The RECON kit was $85 with S&H, so this mod will be about $21 more, BUT should be superior in all ways. My cost will be slightly higher because I initially bought everything locally paying full MSRP, but of course I didn't have to gamble with 5X everything that might not work either, LOL. Of course I had factory cab lights, so if you don't then there is wiring and lamp sockets, etc. to figure out, but if you want an updated look and have factory cab lights this is the BOMB.



SHG



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[SRath]

I looked into LED's, too, for my '96. Having already experienced aftermarket (chinese) LEDs that are largely junk, I sourced an entire cab light from the heavy truck parts house across the street from our truck terminal. It is amber, and about the same size and shape as my '96 lights and is a totally sealed and waterproof assembly for a semi. The doggone screw holes are just a tiny bit (1/8" to 1/4") farther apart or I would not need to even drill new holes. They are almost too close together to drill new holes, in fact. I will need to cut my old bulb sockets off, too, but it will be worth it. I only bought one to check for fit, and cannot recall the price, but it was definitely under $20 and I should never need new ones or suffer headlight switch meltdown from the roof lights again.

 

[Shelby Griggs]

I agree that most if not all of the after market LED lights are cheap Chinese junk, I would say that I have had decent success using LED products from superbrightleds.com, they don't sell assemblies, just bulbs and so far so good, however I think they probably come from China too. The 2010 cab light lenses are of course OEM Chrysler, made in Mexico, but the design is pretty decent, I think the combination will work great and is pretty much what I have been looking for a number of years.



I have also had decent luck with LED front turn signal replacement bulbs from heavy-dutylighting.com, not as good of luck with some of their 2" marker lights, again all imported from China, I am not sure there are any LED lamps made in the USA anymore?



SHG