Headlights suck...

Does it have spark? And other questions...

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Headlights suck...

Postby 2001shrtbedcummins » Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:01 pm

anybody got any ideas on upgrades?
91 D250 smoke screw turned a little... trying to figure out how to get my big @$$ hands in there and crank up the fuel screw a hair.
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Postby 2muchtq » Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:40 pm

Uncle replaced his with silverstar lights. Seemed to help TONS. Not only did it brighten the road ahead.... but the cast to the side was improved a bunch.
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Postby 2001shrtbedcummins » Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:46 pm

Okay...I was thinking about silverstars. I knew they helped my dad's 2001 with the side lighting...thats some of what I'm looking for as well. But I need some more light everywhere. One of the bulbs are very dim so I'm gonna replace here soon
91 D250 smoke screw turned a little... trying to figure out how to get my big @$$ hands in there and crank up the fuel screw a hair.
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Postby Philip » Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:03 pm

Check the body ground coming off the negative terminal of the battery. It has paint under it from the factory. Pull it off and sand the paint off and reconnect the wire. Then see if the lights improve.

I use a set of halgons and they give me more than enough light.
93 W350 Club/cab w/duals, buckets & console, B&W flatbed, G56, 6 spd, 3:07 rears, gages, HX40/16, 4" exhaust, 6X.018 sticks, rear air ride suspension
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Postby 2001shrtbedcummins » Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:14 pm

okay...I'll try that in the morning. :wink: I still need to get new ones...the right one is noticeably dimmer than the left...that and pops said he'll buy em. probably friday.
91 D250 smoke screw turned a little... trying to figure out how to get my big @$$ hands in there and crank up the fuel screw a hair.
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Postby PToombs » Tue Aug 28, 2007 1:58 pm

I'd also check the wire on the lite itself. They can be corroded too. It sounds like the one has a bad ground for sure.
pete

Just enough power to break everything behind the crankshaft.
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Postby swank » Tue Aug 28, 2007 4:43 pm

you can also put together a relay system for the whole circuit. that helps a WHOLE bunch and you never have to put another switch in. and you can get h4 type housing with replaceable bulbs (that are available up to 120w or something like that. they don't last long most of the time though.) wannadiesel put together a nice write up about it over on dtr, maybe somebody has a link.
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Postby dpuckett » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:44 pm

I installed the relay, and it was like adding another setting above the high beams. I only put it on the high circuit, as I do a lot of in town driving, and dont want to blind other drivers. Philip, I cant believe your truck shines bright enough for your liking, unless you just dont want to see 1/2 to 3/4 mi down the road at night. Mine outshine my g/f's 04 Dakota.

I have been considering the H4 or whatever conversions, if only to broaden my options for lights.

Daniel
His- 93 W250 club cab LE, auto to Getrag conversion, piston lift pump, 3.54 LSD. 400k+
Hers- 04 QC 4x4. Built auto, Triple Dog, Air Dog. Funny Round truck that aint so quiet.
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Postby TWorline » Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:47 pm

I installed the Silver Star bulbs and a bright box Geno's sells allows the highs and dims to be on at the same time it helped allot.
Tim Worline
1992 W250 Club Cab LE, S300 62/71, 5" stainless intake, 4" into 5" exhaust, ATS exhaust manifold, SDX 5X18 Injectors, AirDog 150, Borgeson shaft, Coolingmist Vari-cool, Con OFEK, 3" Stainless CoolerTubz, 354/749.

http://www.CoolerTubz.com/
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Postby RumbleFish » Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:30 pm

I've got the H4 conversions in my Ramcharger. They are made by Hella, not the cheap ones from ebay or the corner parts store. They are quite a bit brighter than the sealed beams, especially with the silverstars.
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Postby BEARKILLER » Sun Sep 02, 2007 9:27 am

When the wife first got her truck, she bragged on how bright her lights were and how much better she could see at night; this was with completely stock wiring and lights.

