Truck headlights

[Jayflight]

When we first moved to Arkansas we had a '69 Suburban that had a spot light mounted near the upper left corner of the windshield.  I was  using it one evening to show my kids some deer out in the woods.  A Wildlife officer stopped me and searched the vehicle for weapons.  All he found was my kid's Red Ryder BB gun.  Warned us about using the spotlight, even though I told him I wasn't a hunter.

I have a similar tale. When my kids were young and we lived across from a pretty large farm the deer always filled the fields at night. So to break the long winter's nights after going grocery shopping we drove to the end of the road where the field met the open farmland.  We then turn the vehicle so that the headlights would shine on the deer grazing in the dark.

Then all of a sudden a vehicle came down and blocked us in.  He got out and ask us what we were doing after he identified himself as the wildlife officer.  SO we told him. And he said he wanted to check for firearms as there had been reports of people shooting deer at night. He checked and found a bag of ice cream and assorted can goods. I then thought to myself, yep there surely had been someone shooting at night and it wasn't us. I spotted a string hanging around his neck with ear plugs on each end. Yep he was muzzling the sound  while shooting from his car.  ;D

 

[scottydl]

I bought AuxBeam brand LED drop-ins (from Amazon) for my old Suburban and they were FABULOUS. Around $35 for the pair. The light output put the OEM headlights to shame, and the LEDs were so brilliant at night that I never used the high beams anymore... although they weren't any brighter than other cars with factory LEDs. I made sure to have them aimed properly so as not to blind oncoming drivers, at least not any moreso than they would have been with the OEM lights.

I wasn't able to use the AuxBeams in my new-to-me 2005 Silverado Duramax, as there is no extra clearance whatsoever behind the headlight housings. (The LEDs have a small heatsink / cooling fins attached to the back of the bulb assembly). I bought some Sylvania Silverstar Ultras instead, which are an upgrade from OEM but not nearly as good as LED.

The problem with LED upgrades, even well adjusted, are all illegal for road use.

Although this may be technically true in some states, and/or the lights may be marked "for offroad use only"... as former law enforcement, I can't imagine that would ever be enforced. If you have any kind of frame or holder around your license plate that blocks any part of it (which they all do), that's illegal too. So is almost any aftermarket muffler, truck lift kit, or tires wide enough to protrude beyond the edge of the body... i.e. almost every modified truck on the road. And any forward facing light that is any color other than white or amber, making every Uber driver with those blue light-up signs in the front windshield illegal.

While I'm not saying you're doing any of those things, and I wouldn't typically encourage people to break the law... the above examples are all very common, and pose no significant risk to anyone else on the road--hence they are rarely enforced. Police officers will not bother you for having LED headlights. In fact, they'll probably appear OEM. You should be perfectly fine with some well-adjusted LED lamps in your factory headlamp housings, if you have the extra clearance for them in your engine bay.

 

[jackiemac]

Don't worry Tony, I'll visit you in prison ?

Great advice Scott that should put his mind at ease 

 

[thesameguy]

The headlights on my 05 Ram are next to useless. I can upgrade the bulb but that doesn't improve the pattern. Auxillary luights are not legal in all states, I have been warned about it. A CA state trooper threatened to smash my buddies driving lamps which are legal at home, they weren't on at the time. He was told in no uncertain terms to leave them alone but they had to be unhooked while in the state.

There HAS to be more information than this.

CVC 24402:

(a) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not to exceed two auxiliary driving lamps mounted on the front at a height of not less than 16 inches nor more than 42 inches. Driving lamps are lamps designed for supplementing the upper beam from headlamps and may not be lighted with the lower beam.

(b) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not to exceed two auxiliary passing lamps mounted on the front at a height of not less than 24 inches nor more than 42 inches. Passing lamps are lamps designed for supplementing the lower beam from headlamps and may also be lighted with the upper beam.

CVC 24403

(a) A motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than two foglamps that may be used with, but may not be used in substitution of, headlamps.

(b) On a motor vehicle other than a motorcycle, the foglamps authorized under this section shall be mounted on the front at a height of not less than 12 inches nor more than 30 inches and aimed so that when the vehicle is not loaded none of the high-intensity portion of the light to the left of the center of the vehicle projects higher than a level of four inches below the level of the center of the lamp from which it comes, for a distance of 25 feet in front of the vehicle.

(c) On a motorcycle, the foglamps authorized under this section shall be mounted on the front at a height of not less than 12 inches nor more than 40 inches and aimed so that when the vehicle is not loaded none of the high-intensity portion of the light to the left of the center of the vehicle projects higher than a level of four inches below the level of the center of the lamp from which it comes, for a distance of 25 feet in front of the vehicle.

