The stock headlights on my 2000 Ram are horrible. Maybe it's cause the truck is lifted a little, but they barely light up the road at all and I've already adjusted them so they point down about like there were prior to the lift and tires. Any ideas?
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2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission stock headlights suck, anything I can do?
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Do the Sport conversion. One of the best mods you will make. Jim <><
I installed a relay to take the current load of the lights off the light switch. That helps quite a bit. I also used a relay for a home made bright box. 100 watt running lights are also on with the high beams. I have no trouble seeing where I'm going on the dark Humbolt County roads around here.
Strange you should bring this up... . :-laf
Just yesterday I finished my own Sportlight install on my '02 - the stock lights weren't bad, just not nearly as good as what is now commonly used.
The lights themselves are DEPOT brand, and I bought the Dan Stern relay/lighting kit. The lights are great - but some of the components in the Stern kit SUCKED big time!
Main poor point in the lighting kit was EXTREMELY poor cable end fasteners - not NEARLY big enough to accept the wire sizes suggested in the kit - and only BARELY big enough for the wire sizes supplied with the various socket pigtails furnished - all that was bad enough in itself - but the connectors themselves would NOT accept soldering to reinforce the inevitable poor connections!
Added to that, was that the instructions available from the Stern website includes no manufacturer color code for the new bulbs, so testing must be done by the user to determine which leads are common, hi beam and low beam - and the 2 light bulb types in each new headlight assembly each have different connections for their hi/low circuit.
This leaves the user with a VERY poor and weak installation that simply BEGS for a rough road to vibrate stuff loose and leave you in the dark out along some lonely road...
And finally, when I *did* get stuff all together, those same connectors would NOT seat properly inside their provided sockets for a normal relay plug-in installation, and instead, I ended up having to simply plug connectors DIRECTLY to the relays, with no proper way to securely mount them - that's the part I will be adapting and finishing up today...
ALL in all, it will take me over a full day to properly adapt/complete a job that SHOULD have taken less than HALF that time - and I'm no stranger to electronics/mechanics!
The physical/mechanical part of the swap will (usually) require loosening the 10 bolts or so that hold the bumper in place - my lights were still VERY hard to remove/install even after that, but a total bumper removal is a pain.
The biggest single hardship in the headlight removal/install without complete bumper removal, is that damn stud on the backside of the lights that is secured by a push-on retainer that has NO easy way to remove, and then hangs up and scratches the hell out of whatever it drags upon as you literally have to FORCE it on out past the bumper once you DO get that push-on fastener loose.
On mine, at least for the new replacement lights, I totally removed that offending stud - I'm certain it performs very little usefulness as far as securing the light assembly in place, and more likely was just an assembly line assist to hold the light in place until later assembly completed the bolt-in process.
At any rate, my lights are as physically secure without that stud as it was with it in place - and it will also make any possible future headlight/bulb servicing FAR easier and faster.
Bottom line is, for me at least, you'd likely be FAR better off to use one of the aftermarket complete wiring kits with all the harness provided, than working with the Daniel Stern "wire-it-yourself" kit.
Bottom line, would I still do it if I had known what a pain it would be ahead of time? Dunno - I sure do appreciate the better lighting - but I sure do hate untidy, sloppy and poor installations that potentially do as much harm as good - and if you are like me, use the above info wisely...
Just yesterday I finished my own Sportlight install on my '02 - the stock lights weren't bad, just not nearly as good as what is now commonly used.
The lights themselves are DEPOT brand, and I bought the Dan Stern relay/lighting kit. The lights are great - but some of the components in the Stern kit SUCKED big time!
Main poor point in the lighting kit was EXTREMELY poor cable end fasteners - not NEARLY big enough to accept the wire sizes suggested in the kit - and only BARELY big enough for the wire sizes supplied with the various socket pigtails furnished - all that was bad enough in itself - but the connectors themselves would NOT accept soldering to reinforce the inevitable poor connections!
Added to that, was that the instructions available from the Stern website includes no manufacturer color code for the new bulbs, so testing must be done by the user to determine which leads are common, hi beam and low beam - and the 2 light bulb types in each new headlight assembly each have different connections for their hi/low circuit.
This leaves the user with a VERY poor and weak installation that simply BEGS for a rough road to vibrate stuff loose and leave you in the dark out along some lonely road...
And finally, when I *did* get stuff all together, those same connectors would NOT seat properly inside their provided sockets for a normal relay plug-in installation, and instead, I ended up having to simply plug connectors DIRECTLY to the relays, with no proper way to securely mount them - that's the part I will be adapting and finishing up today...
ALL in all, it will take me over a full day to properly adapt/complete a job that SHOULD have taken less than HALF that time - and I'm no stranger to electronics/mechanics!
The physical/mechanical part of the swap will (usually) require loosening the 10 bolts or so that hold the bumper in place - my lights were still VERY hard to remove/install even after that, but a total bumper removal is a pain.
The biggest single hardship in the headlight removal/install without complete bumper removal, is that damn stud on the backside of the lights that is secured by a push-on retainer that has NO easy way to remove, and then hangs up and scratches the hell out of whatever it drags upon as you literally have to FORCE it on out past the bumper once you DO get that push-on fastener loose.
On mine, at least for the new replacement lights, I totally removed that offending stud - I'm certain it performs very little usefulness as far as securing the light assembly in place, and more likely was just an assembly line assist to hold the light in place until later assembly completed the bolt-in process.
At any rate, my lights are as physically secure without that stud as it was with it in place - and it will also make any possible future headlight/bulb servicing FAR easier and faster.
Bottom line is, for me at least, you'd likely be FAR better off to use one of the aftermarket complete wiring kits with all the harness provided, than working with the Daniel Stern "wire-it-yourself" kit.
