Light Upgrades

TylerFT · Nov 23, 2016

A few months ago I got a 2010 Ram 1500 TRX4. It has the quad headlights but the light they provide is pretty minimal for backwoods Michigan. I don't want to get into the expenses of upgraded the housing so I'd prefer sticking with the stock quad headlight assembly. My biggest question is, considering cost, brightness and reliability, are LED's or HID's better? What will I need to install these lights so that everything plays nicely with the truck?

I have read a lot about needing CAN bus lights either way but it seems to vary a lot based upon the year of the truck so I decided to just make a new thread. I'm fully comfortable getting individual ballasts and connectors or whatever is needed if I can save some money here and there. I just need to know what kind of light setup to do and what components are needed to do it.

Also, I'd like to switch out the other lights for LED lights. I see the plate lights are 194 bulbs which I assume can be switched to LED bulbs without worrying about CAN bus. I'd like to also switch out the turn signals and brake lights. Will a LED flasher module take care of hyper flash? Is there anything other than just the new bulbs that I need? What bulbs do I need for the reverse lights as well as the map lights and dome light?

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

blackbetty14 · Nov 23, 2016

I'm a big advocate for projector retrofits. They can be done for like $30 on your stockers if your comfortable opening the headlights. Cheap eBay ones are better bc they open easier.

If not I don't really recommend HIDs or LEDs in the stock headlights. It's not really the bulbs fault or lack of power persay... it's the reflector optics that suck.

If your not going to correctly retrofit then I would recommend just adding off-road lighting for the back roads. An LED light bar would throw a ton of light when u need it as long as no one is on the road with you.

Not sure if the 2010 had canbus systems.

TylerFT · Nov 25, 2016

blackbetty14 said:
I'm a big advocate for projector retrofits. They can be done for like $30 on your stockers if your comfortable opening the headlights. Cheap eBay ones are better bc they open easier.

If not I don't really recommend HIDs or LEDs in the stock headlights. It's not really the bulbs fault or lack of power persay... it's the reflector optics that suck.

If your not going to correctly retrofit then I would recommend just adding off-road lighting for the back roads. An LED light bar would throw a ton of light when u need it as long as no one is on the road with you.

Not sure if the 2010 had canbus systems.

I found a video of the retrofitting process (https://youtu.be/0nd6x0zlNTw) and it seems pretty simple. It appears to be that the only tnecessary components are the projectors and HID lights. I found a pair of projectors with halos on ebay (halo projectors) that look decent. Do you think these would work or are there other options you would recommend? Do I need just any H1 HID kit that can be wired into the system?

I'm planning on adding fuse panel and relays later to be able to add some off road lighting later and will be using a microcontroller in the cab to control it. Should be pretty simple but I figure it would be fun to connect the halos to it.

Sorry about my many questions and slow responses. I'm currently on a trip up north but also nearing the end of the semester. I'll have more time in a couple weeks but wanted to figure something out so I can get the parts and I know very little about these.

Steen · Nov 25, 2016

You might want to check out Morimoto projectors, shrouds and HID kits. They are probably the most popular when it comes to reliability and performance.

Aftermarket lenses, even the better ones like TYC will not hold up like the stock MOPARS in my opinion. I bought a set of stockers off of eBay to do the retrofit and currently have the headlights separated.. just piecing it all together and will get it finished when I get some time away from work. To do it right will not be cheap will run just over $300 for the projectors, shroud and HID kit.

Also, the aftermarket projectors headlight assemblies that you find on eBay for our trucks typically have a terrible cutoff line and won't handle HID kits rated over 35watts. Their lenses will fail prematurely as well, but you can solve that by clear coating the lenses with a high quality Urethane clear coat.

TylerFT · Nov 25, 2016

Steen said:
You might want to check out Morimoto projectors, shrouds and HID kits. They are probably the most popular when it comes to reliability and performance.

Aftermarket lenses, even the better ones like TYC will not hold up like the stock MOPARS in my opinion. I bought a set of stockers off of eBay to do the retrofit and currently have the headlights separated.. just piecing it all together and will get it finished when I get some time away from work. To do it right will not be cheap will run just over $300 for the projectors, shroud and HID kit.

Also, the aftermarket projectors headlight assemblies that you find on eBay for our trucks typically have a terrible cutoff line and won't handle HID kits rated over 35watts. Their lenses will fail prematurely as well, but you can solve that by clear coating the lenses with a high quality Urethane clear coat.

So if I get a set of used quads, does it matter what year they're from? And the morimoto mini h1 projectors will work?

Other than that it looks like I just need the h1 bulbs and the HID ballast set?

PCT · Nov 25, 2016

TylerFT said:
A few months ago I got a 2010 Ram 1500 TRX4. It has the quad headlights but the light they provide is pretty minimal for backwoods Michigan. I don't want to get into the expenses of upgraded the housing so I'd prefer sticking with the stock quad headlight assembly. My biggest question is, considering cost, brightness and reliability, are LED's or HID's better? What will I need to install these lights so that everything plays nicely with the truck?

