2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Sport Light Conversion...Again

[C.MILLER]

I bought the lights made by Depo, and have tried several searches to try an get a wiring diagram. Could someone please PM me a good wiring schematic for the conversion. Also, the lights come with two 9004 bulbs (inner/outer) and use the stock socket & bulb for the parking/blinker lights. Does this sound right? In some of the previous posts it seems that some are using both a 9004 & 9007 bulb (inner/outer. ) Any more info would be appreciated.



TIA,

Chris

 

[Thomas]

OEM Sport lamps have 9007 outboard and 9004 inboard. I have the non-OEM Sport lamps mentioned in this thread, likely the same as you purchased. I would be surprised if 9004 bulbs would fit in the outboard sockets.

 

[C.MILLER]

Thomas,



You're right. I double checked the #'s and have 9007 outboard and 9004 inboard. Thanks for the heads-up!!

 

[Thomas]

A source for bulb sockets and plugs (female and male) is SUV lights . Be aware that 9004 & 9007 use the same socket but are wired differently. Some harnesses are also available at SUV lights.



Relays are available many places. I used relays and sockets from Wrangler NW Power Products. and made up my own harness. My harness plugs into the factory harness at the left headlamp, is fed into a project box with fuses and relays, and then back to the Sport lamps and my PIAA 60XT driving lamps.

 

[Un-Hemi]

I'm part-way through a sport-light conversion on my '99 truck using a wiring harness out of a factory fog light kit (which is available separately). The fog light harness includes a fuse, relay, and convoluted tubing. It was surplus to me because my truck had most of the fog light wiring already installed, except for the relay and harness behind the front bumper. I'm still waiting for some small parts to come in so I can complete the project, and as soon as I can verify that it works properly, I'll post complete information.



BTW, the harness is cheap, and can be used to add aftermarket fogs and driving lights also!



In the meantime, in order for the present headlight wiring to work with the 9007 bulbs, the A and B wires in the back of the existing headlight sockets must be swapped. The A terminal is the one on the driver's side of the headlight socket, when it is in its normal position. The B terminal is the center one. The terminal retainer must be carefully pried off the back of the socket to make this change. The C terminal (the passenger's side of the socket) is not changed. Thanks to redneckdr for this information!



Tom

 

[C.MILLER]

Thanks for the info so far... . Right now I'm waiting for an e-mail on the wiring diagram. One last question though... How do I adjust the beam pattern properly after the conversion (how high off the ground, left/right)?? Thanks again!!

 

[JGK]

Comparison between sport and non-sport on low beam?

The conversion to the sport headlights certainly seems to be a popular BOMB, one which I'm considering once the Christmas VISA is paid off! But I have a specific question about the two on low-beam.



Both the standard and sport lamps use the 9004 bulb on low beam, right? So, for those of you that have done the conversion, have you found that the sport version is a significant improvement over the non-sports on low? Presumably the housing is a better design. Can you describe the improvements? Better coverage? More light, perhaps due to the heavier wiring normally used, and improved housing design?



Certainly having another set of bulbs on when using hi-beams has to be better. But most of my night driving is around town on lows.



On a side note, reading some of the links in Daniel Stern Lighting at this address is quite interesting, particularly the "Bulb Descriptions and Ratings" table (note the first entry about 9004's). But I guess the sports are pretty good at making a "silk purse out of a sow's ear".



So can any one shed some light on my questions?



TIA,

-Jay

 

[jbone]

Guys, I did this bomb about six months ago and the light difference is Grrrrreat..... I used two of the after market wiring kits, with relays and direct connetion to batteries (takes all that amperage off the headlight switch)... . One note both 9004 and 9007 bulbs have low beams and they are both ON--same with high beams---some people have problem at night, but if they are adjusted right not many complain---and besides they like my Hi-beams even less!!!! R, J. B.

 

[redneckdr]

wiring the Sport lights

Chris--and any other folks with non Canadian trucks--PM me with your e-mail address and year of your truck. i have the instructions for the wiring upgrade ready to send out. too big to send as a PM. this wiring scheme allows you to use relays and heavier wire, with up to 3 filaments on each side on high. to add the 4th filament (normal "low beam" filament) in the 9007's requires a bit more wiring, but can be done.

and no, the 9007's and 9004's can't be interchanged--at least not without a lot of work. the internal wiring of the bulbs is different, and the locking tabs are also different, so if you wired the sockets properly you couldn't lock the bulb in the socket on whichever socket you had changed the wiring pattern on.

 

[Un-Hemi]

Jay, the sport headlight uses 9007s in the outer positions as a low/high beam lamp. 9004s are used as the inner high-beam only lamp, using only the high beam filament. The non-sport headlamp uses a single 9004, as you know.



Thomas, nice job on the relay box. Looks professional.



Redneckdr... ... Huh? I'm confused. After I changed the positions of the A and B wires on the non-sport headlight socket in my truck, I plugged it directly and without difficulty onto the 9007 lamp in one of my sport headlight assemblies. In other words, the electrical sockets for the 9004 and 9007 lamps are the same, just the connections are different. I think what you meant to say was that the 9004 and 9007 lamps cannot be swapped in the sport headlight housing, because of differing lamp indexing tabs, and a 9007 lamp can't be used in the non-sport housing for the same reason.



I suggest that if anyone chooses to run the 9004s on low beam, they at least put a switch on that circuit so they can be turned off when traffic is approaching. The 9004's reflector was never designed to direct light on low beam, and its use into oncoming traffic rates right down there with the stupid overuse of 'town' lights, 'fog' lights, 'driving' lights, 'auxilliary' lights, and/or high beam headlights.



