The do's and dont's of upgrading projector headlights

[muscleram]

If you have condensation issues with the stock projectors you need to remove the plugs blocking the vents in the rear of the headlight. It's like magic. No fogging up ever after that

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[OnSale]

The Morimoto projector bolted right up to the pre existing projector with slight bracket modification.

The boards were upgraded to Fords Mustang boards to make the strips brighter. They required drivers.

The halos were added also which is why they are so bright.

I'll PM you the retrofitter

I added gel packs to mine and they did me no good. It's weird because I never noticed how many Rams have this issue until I looked into it. After it rains keep your eyes peeled for Rams with projectors and you will see SO MANY are fogged up. It's seriously just a design flaw. Some are luckier than others where they either barely fog up or don't at all.. others fog up so badly water droplets start running down the inside of the lenses.

The problems been so bad that FCA issued a TSB for it where if your headlights low beam heat gets rid of the condensation within 30 minutes they won't replace the headlights, but if it doesn't disappear they will. I read on another thread (can't remember which forum) where people have gotten 3 sets of new headlights replaced by the dealership and have still gotten fogged up lights and have thrown in the towel and just given up!


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Hey please dont forget to PM me the name ofnthe retrofitter... I always like finding new companies especially ones who will take Recon lights and customize them. That's awesome.

• 2012 Ram 1500 RCSB Hemi • 22" SRT-10 Wheels Plastidipped Black w/ Bridgestone Tires • Smoked Taillights • Custom Quad Headlights • Opt-7 FluxBeam-X 6000k LED Lows • MicTuning 6000k LED Fogs • K&N 63 Series CAI • Flowmasters Muffler • Line-X Bed • OEM Black Badges All Around • 20% Tint All Around • Lund Tri-Fold Tonneau + plenty more coming soon...

 

[00R/T]

This post is just flat out wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with opening the factory projector lights. If you know what you're doing or pay someone who does, you shouldn't have any issues. There are literally hundreds if not over a thousand sets that have been done by RetroShop alone and I have never heard of a single complaint.

 

[pgr1990]

This post is just flat out wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with opening the factory projector lights. If you know what you're doing or pay someone who does, you shouldn't have any issues. There are literally hundreds if not over a thousand sets that have been done by RetroShop alone and I have never heard of a single complaint.

Sorry to ruffle your feathers, but there is TSB written by FCA for it, the two sets of OEM projectors I have both fogged up and there are numerous threads discussing the issues with the condensation in the projectors. Yeah sure there are some projectors that are totally fine and don't fog up, but it's a crap shoot and the issue isn't uncommon...


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[00R/T]

Sorry to ruffle your feathers, but there is TSB written by FCA for it, the two sets of OEM projectors I have both fogged up and there are numerous threads discussing the issues with the condensation in the projectors. Yeah sure there are some projectors that are totally fine and don't fog up, but it's a crap shoot and the issue isn't uncommon...


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Yes, sometimes the factory projectors get a bit of condensation in the bottom that quickly dissipates, as you said in your original post. You made the assertion that opening the lights causes them to then have persistent condensation that covers the lens. That is simply not true. If the housing is properly sealed it will perform as well as or better than it did from the factory.

 

[pgr1990]

Yes, sometimes the factory projectors get a bit of condensation in the bottom that quickly dissipates, as you said in your original post. You made the assertion that opening the lights causes them to then have persistent condensation that covers the lens. That is simply not true. If the housing is properly sealed it will perform as well as or better than it did from the factory.

The black housing projectors found in the Sport and Rebel models have worse condensation issues than the standard projectors for reasons unknown at this time. My point is before anyone goes out and spends $1000 on OEM projectors planning to open them up, know that there is an issue with condensation that could potentially ruin your build as it did with mine. I had mine resealed 3 times, other members have had their headlights replaced under warranty several times and in both cases it didn't resolve the condensation that filled the lenses for days after it was exposed to water.

There are plenty of threads and even literature from FCA which shows and discusses the entire housings fogging up.

I wish I had this information prior to my build as I probably would have gone a different route instead of gambling on my projectors not having the issue.


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[blackbetty14]

Ok so I'm going to jump in on this. First off, glad your happy with your new headlights and it's nice for some people to go through the effort to upgrade the headlights for real HID equipment.

I'm with 00RT on this. You can't say the OEM stuff is at fault. My 2014 ram with the sport headlights (chrome bezels/shrouds) had light fog around the LED turn signals stock, with or without HIDs in the stock projectors. I opened them myself and retrofitted FXR projectors and since have had no fog wats so ever. Going on 2 years now.

another thing to note is that the fully blacked out projector headlights are exactly the same as the chrome versions, only difference is the chrome shroud. Which plays nothing into what your talking about. The only issue is that the black shroud paint will bubble due to heat from the lense beam output or sun being magnified through the lense. This is why they are recalled and why Jeremy at retroshop doesn't paint the inside of the shrouds and leaves them chrome.

