Craving More Candlepower!

[Reddington]

Do you have any type of mechanical skills at all (not trying to be rude or anything)? If so, you can come out wayyyyy less than $1200 if you have some patience. You can pick up a set of aftermarket quad housings for about $150, a set of Mini H1 projectors with harness for about $300 and, after a quick bake in the oven, can have really good output for less than $600. Or you can pick up a set of the oem projector replicas that fit the non-projector trucks, throw in a set of HIDs and you will have decent output. Better than the quads and better than the OEM projectors. And the good thing about going this route is if this isn't enough for you, you have the perfect platform to install some VERY good projectors inside of them, again, if you're willing to take them apart (very easy).

I do have some mechanical skills. I’m sure I could probably do it, but my problem (or hesitation) is that it’s lighting and electrical which I would hate to screw up and have a failure while driving during the evening. Or, get it done and have issues where I’m searching for an answer. So I’m willing to pay more to have someone give me a plug and play option. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Spud2388]

I do have some mechanical skills. I’m sure I could probably do it, but my problem (or hesitation) is that it’s lighting and electrical which I would hate to screw up and have a failure while driving during the evening. Or, get it done and have issues where I’m searching for an answer. So I’m willing to pay more to have someone give me a plug and play option. Hope that makes sense.

Makes perfect sense. My opinion and suggestion would be to get the oem projector replicas and throw a decent set of HIDs in there and see what you think. Just don't be scared of lighting and electrical. Its all pretty much plug and play these days. And if you need any help or want to shoot some ideas around, give me a shout. I'm no expert but I'm no idiot either.

 

[Reddington]

Thanks Spud - but on a ram with quads is it as easy as throwing a set of oem projectors with a set of HIDs on and just going? Aren't there issues where I would need alphaobd, etc?

 

[CYSTemrebel]

I solved the "more light" issue by installing 2 KC Highlight spotters on my front deer guard crosspiece and wired them to a separate switch. They utilize a pencil beam configuration which totally disappears the stock headlights on low or high beam as the brightness of the KC beam totally overpowers OEM.
My response to oncoming traffic is to switch them off and use regular low beam. The brightness is amazing far down the road and using an "eye color reflection" identifier of animals far past the safe distance, I am not unprepared for animals crossing the road. Deer eyes in the dark hit by light resemble two diamonds, skunk eyes are red, etc In my 51 years of driving I have never hit a wild animal but in the last 11 years I started using this system to preclude as well as mitigate my slowing reflexes. I am told the pencil beam configuration is illegal due to the high distance and I have already found these items hard to find. Just a matter of time until they will not be produced, if that has not already happened. They have a BRIGHT distance at least twice that of OEM.

 

[ram1500rsm]

I’m ok with my factory headlights and fogs. In the cases where I need extra lighting I have a 25” lightbar on top of my front bumper that provides all the light I need and some more. I use it offroad only.

 

[Frank Rhodes]

...or Lumens, or Wattage, or however-you-want-to-measure-headlight-output.

No, this isn't a technical post, I promise. It is a philosophical one. That's why I'm posting it here (if the mods wish to move it, that's perfectly cool...)

Okay, so I got stock halogen headlights. They work pretty good. But, I live in the sticks. It's 30 miles to the nearest streetlight of any kind, the mountain roads are winding and narrow, the local deer population is often suicidal around moving machinery, and sometimes the weather sucks.

But the lights do okay - I normally use high-beam unless something comes towards me (logging trucks carry a pair of small nuclear fusion reactors for lighting, so I don't get into any sort of headlight contest with them.)

Now... it would be nice to have more light, especially on those dark pre-dawn mornings where the roads are known to break the nerve of lesser men.

BUT... I don't want to be one of those guys. You know, the ones whose low-beams are brighter than a pair of supernovae, let alone their brights. The ones who think their ******** size directly correlates to the amount of paint their high-beams can burn off of house siding, and are not afraid to point those suckers dead into your eyes (well, not quite my eyes, but if I had an ordinary car, I know I'd be damned near homicidal by now...)

As you can see, I'm kind of torn as to whether or not to get a pair of HID's and just make sure they're aimed right, or just go with what I got and stick with halogen.

So... what do y'all think? I can't be the only one thinking in this direction... again, not looking for technical advice (I can find a metric ton of that no matter which decision I make), but more of a philosophical take.

Get

 

[Frank Rhodes]

BUY A LED BAR LIGHT

 

[tomb]

I find my halogen quads surprisingly great-but I don't do any off-roading at night and most streets are lit around here. just wondering though-I have changed the tail-light bulbs a couple times and its super easy-but if I have to change out a halogen headlight bulb do I really have to remove the grill etc?

 

[Graygoose]

I have the factory quads, installing some Heise H11 and 9006 LED in lows and fogs. Will see, and ordered with decoder, so its plug and play. My son had some in his car, loved them.

 

[aidmyaim]

I find my halogen quads surprisingly great-but I don't do any off-roading at night and most streets are lit around here. just wondering though-I have changed the tail-light bulbs a couple times and its super easy-but if I have to change out a halogen headlight bulb do I really have to remove the grill etc?

I just swapped my oem bulbs for some Wagner night defense. Yes you do have to take the grill off and you might want to buy new clips for the grill and the plastic cover. I broke two grill clips when I took it off. Very hard plastic.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[WY-Dave]

I also live out i the boonies. Deer, antelope, cow, fox. coyote and the best was a Moose.

RC 5X 20" 10800 lumens so far the best I have seen it reach out is 1.25miles for the road signs(longest stretch) . $150 with brackets. Hook it up to the Aux panel and let there be light. The side ditches are fairly lit. And if I see headlights or taillights, off it goes.