Just because nobody flashes you doesn't mean that your lights aren't annoying or dangerous. It used to be that drivers in general had a good education in highway courtesy and headlight operation. Nowadays (that really dates me!), many drivers seem to have a "pi** off, screw you, I can do anything I want, even if it blinds you" attitude, and couldn't care less about where their headlights are aimed either.



I've given up flashing these inconsiderates, partly because I can't tell whether they are really on high beam or not, and partly because, in these times, there is some risk of repraisal, and my ability to defend myself is severely limited by the gun laws and other statutes of the Land. But I digress.



I did flash a Dodge truck the other night; either he had his 'fogs' pointed at eye level, or they had been replaced by driving lights. He didn't bother to turn 'em out and I was quite blinded because of it.



Remember, the oncoming driver might be a TDR member, even if he's driving the family Dynasty! Please be courteous and dim those brights (and fogs, and towns, and drivers, and auxilliaries!)



Tom

 

[redneckdr]

9004's and 9007's

yeah tt, that's what i was trying to say. 9004 bulbs have the "A" pin as common, "B" as low beam, and "C" as high beam. 9007's have "A" as low beam, "B" is common, and "C" is high beam. the electrical sockets themselves are interchangeable but if you plug a 9007 bulb into a socket wired for 9004 it won't light correctly. the locking tabs for the light unit/clamp are different also, so the bulb won't plug into the light unit. i suppose you could grind off the tabs in the light units and then put in a 9007 bulb for a 9004 if you had rewired the electrical socket.

and yes, you're right about the reflectors on the inboard (9004) bulbs. weren't meant for low beam operation. "adjusting" the lights won't change the reflector patterning.

BTW, for any of you who would like to simply upgrade the wiring on your SLT with heavier wire, and a method to light both filaments on high, i have those instructions also. also, rear light rewire with aux backup lights and amber rear turns, DRL for USA trucks, and independent control of the fogs. PM me with your e-mail address and year of truck if you want a copy of any of these.

herb

 

[JGK]

TommyT & redneckdr,



So the sport lights "waste" the low-beam filament on the 9004 bulbs by only lighting the high-beam filament? I wonder if that was another of DC's brilliant (or in this case, a rather 'dim') ideas. I would certainly want to make use of that filament on low-beam, but as you both say, put it on a separate switch and use it responsibly.



Thanks for the clarification.



-Jay

 

[Un-Hemi]

That's correct, Jay!

 

[Thomas]

A difference in the Sport vs. non-Sport OEM wiring is the relay on the Sport in the inboard high-beam circuit, the only relay used for the headlights on model year 2000 (and likely similar) Rams. On the Sports the marginal-at-best OEM headlight switch is providing ground for two 65 watt filaments and the relay trigger coil as a worst case scenario. If D/C were to light the 9004 (inboard) filaments it would cost the bean counters another relay or subject the headlight switch to two 55 watt + two 45 watt filaments when on low beam.

 

[redneckdr]

9004's

but with the addition of only one wire, you can add the other filament in the 9004's to high beam. a 30 amp relay with 10-12 ga wire should handle this with only one high beam relay.

 

[C.MILLER]

Finished the conversion today. Thanks to redneckdr for all his help. The lights work great, and the improvement over the stock lights is amazing!! I used the Sylvania Silverstars for the bulbs (as I wanted more white light. ) Couldn't be happier.



Chris

 

[redneckdr]

Sport conversion

glad it worked for you, chris. GREAT BOMB!!! you'll continue to be amazed at how much more light you have at night. Oo.

 

[TowPro]

I have the factory sport, I may have to look into wiring the lights so both inner filiments are on during high beam.



I think I would have to wire in a relay that switches Both positive and Negitive to Both elements on the inner bulbs.



You say the headlight switch toggles negitive, and can't handle the load, but what about the positive side, can it handle the additional load of the 2 inside High Beam filaments if I just run a relay on the negitive side?

Originally posted by Thomas

A difference in the Sport vs. non-Sport OEM wiring is the relay on the Sport in the inboard high-beam circuit, the only relay used for the headlights on model year 2000 (and likely similar) Rams. On the Sports the marginal-at-best OEM headlight switch is providing ground for two 65 watt filaments and the relay trigger coil as a worst case scenario. If D/C were to light the 9004 (inboard) filaments it would cost the bean counters another relay or subject the headlight switch to two 55 watt + two 45 watt filaments when on low beam.

 

[redneckdr]

12v+

towpro, NO. your constant 12v+ supply wire to the headlight unit is 18 ga for cripes sake. better do a complete upgrade with heavier wire all the way!!

 

[Thomas]

TowPro, The OEM configuration has no low beam filaments lit when on high beams. The BriteBox sold by Geno's turns on the 9007 (outboard) low beam filaments when high beams are selected. You can see what this looks like by pulling and holding the beam select switch.



The 9004 (inboard) low beam filaments are not used, and likely not wired, from the factory.



All other headlamp filaments have one side always hooked to +12 v. and only need a ground on the second side to light. The headlamp switch provides the path to ground for the 9007 filaments—either high or low—while the relay provides a path to ground for the 9004 high-beam filament. There is no reason to switch the +12 v. Each 'pair' of filaments has its own 15 amp fuse in the PDC.



If you plan to light only a pair of low beam filaments with the high beams (like the BriteBox) I think the 9007's are the better choice. The reflector is designed to use these filaments and they are already hooked to a fused source of +12 v. All that is needed to light them with the high beams is a source of ground when you switch to high beams.



Ditto on larger wire!