Also FWIW the TYC replicas are not the same as stock. The OE has to deal with lots more restrictions and that's why ALL projector lenses are frosted and fresnel finished. This blurrs the beam and takes away brightness/intensity/ cutoff for incoming traffic. TYC uses a clear lense as they are aftermarket replacement which allows slightly more light output and a sharper cutoff. So they are at an advantage only in that aspect.

So basically you bought an overly expensive shotty headlight and threw more money into it to make it perform better. Personally I think the OE projector headlight looks better and none of the aftermarkets come close but that's personally. It wouldn't be that hard to fully seal the headlights... only the vents and the rear cover on the projector versions. A lot of people forget that the aftermarkets quality isn't the same, your headlights look good now... but what about in 2-3 years when the lense discolors or starts peeling or the LEDs die. Only time will tell.

It's cool to see u go through the effort to improve the shotty original quality and your headlights should work well with the morimoto stuff.

Fog lights and HIDs is a Nono. That's a known thing. Retrofit some projectors in there and you'll be amazed. Basically HIDs should only be used with HID optics.

 

[BEAST19]

Anyone try using flex seal ??? I've opened and sealed many lights and after I seal the lights I tape off the lenses and do a nice thick coat of flex seal around the edges. No fogging for.me


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[monteholic]

my PW has the black projectors, I do get a very small amount of condensation every now and then, goes away quickly

I installed 35 watt HIDs in them and it's a great compared to the stock halogen bulbs, I have no flicker any any other issues with them what so ever

is there better...yes there is, but compare the the stock bulbs it was a great upgrade for less than $150 for a plug and play kit

 

[Rzrman328]

My lights WERE good....no condensation at all.


Then I move to TN and now my passenger light fogs up everyday.

Fml.

 

[pgr1990]

Ok so I'm going to jump in on this. First off, glad your happy with your new headlights and it's nice for some people to go through the effort to upgrade the headlights for real HID equipment.

I'm with 00RT on this. You can't say the OEM stuff is at fault. My 2014 ram with the sport headlights (chrome bezels/shrouds) had light fog around the LED turn signals stock, with or without HIDs in the stock projectors. I opened them myself and retrofitted FXR projectors and since have had no fog wats so ever. Going on 2 years now.

another thing to note is that the fully blacked out projector headlights are exactly the same as the chrome versions, only difference is the chrome shroud. Which plays nothing into what your talking about. The only issue is that the black shroud paint will bubble due to heat from the lense beam output or sun being magnified through the lense. This is why they are recalled and why Jeremy at retroshop doesn't paint the inside of the shrouds and leaves them chrome.

Also FWIW the TYC replicas are not the same as stock. The OE has to deal with lots more restrictions and that's why ALL projector lenses are frosted and fresnel finished. This blurrs the beam and takes away brightness/intensity/ cutoff for incoming traffic. TYC uses a clear lense as they are aftermarket replacement which allows slightly more light output and a sharper cutoff. So they are at an advantage only in that aspect.

So basically you bought an overly expensive shotty headlight and threw more money into it to make it perform better. Personally I think the OE projector headlight looks better and none of the aftermarkets come close but that's personally. It wouldn't be that hard to fully seal the headlights... only the vents and the rear cover on the projector versions. A lot of people forget that the aftermarkets quality isn't the same, your headlights look good now... but what about in 2-3 years when the lense discolors or starts peeling or the LEDs die. Only time will tell.

It's cool to see u go through the effort to improve the shotty original quality and your headlights should work well with the morimoto stuff.

Fog lights and HIDs is a Nono. That's a known thing. Retrofit some projectors in there and you'll be amazed. Basically HIDs should only be used with HID optics.

Its not an opinion, but an objective fact that the headlights have an issue. It's been acknowledged by the manufacturer and there is a protocol to diagnose and replace the entire housings via a TSB written by FCA. Maybe I should have reworded it as I'm not saying ALL the projector headlights have this issue, I'm saying don't waste thousands of dollars upgrading your projectors if you can potentially deal with this like I did.

As I said in my original post it's not known why but the black housings, more specifically the Rebel community, has dealt with this issue more than any other trim line of the Ram. Maybe the white fog contrasts more against the black background?

My chrome oems have the light fog on the bottom near the LEDs and it's actually not bad and it dissipates quickly. My black housings the entire lenses started fogging up for days and staining on the inside so they were definitely worse and became not usable.

I still have my set of stock projectors in case I run into any issues down the road with these Recons!






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[Sir John]

My lights WERE good....no condensation at all.


Then I move to TN and now my passenger light fogs up everyday.

Fml.

Lol....the good old Tenn humidity is playing havoc on your projectors!

Ft Campbell, huh? I was in the 2/17 Air Cav 1995-1999. Good times.

 

[pgr1990]

My lights WERE good....no condensation at all.


Then I move to TN and now my passenger light fogs up everyday.

Fml.

Yeah man I live in Connecticut so we get all sorts of weather... mine were definitely worse in the humid summers and I know Tennessee has super humid summers so it's definitely a factor based on the climate of where you live


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