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Old 03-30-2008, 03:12 AM   #1
Richard and Rhonda
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Default Update on Headlight Upgrade Project

I am going to try to link photos to this thread, but I am much better working with grease than electrons, so we will see what happens.

If you pick up this thread and you haven't been following the first one, let me summarize. The stock headlights did not provide enough lighting for me to drive very long at night without eye strain. I found a lighting specialist who provides advice and grey market Euro spec headlights. He was able, with some patience, to source a direct replacement for the huge stock lamps that originally came from Ford.

I have installed one Euro spec headlamp on the left side. I also used a relay and 10 gauge wire to power the light. I left the stock light with stock wiring on the right side. The photos are two sets. The first set is a comparison of the light pattern at 25 feet. The photos were taken as I was aligning the headlamps. The camera was completely on manual so the pictures are as close to apples to apples as I could make them. The opposite headlamp was covered when the photos were taken to isolate the effect of each.

I did measure voltages at the lights. I have 13.7 at the "hot" bus at the wiring panel in the passenger kick well. With the stock setup, I measured 12.7V at the stock light. With the relay setup I measured 13.5 at the Euro light. The point is that at a minimum install relays and heavier wiring !!!

Ok the first set is showing the different patterns of the two. The stock light throws a pretty diffuse pattern at 25 ft with a moderate amount of light shining upwards. That upward light is supposed to illuminate road signs, but it also provides a bit of glare to oncoming traffic. The Euro pattern is very concise, and you can see right at the midpoint the light starts to shine upward to the left at a 45 angle.

Stock

Now here is the Euro Pattern

Ok, now for the dramatic photos. I pointed the coach into a completely dark and level field.

This is the stock light

And here is the Euro

The other three lamps are on their way from Daniel Stern. I will wire them so I have the option of switching the second set of high beams or low beams on and off with toggle switches at the drivers console. Its a really easy setup if you use four relays instead of two.

So what is the final cost, you say?

141 each for the lamps, about 15 each for the bulbs, about 100 bucks of relays and electrical connections, and 30 bucks for wire. So it's not for the faint of heart. I looked at installing projector beams and fabricating a facade for the headlamps to hold them. The projectors would have saved about 300 bucks, but I couldn't imagine it looking right. I also thought about upgrading the front cap to incorporate projectors. Hmmmm, much more than the 700 bucks I will have in it.

Kudoes to Michael Day for hosting the pics on his web site so I could post them here.
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Old 03-30-2008, 03:16 AM   #2
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Well that didn't work too well. If you want to see the photos, cut and paste those addresses into your browser. Sorry.

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/richard...604308086177/]

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/richard...604308086177/]

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/richard...604308086177/]

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/richard...604308086177/]
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Old 04-01-2008, 05:37 PM   #3
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Many thanks to Michael Day, the pictures now show up in the post.
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Old 04-07-2008, 09:42 PM   #4
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Ok, now that I am completely finished with this little project. Here are my notes that may save you time if you do anything similar.

It takes a 4mm socket to fit on the adjustment screws at the top of the headlights. It's a PITA, but you have to completely unscrew them to get the lights out. Take measurements before you start so you can roughly align the new ones when you put them in.

You will see that the adjustment screws are attached to the light with a twist connector. You have to insert a small screwdriver under both tabs to get them over a locking bump on the headlight. Trust me, if you don't lift up the tabs you cannot remove those buggers.

I soldered all connections including the crimp on. You will need to make two wiring harnesses. One for the driver side and one for the passenger side. Make up the harness on the part the connects to the headlights before you try to fish the harnesses up into the coach. Why? Cause it's difficult to solder reaching while lying on your back and reaching overhead. You have to find a penetration on both sides, cause the genny is right in the middle, and I don't think running headlight wiring under the generator is a great idea.

I used a small piece of wood to place the connector against while soldering. You need to be able to make good contact between the iron and the connector. You will need at least a 100 watt iron. A smaller one just wont get the job done on large gauge wire.

Mark all wiring at both ends with a code you will understand. You will need this code when you start wiring your relays. I used something simple like R O L for Right Outside Low, and L I H for left inside high. By all means make a simple schematic of how you want the connections and use the code you put on the wiring.

I went overkill with 10g wire, but 12 would probably do. I left all of the Newell wiring in place in case someone wants to "undo" my handiwork.

I taped the end of a harness to a small wooden dowel and used it to push through the penetration up into the coach. I pulled the wiring to the passenger kick well where all the other terminations are.

I used a four relay set up. One for the outside lows, one for the outside highs, one for the inside lows, and one for the inside highs. I installed two toggle switches on the console so that I could independently control whether the inside lows or highs were activated when the lights are on.

Now you have all the excess wiring at the terminal board you can cut to the appropriate length so you have a semi pro looking job. Figure out where you want to install the relays and wire them in.

The generator frame will put a significant mark on your forehead if you raise up quickly.
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Old 06-02-2008, 06:50 AM   #5
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I also used a relay and 10 gauge wire to power the light. I left the stock light with stock wiring on the right side. The photos are two sets. The first set is a comparison of the light pattern at 25 feet. The photos were taken as I was aligning the headlamps. The camera was completely on manual so the pictures are as close to apples to apples as I could make them. The opposite headlamp was covered when the photos were taken to isolate the effect of each.
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Old 12-15-2008, 12:59 AM   #6
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Not to thrash an old thread to death, but I learned a good lesson tonight concerning the headlights.

