Looking for some headlight advice.
#1
Looking for some headlight advice.
Well like everyone else, my headlights stink! I have read so much on this it ha left me a little confussed.
Can I make any changes for $200 or less that will brighten things up without melting my dash?
Is it worth making the stock lenses work or change them.
Which is cheaper, Sport lights with harness upgrade or Projector lights with harness?
Can I make any changes for $200 or less that will brighten things up without melting my dash?
Is it worth making the stock lenses work or change them.
Which is cheaper, Sport lights with harness upgrade or Projector lights with harness?
#2
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I just bought the Anzo lights from Genos Garage http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo....r=ANZO-111068C They were real easy to install, only took about 20 min or so. They came with bulbs, and although they are no where near as bright as my old 04.5 lights were, they are WAY better than the stock lights. Another bonus is that you can aim them with a phillips screwdriver instead of a torx like the stock ones. For only $205 for the pair, I think they are a decent upgrade.
Scott
Scott
#3
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There are a number of diagrams for adding relays to your original system , it keeps from heating up the headlite sw. makes lites brighter and if you find good source for parts , could cost around $10 .
The way it works is , getting all the power to the headlites , right from the battery , not going through the headlite sw.
You send $600 on headlite system if you wanted , and about 4 steps between .
The way it works is , getting all the power to the headlites , right from the battery , not going through the headlite sw.
You send $600 on headlite system if you wanted , and about 4 steps between .
#4
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No matter what you do the headlight relay system is well worth the time and money. As said, it takes the load off the switch and wiring. Dodge wire systems are notorious for being very light and will just handle stock load when in good condition. Put relays in and polish out the light covers. Makes a pretty noticeable difference.
#5
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i had the same issue - the stockers (non-sport) were junk for light output.
i then installed the LMC harness - don't spend the money on it, it is cheaply made - but it did make a noticeable difference.
i kept the harness installed and went to the popular one-piece housings commonly found on ebay and in the LMC catalogue. the light pattern in these housings was terrible, and while adjustment was very easy, there was only one adjustment screw (can't fine tune it very well). i think these one-piece housings have poor quality control because some guys are thrilled with them while others are very unhappy . . .
the LMC harness started giving me trouble (cheaply built) so i took it out and ran the stock wiring with the one-piece housings.
i then had an accident causing damage to the front end - took a cash settlement with the ins company and upgraded to OEM sport housings and built my own HD relayed harness. i should have spent the money on the sport light upgrade in the first place, i feel it was well worth it.
if i were you (knowing now what i didn't in the beginning) i would do the sport light conversion - no doubt about it. but doing it all at once can be very expensive depending on where you source the parts from. if i were to do it again, i would have just built a sport light harness and kept the non-sport housings. then at a later date i would upgrade the housings when it becomes more budget-wise.
i'm sure you know, the sport lights have 2 bulbs per side and the non-sport only have one per side. a harness built for the sport light conversion will still work fine. all you have to do is add one wire per side (compared to the typical diagrams) and leave the second bulb per side unplugged.
i just gave you a lot of info here, i'll keep an eye on this thread so shoot me some questions . . .
i then installed the LMC harness - don't spend the money on it, it is cheaply made - but it did make a noticeable difference.
i kept the harness installed and went to the popular one-piece housings commonly found on ebay and in the LMC catalogue. the light pattern in these housings was terrible, and while adjustment was very easy, there was only one adjustment screw (can't fine tune it very well). i think these one-piece housings have poor quality control because some guys are thrilled with them while others are very unhappy . . .
the LMC harness started giving me trouble (cheaply built) so i took it out and ran the stock wiring with the one-piece housings.
i then had an accident causing damage to the front end - took a cash settlement with the ins company and upgraded to OEM sport housings and built my own HD relayed harness. i should have spent the money on the sport light upgrade in the first place, i feel it was well worth it.
if i were you (knowing now what i didn't in the beginning) i would do the sport light conversion - no doubt about it. but doing it all at once can be very expensive depending on where you source the parts from. if i were to do it again, i would have just built a sport light harness and kept the non-sport housings. then at a later date i would upgrade the housings when it becomes more budget-wise.
i'm sure you know, the sport lights have 2 bulbs per side and the non-sport only have one per side. a harness built for the sport light conversion will still work fine. all you have to do is add one wire per side (compared to the typical diagrams) and leave the second bulb per side unplugged.
i just gave you a lot of info here, i'll keep an eye on this thread so shoot me some questions . . .
#6
Registered User
I just bought the Anzo lights from Genos Garage http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo....r=ANZO-111068C They were real easy to install, only took about 20 min or so. They came with bulbs, and although they are no where near as bright as my old 04.5 lights were, they are WAY better than the stock lights. Another bonus is that you can aim them with a phillips screwdriver instead of a torx like the stock ones. For only $205 for the pair, I think they are a decent upgrade.