CVC 24404

(a) A motor vehicle may be equipped with not to exceed two white spotlamps, which shall not be used in substitution of headlamps.

(b) No spotlamp shall be equipped with any lamp source exceeding 32 standard candlepower or 30 watts nor project any glaring light into the eyes of an approaching driver.

(c) Every spotlamp shall be so directed when in use: That no portion of the main substantially parallel beam of light will strike the roadway to the left of the prolongation of the left side line of the vehicle.

That the top of the beam will not strike the roadway at a distance in excess of 300 feet from the vehicle.

(d) This section does not apply to spotlamps on authorized emergency vehicles.

(e) No spotlamp when in use shall be directed so as to illuminate any other moving vehicle.

CVC 24405

(a) Not more than four lamps of the following types showing to the front of a vehicle may be lighted at any one time:

(1) Headlamps.

(2) Auxiliary driving or passing lamps.

(3) Fog lamps.

(4) Warning lamps.

(5) Spot lamps.

(6) Gaseous discharge lamps specified in Section 25258.

(b) For the purpose of this section each pair of a dual headlamp system shall be considered as one lamp.

(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to any authorized emergency vehicle.

So, you can put whatever you want on the front of your car, so long as there are never more than four forward-facing white lights (six if you have dual lamp!) compliant with these rules illuminated. *Technically* any off-road only lights must be covered.

I've never been hassled for illegal lighting, but I know that plenty of cops don't know the laws. I keep a copy of this section along with appendix g of the emissions test handbook in the glove box. (I *have* been hassled for "illegal equipment" .... they back down when you produce the law.)

I'm not aware of any state that does not have a similar "two aux front lights" rule on the book, but I'm happy to be proven wrong.

So, throw some Hellas on that wagon and see where you're going!

 

[gwinger]

LED replacement bulbs may be worse than what you have now. The reflectors are designed for the original type bulbs. Halogens have filament that produces an even 360 degree pattern pattern. Led's, though they may look brighter may not produce the same pattern on the road.
A lot of motorcycle owners have changed to LED's and found they do not have the distance on the original bulbs.

 

[CharlesinGA]

My old 2005 Ram 1500 had awful headlights. Aimed wrong with no adjustment possible. I changed lamps for minor improvement

I have a 2003 (same headlights) Previous owner was a flipper who had the truck for several months and got it from the original owner. He had put aftermarket headlights in it, most likely due to weathering and yellowing of the original lights. I drove it for a while that way, but the light was all over the place, and the parking light bulbs had melted the reflector that wraps around the front of the bulb. Aftermarket lights are pure junk.

I bought a set of brand new original Damiler-Chrysler lights (I think made by Hella) and while the lights could stand to be somewhat better, they are way better than the cheap aftermarket ones. (the aftermarket ones were basically nearly new but I put them in the trash)

By the way, the lights are adjustable on those models.

In some states if you have bar lamps or superbright off road lamps, you must have solid covers that completely obscure them when you operate on the road. Hence the covers you see on bumper mounted lights on many tricked out Jeeps.

Charles

 

[xrated]

I have a 2016 F350 Dually and like others have said, the OEM headlights leave a lot to be desired. My previous truck was a 2011 F250 and the headlights on it were horrible also. Shortly after buying the 2011, I replaced the OEM headlight bulbs with HID lights and the improvement was unbelievable. The HID bulbs/kit that I bought had the option of "capping" the bulb, which is basically a somewhat dome shaped piece in front of the bulb that keeps it from blinding other oncoming drivers. It worked very well and I rarely had anyone "flash" me for the headlights on the truck. So when I bought the 2016 Dually, the first thing I did was to buy another HID headlight kit and install it on that truck. Sometime in the model years between 2011 and 2016, Ford added an internal "Cap" in the headlight housing itself, so on that kit I didn't get the "capped" bulb. I will say that the HID bulbs are ....non pun intended....night and day better for lighting up the road in front of you, but you must be diligent in getting them adjusted correctly. In my case, I actually lowered the beam pattern just a bit to offset the fact that while towing, the lights are usually just a bit higher than non towing use. I'm quite happy with them, the amount of light they produce is again, just unbelievable when compared to the factory OEM Halogen bulbs....but the Key is whether or not you can control the beam pattern to a more focused beam, or whether you have a very bright light that just scatters everywhere.

 

[SeilerBird]

I really don't care about headlights. I hate driving at night. Too many drunks on the road. When I was full timing I would get up at the crack of dawn and drive a few hours to arrive at my destination by 9 or 10 am. No drunks on the road and a lot fewer cops.