A suicidal deer decided to use my Newell to start it's conveyance to deer heaven. In the process said deer managed to break my right turn signal light and one of my Euro headlamps. Daniel Stern provided a replacement and during the process of replacing the light, I discovered that it was MUCH easier to unbolt the subframe that the lights are mounted to, only our bolts, and take out subframe and lights as an assembly. It was quick work after that to access the funky twist lock connectors and put in the new light.

I know Michael had to do this with his coach because of the tight access, but wow, taking the subframe out was so much better that what I did the first time.
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Old 04-10-2009, 06:45 AM   #7
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tonite i finished my headlight upgrade. i am very happy with it. i bought only two of the glass E code lights from daniel stern. the other two i did a complete refinishing of. i used a finishing saw and cut the plastic alignment nubs off and then started sanding with a5" random orbital sander with 220 grit working my way up to 2500 wet grit. then used a plastic polish with a wheel on my drill and they look like brand new.

i got new bulbs for the 9004's.

then put in the 4 relays for the headlights along with new 12 gauge wire.

i also put two switches in so i could have more control over the lighting configuration.

i took the metal frames out to put the new headlights in. since the new ones are larger on the back, on the passenger side i had to trim the metal frame to get it to go back in. it took a while to get in.

i soldered the pins on for the new plugs for both headlights.

late this afternoon i marked the grids for the alignment on the large gate i have for my backyard. after dark i and a buddy aligned them. the new E code headlights are very easy to aim because they have a very distinct light pattern. the old ones have more of a blob of light but we got them aligned fine as well. took longer to put the tape on the gate than to align the lights.

i also bought 30mil plastic film to put over the new glass headlights. they are so expensive i didnt want them to get cracked. i had the film custom cut and it only takes a few minutes to install.

all i can say is amazing. they are sooooo much better than they were and i went for a long drive out in the country tonite and they are great. i feel much more comfortable driving at night now with the enhanced lighting setup. i will consider putting the glass ones on the inside as well .

thanks fot michael and richard for guildance as i did it. it does take quite a bit of work. but just time, not really hard.

later

tom
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Old 05-01-2009, 10:19 PM   #8
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after driving for several nights till late on the way to texas for the rally.

all i can say is AWESOME! with all 4 lights on bright, it is like a UFO coming in for a landing. on dim the lights are Soooo much better.

while in texas, we did a side by side comparison between a coach that had the stock headlights and mine and there was a gigantic difference in brightness of the headlights.

along with the all LED tail, stop, backup and marker lights, the safety and useability level went up dramatically for nite driving.

tom
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Old 07-27-2009, 03:39 AM   #9
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Default headlight upgrade

Is there not an easier way? I would like to brighten the view ahead with HIDs or simple bulb change. Is this available? Could I bribe someone to assist in this upgrade? I don't understand the relay and heavy wire issue. I thought HIDs used less power? Our 96 coach has the standard glass ford lights now.
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Old 07-27-2009, 03:48 AM   #10
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howdy,

between richard, michael and i we have spent a ton of time on this very issue. it might be best discussed when we are face to face in creede.

if money is no issue at all, there are very cool things that can be done. we operated on the money was an issue perspective. meaning less than a thousand bucks.

the mods you are talking about require redoing the front cap and mounting the new round headlights. there is a place in texas i believe that does it for about 3500 bucks or a little higher.

what we did was come up with the best way of doing it with existing openings. our headlights are AMAZING now and i have to say many times better than they were stock.

it was a bit of work, but nothing hard.

but the new headlights are not cheap either.

we did some night time comparisons when we were all in austin in the spring between my lights and pete's. difference was huge.

tom
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Old 07-27-2009, 03:56 AM   #11
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I just see so many of these kids with rice burners upgrading with HID that are super bright and look very clean.....$1000 is not bad for daylight driving at night.
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Old 07-27-2009, 12:54 PM   #12
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As Tom said, we can talk more next week.

People do sell HID bulbs and kits to go in existing housings. Bad idea, it gives a lot of light but it's not focused and blinds the oncoming driver.

A true HID conversion is going to run around 1400 for the lights, and you still have to get them mounted in the existing openings in an aesthetically pleasing way.

The big difference is due to two things. One, running the relay setup to get a true 13 volts at the lights. I was getting about 11 with the stock wiring. The light output is not linear with voltage. They are designed to run at 13 not 11, so that upgrade is essential no matter what you decide to do. That's about a 100 bucks and a days labor. It should be done, period.

The second difference is the focus pattern of the Euro lights. Their optics are far superior to the OEM ones from Ford. They put ALL of the light on the road. Even though they are much brighter than the stock, I have never been flashed by an oncoming driver, even with both the inner and outer on low beam.
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Old 07-27-2009, 02:39 PM   #13
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the differences between the euro ford lights and the usa ford lights is incredible. the light patterns are diffused all over the place for the original ones and a clear pattern for the euro ones. really makes you wonder about why the dot didnt require better lighting standards. they were available for sure but they are more expensive. maybe the carmakers lobbiests were the best....

who would have thought that a late 80's F100 pickup is so popular in south america that valeo/sylvania have it still as one of their aftermarket line items.

tom
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