Headlight upgrade

Have you made changes to your coach? Improvements? Remodel? New technology? Tell the story and show some pictures here.
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ProCycle
Posts: 135
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2020 1:28 pm

Headlight upgrade

Post by ProCycle »

My 97 Ivory has the old style rectangular 5x7 H6054 halogen sealed beam headlights. These are woefully inadequate for driving at night on a dark road. A year ago I had attempted to replace them with some LED lights but the headlight buckets were not deep enough to fit the LED housings. Then recently I found some DOT approved H6054 replacements with a shallow housing. At $80 for the pair I figured they were worth a try.
I found them on Amazon (of course) --> https://www.amazon.com/Headlights-Headl ... B07G31G4VB

I am super happy with the results. There is a broad, bright, even spread of light with a sharp cutoff to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. High beams spread light everywhere but shine a bright rectangle straight down the road.

Low beam:
Image

High beam:
Image
Jeff
1997 Ivory Edition 3740 Cat 3126 Allison
rustyrobins
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:27 am

Re: Headlight upgrade

Post by rustyrobins »

RE: Headlights. That's super Jeff, but my 97 Ivory has 4 headlights each measure 6.5" x 4.25". I am going to looking into this upgrade though because I have noticed myself my headlights at night are not impressive. I may just need new lights as old lights do get dimmer. I like the LED idea better. Thanks Rusty.
On a other note, I am not happy my steering as it makes funny sounds when I turn quickly or hard to one or the other side. It also changes at times from one side to the other. Redhead Steering is close to me and they said if I bring my steering box (M80) to rebuild they will pull the pitman arm even while it is in that housing. (but will not reinstall) That's fine and good but I still feel it is a air contamination problem. Q; Do you know if vacuum bleeding the system might help? I am getting a kit that vacuum bleeds power steering and brakes, etc.
Also I want to THANK YOU Jeff and you other guys John, Brett and others. This is why I joined the forum. The our new 1997 Ivory is a coach we feel is worth maintaining.
ProCycle
Posts: 135
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2020 1:28 pm

Re: Headlight upgrade

Post by ProCycle »

rustyrobins wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 12:16 pm RE: Headlights. That's super Jeff, but my 97 Ivory has 4 headlights each measure 6.5" x 4.25"....
You have what is generally referred to as 4x6 headlights. There are several headlight numbers that refer to this form factor. H4707, H4666, H6545, H4656, 4651, 4666. There are hundreds of choices being sold and you may have to go through a few to find something that makes good quality light. Stay away from the ones that look like several rows of small LEDs. They will not have any focus or cutoff and will blind oncoming traffic as well as 'wasting' light output by shining on the trees.

Avoid this:
Image


Instead look for lights that have thick individual projector lenses.
More like this:
Image

One problem you may run into is lots of these LED replacement headlights are too deep to fit into the headlight buckets. Most sellers don't have side-on photos or measurements.

Don't consider anything that doesn't say it is DOT approved. But beware, lots of cheap Chinese lights have phony DOT numbers.
If you don't mind spending some big bucks JW Speaker makes top quality stuff - but again, may be too deep to fit in your housings.
Jeff
1997 Ivory Edition 3740 Cat 3126 Allison
wolfe10
Posts: 222
Joined: Sun Oct 27, 2019 4:12 pm

Re: Headlight upgrade

Post by wolfe10 »

Depending on your "illumination needs", before spending $$ and the labor to replace the bulbs, check voltage at the lights with the engine running.

Not uncommon for there to be a full volt drop between chassis battery voltage and the voltage that reaches the lights themselves. That makes quite a difference in lumens.

Many of us have use the OE head light wiring to "signal" a relay that is fed from a large-gauge wire from the chassis battery. Under $20 for relays for both high and low beam.
Brett and Dianne Wolfe
Ex: 2003 Alpine 38'. Ex 1997 Safari Sahara. Ex 1993 Foretravel U240
Moderator, FMCA Forums 2009-2020
Chairman, FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011- 2020
Moderator, http://www.dieselrvclub.org/ (FMCA chapter) 2002-
astrnmrtom
Posts: 167
Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2019 8:49 pm

Re: Headlight upgrade

Post by astrnmrtom »

Those are the same headlight I put in my '98 and they made a big difference. I swapped out the original driving lights and added a small light bar. I've only used the light bar and driving lights once when going down a dark country road to a remote campground. We do our best to not drive after dark if at all possible.

Those headlights have an excellent horizontal cut-off which is super important for not blinding oncoming drivers. They do cast light farther to the sides which illuminates the shoulders nicely which helps if you are driving in areas where critters cross the road. There's some irregularity to the illumination close to the RV but it has no effect on the ability to see clearly. So far I think they work great.

The only possible drawback with fixtures like this would be if an LED chip goes bad, No way to just replace a "bulb," you'd have to order another pair of headlights. Time will tell.
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Tom and Pris Masterson, w/ Buddy the 18 year old Siamese cat.
1998 Serengeti 3706
300hp Cat 3126, Allison 3060
900 Watts of Solar
17cf, Fisher & Paykel residential Refrigerator
Dragging four telescopes around the US seeking dark skies.
ProCycle
Posts: 135
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2020 1:28 pm

Re: Headlight upgrade

Post by ProCycle »

astrnmrtom wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 2:33 pm...The only possible drawback with fixtures like this would be if an LED chip goes bad, No way to just replace a "bulb," you'd have to order another pair of headlights...
True, but if you did have a failure it's easy enough to buy and install another sealed beam. That's what you'd have to do with the original lights.
Jeff
1997 Ivory Edition 3740 Cat 3126 Allison
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