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Kerley, are you powering the headlights off the batteries through relays? If not, that's what you need to be doing. The stock headlight switch and wiring is notoriously weak. The lights cutting off and coming back on sounds like a circuit breaker in the switch tripping and resetting. I don't have access to a factory service manual at work, so I cannot at the moment be 100% sure there is a circuit breaker in the switch, but what I'm seeing in search results indicates that there is.
Also be sure you have the correct bulb #s in the correct position. 9004 & 9007 take the same connector, but the pinout is different re. hots and ground.
TEXASPRD, my 98.5 24V Cummins has a headlight relay in the PDC, I incorrectly assumed that the onboard relay was all I needed because most of the posts I have read are 95' through 98' 12valve vehicles that did not have the factory relay, now I know better, being an old dog there are many tricks that I have not learned, so I am starting again from scratch. I have read Daniel Stern's website info and ready to proceed. I bought four heavy duty bulb connectors from Amazon and like all others, they appear to be 14 gauge, I also bought four relays with built-in fuses and waterproof, also 14 ga. Some folks say to use 12ga. wire. My bulbs will be about 12 to 16" from the relays mounted next to the battery, would this carry the needed amps to my 9004/9007 bulbs? I do appreciate all the advice I receive. I do very little night driving but I just never know when I'll need too.
It depends on the amperage load you are putting on them. If you are powering 2 55-watt filaments on each circuit, you are probably ok, according to this chart. Two 55W bulbs would be 110W - divide by 12 (nominal circuit voltage) and you get 9.17 amps (round up to 10 amps). According to that chart, you could even get away with 16ga wire if your total run (battery to relay to lamp) is under 5 feet, so 14ga should have no problem. But you need to look at the wattages of each filament and how you will have them wired, to determine total load on each circuit and that will determine wire size. Remember to fuse accordingly. I suspect my relay harness has fusible links - I have it mind to someday replace the fusible links with an actual fuse.
Texasprd. Thank you for the fast reply, I am waiting on the delivery of my relays ordered from Amazon, I live in the country and hate going to town for any reason, I'm getting up in years, retired, and can't stand these rude drivers. I am happy that the 14 gauge wire is ok. Is 16 gauge trigger wire ok? if so I'm good to go.
Thank you, you have been a big help to me.
Tom Kerley.
You need to look at the specs on the relays. I would think 16ga would be plenty, as it shouldn't take much at all to trigger the relays, but you need to look at the electrical specs just to be sure.
The relays need less than 250 milliWatts to hold the "active" position and less than 500 milliWatts during switching.. So the stock light harness has over 100 times the capacity to switch the relays but not enough to drive the bulbs directly.
Alpine ram, I thank you very much for your help, the wiring diagram you shared was a great help to me. One thing I would like to know, Which bulbs were OEM or OME? in the 2nd gen. Ram 2500 Sport model
Last edited by Kerley; 02-14-2019 at 08:50 AM.
Reason: added Sport Model
Going by what Alpine says on the switching current - 500 mW * 2 (the number of relays - either low-beam or high beam, being switched at one time) = 1 watt - divided by 12 volts = .12 amps... so yes, 16ga wire for triggering the relays will be PLENTY good!
Texasprd, 16 ga. ok. I read in google about " 9004-9007 headlight bulb upgrades. They claim that replacing your 9004 with the 9007 for low beam, and replacing the 9007 with the 9004 gives you much brighter headlights, what's your opinion of this upgrade?
For the reason that Katoom mentioned, I'd be very skeptical of that claim. Housings are engineered to work with a specific bulb. The bulbs may physically swap (?), but that doesn't mean the light goes where it should. My harness (purchased) runs all lows or all highs at one time, so I don't have only one bulb per side on low. Half of that premise about bulb-swapping would not apply in my case, so I can't make any further comment on that.
I did find this on the subject of a 9004/9007 swap - the upshot is - don't
For any aftermarket headlight I would strongly suggest going after the light manufacturer's documentation as to which bulb to put where.
The mfg may have designed the reflectors any way he likes, just use his recommended bulb types.
The last ones I installed had 9004 on the outboard side and 9007 inboard side of the light. But I've also seen dual 9007s in aftermarket lights.
All the aftermarket lights I got already had bulbs installed, I do check them and write the number on the case right at the locking ring or in the case of Dodge trucks on the radiator crossmember. Saves a lot of confusion.
Based on the wiring diagram I dont think its even possible to swap the 9004 and 9007 positions unless you left the wiring in the same location. But then your low beam would be on the high beam side of the housing...
If you swap 9004 to 9007 or vice versa without re-pinning the connector you will always have both filaments on at six volts each, meaning only a dim glow. (And maybe the high beam indicator on at low beam selected while still having no light)
But the main fact to consider is that the reflector is designed around the filament position in the bulb to create the correct output pattern. Move the filament and you will get light anywhere but in the desired place. That's why you should not do it.
02-13-2019, 10:56 AM
