Crummy headlights - Can't see, need upgrade

[BobsYourUncle]

My old 2007 GMC has never had the best headlights.

Driving from Lethbridge to Calgary last night I was really cussing them.
Old original factory headlights and I cannot see worth a darn. They are so lame that I deem them unsafe.

I have tried different bulbs in them over the years but no real joy there either. One side is a repro unit from a major collision repair in 2012. It is so yellow and dull that I can see a huge difference in the 2.


Anyhow, enough of that....

I am looking for ideas on some decent aftermarket lighting, including the headlight housings themselves. I really like the lights on the newer vehicles, they look great.

I just want to see in safety without blinding oncoming traffic.

Back in the days of my youth we would just replace the sealed beams with Cibies, Bosch or Wipacs. Can't do that today.

Anyone done a complete upgrade kit to their headlights? I'd like to go with LED, so I don't have to put in heavy duty drivers and such. I don't know a lot about them.

I gotta fix this thing, it's terrible.

[Gdetrailer]

Mike LeClair wrote:
Hey Bob! I have used Daniel Stern Lighting for my older trucks. He builds very robust, complete light harnesses for just about any vehicle (North American). The harnesses are complete and the instructions are, well, in English. You can look him up on line.

I am learning as I follow this thread. Are the Sylvania ZXE bulbs also built on the low voltage high watt burn out fast model? I was thinking about buying a foursome for my 06 Sierra 3500. Maybe not so much anymore?

I replaced the drivers side housing off of Amazon and was pretty impressed with the fit, finish and design of the off shore product. Fits and works perfectly.

Cheers!
Mike

Yes, ZXE are "Silverstars" based 12.5V 60W-65W bulbs, as such 250 hrs max life..

ZXE are nothing more than blue color tinted high wattage bulbs to LOOK like HID, The blue tint filters out some of the red hues which means it LOOK less yellow..



Doesn't mean it gets you "better vision".

Those ZXE are trying to imitate typical HID color temps which most folks choose 5,000K and up.. Gives them the "cool" trendy look without the price of HID. They are marketed to the young kids who have not enough money in the pocket to afford real HID.. Read the they marketing hype from Sylvania..













These are all about "looks", not about actual "improvement" in seeing distance.

In fact, adding any color "filtering" takes away brightness which is why they had to increase the wattage..

Something else to consider, using higher wattage bulbs than what the fixture and plug were designed for can result in the fixture deforming and the plug melting..

Save your money and buy the plain "basic" halogen bulb and let the "kiddies" waste their money on these for the trendy look..

[Mike_LeClair]

Hey Bob! I have used Daniel Stern Lighting for my older trucks. He builds very robust, complete light harnesses for just about any vehicle (North American). The harnesses are complete and the instructions are, well, in English. You can look him up on line.

I am learning as I follow this thread. Are the Sylvania ZXE bulbs also built on the low voltage high watt burn out fast model? I was thinking about buying a foursome for my 06 Sierra 3500. Maybe not so much anymore?

I replaced the drivers side housing off of Amazon and was pretty impressed with the fit, finish and design of the off shore product. Fits and works perfectly.

Cheers!
Mike

[DrewE]

Many DRLs use the high beam filament rather than the low beam one (again, at reduced power). This actually makes good sense; the goal of a DRL is for other drivers to see you, so using the filament where the beam isn't specifically shaped avoid shining in other driver's eyes is helpful. It's also true in many cases that low beams are used more than high beams in normal driving, so putting the extra wear and tear on the high beam filaments doesn't shorten the bulb's lifespan as much--although the shorter lifespan in either case is minimal due to the lower power operation.

[road-runner]

Gdetrailer wrote:

Generally for headlights the manufacturer uses a resistor in series with low beam filament, dropping the voltage and brightness for that function.

Wow, sounds like poor design to me. I'm surprised they don't use a PWM circuit instead of having to get rid of all the heat from that resistor. There's no guaranteed airstream to cool the resistor as with old-school heater fan resistors.

[ktmrfs]

Gdetrailer wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:


yes, most "standard" bulbs will have long life even with full battery voltage going to them and be much brighter than factory wiring.

I did try the xtravision with upgraded wiring. Yes they were brighter, but a pretty short life. But IMHO not enough brighter to justify the short life and higher cost.

