2015 Ram 1500 Rebel projector to LED bulb question

[jimgad]

Hoping someone ran into similar issue and found something that worked. I have a 2015 Ram Rebel with projector style headlights. The fogs came with LED but I wanted my low beams to be LED as well. On amazon, I ordered SEALIGHT 9012 HIR2 Bulbs, 6500K Cool White Light Super Bright 9012 Fog Bulbs with 15000RPM Cooling Fan, Plug-N-Play 9012 Fog Light, Pack of 2

When I installed - they seemed to work fine and no issues. The next day, driving to gym in the dark, about 15 min into the drive they stopped working for like 3-5 seconds then came on. This repeated 2x over the next 5-10 minutes. The 3rd time went off and didnt come back on. Luckily I was close enough to destination my fogs were enough to get me there.
Parked, and went inside. About an hour later came out and they worked fine. (almost like they needed a rest). But same thing 15 ish min later.
I contacted Sealight, who sent me canbus decoders. When I hooked them up - lights didnt come on at all, so I just returned them. Google has led me to a lot of people saying the 2015 Rebel is the most challenging to switch to LED bulbs. Anyone have any success stories to share?

 

[mikeru]

The Rebel headlights are the same as projector headlights on other 4th gen models. No reason they would be any harder to convert than on a Laramie or Limited.

In my opinion the issue is with the bulbs you bought and is likely because of them getting too hot. The cooling system on those bulbs doesn't look sufficient to me. In looking at SEALIGHT I see that the BBB gives them a grade of F, and they are not accredited with the BBB. They seem to have a CA address, but I suspect they are not an American company. Even their tech support email addresses are different for bulbs purchased from Amazon. That's the problem with buying something like this from Amazon. Most of the LED bulbs on there are chinese junk.

I suggest you look into buying from a more reputable US seller. You might consider our forum vendor Underground Lighting to see what they offer (undergroundlighting.com). Of course this is all my opinion.

 

[ricky_bobby]

Should have bought Morimoto 2Stroke LED bulbs - even though they are all made in China there is a vast difference in manufacturing from a company like Morimoto who owns the factory and controls the QC - if it is indeed the bulbs/canbus modules giving issues

Did you change the BCM setting to High Intensity Discharge lights present?

 

[ebirotedu]

FWIW, I have a 2015 Ram 1500 Sport with projector headlamps. I replaced my halogen low, high, and fog lamps with Auxito 6500K LEDs (fogs are 3k amber/yellow) just over a year ago last December. The low beams are 18k lumen, highs are 20k lumen (claimed). 85% of my driving is probably during normal daylight hours, but the low beams have gotten a good workout over the past year given my schedule including several multi-hour trips after dark. I did not, and have never, installed the CANBUS modules for the lamps though I asked the vendor to send me some thinking they might be needed.

Thus far I’ve had zero flicker or outages issues with the headlamp LEDs over the past year of use.

If you haven’t already, make sure you have the update for the May 2015 lighting CANBUS fix - the dealer may not have applied it unless there was a reason to do so. My truck was built in July 2015 so may have shipped with it, or my dealer may have applied it when they were tracking down a water leak related short in the cab wiring harness in 2022 and they were trying to figure out if the BCM was causing an issue (they applied a lot of updates and replaced a few components before they found the short).

Last year I looked through all or most of the 2015 TSBs and I think this is the only one that seemed directly related: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2015/SB-10058298-2476.pdf

Truck definitely looks more modern with white light headlamps. Good luck!

 

[Justin33]

You need to get alfaodb and change the fogs to LEDs in the settings. My Hikaris did the same thing next day because I hadn’t got the change to set in. I know someone said they got hot, but the fact you said they went on then off ect is because of the Canbus and the PWM looking for a halogen draw from the bulb.

 

[RamDiver]

You need to get alfaodb and change the fogs to LEDs in the settings. My Hikaris did the same thing next day because I hadn’t got the change to set in. I know someone said they got hot, but the fact you said they went on then off ect is because of the Canbus and the PWM looking for a halogen draw from the bulb.

