winnebago headlights too dim

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Sara

Member
Joined
May 12, 2009
Posts
20
Location
Modesto, CA
We thoroughly enjoyed taking our '08 Winn. Sightseer 35J on a  trip to Anza-Borrego State Park E of San Diego, but while driving at night (a lot..on curvy roads! :eek:) noticed that the headlights did not seem very bright. Anyone else having that issue?
 
Our Tiffin is same way.  The lens on ours turned to a dull color and lost some of its brightness.  I did find an abrasive/wax that cleaned up the lens but only partially.  If youe lens have dulled try a NAPA auto store and they can point you to the cleaner.  Ours is manufactured by Maguers (sp?)
 
Ours are the same way.......sometimes the problem is the way they are adjusted.....one of mine shoots right up in the air, and it is adjusted all the way down!  :eek:
 
Hi Sara,

I've heard that complaint before and I'm not sure if it is a perception thing, or the headlights actually don't have the light output of the typical car headlight.  The house builders (like Winnebago) buy standard vehicle headlights I suppose based in part of the looks of the assembly and how it fits into the front cap design.  But they are standard vehicle headlights.

Maybe like Mark suggested the aim is off?  And like Tim mentioned, the lens will turn cloudy in time, but I would think yours would be still clear.
 
I found that Gel-Gloss Cleaner and Polish (sold at Camping World) works to remove the yellow from headlights.  It takes a little elbow grease (rubbing), but it will turn a clean white cloth to yellow when applied to cloudy headlights.  Repeat until the white cloth doesn't turn yellow.  I find I have to clean our headlights every year.
 
  Hard to believe your '08 has cloudy headlights already.
  If that's not the case and the adjustment is correct you can either invest in driving lights or brighter headlight bulbs.
  You can upgrade from the normal 55 watt low beam to 80 watt low beam. NOT street legal but in my case I'll chance a ticket before I'll wipe out the front end on a deer, elk, moose etc.
  I'm always hearing M/H owners complaining about poor front end lighting. Like John said they are just standard headlights installed in the front cap.
  Federal laws require light output in lumen's with no emphasis placed on actual illumination.
 
Sara said:
trip to Anza-Borrego State Park E of San Diego, but while driving at night (a lot..on curvy roads!

I've been on that road.  I would never consider it in the night time.  I don't care if we had flood lights, that road is very curvy and steep drop offs and a road to drive  in daylight only. :)  On the other hand maybe it is better NOT to know what the drop off looks like............
Good luck with your headlights.
Betty
 
The first thing to check if you think your headlghts are dim is the voltage at the headlight with the engine running.  In my Dutch Star that voltage was only 10.8 volts.  I modified the wiring so that now I have full voltage at the headlights.
 
It seems to be a fairly typical complaint with owners of all brands of motorhomes. Motorhome headlights just don't seem to light up the road well ... I haven't figured out why unless it is that the headlights are typically placed at closer to normal car level than normal truck level. Many can be helped some by getting them properly aligned ...ours were very high and to the right according to the truck place where I had the alignment done. On others, it is partically due to low voltage as Jim indicated ... that normally would be caused by too long a run from the power source with too small gauge wire. Rewiring and/or relays can help with that problem.

Some try to solve the problem with "brighter" bulbs. But if the voltage is low, you need to fix that first. The problem with changing bulbs is that many after-market bulbs that claim to be brighter pull more amps than normal bulbs, and that can cause overheating and melting not only of the wiring but of the headlight "bucket" the bulb is in.  After checking all the options avaialble at the time, after fixing the alignment I replaced my low beam bulbs (my high  beams work great) with HIR (Halogen Infrared) bulbs. They are used in the Dodge viper and in some John Deere equipment. I did have to slightly alter the base to put the bulb into the existing socket. Another easy replacement that many who have tried them recommend are Sylvania Silverstar bulbs.



 
I have a sightseer 35J as well.  Did the 2008 have the small round lights or was 2008  before the switch?

I have the small (4" diameter) projector style lights on my 2009 and I actually think they do a fantastic job lighting the road.  I even commented to my wife how well they do.

One thing to keep in mind is that your eyes are much further away from the lights than in a passenger car.  This can make reflective surfaces seem duller because the light is not emanating from the same angle as your eyes. 
 
Mc2Guy is right. The seating position is so much higher in most MH that you are seated looking down at the beam of light. But it is this seated position that provides such a superior field of view when driving the MH as compared to most cars. 

If the car you drive regularly seems to have sufficient lighting, try this.  On a dark evening pull your MH onto a street and turn the headlights on.  Then pull your passenger vehicle up next to it, about 10' to 15' distance between the two.  Now get out and walk to the front of the vehicles and see where each headlight pattern strikes the pavement.  If it is similar, then you know that it is a perception issue from your seating position.  If there is a marked difference in pattern of light or brightness in one or the other, then you know that there are other issues to fix. 

Of course the normal warnings apply here, don't do it on a major or busy street ect. ;)  Sorry, had to throw the disclaimer in before the flamers jumped in! 


Sarge
 
Thanks, all, for the excellent advice. The 2008 does, indeed, have the small lights and they are in pristine condition. We'll try Sarge's suggestion to compare next to our passenger car. We live near Hwy 99, so seems like a good spot to try (ha ha!!).  ;D
 
I had that problem on my previous MH, a 2003 Adventurer.  One day I pulled up to a wall and turned the headlights on, boy were they out of alignment.  I'm sure I woke up many a sleeping bird high up in trees.

There are adjustment screws on the lights that you can move them up/down and side to side.  Was not a good as a car headlights, but was tons better than before.

Best Regards!
 
Old Snipe said:
I had that problem on my previous MH, a 2003 Adventurer.  One day I pulled up to a wall and turned the headlights on, boy were they out of alignment.  I'm sure I woke up many a sleeping bird high up in trees.

There are adjustment screws on the lights that you can move them up/down and side to side.  Was not a good as a car headlights, but was tons better than before.

Best Regards!

Did the same with my Suncruiser..I'm satisfied to drive at night now..I'll check voltage this summer...then consider the Silver Stars.

 

Forum statistics

Threads
131,753
Posts
1,384,366
Members
137,524
Latest member
freetoroam
Back
Top Bottom