New LED replacement headlights

[Blakers]

Who has replaced their original headlight housings with any of the new LED projector type headlights? I see a lot of them advertised on Amazon and other places and would like to get some first hand testimonials as to how well they work, and which ones.

I'm beginning a continuous 4 pm - midnight shift that takes me a 1.5 hour drive home through deer-infested backroads. I need better lights than the terrible OEM lights on my truck.

 

[Crunch]

I'm beginning a continuous 4 pm - midnight shift that takes me a 1.5 hour drive home through deer-infested backroads. I need better lights than the terrible OEM lights on my truck.

Last Fall I had a headlight burn out and looked at LED's, but they were more expensive than what I wanted to spend at the time and I had no experience with LED headlights. Instead, I opted for the mid-grade Sylvania headlights at Walmart, which were about $40. I forget the exact product number, but they were one step above the OEM version, and one step below the bright lights that are whiter. 100% improvement over the original OEM's that came with the truck. A bit whiter, and a lot more throw. Not sure how much of an improvement you are looking for, but I am happy with what I got, and probably wouldn't have liked the higher priced Sylvania lamps that were about $10 more. If you decide against LED's and go with halogens, just make sure you wear clean gloves and don't touch the glass when you install them. The oil on your hands and any dirt will kill them quick.

 

[mwilson]

I’m not a fan of these aftermarket LED or HID retrofits because the OEM headlight housings are not designed for it and they just splatter light everywhere except for where it should be focused.
I would upgrade the bulbs as mentioned above and possibly add a light bar in the bumper or something. Those throw an incredible amount of light.

A new LED headlight / turn sugnal unit for a Freightliner Cascadia is around $800.00 per side and they work properly. Truck lite designs and manufactures those for us both as a production item and an aftermarket refit. And the turn signal / park light / DRL bulb is still incandescent so that tells me that Trucklight is not able to make a suitable and / or affordable LED at this time.

Anything that costs way less is a cheap imitation and simply will not work properly from what I have seen so far.

 

[TMyers]

I agree with the Light Bar comment above. I did one on my truck. I got one of the cheap ones from eBay. It came with a 20" light bar, mounting brackets that clamp under the tow hooks and a wiring harness. It cost about $125 total and doesn't look bad tucked inside the bumper. It really lights up the night.

 

[Blakers]

If I replace the headlights I want to replace the whole housings as they have clouded very badly. There are many aftermarket housings available now, but who knows which (if any) are any good. What light bars are you guys using and are they street legal? Do they project way out or do they basically light up the nearer sides of the road? I used to run aircraft landing lights and am thinking of getting some of them, but they are not legal so you can't use them anywhere near populated areas.

 

[Blakers]

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...+dodge+ram+1500+projector+headlights&_sacat=0

 

[Wayne M.]

I need new units also, and I was just banging around on the net. Rock auto has OE MOPAR units at a bit over $200/per. They, and Geno's also have crash replacements for half that.
FWIW, I put crash replacements in my 98 Durango, and I'm more than happy with them.
A while back, a friend who had a 3gen put on a nice black thin tubular face bar that followed the contour of the bumper, attaches where the tow hooks are, had tabs where he mounted some nice 7" Hellas.

 

[jgillott]

Just for information. Dealer list on the OEM headlight assemblies are over $300 per side at this point. That Rock Auto price is a steal if they are indeed OEM Mopar parts.

 

[verk]

I too considered these LED replacement assemblies, but I could not find ones that seemed worthy of install. They seem more like disco balls, all show and little science about how much light and where it is placed. Never mind being DOT/NTSHA/relevant agency legal. The conclusion I came to is that is better to add supplemental LEDs or other to the bumper. In this way you also don't need to play the ridiculous game of installing resistors to keep the computer from throwing a code because of too little current.

 

[Wayne M.]

The OP don't have a sig, and don't specify which truck he has. Here's a screen shot. I'm really thinking about buying these. They don't list Mopar assemblies for later 3 gens.

 

[verk]

The OP don't have a sig, and don't specify which truck he has. Here's a screen shot. I'm really thinking about buying these. They don't list Mopar assemblies for later 3 gens.