I have read a lot about needing CAN bus lights either way but it seems to vary a lot based upon the year of the truck so I decided to just make a new thread. I'm fully comfortable getting individual ballasts and connectors or whatever is needed if I can save some money here and there. I just need to know what kind of light setup to do and what components are needed to do it.

Also, I'd like to switch out the other lights for LED lights. I see the plate lights are 194 bulbs which I assume can be switched to LED bulbs without worrying about CAN bus. I'd like to also switch out the turn signals and brake lights. Will a LED flasher module take care of hyper flash? Is there anything other than just the new bulbs that I need? What bulbs do I need for the reverse lights as well as the map lights and dome light?

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

I got 3 LED light bar/ pods

Wired through HB and Fogs, so i have no upfitter switches in my cab, bright as **** and best upgrade to my truck. Nilight on amazon are very good and cheap

Rzrman328 · Nov 25, 2016

I used an eBay projector set with a morimoto h1 hid kit.

Mine has worked flawlessly For about a year now. I have some pics of my install in my build thread.

TylerFT said:
I found a video of the retrofitting process (https://youtu.be/0nd6x0zlNTw) and it seems pretty simple. It appears to be that the only tnecessary components are the projectors and HID lights. I found a pair of projectors with halos on ebay (halo projectors) that look decent. Do you think these would work or are there other options you would recommend? Do I need just any H1 HID kit that can be wired into the system?

I'm planning on adding fuse panel and relays later to be able to add some off road lighting later and will be using a microcontroller in the cab to control it. Should be pretty simple but I figure it would be fun to connect the halos to it.

Sorry about my many questions and slow responses. I'm currently on a trip up north but also nearing the end of the semester. I'll have more time in a couple weeks but wanted to figure something out so I can get the parts and I know very little about these.

iam_canadian22 · Nov 25, 2016

TylerFT said:
So if I get a set of used quads, does it matter what year they're from? And the morimoto mini h1 projectors will work?

Other than that it looks like I just need the h1 bulbs and the HID ballast set?

Yes, any 09 to current quads or even duals if you want, you'll need the mopar spec relay harness for the HID's or the canbus plug n play adapters from jj at retroshop, you'll also need some retroseal to reseal the lights.

blackbetty14 · Nov 25, 2016

Opt for the morimoto 7.0 mini H1 projectors. Then either the 35w or 50w H1 elite HID kit. I would spend the money on cheap eBay ram lights... u wouldn't believe how easy theyopen compared to Tyc or mopar. Mopar OEM lights use permaseal to seal them. The glue is called permaseal for a reason lol. Stuff is crazy good at keeping the halves permentanely glued together.

If your feeling heavy in the wallet I suggest denso 35w ballasts converted to amp connectors and potted. Can't beat them for warmup time and OE reliability.

Don't mess with the eBay projectors unless your putting it something that doesn't matter or can't afford $100 more. The lightoutput of the morimoto 7.0 and the old eBay 3.0-5.0 is staggering.

blackbetty14 · Nov 25, 2016

Rzrman328 said:
I used an eBay projector set with a morimoto h1 hid kit.

Mine has worked flawlessly For about a year now. I have some pics of my install in my build thread.

Did the same on my vertical ram fog retrofit. At the time I was happy with them for about a year. Then I got a pair of 7.0s and it made a huge difference. Can't beat the $30 price vs performance on the eBay 3.0/5.0 projectors.

TylerFT · Nov 26, 2016

With a slightly inconsistent income due to classes, I'm trying to keep the budget a bit shallow right now but also need the reliability. I'd like to go the route of retrofitting some projectors into a set of quads. Below are the parts it seems I need to do this.

09-16 Dodge Ram 1500/2500/3500 Halogen Black Quad Headlamps Headlights | eBay
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bi-xenon-morimoto-mini-h1-7-0.html
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/h1-morimoto-elite.html

I found some cheap ebay housings to work with. Sounds like I need the morimoto projector set with shrouds and the HID kit with the 50W ballasts, mopar-specific 9007 bi-xenon wiring harness, bulbs, add-on capacitors and maybe the mounting brackets.

Is 5500k a good color temp?
Will that wiring harness need anything else done to make it plug right in?
Is there anything else that I am missing?

iam_canadian22 · Nov 26, 2016

TylerFT said:
With a slightly inconsistent income due to classes, I'm trying to keep the budget a bit shallow right now but also need the reliability. I'd like to go the route of retrofitting some projectors into a set of quads. Below are the parts it seems I need to do this.

