okeydokey
01-15-2008, 10:09 PM
So I decided to upgrade the headlights on my truck so that I could see the road at night.
At first I was going to put some relays on the head lights so that the lights would be getting more power then the switch in the dash was giving them. And replace the 4 lamps with new sealed beam units. Well I was shopping around and found 'Euro Style Headlamps' for my truck. They are not sealed beams, but take a bulb you put in the back of the lamp housing.
The voltage at the headlight plug with the truck off was 9.8v :eek: and at the top of the battery was 12.4v. So obviously my stock wiring was a bit on the weak side, And I am sure that if I would have just put the relays on the headlights there would be a noticeable difference before/after.
Here is the wiring diagram...
http://dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=54135&stc=1&d=1200451372
I put 2 relays on the driver side fender, They are triggered by the high/ and low beam wires in the harness. After the relays I pulled out the old wires out of the rest of the harness. I replaced them with 12 gauge for the highs, and 14 for the lows, and new 12 gauge grounds. This is a Huge improvement from the stock wiring. I would guess the stock is 18 gauge, and where GM splices the wires together it was just taped up so there was corrosion at most of the splices. Plus the passenger side grounds were pretty well gone the main ground was cut and frayed in a few places. I am sure I could have stopped here and just slapped in some sealed beams, and been good but my new light housings and lights were ordered, and on the way.
54136
54137
I bought Hella 165mm Headlight that accepts a H4 style bulb for the top 2 lights. For the bottom 2 I got cheaper 'AutoPal' lights that take a H1 style bulb. The top 2 are not DOT Approved, so hopefully no one notices. I am unsure about the bottoms, I don't have them yet. Here are some pics... :cool:
The lights w/ bulbs
54138
54139
54140
Here is a shot of them in use. (about 25' from the house.)
OFF
54142
Low Beams
54141
High Beams
54143
Overall they are awesome! :D I took them for a drive, and it is like driving a new car. The high beams seem to be unfocused and just throw light all around, but I am sure when I get the bottom 2 installed it will be a lot better. Just for the top 2 housings I paid $60, $15 for the bulbs, and about $10 for wiring stuff. I was aiming to keep this under 70, but looks like I am over budget.
At first I was going to put some relays on the head lights so that the lights would be getting more power then the switch in the dash was giving them. And replace the 4 lamps with new sealed beam units. Well I was shopping around and found 'Euro Style Headlamps' for my truck. They are not sealed beams, but take a bulb you put in the back of the lamp housing.
The voltage at the headlight plug with the truck off was 9.8v :eek: and at the top of the battery was 12.4v. So obviously my stock wiring was a bit on the weak side, And I am sure that if I would have just put the relays on the headlights there would be a noticeable difference before/after.
Here is the wiring diagram...
http://dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=54135&stc=1&d=1200451372
I put 2 relays on the driver side fender, They are triggered by the high/ and low beam wires in the harness. After the relays I pulled out the old wires out of the rest of the harness. I replaced them with 12 gauge for the highs, and 14 for the lows, and new 12 gauge grounds. This is a Huge improvement from the stock wiring. I would guess the stock is 18 gauge, and where GM splices the wires together it was just taped up so there was corrosion at most of the splices. Plus the passenger side grounds were pretty well gone the main ground was cut and frayed in a few places. I am sure I could have stopped here and just slapped in some sealed beams, and been good but my new light housings and lights were ordered, and on the way.
54136
54137
I bought Hella 165mm Headlight that accepts a H4 style bulb for the top 2 lights. For the bottom 2 I got cheaper 'AutoPal' lights that take a H1 style bulb. The top 2 are not DOT Approved, so hopefully no one notices. I am unsure about the bottoms, I don't have them yet. Here are some pics... :cool:
The lights w/ bulbs
54138
54139
54140
Here is a shot of them in use. (about 25' from the house.)
OFF
54142
Low Beams
54141
High Beams
54143
Overall they are awesome! :D I took them for a drive, and it is like driving a new car. The high beams seem to be unfocused and just throw light all around, but I am sure when I get the bottom 2 installed it will be a lot better. Just for the top 2 housings I paid $60, $15 for the bulbs, and about $10 for wiring stuff. I was aiming to keep this under 70, but looks like I am over budget.