Of course, she had been used to driving those crappy eeny-weeny disposable cars and was used to their point-at-the-ground lights.

I took a look at the factory Dodge wiring and noticed the tiny hair-sized wires that fed the headlights.

I rewired the headlights, using 12AWG wire and relays, stepping up the voltage, from a little over eight, to over thirteen volts at the lights.

The increase was DRAMATIC.


On my own personal F-350, I did the relay/re-wiring, dramatically increasing the effectiveness of the lights; then, I replaced the old bulbs with SilverStars and gained even more light.
MY TRUCK = 1985 FORD F-350 2wd, 89 1st.Gen.Cummins,Getrag 5-sp,Dana70 3:55

WIFE'S TRUCK = 1991.5 D-250 I/C, Auto

SON'S TRUCK = 1990 W-250 Getrag

#4 = 1991 D-350 LE Getrag
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My 2 cents

Postby jrmcleod78 » Thu Sep 13, 2007 5:03 pm

I have been running the bosch H4 setup for years with the 80/100 bulbs and the relay wired up. It is the only way to go, puts any new trucks stock headlights to shame. There are a couple of problems you have to be aware of if you chose to run the higher wattage bulbs like my 80/100s. Not sure if you will need to worry about these things with the 55/60 bulbs as I have never run those WEEKASS ones 8)

1. They create an unreal amount of heat. So much that you will need to replace your plug and wires to the bulb at least once a year. It just melts them. Expecially if you are stopped and forget your highbeams are on. I have wired mine up with knife connectors for ease of changing and keep a spare pigtail in the glove box.

2. If you are driving slow (like 4 wheelin) with your high beams on and it is not raining and you drive through a puddle fast enough to splash the water up onto your lights you can kiss that housing good-bye. The cold water hitting the really hot glass just cracks it. Don't know what the bosch H4 is costing in the USA but here in Canada they are 50$ bucks a pop(each). You also want to run the steel cagelike covers for rock protection.

3. You need to use a larger relay and a diode on the relay to prevent the relay contacts from fusing together. On high beam the large bulbs draw enough amps to cause the contacts to arc when you go from low to high beam that sooner or later they fuse. The diode prevents the arcing.

Swank had mentioned that the high watt bulbs didn't last that long but from my experience the 80/100s have lasted about 2 years on average. I guess that if the wiring wasn't up to parr you could lessen the lifespan somewhat. At another 50$ bucks for each bulb I guess it matters.

One other thing is with the melting plug problem, I have been meaning to fashion a plug out of some kind of heat resistant composite like maybe mycarta. Haven't had the time yet but thought I would throw the idea out there. Maybe someone has an idea for a good composite.



Anyway thats my 2 cents, hope it helps.
Truck 1
92 250 CTD 4x4(500,000 KM) 12,000 lb warn, K&N filter, BD injectors, straight exhust, Centerforce 3 clutch, pump cranked(245 hp, 650 lbs TQ)
Truck 2
92 250 CTD 2wd(186,000 KM), Bone stock work truck.
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Do the relays

Postby moab4x4 » Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:21 pm

Do the relays!!! Your headlight switch will love you for it! Just look at that switch and plug sometime. discolored and melted
I ran a 30A breaker from the battery area to the relays under the hood by the front left headlights and used spade connectors to take the Hi / Lo signals from the existing harness to run the relays. Then the output of the relays to a new harness for the lights. (new plugs or as in my case, stolen from a parts car).
If I have any problem, I can unplug the relay control wires from the factory headlight plugs and plug in the headlights.
Ken
92 W350 LE Getrag, 3.54, 4"/2" lift,
HTT Stage II, POD's, 4", PDR cam, KDP, 3200 GSK, Pin ground, Keyed Valet
Pyro, Boost in Message Center, Isspro tach, Damplifier-ed entire cab! Dual Batts, Keyless Entry, LED's in dash
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