So are these genuine Mopar, same as I would purchase from a dealer ?

 

[Wayne M.]

So are these genuine Mopar, same as I would purchase from a dealer ?

I've gotten Mopar items from Rock. I would have to say yes. The reaction here has me getting my credit card out.

 

[Crunch]

The new software doesn't seem to list the location of the posters anymore, but there is another factor to look at when considering LED headlights. The LED's run a lot cooler than halogens, so if you live in a region that sees a lot of snow and ice, the lamps in your headlights are less likely to melt it off than halogen lights.

 

[mwilson]

I've gotten Mopar items from Rock. I would have to say yes. The reaction here has me getting my credit card out.

Just looked these over, I believe that they are Mopar for sure.

Good deal right there.....

 

[verk]

Who has replaced their original headlight housings with any of the new LED projector type headlights? I see a lot of them advertised on Amazon and other places and would like to get some first hand testimonials as to how well they work, and which ones.

I'm beginning a continuous 4 pm - midnight shift that takes me a 1.5 hour drive home through deer-infested backroads. I need better lights than the terrible OEM lights on my truck.

Another thing that may have been overlooked in this thread is the "Fog Lights." It's not clear to me whether you have them. If you don't I think they are an easy way to get supplemental lighting. There was/is a kit to fit them and I wouldn't be surprised if you could buy the plastic frame that mounts them to bumper/fascia and then source the same size LED driving/spot/fog light to fit with the lumens that you desire.

 

[crispyboy]

Recently I did two things that really seemed to help the trucks headlights and am pretty happy with the outcome.
1. Sylvania Ultra bulbs in the headlights.
2. Took the time to properly adjust both the headlight and fog light assemblies.
I used the methods I found on a website for my Jeep Grand Cherokee but just adjusted the measurements in relation to the trucks dimensions. http://www.wjjeeps.com/lamps/headlamps.htm

 

[AnonEd]

Pal tried the LED conversion...found them better looking but lower performance than original. I too am not a fan of the aftermarket bulbs in OEM housings. The aftermarket has plenty of decent driving and fog lamps that more efficient than landing lights...my 55-watt halogen driving lights (8-amp draw)will light a stop sign at 1.61 miles but all the deer here hide around mountain bends. If you really can't decide, Rigid's adaptive light bar is $$ but it gives you a choice of light patterns...or does it automatically based on speed. Can't address legality unless you are in CA.

 

[Motorhead]

On my '07, 5.9, I opened up the fog light area after removing the 35 watt stockers. I built brackets and installed a NOS set of Perlux 200T louvered driving lights and instead of using either the 50 watt or 100 watt narrow beam sealed beams, I found a set of bulb type headlamps that fit inside. I equipped each lamp with a 130 watt halogen bulb. I set up a relay and a switch so they can stay on when my high beams on or I can leave the switch off and they will cancel when the high beams go on. Either way, the lamps are controlled by a cube load relay so the extra load isn't put through the TIPM.
Needless to say, I have GOOD lighting and don't get flashed too often

 

[Brooderman]

I just did!. Hey my first post too. I bought replacement housings/lenses from Amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013W0F6Z8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) $60.88 with free shipping and LED bulbs ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073ZCWTH8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) $38.99 since my old housings were so clouded I deemed them unsafe for night driving. They were so bad they were unsafe for daytime as well. :') . I'm still fine tuning the aiming of these, but the lights are super bright white, there's little fans on the back of each bulb to cool them (That may be a problem down the road - any fan wears out so I wouldn't be surprised to only get a couple of years out of them. Save an old bulb as a spare - just in case you need to change a bulb until you get replacement LED's. I'm sold - the truck looks better, works better and little more than a 100 bucks - very satisfying. I also replaced the fog lights too. Another $40 - fit was as solid as the oem and all those clear reflectors and lenses make my grill look dingy. So it's off to find a cheap plastic new grill to complete the look and some chrome polish for the bumper.

 

[ranger 393]

I put High beam bulbs in my fog lights, you have to trim one of the tabs on the bulb to fit into the housing a little but it does make a difference.