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Headlight question.....not LED's

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Thumper580

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Burned out headlight on my M1123.... Bought two new oem ones. The right light has low and high beam, however the right one only lights on high beam...no low.
The lighting wires are tied together so if the right low is working I'd think the left one would also. Maybe it's possible the the joint connector on the left side is messed up for the low beam, #17 I think....
 
Mogman

Mogman

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You need to make sure the wire tags on the rear of the headlight bucket agree with the wire tag inside the bucket. they often get crossed on the back of the buckets.
 
Retiredwarhorses

Retiredwarhorses

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Thumper580 said:
Burned out headlight on my M1123.... Bought two new oem ones. The right light has low and high beam, however the right one only lights on high beam...no low.
The lighting wires are tied together so if the right low is working I'd think the left one would also. Maybe it's possible the the joint connector on the left side is messed up for the low beam, #17 I think....
Click to expand...
When you say “OEM” where did you buy them and for how much? Most are Chinese and blow immediately
 
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mgFray

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Also verify the wire markers are correct. On a new LED lamp I got, the wire marker was wrong for two of the three wires.. something like that could cause odd results on an incandescent as well.
 
Elijah95

Elijah95

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I dealt with temporary insanity due to ground issues on my M1123, burned out multiple sets of headlights in seconds, gauge problems, starting problems (glow plugs) etc etc all solved with a supplemental ground harness



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
TOBASH

TOBASH

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Maybe you need to reground your vehicle. Might be a current issue grounding issue directing more current than normal to that light.
 
T

Thumper580

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Ok... Sand papered and wire brushed all the grounds. Checked continuity from ground wire 91 from the left headlight to pin E in the hood harness. Continuity is good.
Unplugged the left headlight, started the truck and turned the lights on to check voltage at the plugins in the headlight bucket. Had 27v in the #17 and #18 connector when switching from low to high beam. Seems like that part is good.
Maybe I have cheap aftermarket "military" headlights and they can't take it.....
Who is a good source for real HMMWV sealed beam headlights???? $300.00 for a pair of LED's is a bit stiff right now. Thanks.
 
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Coug

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Thumper580 said:
Ok... Sand papered and wire brushed all the grounds. Checked continuity from ground wire 91 from the left headlight to pin E in the hood harness. Continuity is good.
Unplugged the left headlight, started the truck and turned the lights on to check voltage at the plugins in the headlight bucket. Had 27v in the #17 and #18 connector when switching from low to high beam. Seems like that part is good.
Maybe I have cheap shit aftermarket "military" headlights and they can't take it.....
Who is a good source for real HMMWV sealed beam headlights???? $300.00 for a pair of LED's is a bit stiff right now. Thanks.
Click to expand...
So if you don't want to spend hundreds on LEDs, but want to change away from the sealed fixtures, you can buy a pair of 7" round H4 housings, a couple pigtails to go from the stock housing to H4 ceramic plugs, and buy 24V H4 bulbs.


Below are some examples.

headlight housing. Make sure to find one that is DOT certified and not E-code (European version)
Expect $50ish range, plus some places have freight on top of that. The E-code versions can be had for a little less, but as I said, they are not certified for U.S. on road use (but as long as you have them aimed properly it's unlikely you'll get caught either)

wiring adapter:

bulbs:
Less than $20 for a pair shipped from Europe. Below is the link I've bought from. Had them in for 3 years/12k miles so far. Much brighter than the stock bulbs, but not quite as pretty of a pattern as the LEDs.

So it's about $150ish to do the conversion with decent glass. You can find cheaper glass housings out there than the Hella and bring the price down a little.
The major upside, especially in your situation, is if you do burn out a bulb, it's only $10 each to replace them from now on.
 
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blutow

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M1165A1 said:
I would suggest throwing the incandescents in the trash and getting a nice pair of Trucklite brand LEDs. In terms of bang for buck that's one of the best HMMWV upgrades you can make. ;)
Click to expand...
x1000 on this. I had forgotten how crappy "old school" headlights are after driving vehicles with modern headlights for so long. I also installed the trucklites. There are cheaper LED options out there that I'm sure are much better than the stock headlights without spending hundreds.
 
T

Thumper580

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Virginia
Coug said:
So if you don't want to spend hundreds on LEDs, but want to change away from the sealed fixtures, you can buy a pair of 7" round H4 housings, a couple pigtails to go from the stock housing to H4 ceramic plugs, and buy 24V H4 bulbs.


Below are some examples.

headlight housing. Make sure to find one that is DOT certified and not E-code (European version)
Expect $50ish range, plus some places have freight on top of that. The E-code versions can be had for a little less, but as I said, they are not certified for U.S. on road use (but as long as you have them aimed properly it's unlikely you'll get caught either)

wiring adapter:

bulbs:
Less than $20 for a pair shipped from Europe. Below is the link I've bought from. Had them in for 3 years/12k miles so far. Much brighter than the stock bulbs, but not quite as pretty of a pattern as the LEDs.

So it's about $150ish to do the conversion with decent glass. You can find cheaper glass housings out there than the Hella and bring the price down a little.
The major upside, especially in your situation, is if you do burn out a bulb, it's only $10 each to replace them from now on.
Click to expand...
Good information. Thank you. Here is a electrical question I have wondered about...... I'm putting 27v through the #17 and #18 connectors in the headlight bucket... Whether it's the Osram bulbs or LED's can they handle that voltage?? or is 27v simply killing the cheaper sealed beams? Trying not to piss more money away than necessary 😁
 
Mogman

Mogman

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Normal operating voltage for a "24V" system is around 28V so anything made for a 24V system should be good.
Did you ohm out the new lights before installing them? what I mean is how do you know you burned out the "cheap" lamps? Could they have been damaged in shipping?
 
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