Here's how to replace front headlight bulbs

[storm80y]

Are you replacing the bulbs in the E13 heatlight pod , or the Depo E4

Sorry, but I don't know which/what you mean?

[dfnder]

Ok I just got my truck on the road last week, I'm super stoked about it and enjoying it immensly but the lights are bugging me a little. I have the Depot headlights and the low beam is the round lens on my setup but when I turn on the high beams the light seems to only shine onto the ground 20 feet infront of me. Yes they are bright but I actually prefer to use only the low beams as the contrast is to great to see well into the distance. Is that normal?
My fog lights are similar, Mardy told me they were nice ones (IPE) but they to only shine directly infront of the vehicle because they are crowded by the bull bar and can't sit back to shine further.

[Green1]

Is that normal?

Yes. The most common problem with the headlights is not the brightness as everyone claims, it's the aim. they have to be re-aimed properly or they will be useless.

[Erebus]

Ok I just got my truck on the road last week, I'm super stoked about it and enjoying it immensly but the lights are bugging me a little. I have the Depot headlights and the low beam is the round lens on my setup but when I turn on the high beams the light seems to only shine onto the ground 20 feet infront of me. Yes they are bright but I actually prefer to use only the low beams as the contrast is to great to see well into the distance. Is that normal?
My fog lights are similar, Mardy told me they were nice ones (IPE) but they to only shine directly infront of the vehicle because they are crowded by the bull bar and can't sit back to shine further.

You need to re-aim the headlights, both high and low.
As for the fog lights -- first off, being mounted on top of the bull bars makes them useless as fog lights. And the mounting system with the little bracket attached to the bullbar above makes it impossible to aim them. That's why I changed the foglights completely. See this post for photo. Now they are low, aimable, and protected.

[patty]

im just gettin double hit with everything this year. SURPRISE the exact light that got freid earlier in the year is once again fried. iv yet to pop it out but i bet it will be the connectors all fried up and not the bulb.
what would cause this to keep happening, and not burnin the fuse while doin so?

tradin in the deli for a mini truck is starting to look really nice... and just found to mini truck dealers in PG!

thanks

[Green1]

the connectors are cheap, they corrode, you need to properly solder them back together to give it any hope of lasting.

[naterade]

One of my low beams burned out so I pulled it out (thanks for the guidance) and found two options at Canadian Tire, a 55W and 100W - the original bulb was only 24W (I thought it was a bit weak...)

So I opted for the 100W and bought 2 so I could replace both sides with nice bright beams.

And bright they are!! Wow what a difference

Just wondering if anyone forsees any issues using a bulb that's 4 times the wattage of the original?? Besides of course the increased draw from the electrical system


Cheers
Nate

[fexlboi]

Depends how you wired in your DRL you probably burn out your light/indicator-switch assembly on the steering wheel pretty quick. Have you done this mod? http://www.delica.ca/forum/headlight-re ... -7815.html
Second keep in mind the wiring to the headlights are not built for this kind of load. Third, as far as I know 100W bulbs are not legal (if you care)

[naterade]

Depends how you wired in your DRL you probably burn out your light/indicator-switch assembly on the steering wheel pretty quick. Have you done this mod? http://www.delica.ca/forum/headlight-re ... -7815.html
Second keep in mind the wiring to the headlights are not built for this kind of load. Third, as far as I know 100W bulbs are not legal (if you care)

I have not done any mods of any kind to my electrical system, but that's not to say it wasn't done before I bought the vehicle...

I don't want to burn out anything for the sake of brighter lights, perhaps I will down-grade to 55W - I assume those will be OK?

Legality isn't a huge concern to me, but I wonder why they sell stuff that isn't legal....


Thanks for your feedback!

[Erebus]

Legality isn't a huge concern to me, but I wonder why they sell stuff that isn't legal....

It probably has fine print on the packaging, "for off-road use only." I don't believe there are any jurisdictions in North America that allow for 100w bulbs in headlights.

[torchard]

I was going to go with a set of driving lights 'cause I'm tired of these anemic lights, however I've gone with the 100w swap as well - following the lead of the folks in Coombs. Time will tell if it's a problematic "solution". I can confirm that aiming is not the issue. There simply is not enough light getting out of the lenses for whatever reason. The 100w swap is an improvement and so far I've not gotten any negative response from other drivers on the road however it's been only a few days. I'm thinking the low cut off should help with keeping the brightness out of people's eyes. And besides it's not that siginficant an improvement. Assuming the wiring and switches can handle the load, the risk is shortened bulb life, but i'm willing to accept that relatively low cost risk.

Nothing an L400 won't cure.

--T

[Erebus]

Before you burn out the wiring and/or headlight switch, you might want to consider powering the headlights directly from the battery, using the existing wiring to trigger a relay the heavy gauge wire from the battery.

See the post from Tardis Deli here: http://www.delica.ca/forum/headlight-re ... -7815.html for the details on wiring.

Better to modify now, than a fire under the dash due to overloaded wiring.

[torchard]

I think the amperage draw from those bulbs is within the tolerance of the wiring. Albeit, I think it's on the upper end of capacity though. The stock relay is still in place so the switch is not bearing any increased demand. Or am I missing something?

--Todd

[Elbrad]

I can see I'm a little late to the party here, but I'm replacing my 55w bulbs (affectionately referred to as "hot nails") with 100w bulbs bought at Crappy Tire today.

We'll see what it looks like under there, I'm hoping to wire my driving lights into my DRL system in lieu of having my headlights on 24-7.

Will post an update once the swearing is done and the bleeding stops.

[edit]

So, there's no blood, and a minimum amount of swearing. They definitely put the headlights in an awkward spot to change the bulbs! I couldn't figure out the DRL, so it stays as is for now.

[Elbrad]

Well, the passenger lamp blew. Drivers side is still going. Stopped in at Lordco and asked for the brightest lamp they had in an H3 55w, and was directed to a set of PIAA lamps. ~$60/pair.

Will install soon.