That's a great first attempt, setting CBC Features-LED Low Beam Lamps to Yes but, the 2014/2015 model years are notorious for headlight flicker and dropouts.

These two years have been very inconsistent in how they react to aftermarket LEDs, but more often, the solution is to set VehConfig 3-High Intensity Discharge Headlamps to yes with AlfaOBD.

These facts can be verified by searching 2014 or 2015 Ram 1500 LEDs flickering/dropouts etc.

The PWM is not 'looking for' anything. Pulse Wave Modulation is the signal produced by the BCM for Halogen lamps.

Setting the bulb type to LED or HID using AlfaOBD will disable the PWM signal from the BCM and replace it with 12 VDC.

The BCM may be designed to see a larger current draw when not set to LED or HID. With some LED bulbs, an external resistor may be required regardless of the bulb type configuration but, I haven't heard of this happening with Fahren or Auxito bulbs.


This PWM signal will cause flickering or dropouts on some vehicles after adding certain aftermarket LEDs.




This is the 12 VDC signal after the PWM has been disabled.




As far as spending more $ on expensive LEDs is concerned, why bother?

Search this website and you will find endless reviews from satisfied members who used Fahren or Auxito bulbs and other types.

My first 4 pack if Fahren LED bulbs cost about $70 and included a 3-year replacement warranty.

I currently have Auxito high beams and Fahren low beams, they're awesome.

Both were plug-and-play on my '21 Warlock, but I have worked with many members with older trucks that required AlfaOBD tweaks to correct flickering and/or dropouts.

.

 

[Justin33]

Right I said pwm technically that is sort of the reason there are issues.

 

[Justin33]

The spending more money correlates to the fact that the morimoto heads are obviously better than a LED in a reflective housing.

 

[RamDiver]

The spending more money correlates to the fact that the morimoto heads are obviously better than a LED in a reflective housing.

I don't see how spending more money directly correlates to better quality but, if that's what makes you happy, go for it.

I have inexpensive LED bulbs in projector housings on my truck.

They're incredibly bright and illuminate the road much better than any Halogen lighting system I've ever seen.

I'm not sure what more you can ask for but you can spend your money however you see fit.

.

 

[Justin33]

I don't see how spending more money directly correlates to better quality but, if that's what makes you happy, go for it.

I have inexpensive LED bulbs in projector housings on my truck.

They're incredibly bright and illuminate the road much better than any Halogen lighting system I've ever seen.

I'm not sure what more you can ask for but you can spend your money however you see fit.

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Not trying to argue as I agree with you. You obviously know what you are talking about as well as you showed an oscilloscope. I was just stating that the PWM plays a part in the truck doing wonky ish. The BCM is looking for that halogen pull. Before I did the alfaodb on my dogs I got the turn on turn off thdn wouldn’t come back on.

 

[RamDiver]

Not trying to argue as I agree with you. You obviously know what you are talking about as well as you showed an oscilloscope. I was just stating that the PWM plays a part in the truck doing wonky ish. The BCM is looking for that halogen pull. Before I did the alfaodb on my dogs I got the turn on turn off thdn wouldn’t come back on.

That sounds very usual while upgrading an older truck with LEDs.

I'm not sure what you did to your dogs with AlfaOBD, sounds scary.

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[Justin33]

That sounds very usual while upgrading an older truck with LEDs.

I'm not sure what you did to your dogs with AlfaOBD, sounds scary.

.

Oh you know told the dogs we are going LED and that’s how it’s going to be. Also told them no dropout and can run with the other low beam and high beam dogs as well as the fog dogs.

 

[Justin33]

That sounds very usual while upgrading an older truck with LEDs.

I'm not sure what you did to your dogs with AlfaOBD, sounds scary.

.

Hey now a 15 isn’t old.

 

[olyelr]

Hey now a 15 isn’t old.

Depends. All opinion haaaa. My ‘16 feels like an antique ive had it so long lol