Scott
Scott
#7
i had the same issue - the stockers (non-sport) were junk for light output.
i then installed the LMC harness - don't spend the money on it, it is cheaply made - but it did make a noticeable difference.
i kept the harness installed and went to the popular one-piece housings commonly found on ebay and in the LMC catalogue. the light pattern in these housings was terrible, and while adjustment was very easy, there was only one adjustment screw (can't fine tune it very well). i think these one-piece housings have poor quality control because some guys are thrilled with them while others are very unhappy . . .
the LMC harness started giving me trouble (cheaply built) so i took it out and ran the stock wiring with the one-piece housings.
i then had an accident causing damage to the front end - took a cash settlement with the ins company and upgraded to OEM sport housings and built my own HD relayed harness. i should have spent the money on the sport light upgrade in the first place, i feel it was well worth it.
if i were you (knowing now what i didn't in the beginning) i would do the sport light conversion - no doubt about it. but doing it all at once can be very expensive depending on where you source the parts from. if i were to do it again, i would have just built a sport light harness and kept the non-sport housings. then at a later date i would upgrade the housings when it becomes more budget-wise.
i'm sure you know, the sport lights have 2 bulbs per side and the non-sport only have one per side. a harness built for the sport light conversion will still work fine. all you have to do is add one wire per side (compared to the typical diagrams) and leave the second bulb per side unplugged.
i just gave you a lot of info here, i'll keep an eye on this thread so shoot me some questions . . .
i then installed the LMC harness - don't spend the money on it, it is cheaply made - but it did make a noticeable difference.
i kept the harness installed and went to the popular one-piece housings commonly found on ebay and in the LMC catalogue. the light pattern in these housings was terrible, and while adjustment was very easy, there was only one adjustment screw (can't fine tune it very well). i think these one-piece housings have poor quality control because some guys are thrilled with them while others are very unhappy . . .
the LMC harness started giving me trouble (cheaply built) so i took it out and ran the stock wiring with the one-piece housings.
i then had an accident causing damage to the front end - took a cash settlement with the ins company and upgraded to OEM sport housings and built my own HD relayed harness. i should have spent the money on the sport light upgrade in the first place, i feel it was well worth it.
if i were you (knowing now what i didn't in the beginning) i would do the sport light conversion - no doubt about it. but doing it all at once can be very expensive depending on where you source the parts from. if i were to do it again, i would have just built a sport light harness and kept the non-sport housings. then at a later date i would upgrade the housings when it becomes more budget-wise.
i'm sure you know, the sport lights have 2 bulbs per side and the non-sport only have one per side. a harness built for the sport light conversion will still work fine. all you have to do is add one wire per side (compared to the typical diagrams) and leave the second bulb per side unplugged.
i just gave you a lot of info here, i'll keep an eye on this thread so shoot me some questions . . .
Doj Dewd, thank you for your input as well as the others.
I think Doj Dewd kind of knows where I was going with this.........."Please tell a cheap b******d the way to do it cheap."
This is my route. I will try to post pics and updates as I go. Thanks again.
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#8
Registered User
Well like everyone else, my headlights stink! I have read so much on this it ha left me a little confused.
Can I make any changes for $200 or less that will brighten things up without melting my dash?
Is it worth making the stock lenses work or change them.
Which is cheaper, Sport lights with harness upgrade or Projector lights with harness?
Can I make any changes for $200 or less that will brighten things up without melting my dash?
Is it worth making the stock lenses work or change them.
Which is cheaper, Sport lights with harness upgrade or Projector lights with harness?
#9
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i'm sure you know, the sport lights have 2 bulbs per side and the non-sport only have one per side. a harness built for the sport light conversion will still work fine. all you have to do is add one wire per side (compared to the typical diagrams) and leave the second bulb per side unplugged.
i just gave you a lot of info here, i'll keep an eye on this thread so shoot me some questions . . .
i just gave you a lot of info here, i'll keep an eye on this thread so shoot me some questions . . .
#10
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Sport headlights use 9004 and 9007 bulbs - 1 in each headlight. Doj Dewd can tell you where to get all the wiring goodies to make your own harness from scratch.
#11
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the sport lights as they come from dodge use 9007 & 9004 bulbs. one of each per side. the 9007's are the outboard bulbs (low beam/high beam) and the 9004 bulbs are inboard (high beam only).
i ordered my sockets from here:
http://www.innovativewiring.com/Part...tPartsPage.htm
i ordered my sockets from here:
http://www.innovativewiring.com/Part...tPartsPage.htm
#13
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order with confidence. i did a group by with some local members and he was very easy to deal with.
ask him to throw in some extra terminal pins in case you screw up with your soldering and crimping . . .
ask him to throw in some extra terminal pins in case you screw up with your soldering and crimping . . .
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