LED Taillights & Headlights

[MYMISSIONISFISHIN]

Been pondering over the idea of going to LED lights, but read a lot about the Ballasts,Resistors, and etc. I love my truck and am not mechanicly inclined enough to try and figure out/fix the problems that the LED lights pose, or so I have read. I also read that the LED headlights shine more out than down and/or towards the breakdown lanes. So what exactly are the pros and cons for LED headlight/Taillights? I have an LED 3rd brake lamp coming for the truck, but it did not mention anything about resistors/Balasts etc and said they were 100% plug n Play. Will find out tomorrow when it comes in the mail.

 

[OnSale]

Been pondering over the idea of going to LED lights, but read a lot about the Ballasts,Resistors, and etc. I love my truck and am not mechanicly inclined enough to try and figure out/fix the problems that the LED lights pose, or so I have read. I also read that the LED headlights shine more out than down and/or towards the breakdown lanes. So what exactly are the pros and cons for LED headlight/Taillights? I have an LED 3rd brake lamp coming for the truck, but it did not mention anything about resistors/Balasts etc and said they were 100% plug n Play. Will find out tomorrow when it comes in the mail.

HID's have ballasts, ignitors, and more. LED kits only have the bulb and a small little box called the led driver. LEDs are as easy as replacing your bulb with a regular halogen bulb.

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[pgr1990]

HID's have ballasts, ignitors, and more. LED kits only have the bulb and a small little box called the led driver. LEDs are as easy as replacing your bulb with a regular halogen bulb.

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I’ve gone through like 6 different lighting kits on my last two 4G RAMs

LEDs require resistors and/or antiflicker modules depending on the brand.

LED output sucks I had them in my truck for a month and got rid of them.

I upgraded to the Headlight Revolutions kit with the CANBUS ballasts and it’s by far the best kit I’ve had. It’s a little expensive but it’s because the ballasts are state of the art.

I paired it with Phillips bulbs and between the ease of installation and only components needed being ballasts and bulbs it’s the best kit out there for our trucks. The output is fantastic and there are ZERO issues with flickering, error messages etc.






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[Wahrsuul]

You've got to be careful with you light choices - in most states, it's illegal to put HIDs in a halogen light housing. Many LED replacement bulbs are built to work correctly as halogen replacements, but some aren't. You've got a '14, so Canbus/flickering with LEDs could be an issue you need to watch for. Find out what others on here use.

One of the things with LEDs (and possibly HIDs) headlights - I've watched a few of the videos online about installation, and some require drilling holes the the rear of the housing/access cover for the wires. Not a big deal, but you say you're not mechanically inclined so that may be an issue for you.

As for tail lights, that's less of an issue. There are many different companies that make some good looking LED brake/tails for the Gen4. Most are already set up with the resistors to keep the flash rate correct.

As a personal preference, I don't care for aftermarket HIDs. All of the one's I've dealt with were problems and expensive to replace bulbs.

 

[MYMISSIONISFISHIN]

So heres my question? On LED Taillights (Aftermarket), which ones are everyone running and are they easy to install and 100% plug n play? Heres the ones i was looking at on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-2017-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

 

[Wahrsuul]

You'd have to ask the seller to be sure, most I've seen have the resistors, but no guarantee. And you need to make sure they're for trucks that didn't have LEDs from the factory.

I've seen several different ones on trucks here, so I don't think there's one that everyone prefers.

 

[Ethan16]

I have the quad halogen headlights, not the projector style. I bought Auxbeam F16 LED lights
(size H11) in my low beams($50) with a canbus adapter ($20). I put their cheaper model the F-S2 ($30) in my fog lights (size 9006) without a canbus adapter which leads me to believe I might not need the adapter in the low/high beams. Haven't put the high beams in yet bc its kind of a b*tch to take off the grill and take both headlights out when its below freezing. I did have to lower the headlight because the output reached a lot further down the road but also a lot higher so I just aimed them down a bit. Love them but you're not going to see a 200% difference. A lot better than stock but that's not a high bar to get over. I just installed them in my mother in law's car since she has problems seeing at night. If you're not looking to spend a ton that's a good option. If your pockets are deeper, Go check out Diode Dynamics, they have really nice LED's but are $180 and are on back order right now.

 

[MYMISSIONISFISHIN]

Just pulled the trigger on a set of "Spyder" LED Taillights for my truck. I called the tech support and they told me that the taillights have a built in resistor to prevent them from showing a "Bulb Out" code on my EVIC. I decided to go with the red lenses as they look like OEM. I know I just installed a new Smoked 3rd Brake/Cargo light on the other day but will be changing it out with an OEM LED 3rd Brake light I purchased. Its just the 3rd brake light, NO cargo lamp. Also I have a couple questions. The new Taillights, I use my existing bulb, to plug into the new housing. I have an aftermarket LED bulb that was in the old housings. Can I use that in the new housings or should I use a regular Halogen bulb?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Spyder-Aut...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

[Wahrsuul]

If you're talking about for the reverse light, you should be able to use the LED bulb. It's one of the annoyances I have with the aftermarket LED tails - why don't they put in an LED backup light as well?

 

[MYMISSIONISFISHIN]

I believe their issue was with the LED bulb being too long and maybe melting the lenses but I fixed that and found out "LASFIT" makes a T15 921 LED bulb that's same length as the standard 921 Halogen bulbs.

 

[Wahrsuul]

Hm, you'd think while they were making/sourcing a board for the brake/tails, they'd just source one for the reverse. There's at least one on the market that does that. I'm liking the look of them, but they're a bit more expensive that some of the others.

 

[Podcast]

I’ve gone through like 6 different lighting kits on my last two 4G RAMs

LEDs require resistors and/or antiflicker modules depending on the brand.

LED output sucks I had them in my truck for a month and got rid of them.

I upgraded to the Headlight Revolutions kit with the CANBUS ballasts and it’s by far the best kit I’ve had. It’s a little expensive but it’s because the ballasts are state of the art.

I paired it with Phillips bulbs and between the ease of installation and only components needed being ballasts and bulbs it’s the best kit out there for our trucks. The output is fantastic and there are ZERO issues with flickering, error messages etc.






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Which kit specifically? Do you have a link? Are you running this kit in stock quads or projectors?

 

[MYMISSIONISFISHIN]

I was told in an email tonite from tech support from Spyder, that I have to use an incandescent 921 Miniature wedge base bulb or I will have performance issues which I assume would be "Bulb Out" code. Not a big deal either way I guess as the reverse lights aren't on a whole lot, I just liked the extra light when backing up.

 

[pgr1990]

Which kit specifically? Do you have a link? Are you running this kit in stock quads or projectors?

Projectors. The kit is headlight revolutions kit designed for our trucks.


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[Podcast]

Projectors. The kit is headlight revolutions kit designed for our trucks.


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Thanks. I have quads so it won't work.

 

[2010 Infantry Vet]

I bought these LED tail lights because they come with bright LED reverse lights built in.

 

[2010 Infantry Vet]

If you're talking about for the reverse light, you should be able to use the LED bulb. It's one of the annoyances I have with the aftermarket LED tails - why don't they put in an LED backup light as well?

Mine have them.

 

[Wahrsuul]

See? Why can't the other's do that as well?

 

[2010 Infantry Vet]

See? Why can't the other's do that as well?

No idea. This is the only brand that has multiple LED reverse lights built into the housing that I am aware of. Heck as far as I know, I am the only one running these tail lights. A lot easier to buy a tail light that already has reverse LEDs than add them. I paid $160 shipped

 

[Wahrsuul]

I've seen one other that does it, but they're a lot more expensive.