Low beam shutter doesn't work after projector swap

[Gibbs]

So I swapped from quad housings to OEM Ram projectors in this thread

https://www.ramforum.com/threads/projectors-an-upgrade.135671/

My high beams are pretty weak and I think I discovered why. The shutters in the low beam projectors are not working. They should move and allow a lot more light to shine through from the low beams. I blocked off the high beams portion of the housings with a rag and then activated the high beams and the low beam cutoff is still there, which means the shutters aren't moving. Any ideas on what to check? I am running these cheap conversion harnesses

https://www.ebay.com/itm/09-18-RAM-...b:g:C0UAAOSwhwlb14YM:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true

but not sure if it has anything to do with them, or if it's a problem with the headlights themselves. I need to figure out which pin activates the shutters on the OEM projectors. I'm a little frustrated, so any help is appreciated

 

[Dinky]

Easy way to tell find out which wire goes to the cut off and give it some power.

 

[Gibbs]

Trying to figure that out right now.
Anybody have any details on how the shutter operates, power wise? Does the shutter operate with a solenoid where at rest the shutter is down, then when pwr is applied it pulls the lens up?

I looked at the shared schematics that @Mpgrimm2 posted here for a 2015 2500.

https://www.ramforum.com/threads/my-2013-shared-schematics-and-other-oem-info.86768/

I found the section called "Exterior Lighting Section- Premium"

I see where the wiring comes to the headlight plug, and I assume it's the wire labeled "high beam headlamp relay control", which goes to pin 1 of each headlight.

Here's a screenshot--the original picture is enormous and even harder to look at on a phone than this one



I assume that 12v goes to pin 1 to operate the shutter, but I'm not sure if "high beam headlamp relay control" is what I should look at since the shutter is actually on the low beams. Confusing terminology. And too many assumptions can get me in trouble sometimes

 

[Lee Peterson]

I'm pretty sure it's pin 1 that gets the 12V. The conversion harness from retroshop has a wire jumped from pin 7 to pin 1. The low beam shutter drops when it's powered from the high beam.

 

[Gibbs]

I'm pretty sure it's pin 1 that gets the 12V. The conversion harness has a wire jumped from pin 7 to pin 1. The low beam shutter drops when it's powered from the high beam.

Awesome, thanks for that, Lee. A jumper wire is the only way I could see to make that work. I'll have to pull the lights later on to look at the conversion harnesses and make sure that they have that wire; And then check for power to pin 1 and, depending on that, maybe bench test the headlights with a 12v battery. The small breakaway battery from my gooseneck is perfect for bench testing stuff like this.
I feel like I'm armed with enough info to do some testing. I'll update as I go.

Thanks!

 

[Lee Peterson]

I was looking at the ebay picture of the harness. It looks like pin 1 is empty. Looks like they have a wire in pin 3 but my Retroshop harness doesn't. See what pin 3 is connected to maybe it's in the wrong spot. Pin 1 is bottom left pin 3 is bottom 2nd slot from left

 

[Gibbs]

I was looking at the ebay picture of the harness. It looks like pin 1 is empty. Looks like they have a wire in pin 3 but my Retroshop harness doesn't. See what pin 3 is connected to maybe it's in the wrong spot. Pin 1 is bottom left pin 3 is bottom 2nd slot from left

I got home from my parents and pulled both lights and both adapter kits. Lo and behold, pin 1 is empty on both connectors. Instead, it's populated in pin 3. According to to wiring pictorial I posted above, pin 3 goes to....

NOTHING! There's not even a male pin on the headlight for #3. They essentially have it connected to the air.

You can see in this pic a Blue wire on pin 7 and a Red wire on pin 3. These 2 are joined together down inside the sleeve. All I need to do is move the Red wire to pin 1 and I'm confident it'll work.



So close, yet so far...
Kinda reminds me of this meme:



I have a sinus headache right now, so I'll fix all this later when I'm feeling better. I'll update the thread when it's all back together.

Lee, I have to say you have a keen eye! Thanks for the response, buddy. I greatly appreciate it!

