change to brighter head lights

"BigAWB"......There are several things that need to be considered. First, some believe that where you sit in an RV, above the lights, rather than behind them in a car, causes them to seem less bright.

I conducted an experiment, hoping to improve my lights on my 2005 Monaco Diplomat. The first thing I did was read the Daniel Stern website. Since low voltage to the headlights is often the biggest issue, I added the relays, using larger wiring to power the bulbs. I also bought the ceramic bulb holders from Daniel Stern and the Phillips bulbs. When I wired everything up with the relays, I got an extra benefit. When I turned on the high beams, both the high and low activated for improved high beam lighting.

One of the things that Daniel Sterns discusses are the poor quality lenses used by the manufacturers. Most motor homes use a headlight assembly from some passenger car. My Diplomat used Buick headlight assemblies. The problem is....the manufacturers don't buy them from the OEM manufacturer, but from aftermarket companies. This results in poor quality and misdirected light.

As part of my experiment, I replaced my headlight assemblies with the OEM units, $200.00 a piece.

Once they were aimed, I got good results, but wouldn't call it great. If I were to do it again, I would do everything, but the lenses.

Lastly, my Diplomat had oval fog lights that really didn't do anything. I exchanged them for HElla FF75 driving lights, which were a huge improvement. I drove with them on all the time and they provided great ground lighting close to the front of the motor home and out to the sides without blinding anyone.

You can align yourself....look online for your vehicle specs and maybe even a youtube video

An often overlooked aspect of headlight intensity is the condition of the mirrored reflector inside the lamp itself. Degradation (oxidation) can occur on glass sealed beams (quad or double style) as well as modern modular lamps with replaceable bulbs. If you see moisture condensing inside the lens or a chip/crack in the surface of the lens, chances are you have this condition. At night, turn on the headlamps and look to see how much light is leaking out the REAR of the headlight assembly. Compare that with a new assembly. That's all light that isn't being projected onto the roadway as it should. If your headlights are over 10 years old, chances are there is some degradation of the reflector as well as the lens. If it's bad enough, replacement is about the only way to restore beam intensity and focus.

Chum lee

When we emigrated here fro the UK back in 1968, I was amazed how dim all headlights were compared to the 90-watt halogens my British car had. I didn't realise there was a 48-watt limit back then. When the limit was raised, I changed the lights on my cars and added relays. I no longer worried that the wind at 45 mph might blow the candles out!

On the MH, it wasn't an issue as we didn't use it after dark

Where do you go to have headlights aimed? Or how do you know if they are right or not?

tazman1953

Wiring your high and lows together is illegal by federal law. Also those blue lamps are 50 state illegal as they don't meet the fed standards as well as many of the intense white lamps.

Clicky: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

this is what several people have reference to. Works great, change mine 99 newmar many years ago.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

Brett hit the nail on the head. I added relays to my headlights on my Beaver DP and it made a world of difference for my night driving, albeit very little.

Bikeboy57 wrote:
Install relays to get full voltage to the bulbs or you are wasting your money. Do that first and then see if you want to go further.

Search engine for headlight relays on this forum and there is lot's of info that doesn't need to be repeated.

Agreed.

With engine on, check voltage at the chassis battery. Then again at the headlight. If more than .5 VDC loss, use the old head light wires to close a relay with power coming from a much larger gauge wire (with fuse).

You would be amazed how much brighter headlights are at 14 VDC instead of 12.8 VDC.