Xenon Headlight Conversion

[maynard83]

Has anyone ever, or has considered, converting the headlights on their deuce to Xenon or LED's?

 

[Maverick1701]

I thought robar installed 24v led headlights and taillights in super bobbed deuce

 

[gimpyrobb]

I have seen first hand LED and HID lights in deuces.

 

[Unforgiven]

HID lights are only DOT legal if they were original equipment installed at the factory. All, and I mean ALL, HID conversion kits are illegal for street use in the United States. Some municipalities are stricter than others when it comes to enforcing HID laws. That's why HID kits are all over the internet.

They are legal for off-road lighting.

A few companies make auxiliary HID driving lights with horizon limiters (built in bulb shields that keep you from blinding oncoming motorists). These few, expensive auxiliary lights are DOT legal when installed properly.

Trucklite carries the military LED headlights that are just as good as the HID in brightness & supposedly more reliable (high/low HID actuators don't like off road vibrations).

Higher-end halogen headlights are also a respectable upgrade to the pathetically dim stock headlights. If you can't afford the LED headlights then you should look into really bright halogen, DOT legal lights. Reserve the HID system for off road.

 

[maynard83]

Thanks Unforgiven. It is hard enough to drive these trucks during the day, I just want as much visibility as possible at night, especially when off roading and the moron drivers in SoCal.

 

[mikew]

Here's a thread about H4 reflectors with Xenon bulbs....

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/42950-headlights.html

I used E-Code reflectors with 75w 24v Xenon bulbs, much better visibility and less glare for on-comming traffic.

 

[maynard83]

Thanks Mike.

 

[Unforgiven]

Just to let you know (I looked into this THOROUGHLY after driving the Deuce home 18 hours with pathetically dim headlights), the maximum wattage headlights can legally be is 55 watts. Would Johnny Law be able to tell the difference between 55 & 75 watts? I don't know. Personally, I'd rather not take the chance of getting a ticket. The Deuce does sit up awfully high. That's going to make any kind of headlight upgrade much more visible, pun intended.

Also, be aware that xenon headlights & xenon HID headlights are two different animals. HID uses a high voltage inverter to produce an arc making a glowing plasma in the xenon bulb. This is the same principle as the arc from an arc welder ... very bright.

A regular xenon headlight is a marketing tactic used by unscrupulous companies to trick uninformed customers into buying, basically, a regular headlight. It uses an incandescent filament bulb like a regular/halogen headlight. The body of the headlight is filled with xenon & other gasses. These gasses absorb/transmit the light from the incandescent bulb into a more bluish hue, mimicking the color of a true HID xenon system. But this does not add to the brightness of the light. In fact, it makes it dimmer. Gullible teenagers with Japanese Ricer toys buy into the gimmick out of ignorance.

HID off road lights are excellent. Since they only have one wattage, they do not need an actuator like a headlight. That means they do not suffer the vibration problems of a high/low beam HID system. What the actuator does is it relocates the bulb to the focal point of the headlight's mirror. High beam bulb & low beam bulb are separate (although they can be combined into a single "bulb" housing). An electrical actuator such as a worm gear is used to physically reposition the bulb within the headlight housing each time you flip from high to low beam. Hence, susceptibility to vibrations becomes an issue. To get around this, most of the HID conversion lights use fixed halogen for low beam and fixed HID for the high beam. Still, there is a focus problem as both bulbs cannot possibly be at the mirror's focus at the same time. And in a fixed geometry they never will be. Hence optical compromises are made. The result is dispersion of the light that blinds oncoming traffic. Mike's choice of housing is a good choice. At least is shows consideration for the other motorists.

Also be aware that the voltage inverters used in HID systems can take several seconds to warm up. That means your headlights will be really dim for maybe half a minute after you flick them on. It's not a big issue, but you should be aware of it. And be aware there are many Chinese knock-offs whose inverters will go poof within a few months. That's something you don't want happening on the freeway at 2 a.m.

Ideally, if you want super bright both on & off road you are going to spend $$$

LED headlights for on-road
HID auxilliary floodlights off-road

That way you are guaranteed to still be DOT legal & have all the illumination you desire.

 

[JasonS]

Are these federal laws or state laws that you are referencing? It isn't part of South Dakota's codified laws:

32-17-5. Construction and adjustment of headlamps--Visibility distance--Four headlight system--High beam indicator--Violation as misdemeanor. The headlamps of motor vehicles shall be so constructed, arranged, and adjusted that, except as provided in § 32-17-7, they shall at all times mentioned in § 32-17-4 and under normal atmospheric conditions and on a level road produce a driving light sufficient to render clearly discernible a person two hundred feet ahead. However, headlamps may not project a glaring or dazzling light to persons in front of such headlamps. Any vehicle equipped with a four lamp headlight system shall have all lamps lighted on high beam, if such system was designed by the manufacturer to require all four headlamps be lighted, and shall have the two low beam lamps lighted on low beam when headlamps are lighted as required in § 32-17-4. Every motor vehicle, except those excluded in § 32-17-1, shall be equipped with a high beam indicator lamp which shall be lighted whenever the vehicle headlamps are on high beam position. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Just to let you know (I looked into this THOROUGHLY after driving the Deuce home 18 hours with pathetically dim headlights), the maximum wattage headlights can legally be is 55 watts. Would Johnny Law be able to tell the difference between 55 & 75 watts? I don't know. Personally, I'd rather not take the chance of getting a ticket. The Deuce does sit up awfully high. That's going to make any kind of headlight upgrade much more visible, pun intended.