 

[RedSRT4Me]

If you have the Alfaobd app try this:

When I turned this off by accident my high beams did exactly what you described.

 

[corneileous]

I guess I don’t know what y’all mean by shutter....


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[RedSRT4Me]

I guess I don’t know what y’all mean by shutter....


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Its like a cap that stays over the low beam to keep glare out of other drivers eyes.

Its a huge difference between the shutter functioning properly or not

When they function properly you're high beams will retain a nice hotspot.

 

[corneileous]

Its like a cap that stays over the low beam to keep glare out of other drivers eyes.

Its a huge difference between the shutter functioning properly or not

When they function properly you're high beams will retain a nice hotspot.

View attachment 155051

I guess I’m still confused. Is this something that’s on the factory projectors?


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[Gibbs]

I guess I’m still confused. Is this something that’s on the factory projectors?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It's on factory projectors and TYCs. It's basically a plastic piece that blocks the upper part of the projector beam. When on low beam, the shutter is down, which you can see as a cutoff in the upper part of the beam. When you switch to high beams, the shutter retracts via a solenoid, allowing your low beam to shine unobstructed. With the extra light from the low beam combined with the high beam bulb, it really throws some light.

Low beam= projector with shutter down

High beam= projector with shutter up + high beam bulb

 

[Gibbs]

If you have the Alfaobd app try this:
View attachment 155024
When I turned this off by accident my high beams did exactly what you described.

View attachment 155025

I haven't messed with that setting, so I don't think that's the case with mine. I'm pretty confident the mis-wired adapters are to blame since the wire is in the wrong slot. I'll update once I straighten this out.

 

[corneileous]

Well, I guess I’d have to post my video to YouTube so I can link it here but I think I know what y’all are saying. As I pulled in the driveway of my girlfriends house, I could tell that something was lowering as I dimmed my headlights... I’ve never noticed that before.


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[RedSRT4Me]

I haven't messed with that setting, so I don't think that's the case with mine. I'm pretty confident the mis-wired adapters are to blame since the wire is in the wrong slot. I'll update once I straighten this out.

If you haven't messed with that setting and you had quad headlights by default bi-xenon function is set to off.

 

[RedSRT4Me]

Well, I guess I’d have to post my video to YouTube so I can link it here but I think I know what y’all are saying. As I pulled in the driveway of my girlfriends house, I could tell that something was lowering as I dimmed my headlights... I’ve never noticed that before.


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Bingo. You got it

 

[Ghost_RAM]

If you haven't messed with that setting and you had quad headlights by default bi-xenon function is set to off.

I never enabled bi-xenon in mine either and my projectors function as they should.

CBC Features Configuration:
Tip Start Enabled: Set
Dual Start Relay System Present: Not set
Wiper Service Position Enabled: Not set
AUX High Beam Present: Not set
Trailer Tow Present: Set
Quad Headlamps Enable: Set
Horn Chirp Allowed: Set
Bi Xenon Headlamps Enable: Not set

 

[Arth]

I never enabled bi-xenon in mine either and my projectors function as they should.

CBC Features Configuration:
Tip Start Enabled: Set
Dual Start Relay System Present: Not set
Wiper Service Position Enabled: Not set
AUX High Beam Present: Not set
Trailer Tow Present: Set
Quad Headlamps Enable: Set
Horn Chirp Allowed: Set
Bi Xenon Headlamps Enable: Not set

Your harness may be set up to account for the upgrade from quads? Not sure.

 

[RedSRT4Me]

I never enabled bi-xenon in mine either and my projectors function as they should.

CBC Features Configuration:
Tip Start Enabled: Set
Dual Start Relay System Present: Not set
Wiper Service Position Enabled: Not set
AUX High Beam Present: Not set
Trailer Tow Present: Set
Quad Headlamps Enable: Set
Horn Chirp Allowed: Set
Bi Xenon Headlamps Enable: Not set

Ghost are you running a mopar spec harness on your HID kit?

 

[RedSRT4Me]

Your harness may be set up to account for the upgrade from quads? Not sure.

Took the idea right out of my text