Here I am

2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission upgrading headlights

Attention: TDR Forum Junkies
To the point: Click this link and check out the Front Page News story(ies) where we are tracking the introduction of the 2025 Ram HD trucks.

Thanks, TDR Staff
Status
Not open for further replies.
I have a 98 and I want to upgrade the headlights. what are your idea's. are there any upgraded harnesses available. I have the standard lights not the sport lights. Just need better lighting the stock ones suck!



thanks... .
 
Have you tried other bulbs?

I am using a Hyper white 85w/100w and I think they are much better than the stock ones. I got them on ebay... just do a search for 9004. That is the bulb type.

For the really dark nights i have a set of KC's that are 135 watt and 385,000 CP... . I think that's why they call em daylighters! :D
 
I tried some replacement bulbs from catz,while the catz fog lights were great the headlights were no better than stock. i'll check on ebay for the lights you got.
 
:eek:WATCH OUT :eek: By changing the bulb you are looking for trouble. The stock 16ga wire will not handle the wattage that it has. Never the less there is a fix for this. Thanks to the TDR.



Daniel Stern Lighting (Daniel J. Stern, Proprietor)



In many cases, the thin factory wires are inadequate even for the stock headlamp equipment. Headlamp bulb light output is severely compromised with decreased voltage. For example, normal engine-running voltage in a "12-volt" automotive electrical system is around 13. 5 volts. At this voltage, halogen headlamp bulbs achieve 100 percent of their design luminous output. When operating voltage drops to 95 percent (12. 825v), headlamp bulbs produce only 83 percent of their rated light output. When voltage drops to 90 percent (12. 15v), bulb output is only 67 percent of what it should be. And when voltage drops to 85 percent (11. 475v), bulb output is a paltry 53 percent of normal! [Source: Hella KG Hueck AG, Germany]. It is much more common than you might think for factory headlamp wiring/switch setups to produce this kind of voltage drop, especially once they're no longer brand new and the connections have accumulated some corrosion and dirt.



Copyright ©2002 Daniel J. Stern. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form without express permission of author. Permission to quote is granted for the purposes of communication with the author.



There are many unsafe, illegal and noncompliant products on the

market, .



This is the place to go for information and help on automotive lighting.

:eek: :eek:

http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/relays/relays.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I went to the silver star's and the geno's Brite Box. But that is not the problem. It is in the wireing. Please read the above. Dan stern lighting.
 
rfcom,



There are a lot of people here using the Silver Stars and most seem to like them. I am not convinced. After reading a lot of research about different approaches to bulbs, especially the blue ones that are supposed to mimic HID ligts, and finding most are just gimmicks, I am leary of blue colored bulbs. Silver Stars have a blue tint. :rolleyes: However, I haven't tried them myself, so this is just my 2-cent opinion. The info on Danial Sterns site is good reading. Rallylights.com also has good reading. This link has a nice little article about some tests done on various bulbs with surprising results.



Personally, I'm sticking with good quality halogen bulbs in the higher wattages.



Fortunately most of these bulbs won't break the bank so if you're not satisified, it's not a major investment to replace them.



Do some reading and go with what you like.



-Jay
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hey overfueled-- I have the BriteBox too, but I recall that they recommend using stock lamps (or something to that effect. ) Are the SilverStars compatible with the BrightBox? How long have you had this set up going on your rig? BTW- I think that with stock lights, the BriteBox makes a great improvement to the headlamps.
 
fkovalski I have only had the brite box on for about three months. The company does recommend the use of the silver star bulbs with it. But if you talk to the "experts" like Dan Sterns and others he will tell you that you are compromising the wiring because of the amp load over the distance the electricity has to go with this type of bulbs and a 16Ga wire. In other words you could have a headlight wire meltdown, or even a fire with that setup. The stock wiring can barely handle the load in itself. I have now started to change out all of the headlight wires to 12Ga. Including the 9004 and 9007 sockets. I have also Incorporated (4) double relays one circuit for each filament, and if I want I will be able to run any number of filament's with each setting of high and low beam. Along with my fog lights I will now be able to have them come on with the high beams if I want. OverFueled
 
Jay that is good advise. That is what I like about the TDR, the reading, to understand, and find knowledge. But at times one has to be wise in the things he/she learns. Going with a higher wattage bulb will not help if the load can not be carried by the wire. You will lose more than you are trying to gain.





Do some reading and go with what you like.



-Jay





PS that is what got me into this mess "reading"





OverFueled
 
I have set of the 100/85 bulbs in my truck but I also installed the 9004 wiring harness from APC.



This will use the factory wires as a trigger only.

The harness connects directly to one of the batteries and has its own relay set up.



This has worked very well for me.

The only thing I would replace it with is if I convert to an HID set up. You can get an HID set for under $400 now.



Bill
 
For trucks south of the 49th, it may be fine to just add relays and a new wiring harness and use the stock wiring to trigger them. Canadian spec. trucks have a DRL module which puts out 50% power to the high beams by turning them on and off really fast. (not sure of the actual frequency, but it would be in 100s of Hz)You cannot use this to trigger a relay. If the stock wiring causes too much of a voltage drop, then putting in higher wattage bulbs will only make matters worse. The easiest way to get more light is to install bulbs with the same power rating, but more efficient, thus more light.

Jim
 
Thats funny. Thanks for the light test link. I bought the piaas and didnt think they helped so I pulled them out. They have been in my garage for several years collecting dust. Not money well spent. Ive been thinking about converting to hid. I burnt one of the headlamp housings up so the bulb will no longer fit inside properly. So i have one good light. And to say those two words together when speaking of the ram is an oxymoron. I have fantastic vision otherwise it would be completely undrivable at night. No one else dares.
 
I was looking in the big green "bible" (service manual) last night regarding the headlight system and noticed that while the hot side to the bulbs is 16 ga wire, it appears the grounds are 20! That's nuts! I'm going to pull one of the plugs on mine and double check.



-Jay
 
rfcom

Your right. But this can easily be over come if you want to use the highbeam circuit to trigger relays on the CDN trucks. There is a small prple/grey? wire at the DLR module that is used to run the High beam indicator light that can be used to trig the relays. This works fine as I used it on my Sport Conversion. Just some info, Cheers.
 
SUV lights.com

Check out Suvlights.com

they have headlight wiring harness' already made up .

Simple un plug and plug in.

They use heavy wire directly from the battery to H-D relay's.

This gets the most voltage to the bulb.

I think they can wire the harness' to fit your needs as well.

As in both High and low beams on during high beam operation.

(not good if using high wattage bulbs)

Great for std. watage bulbs.



Or just save your bucks and do the sport conversion.

see importvision.com for the lights 210. 00 with bulbs!



SFB:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top