Key point is that light output is highly dependent on voltage, not a linear or square law relationship, even stronger but bulb life is even a stronger relationship to voltage. No free lunch.

Correct.

Brighter the bulb, the less life you will get and as I mentioned, my own experience with a relay harness and using standard halogen bulbs I did not see any drastic reduction in bulb life..

The OEM wiring is reducing the voltage so much that you could easily drive 100K miles (or even much more) with a lot of night driving and never have to change a bulb.

Getting the bulb voltage up may trade off SOME bulb life but it is a good trade off and most likely will not be a big issue given how crummy most auto headlights are. Typical Halogen lights are rated 2,000 hrs so even if we lose 25% of the life when operated at full battery voltage it would mean only 1,500 hrs of operation.. I am good with that, much better than 250 hrs of Xtravision..

1,500 hrs of night driving at 60 MPH is 90,000 miles of night driving..

250 hrs of night driving at 60 MPH is 15,000 miles which in my case would have meant changing Xtravision bulbs every 10 months..

I do have one concern, I believe Bob is in Canada, as such he may need some provision for DRL functions depending on his countries regulations for that yr (not sure when CA required DRL)..

Relay kits will bypass DRL function if it was done via the headlights being routed through a resistor to reduce headlamp brightness during the day..

If so, may need to improvise further with modified relay setup that includes a Single pole double throw relay that connects headlights to resistor when no headlights are turned on but engine is running..

GM used parking lights for DRL at least in the U.S. for many years. Don't know if they used the same system in canada. In any event on my 2004 duramax the kennedy diesel kit didn't affect the DRL function with the parking lights.

My experience with the sylvania xtra vision is that I went through a couple of sets of low beams in less than a year. and high beams in less than a year as well. low beam short life was probably due to me having headlight low beams on anytime I'm on the highway. And at the time I was using them we did a fair amount of night driving when I could use the high beams for miles on end. Couple that with the kennedy diesel kit that gave me full voltage to the bulbs didn't help.

In the end I went to HIR bulbs which are better than regular H series (9004/9005) but take a slight mod to the plastic base to work. (9011/9012) GM eventually switch to those bulbs on later trucks. Much longer life than the sylvania but almost the same light output due to a more complex and more robust design and longer lasting filament. And they aren't cheap, $40 or so each at the time. HIR bulbs lasted 3-4 years before needing to replace them.

Phillips now makes HIR 9011/9012 and the price seems to have come down.

The HIR used a different gas composition. What I found interesting is that a typical H series bulb if you look at the filament as it ages you can see bumps where tungsten has redeposited non uniformly. With the HIR bulbs one had to look very closely to see any non uniform redeposit of the tungsten on the filament.

[Gdetrailer]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Driving lights during day has been a requirement in Canada since 1989. I wish it would include tail lights, too.

Since OP has a 2007, yeah it would apply.

The question now becomes is his DRL using the headlights at a reduced power level?

If so, store bought relay kits most likely will remove that function, not aware of any that add or include DRL but perhaps there might be..

Generally for headlights the manufacturer uses a resistor in series with low beam filament, dropping the voltage and brightness for that function.

Turn the headlights on via your dash switch and the resistor is bypassed allowing "full" voltage to headlight..

To restore that function with a relay kit will require a SPST relay that when headlight switch is off the NC contact will connect the resistor to the headlight..

Of course if OPs DRL is done via separate "driving lights" then premade relay kit should be OK to use.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Driving lights during day has been a requirement in Canada since 1989. I wish it would include tail lights, too.

[Gdetrailer]

ktmrfs wrote:


yes, most "standard" bulbs will have long life even with full battery voltage going to them and be much brighter than factory wiring.

I did try the xtravision with upgraded wiring. Yes they were brighter, but a pretty short life. But IMHO not enough brighter to justify the short life and higher cost.

Key point is that light output is highly dependent on voltage, not a linear or square law relationship, even stronger but bulb life is even a stronger relationship to voltage. No free lunch.

Correct.

Brighter the bulb, the less life you will get and as I mentioned, my own experience with a relay harness and using standard halogen bulbs I did not see any drastic reduction in bulb life..

The OEM wiring is reducing the voltage so much that you could easily drive 100K miles (or even much more) with a lot of night driving and never have to change a bulb.