View media item 27197

 

[Allikanbe]

My 2002 ram 1500 has two birthday cake candles for lights. I doubt I can put HID in there with the OEM wiring. What's the best answer?

 

[East0352]

The retrofit source put together a package for retrofitting really good projectors and HIDs into the stock housing. That said, I couldn’t get my stocks apart and bought aftermarket. Complete PITA to align now though. But looks good and cast a really good line of light with a flat cut off so people don’t get blinded. Bonus is that the cut off is on a solenoid that lifts it out of the way when the high beams come on giving me quad high beams. I am running them off of stock harness without capacitors or resistors thanks to the Fiat software I bought that allows me to go in and change options on the truck. I just changed low beams from halogen to HID in the BCM.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Anything beyond 5000K is too blue and the light scatters too much to be of any use. I have 4300K HIDs in my factory projectors. Anybody driving around other people with HIDS in reflector headlights or with those LED bars shining into the faces of oncoming traffic are blinding the hell out of oncoming traffic. Personally it would be better for all of us if HIDs and LEDs had never existed due to peoples lack of compassion for other drivers.

I made that mistake with my '09 Ram. Bought HID's and installed them in reflector lights. (Didn't know there was any other kind). Blinded people. Took 'em back out. Oooops, sorry. Live and learn.

Note: I did cut one side off the wiring harness, capped/taped the wires and proceeded to install the one bulb in my Softail housing. For those who don't know, Harley headlights (then) were worse than the 5 candle power glow sticks FCA puts in Ram trucks w/o projectors.

I was able to aim the housing low enough that low beam didn't seem to annoy anyone while increasing my visibility immensely! High beam on the other hand was lighting up crap in the next town! OMG, was that bright. Great when on back roads, only you lit up the bugs and it looked like it was snowing.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

I am in the same boat with my quads. Getting older and my eyes do not do well with the quads when I encounter oncoming traffic, especially when its raining out. The damn lights may as well be off. I have reached out to Jeremy for some ideas and am mulling things over, but within the next 30-60 days I will be doing something about it. It seems no matter what, to do it right and not have ancillary issues it will cost ~ $1,200 - $1,400. The modifystreet / alpharex lights look interesting but by the time you buy the housings and add bulbs and then buy the AlphaOBD you are damn near a grand anyway. And the v2 or whatever option they have coming out will be a grand too. It is likely one of those things where I need to pull my big boy pants up and just place an order from Jeremy and call it a day. I will never make this mistake again with a vehicle - headlights will be one of the first things I look at before purchase.

Lower to mid level Rams have ALWAYS had terrible, terrible lights. How many times did I look to see if they were turned on. In the rain at night, they do nothing. Turn 'em off (I did), you'll see.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

It took me a while to change my headlight the first time I did it. Now its a 20 minute job. Maybe 30 if I have a beer.

At least you don't have to take this off. I do. I have. Twice. Can't get the light out w/o full removal.[emoji43] Still not happy and as someone stated, time to pull up the big-boy pants, kick out the coin and do it right.

If I had done it right the first time, I would have had way more drinkin' time and would have used up way less band-aids.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Do you have any type of mechanical skills at all (not trying to be rude or anything)? If so, you can come out wayyyyy less than $1200 if you have some patience. You can pick up a set of aftermarket quad housings for about $150, a set of Mini H1 projectors with harness for about $300 and, after a quick bake in the oven, can have really good output for less than $600. Or you can pick up a set of the oem projector replicas that fit the non-projector trucks, throw in a set of HIDs and you will have decent output. Better than the quads and better than the OEM projectors. And the good thing about going this route is if this isn't enough for you, you have the perfect platform to install some VERY good projectors inside of them, again, if you're willing to take them apart (very easy).

Hey Spud, can you point me at a thread that covers this? Any info or source is greatly appreciated. I love alternate work arounds AND, I can take apart anything! Lol.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

I do have some mechanical skills. I’m sure I could probably do it, but my problem (or hesitation) is that it’s lighting and electrical which I would hate to screw up and have a failure while driving during the evening. Or, get it done and have issues where I’m searching for an answer. So I’m willing to pay more to have someone give me a plug and play option. Hope that makes sense.

https://www.google.com/search?sourc.....0.0..12699...0.0..0.0.0.......0.T_X8AQY3NAE

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

[ I'm no expert but I'm no idiot either.[/QUOTE]

I happen to be an Expert Idiot!

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

I solved the "more light" issue by installing 2 KC Highlight spotters on my front deer guard crosspiece and wired them to a separate switch. They utilize a pencil beam configuration which totally disappears the stock headlights on low or high beam as the brightness of the KC beam totally overpowers OEM.
My response to oncoming traffic is to switch them off and use regular low beam. The brightness is amazing far down the road and using an "eye color reflection" identifier of animals far past the safe distance, I am not unprepared for animals crossing the road. Deer eyes in the dark hit by light resemble two diamonds, skunk eyes are red, etc In my 51 years of driving I have never hit a wild animal but in the last 11 years I started using this system to preclude as well as mitigate my slowing reflexes. I am told the pencil beam configuration is illegal due to the high distance and I have already found these items hard to find. Just a matter of time until they will not be produced, if that has not already happened. They have a BRIGHT distance at least twice that of OEM.

I've hit 6 or 7 deer but, I have been hit by 4! They ran smack into the side of what I was driving. Wife also got a nice 8 point buck with the rear, driver's side door of her Accord. Lookin' for the "eyes" is your only defense.

PS: I don't count opossums, squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, hedge hogs, or any kind of bird. Those are usually just bonus points.

We had a saying: Hit the Deer!

The alternative was skid, swerve, go into the ditch or hit a tree or a pole. BS to that!
Hit the Deer! Never swerve to miss small game. It's just two little thumpity-thumps and its over. Hose off the bottom if you're picky like that.