09-16 Dodge Ram 1500/2500/3500 Halogen Black Quad Headlamps Headlights | eBay
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bi-xenon-morimoto-mini-h1-7-0.html
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/h1-morimoto-elite.html

I found some cheap ebay housings to work with. Sounds like I need the morimoto projector set with shrouds and the HID kit with the 50W ballasts, mopar-specific 9007 bi-xenon wiring harness, bulbs, add-on capacitors and maybe the mounting brackets.

Is 5500k a good color temp?
Will that wiring harness need anything else done to make it plug right in?
Is there anything else that I am missing?

Dont need extra capacitors, its included in the the wiring harness. And not the bi-xenon harness either.5500k is a perfect color with a 50w ballast in my opinion.

blackbetty14 · Nov 26, 2016

Mopar secific harness is all you need. If you were going with 35w kit I would tell you to just get the canbus adapters for $30 and call it a day.

The 7.0 projectors are the only ones so far to be designed to be able to handle the head produced by a 50w HID kit. That's why I made the jump.

5500 and 50w is perfect and it's what I run. White with a hint of yellow. Alittle more yellow than OEM 35w HID I feel but not nearly as yellow as stock halogen. Should be around a 4500k temp. If u decide to go with 35w I would stick to a 4500k and 5500 being the max.

Morimoto ballasts come with brackets. So just get the harness, HID kit with bulbs and projectors and swap it into the housings. I think u save money buying the swap kit.

TylerFT · Nov 26, 2016

blackbetty14 said:
Mopar secific harness is all you need. If you were going with 35w kit I would tell you to just get the canbus adapters for $30 and call it a day.

The 7.0 projectors are the only ones so far to be designed to be able to handle the head produced by a 50w HID kit. That's why I made the jump.

5500 and 50w is perfect and it's what I run. White with a hint of yellow. Alittle more yellow than OEM 35w HID I feel but not nearly as yellow as stock halogen. Should be around a 4500k temp. If u decide to go with 35w I would stick to a 4500k and 5500 being the max.

Morimoto ballasts come with brackets. So just get the harness, HID kit with bulbs and projectors and swap it into the housings. I think u save money buying the swap kit.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/complete-retrofit-kits/universal-kits/bixenon-morimoto-mini-h1-stage-3.html

So I should order the kit above with:
Bi-Xenon Projectors: Morimoto Mini H1 LHD (7.0)
HID Ballasts: 50W/ AMP; Morimoto XB Ballast
Wire harness: Mopar Relay 9007
H1 HID Bulbs: H1; XB 5500K

And then select a shroud type and get the retrorubber for sealing it?

Is this the correct bulb for the turn signals if I get it in amber? https://www.theretrofitsource.com/closeouts/3157-morimoto-xb-led.html

They have what seems like a pretty good sale going so I'll order it this weekend if this seems like what I need.

blackbetty14 · Nov 27, 2016

Yea 20% is a good deal.

I believe u got everything. I can't confirm the harness as it has to plug into the bulb you have. So whatever fits your bulbs size. I have stock projector housings so I needed the 9012 or 9006 harness.

iam_canadian22 · Nov 27, 2016

TylerFT said:
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/c...al-kits/bixenon-morimoto-mini-h1-stage-3.html

So I should order the kit above with:
Bi-Xenon Projectors: Morimoto Mini H1 LHD (7.0)
HID Ballasts: 50W/ AMP; Morimoto XB Ballast
Wire harness: Mopar Relay 9007
H1 HID Bulbs: H1; XB 5500K

And then select a shroud type and get the retrorubber for sealing it?

Is this the correct bulb for the turn signals if I get it in amber? https://www.theretrofitsource.com/closeouts/3157-morimoto-xb-led.html

They have what seems like a pretty good sale going so I'll order it this weekend if this seems like what I need.

H11 harness for quads, or 9012/9006 for projectors

TylerFT · Nov 27, 2016

The Retrofit Source doesn't seem to carry H11 Mopar harnesses. This one seems more correct. Mopar Specific HID Relay Harness

Edit:
I had ordered the retrofitting kit from The Retrofit Source and selected the Mopar-Spec 9007 harness. I later found that H11 is nowhere near the same thing as 9007 so I have now ordered the H11 harness that RetroShop offers. This seems to be all that I will need now that I more accurately understand how all of these parts go together from watching the video the RetroShop has about the quad headlights.

TylerFT · Dec 15, 2016

I have received the parts that I ordered and everything seems in order. With finals done I should be able to start working on the headlights soon. I'm planning on repainting the bezel and the low beam reflector bowl. Will Duplicolor paint work well for this? (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00407RSNG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER)

Here are the parts I've gotten:

Idea of how I want to paint them:

The obnoxious 194 bulbs that were free:

dcsmas1211 · Dec 16, 2016

http://www.opt-7.com/fluxbeam-led-headlight/

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dcsmas1211 · Dec 16, 2016

I have a 12 RAM 1500 I went with the OPT 7, http://www.opt-7.com/fluxbeam-led-headlight/

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