Getting the bulb voltage up may trade off SOME bulb life but it is a good trade off and most likely will not be a big issue given how crummy most auto headlights are. Typical Halogen lights are rated 2,000 hrs so even if we lose 25% of the life when operated at full battery voltage it would mean only 1,500 hrs of operation.. I am good with that, much better than 250 hrs of Xtravision..

1,500 hrs of night driving at 60 MPH is 90,000 miles of night driving..

250 hrs of night driving at 60 MPH is 15,000 miles which in my case would have meant changing Xtravision bulbs every 10 months..

I do have one concern, I believe Bob is in Canada, as such he may need some provision for DRL functions depending on his countries regulations for that yr (not sure when CA required DRL)..

Relay kits will bypass DRL function if it was done via the headlights being routed through a resistor to reduce headlamp brightness during the day..

If so, may need to improvise further with modified relay setup that includes a Single pole double throw relay that connects headlights to resistor when no headlights are turned on but engine is running..

[ktmrfs]

Gdetrailer wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Bob,

Power varies by the square of the voltage.

12.6 x 12.6 = 158.76

11 x 11 = 121

121 / 158.76 = 22% less light.

even worse than that.

on incandescent lights, light output increases about 3.5% for a 1% increase in voltage. for a car that means a 0.12V increase in voltage will increase light output by about 3.5%. typical drop between the battery and bulb with factory wiring can easily be 0.5V-1V. getting that 0.5V back will make a big difference in light output. A 1V increase in voltage will give close to a 30% increase in brightness.

Likewise a 1V drop from nominal will drop light output to about 70% of nominal voltage output.

Downside is that a 5% overvoltage decreases bulb life by 50%, while a 5% undervoltage almost doubles life. That's why the super long life incandesent bulbs are usually listed for 130V operating voltage, run at 120V they last a long time.

Most car bulbs are designed for about 13.5V

Most car bulbs never see 13.5V and would be lucky to ever see 12V in their lifetime.

Bulbs like the Sylvania Silverstars are a LOWER VOLTAGE and higher wattage bulb and with that they come with many less hrs of life..

SEE here..

Silverstars and Xtravision are rated for 12.8V 55W and 65W respectively max wattage and have 850hrs and 250hrs life respectively.. Many folks have complained after they paid the outrageous price for those bulbs after not getting much life out of them (they didn't read the box).

Myself, I have just used the standard halogen bulbs with a relay kit and have never had any issues with shortened bulb life. 22 yrs of my hr commute and most of that commute fully in night time hrs I can only remember replacing a couple of bulbs over 3 vehicles and the combined mileage of those vehicles was around 400K miles of driving..

OP will not see much if any shortened life as long as they stay away from the lower voltage higher wattage bulbs and go with standard bulbs..

yes, most "standard" bulbs will have long life even with full battery voltage going to them and be much brighter than factory wiring.

I did try the xtravision with upgraded wiring. Yes they were brighter, but a pretty short life. But IMHO not enough brighter to justify the short life and higher cost.

Key point is that light output is highly dependent on voltage, not a linear or square law relationship, even stronger but bulb life is even a stronger relationship to voltage. No free lunch.

[BobsYourUncle]

All this good information.
I appreciate everybody's input here. Thank you all.

[Gdetrailer]

ktmrfs wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Bob,

Power varies by the square of the voltage.

12.6 x 12.6 = 158.76

11 x 11 = 121

121 / 158.76 = 22% less light.

even worse than that.

on incandescent lights, light output increases about 3.5% for a 1% increase in voltage. for a car that means a 0.12V increase in voltage will increase light output by about 3.5%. typical drop between the battery and bulb with factory wiring can easily be 0.5V-1V. getting that 0.5V back will make a big difference in light output. A 1V increase in voltage will give close to a 30% increase in brightness.

Likewise a 1V drop from nominal will drop light output to about 70% of nominal voltage output.

Downside is that a 5% overvoltage decreases bulb life by 50%, while a 5% undervoltage almost doubles life. That's why the super long life incandesent bulbs are usually listed for 130V operating voltage, run at 120V they last a long time.

Most car bulbs are designed for about 13.5V

Most car bulbs never see 13.5V and would be lucky to ever see 12V in their lifetime.

Bulbs like the Sylvania Silverstars are a LOWER VOLTAGE and higher wattage bulb and with that they come with many less hrs of life..