Also, be aware that xenon headlights & xenon HID headlights are two different animals. HID uses a high voltage inverter to produce an arc making a glowing plasma in the xenon bulb. This is the same principle as the arc from an arc welder ... very bright.

A regular xenon headlight is a marketing tactic used by unscrupulous companies to trick uninformed customers into buying, basically, a regular headlight. It uses an incandescent filament bulb like a regular/halogen headlight. The body of the headlight is filled with xenon & other gasses. These gasses absorb/transmit the light from the incandescent bulb into a more bluish hue, mimicking the color of a true HID xenon system. But this does not add to the brightness of the light. In fact, it makes it dimmer. Gullible teenagers with Japanese Ricer toys buy into the gimmick out of ignorance.

HID off road lights are excellent. Since they only have one wattage, they do not need an actuator like a headlight. That means they do not suffer the vibration problems of a high/low beam HID system. What the actuator does is it relocates the bulb to the focal point of the headlight's mirror. High beam bulb & low beam bulb are separate (although they can be combined into a single "bulb" housing). An electrical actuator such as a worm gear is used to physically reposition the bulb within the headlight housing each time you flip from high to low beam. Hence, susceptibility to vibrations becomes an issue. To get around this, most of the HID conversion lights use fixed halogen for low beam and fixed HID for the high beam. Still, there is a focus problem as both bulbs cannot possibly be at the mirror's focus at the same time. And in a fixed geometry they never will be. Hence optical compromises are made. The result is dispersion of the light that blinds oncoming traffic. Mike's choice of housing is a good choice. At least is shows consideration for the other motorists.

Also be aware that the voltage inverters used in HID systems can take several seconds to warm up. That means your headlights will be really dim for maybe half a minute after you flick them on. It's not a big issue, but you should be aware of it. And be aware there are many Chinese knock-offs whose inverters will go poof within a few months. That's something you don't want happening on the freeway at 2 a.m.

Ideally, if you want super bright both on & off road you are going to spend $$$

LED headlights for on-road
HID auxilliary floodlights off-road

That way you are guaranteed to still be DOT legal & have all the illumination you desire.

 

[Unforgiven]

What you have cited are the physical aiming of the headlights. In other words, you can't point them "up" to see further down the road.

I am referring to the Dept. of Transportation (federal) regulations with respect to illumination.

Federal DOT regulations only recognize factory installed HID systems such as found in sports cars & higher end luxury cars. All other HID systems are illegal for the main headlights. Some auxilliary HID lights are legal, some are not.

I'm not aware of any state DOT that does not also follow the federal DOT's regulations. The states/municipalities can add to this if they like, such as stricter bumper heights etc., but they cannot overturn federal DOT regulations. That's why tires & headlights have federal DOT certification, not state certification.

 

[zout]

Just turn off all the lights and use one of these:
FLIR Night Vision Camera for Cars, Trucks and Heavy Equipment.

very cool system

 

[JasonS]

Where can I view the federal requirements? A quick search yielded a lot of garbage.

 

[maynard83]

Here's a thread about H4 reflectors with Xenon bulbs....

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/42950-headlights.html

I used E-Code reflectors with 75w 24v Xenon bulbs, much better visibility and less glare for on-comming traffic.

Where did you get the Xenon bulbs from?

 

[zout]

US Federal Regulations for Headlamp Bulbs

Truck-Lite - Catalog Product : LED Headlamp

 

[Unforgiven]

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108 Section S7.7

Section

Because the "stock" electrical system has been altered (due to the ballasts), ALL aftermarket HID systems are illegal.

Don't shoot the messenger. Go ahead and do it if you like. It doesn't affect me. Just be aware it's illegal.

 

[mikew]

Got bulbs from here:

H4 75/70W 24V Halogen Lamp Auto Bulb Lightbulb NEW: eBay Motors (item 130365796437 end time Sep-07-10 00:53:51 PDT)

 

[maynard83]

Thanks again Mike!

 

[JasonS]

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108 Section S7.7

Section

Because the "stock" electrical system has been altered (due to the ballasts), ALL aftermarket HID systems are illegal.

Don't shoot the messenger. Go ahead and do it if you like. It doesn't affect me. Just be aware it's illegal.

I'm not shooting the messenger; just want to see for myself. No offense, but there is too much mis-information on the net to accept everything as fact.

It also looks like my deuce is on the edge of maximum headlight height with 1600R20 and no lift.

 

[wb1895]

I'm not shooting the messenger; just want to see for myself. No offense, but there is too much mis-information on the net to accept everything as fact.

It also looks like my deuce is on the edge of maximum headlight height with 1600R20 and no lift.

Dont forget that the the government vehicles are exempt from those requirements. At least they were when they were manufactured.

 

[emr]

I am all for the correct head lights, For myself it is just fine the amount of light they put out with the speed they are going, and the look to me is just the colest thing ever seeing them come down the road, I think stock is the way to go, That is my opinion though....These trucks are fine just the way they are i think , otherwise i would get a different truck, and that is just opinion of mine, enjoy it is your truck, !!!!