Bottom line, would I still do it if I had known what a pain it would be ahead of time? Dunno - I sure do appreciate the better lighting - but I sure do hate untidy, sloppy and poor installations that potentially do as much harm as good - and if you are like me, use the above info wisely...
Dog gone, and I thought I was being wimpy after I actually saw my DS kit and went with the bright box. Okay, I WAS being wimpy, I did not realize all the shortcomings you've found. Wiring not being my strong point, I just didn't want to do it. Thanks for the first hand report.
The Sportlight swap IS worth the $$$ and effort - just consider going with a completely pre-wired adapter kit rather than a Stern "do-it-yourself" wiring kit - unless you actually LIKE self abuse, and are pretty good at figuring out wiring...
After spending this morning again removing my driver side battery and tray, and installing a relay mounting adapter bracket - and cleaning/gathering up the wiring into decent bundles, here's what I ended up with:
#ad
#ad
It'll do - and all the relay terminals are out in the clear, easy for future inspection and service if need be.
After spending this morning again removing my driver side battery and tray, and installing a relay mounting adapter bracket - and cleaning/gathering up the wiring into decent bundles, here's what I ended up with:
#ad#adIt'll do - and all the relay terminals are out in the clear, easy for future inspection and service if need be.
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Thomas said:And short circuits too
If you could see down into the cavity where all that is located after the battery and tray are installed, in between the front of the battery and behind the front bulkhead, you would perhaps be as unconcerned over the remote possibility of short circuits as I am.
But certainly, if I *was* concerned about potential shorts, blocking strips could be installed between terminals, and a cover fabricated for the assembly - but odds of any problems in that area are in my opinion, pretty remote - besides all that, I HATE crimp-on connectors, I've had to redo too many over time due to corrosion, and in this case, since I had no options at the time, leaving the connections as they are might actually be a plus...
fact is, those terminals are far LESS in the open and exposed to potential shorts than are the battery terminals themselves under the hood - and I don't see much concern over those...
But as I also said, I'm NOT at all impressed with the "quality" and thoughtfulness that went into the Stern wiring kit - what I ended up doing on mine to make it work should NOT have been necessary! And THAT was the point of my comments here - not the "excellence" of the work-around I ended up with...
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While I did not use Daniel Stern's harness or any other hardware he may have offered (its been about 3 or 4 years since I did mine), in his defense, he has a great deal of really good information on his web site (danielsternlighting.com) and I did use his wiring diagrams as the basis for my system. But I bought the relays and bases, connectors, etc. via mail order from other sources and purchased the wiring locally. I used 10, 12 and 14 gauge wire as needed and soldered all connections. I mounted my relays up in the corners of the engine bay near where the hood hinges mount to the truck body.
I use 80/100 watt Hella halogen bulbs in OEM headlight housings. Everything works great other than an occasional loose relay. But building and intalling my own harness took a full weekend!
-Jay
I use 80/100 watt Hella halogen bulbs in OEM headlight housings. Everything works great other than an occasional loose relay. But building and intalling my own harness took a full weekend!
-Jay
JR2,
Converting to those projector headlights is a time consuming process. He started early on mine by making up a harness ahead of time by copying his. But when he got to mine he had to do it all over again because mine is a 97 and his is a 00-01. So a whole day and a half wasted. All in all, it took 4 days for him to do mine because of the harnesses. So that being said, right now he is only doing people in Alaska. So he closed his web site down for now. Besides, not many people want to spend that much money. But those headlights are awesome!!!!! Well worth the money. He is thinking about getting a trailer and making into a work shop with his tools and stuff in it. Then when he goes out for the winter he can do peoples in the states. I don't know if he told you but, I might be getting a position in a new unit there in Elmendorf and if so we can get the group up and interested again. Our friend has done most of the things to his truck that I've though of and wanted to do for years.
WD
Converting to those projector headlights is a time consuming process. He started early on mine by making up a harness ahead of time by copying his. But when he got to mine he had to do it all over again because mine is a 97 and his is a 00-01. So a whole day and a half wasted. All in all, it took 4 days for him to do mine because of the harnesses. So that being said, right now he is only doing people in Alaska. So he closed his web site down for now. Besides, not many people want to spend that much money. But those headlights are awesome!!!!! Well worth the money. He is thinking about getting a trailer and making into a work shop with his tools and stuff in it. Then when he goes out for the winter he can do peoples in the states. I don't know if he told you but, I might be getting a position in a new unit there in Elmendorf and if so we can get the group up and interested again. Our friend has done most of the things to his truck that I've though of and wanted to do for years.
WD
Wow!! Gotta say I could get nervous 'bout all those blade connectors talking to each other - BUT go to www.mouser.com and you can order the BLANK plastic plugs for the ISO relays (just like the real folks-OEM use) you can slide those blade QD's into the appropriate slots, lock 'em and even tape the backside (or liquid 'lectric tape) and plug into the relays. There's no way they could short any sooner that the factory harness!!
Bosch micro relays, sockets, and terminals are on page 54 of the download from here: http://www.wranglernw.com/t-download. aspx
Here they are controlling my forward lighting.
Here they are controlling my forward lighting.
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Issue 128 – Digital Version
Digital Magazines
FREE!
TDR Test Drive - Digital Edition
Renew
Subscribe
Gift Subscriptions
Back Issues
Subscription Status
Address Change Form
Buyer's Guides
Ram Diagnostic Trouble Codes
The Perfect Collection
The Perfect Collection Vol. II
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Dodge/Cummins Historical Overview
Cameron Collection
What Makes Us Tick?
Product Showcase
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