SEE here..

Silverstars and Xtravision are rated for 12.8V 55W and 65W respectively max wattage and have 850hrs and 250hrs life respectively.. Many folks have complained after they paid the outrageous price for those bulbs after not getting much life out of them (they didn't read the box).

Myself, I have just used the standard halogen bulbs with a relay kit and have never had any issues with shortened bulb life. 22 yrs of my hr commute and most of that commute fully in night time hrs I can only remember replacing a couple of bulbs over 3 vehicles and the combined mileage of those vehicles was around 400K miles of driving..

OP will not see much if any shortened life as long as they stay away from the lower voltage higher wattage bulbs and go with standard bulbs..

[BobsYourUncle]

I'm thinking about something like this.
Or
This
I have to search for 2006 instead of 2007. Same truck as mine without the hassle of having all the 2007.5 to 2013 items show up.

Anyone know anything about Spyder automotive lighting?
Then I can decide what bulbs to put in them.

[ktmrfs]

pianotuna wrote:
Bob,

Power varies by the square of the voltage.

12.6 x 12.6 = 158.76

11 x 11 = 121

121 / 158.76 = 22% less light.

even worse than that.

on incandescent lights, light output increases about 3.5% for a 1% increase in voltage. for a car that means a 0.12V increase in voltage will increase light output by about 3.5%. typical drop between the battery and bulb with factory wiring can easily be 0.5V-1V. getting that 0.5V back will make a big difference in light output. A 1V increase in voltage will give close to a 30% increase in brightness.

Likewise a 1V drop from nominal will drop light output to about 70% of nominal voltage output.

Downside is that a 5% overvoltage decreases bulb life by 50%, while a 5% undervoltage almost doubles life. That's why the super long life incandesent bulbs are usually listed for 130V operating voltage, run at 120V they last a long time.

Most car bulbs are designed for about 13.5V

[ktmrfs]

BobsYourUncle wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
First and foremost, measure the voltage AT THE BULB!

If your GM is as bad as Fords headlights one the the best upgrades you can do is bypass the OEM wiring with a relay kit.

OEM wiring is barely up to the task, often they will use 18 ga wire to the headlights and when you add up the wire length by the time the voltage reaches the headlights the bulb is only getting about 11V!

You can buy or built your own headlight relay kit, I have made my own using $2.00 30A Bosch relays and 10 ga wire (relay kit goes under hood near battery and you can get replacement harness repair parts to make it plug and play setup.. Plug the input of the relays into one of the headlight connections and the outputs of the relays to your headlights.. connect relay kit to 12V power and ground and now you have full battery voltage.. Basically about 25% improvement in brightness.

I would recommend avoiding LED replacement bulbs in any OEM style or aftermarket housing, quality is spotty at best, some have fans that will eventually fail, some the drivers make a lot of Radio interference and worst of all, LEDs cannot fully simulate the position of the filament making getting a good pattern that doesn't blind on coming traffic difficult to impossible.

Not to mention typically those LED retrofits use LEDs in blueish color temps of 6,000K-6,500K which results in harsh shadows and depending on your eyesight may make your vision even more difficult.

Try building headlight relay kit first, if that doesn't work well, add on an aux driving lights or fog lights (that is what I did for my 97 Ford BEFORE I figured out the headlight bulbs were not getting full battery voltage), those lights were like using a candle)..

That's a great tip, thanks. I never thought about checking the voltage at the lights. I do recall looking at the size of the wiring once, thinking to myself it looked a little on the lame side.
I used to put relays, do the wiring and put aircraft landing lights on my old vehicles. Boy did those ever poke a hole into the night!
Illegal though, got busted a couple times so I stopped using them......

kennedy diesel sells a "headlight booster kit" that is plug and play for duramax with quad headlights. Includes heavy duty wiring and relays to bypass the factory small wire and connect to the battery through a fused system. Also will have the low beams stay on with the high beam system.

Did this on my 04.5 duramax which already had pretty good headlights, and it made a very noticeable improvement. Not sure why GM turned off the low beams with the high beams on with quad headlights. Most vehicles leave them on and it is completely legal.

[olfarmer]

In our old MH, I ran a wire directly from the battery to a relay that was controlled by the light switch. It made a big difference! Also, I agree with the statement, that the lights got a lot brighter after cataract surgery. 😉