Ram 2005 headlight bulbs

BillyW wrote:
My first pair of Sylverstars didn't last much more than a year. They definitely were brighter though for sure. My second set has been in place for years now with no problems. They are not the Ultras. I'm intrigued with Gdetrailer's solution. Sounds like a fun project on an older truck.

Relays are a very popular "mod" by the Ford owners like my self.. Ran into this with my '97 Ford, couldn't see squat.. Added aux drivers lights to it..

Bought a 2003 Ford, same problem.. however I had been reading a lot of Ford forums and discovered that they also had the same problem and the real fix was to use a set of relays..

There was a couple of aftermarket relay kits being sold which are plug and play, no cutting wires but those kits started at $50.. You might even be still able to get them if you search..

I put together my own relay setup and bam.. More than enough light from High and Low beams.. Never once have been flashed by oncoming vehicles..

Had same issue with my 2006 Ford and to a bit lesser extent with my 2013 Ford (2013 has factory fog lights that seam to help a bit so I have not really got around to making a relay kit for it).. My 2013, I did measure the voltage drop and the headlights are only getting 11V when engine is running..

Please, don't install those darned bulbs with the blue tint.. Those dang things have so much scatter they BLIND on coming traffic.. I see that nearly every day commuting to work (1hr each way)..

srt20 wrote:
Dodge headlights are terrible.

My 2nd gen trucks had the worst, my 3rd gen trucks are very bad, and my 2014 projector headlamps are just bad.

So maybe by 2025 they will have headlights comparable to a 2010 Chevy.

Check the voltage at the bulb.. If it less than 13V when the engine is running you need the relays.

On the new to me 05 Ram 2500 CTD, I note a big difference in lighting compared to Old Faithful (97 Ram), but it's still not perfect. What type of bulb should I use while staying street legal? I've used Sylvania's zXe in the old truck, they are good but pricey. What about SylverStar Ultra?

rather then replacing bulbs try what I did to my 05 ... huge difference even with OEM bulbs. I tried the different aftermarket bulbs, they were just as bad. Then I changed the headlight wiring harnesses to heavier gauge wire(the light gauge wiring is ok for relays, but not for headlights)... check this out:

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

DirtyOil wrote:

On the new to me 05 Ram 2500 CTD, I note a big difference in lighting compared to Old Faithful (97 Ram), but it's still not perfect. What type of bulb should I use while staying street legal? I've used Sylvania's zXe in the old truck, they are good but pricey. What about SylverStar Ultra?

rather then replacing bulbs try what I did to my 05 ... huge difference even with OEM bulbs. I tried the different aftermarket bulbs, they were just as bad. Then I changed the headlight wiring harnesses to heavier gauge wire(the light gauge wiring is ok for relays, but not for headlights)... check this out:

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

We have a winner!

Folks please read the link.. It IS what I am talking about.

It isn't your bulbs, nor is it your reflector or housing it IS THE WIRE.

All it takes is two Bosch style relays, some wire and now days you can buy plugs and sockets and you now have the light you are supposed to have.

srt20 wrote:
Dodge headlights are terrible.

My 2nd gen trucks had the worst, my 3rd gen trucks are very bad, and my 2014 projector headlamps are just bad.

So maybe by 2025 they will have headlights comparable to a 2010 Chevy.

It confirms what I thought. Driving with candelight glow is not my idea of fun.

Gdetrailer wrote:

DirtyOil wrote:

On the new to me 05 Ram 2500 CTD, I note a big difference in lighting compared to Old Faithful (97 Ram), but it's still not perfect. What type of bulb should I use while staying street legal? I've used Sylvania's zXe in the old truck, they are good but pricey. What about SylverStar Ultra?

rather then replacing bulbs try what I did to my 05 ... huge difference even with OEM bulbs. I tried the different aftermarket bulbs, they were just as bad. Then I changed the headlight wiring harnesses to heavier gauge wire(the light gauge wiring is ok for relays, but not for headlights)... check this out:

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

We have a winner!

Folks please read the link.. It IS what I am talking about.

It isn't your bulbs, nor is it your reflector or housing it IS THE WIRE.

All it takes is two Bosch style relays, some wire and now days you can buy plugs and sockets and you now have the light you are supposed to have.

Replace the housings, first.

Use ANCOR wiring products, HELLA relays and Phillips Night Guide lamps. I've done the Stern conversion on four vehicles the past dozen years.

I have been using Silverstars (NOT the ultra) in all my vehicles for a while and have never had to replace any. I have heard folks saying that the Silverstars don't last as long, but I have not had any issues with them. They do improve night visibility for me, and they DO NOT have any sort of bluish tint to them.

Agree with GDE on the relay idea too...I added relays when I replaced the OEM foglights with PIAA foglights...used the light-duty OEM wiring as the relay trigger and wired the relays to the battery.

Gdetrailer has a point. Voltage drop through the labyrinthine tangle of narrow-gauge OEM wires can really diminish light output.

Another consideration is that as these bulbs accumulate hours, the filament starts to vaporize and coat the inside surface of the bulb, which makes them visibly dimmer. This is a much slower process with a halogen bulb than with a plain incandescent, but it does happen. If the headlamp bulbs are original to the truck (10 years old), any replacement lamp should appear brighter.

Avoid blue or overly white lamps. The colors overwhelm the rod cells in your eyes, causing night-blindness for you and everyone touched by your light. That's the reason the bluish lights blind everyone. It's not glare, scatter or over-brightness, it's too much light in the blue wavelength. It causes the same effect you get when you go from bright sunlight into a darkened room. You can't see until your eyes adjust - meaning the rod cells in your retinas recover from being overdriven. Traditional yellowish headlamps are much less aggressive to the eye.

I'm sorry in advance if any of this is rambling or incoherent. It's 2° here this morning, and I'm still on my first cup of coffee.

For the last 5 years or so, I've been buying headlight bulbs from Ebay after getting irritated that my $40+ set of Silverstars failed in less than a year.

There's a few companies that make a relay upgrade kit that will power the headlights directly from the batteries, without modifying or cutting the existing wiring.

deltabravo wrote:
There's a few companies that make a relay upgrade kit that will power the headlights directly from the batteries, without modifying or cutting the existing wiring.

I will do some research and see what I can find. I kind of got thinking I should install one on my 2006, which sees a lot of night time driving when I'm doing RV transporting with it.