2011 Ram 1500 headlights. Shit!

[Mulieaddict]

Anyone on here have a remedy for this problem. Without spending a ton of money on secondary spot lights? My high beams are just terrible and being that I drive a ton at night to and from hunting spots I need to fix this issue. Do different bulbs work or can I aim them better?? Any help will be appreciated

[swampdonkey]

Are they aligned properly. My F350 was out quite a bit .

[plumbcrazy]

I have PIAA extreme white bulbs I took out of my 2010. They were a great up grade for this problem. I got them forsale as I sold the truck. They are H13 model, see if they will fit your truck? Have price of new, send me a pm if your interested.

[rcar]

I have the same truck and YES the lights are horrible! I am looking into some hight output replacements for the fall so I can see offroad.

[boxhitch]

And I thought the new models were better than my '96 pos for lights.
Adding a second set of driving lights makes for more options , selectable when you want.

[Iron Glove]

It is kinda upsetting when you pay good bucks for a vehicle and the lighting sucks.
The bulbs do improve it a bit, have had a lot of success with ones from Canadian Tire, worked better for me, at a much lower cost, than the PIAA's.
The improvement tho' is marginal, you really need to add lights for any substantial improvement.
Depending on mounting sites and your ability / desire to do the work yourself, adding lights can be reasonable in cost.
My 2008 Ranger was improved with headlight bulbs and a 20" Rigid LED bar, an incredible amount of light but likely over kill for most. It did however cost @ $1,200 as it was a custom, in the grill installation.
Now have a 2013 F-150 which comes with HID headlights which are more than adequate but low beam and Ford's lame attempt at "fog lights" are on the list for improvement, likely some LED's.
Don't suggest the aftermarket "HID" headlights as all they really do is replace the bulb, you need to replace the entire unit to make a decent improvement.

[Brambles]

There were two headlight options for those trucks, the base headlights were shit, the upgraded ones were a fair bit better and a direct swap out. We got HID's put on our work truck and they are amazing!
new models trucks have projection and they are suppose to be nice but not sure if they swap out into the previous model years!

[Deeboe]

The Piaa bulbs will be the cheapest solution short of installing new headlights. They will definitely improve ur range if sight

[Singleshotneeded]

They have certain high beam bulbs at Lordco in 100 watt...a good improvement over the 60 or 65 watt stock bulbs.
You'd have to call and ask them if they have a 100 watt version of the high beam bulb you need...they make a good
difference compared to the stockers. Just make sure you dim them quickly when other vehicles approach. They're
the cheapest option, about $10-15...

[ACE]

Do a bit of investigation first ......

www.danielsternlighting.com

Some interesting stuff ... facts/fiction ... regarding automotive lighting.

[Johnny G1]

Cibie light's are the way to go if you can get them to fit your truck, used them for about 25 yrs in 60-80 yr vehicles and bikes, European and the best lighting on the market. But all these new vehicles have such goofy shape's and size's to them. And if you use high output bulbs you have to have new wire and relay's or you burn your truck down, seen it happen as those bulbs demand a lot of power.

[SingleShot]

What Johnny said...

Dodge headlight switches from that era are notorious for melting down. There are many circuits running through them and the sum of the current is pushing the switches capabilities. If you simply up the wattage of your headlights you may soon notice an odd smell in the truck and lose your lights altogether shortly after that. Best to run auxiliary lighting through a separate relay or look for an upgrade on the switch.

[Drillbit]

They have certain high beam bulbs at Lordco in 100 watt...a good improvement over the 60 or 65 watt stock bulbs.
You'd have to call and ask them if they have a 100 watt version of the high beam bulb you need...they make a good
difference compared to the stockers. Just make sure you dim them quickly when other vehicles approach. They're
the cheapest option, about $10-15...

I'd go 100 watt and upgrade the harnesses. Best bang for the buck. Otherwise put a lightbar on it.

Don't buy into the whiter brighter light bulbs with the same wattage BS

[The Hermit]

I think I paid about $350 for a set of Piaa Driving lights at Lordco that mount to my bumper. They came with a separate switch so no worry about overloading the expensive stock switch on the steering column. I tried a bunch of different bulbs and they made very little difference... the Piaa set are pretty awesome.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/DSCN0118.JPG



http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showfull.php?photo=31582
(http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showfull.php?photo=31582)

[Good2bCanadian]

I replaced my factory fogs with an hid kit and it really brightens up nice on my 08.
Installed Sylvania white light bulbs in replace of my stock head lights and that made a marginal improvement.

[khoffnbud]

get lordco to order you a set of hella offroad bulbs, half the price of piaas, twice the light

[Mulieaddict]

They have certain high beam bulbs at Lordco in 100 watt...a good improvement over the 60 or 65 watt stock bulbs.
You'd have to call and ask them if they have a 100 watt version of the high beam bulb you need...they make a good
difference compared to the stockers. Just make sure you dim them quickly when other vehicles approach. They're
the cheapest option, about $10-15...

I like that price. Ill go have a look today. Thanks!

[mod7rem]

You have to have covers on any type of auxillary offroad lighting(light bars, etc) when on public roads, they are only legal for offroad. I was pulled over last week in mid day because my 20" light bar didnt have a cover. Its approx $105 fine for every light. He aslo said there are other charges if caught using them at night on public roads because of the safety hazard. This was a highways guy and an RCMP officer teamed up. They claim its a big safety push right now because of the steady stream of public complaints of being blinded by them on the road.

[albravo2]

Interesting thread. I thought it was just me. I have a 2012 F350 with all the bells and whistles and the lights SUCK. I just haven't gotten around to changing them yet. Glad to read all the input.

[boxhitch]

pulled over the last week in mid daypublic awareness campaign ? Don't count on the auto parts store to do that , they will sell to meet the demand.

charges if caught using them at night on public roadsNight time highway safety went out the window when they dropped the reduced speed limits , now everyone wants better lights as they can easily over-drive the factory output lights.

[Johnny G1]

You have to have covers on any type of auxillary offroad lighting(light bars, etc) when on public roads, they are only legal for offroad. I was pulled over last week in mid day because my 20" light bar didnt have a cover. Its approx $105 fine for every light. He aslo said there are other charges if caught using them at night on public roads because of the safety hazard. This was a highways guy and an RCMP officer teamed up. They claim its a big safety push right now because of the steady stream of public complaints of being blinded by them on the road. Its been the law for yrs, they best be covered in the day time when we went into the scales or they would only reminded you once then out came the ticket book, a dirty ole sock was sufficient for cover till dark.

[burger]

If you go for aftermarket lights on a separate switch. Make sure that you use a relay and fuse. Will give you the most volts and watts to your light. Power does not go through switch then to light which is a power drop

[.330 Dakota]

My 1968 Charger had better headlights than my 04 Ram,,kinda pathetic really.
The problem with the Ram lights isnt the bulbs, its the reflector design. You need aftermarket projectors, then pop in an HID system and your good to go. I also run 4-100w halogen offroad lights on the front of mine for the backroads.

[Fisher-Dude]

I think I paid about $350 for a set of Piaa Driving lights at Lordco that mount to my bumper. They came with a separate switch so no worry about overloading the expensive stock switch on the steering column. I tried a bunch of different bulbs and they made very little difference... the Piaa set are pretty awesome.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/DSCN0118.JPG



http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showfull.php?photo=31582
(http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showfull.php?photo=31582)


Nice, Bill! I bet you can spot a Starbucks sign from a mile away at midnight with those babies! :mrgreen:

[boxhitch]

A few options available here , some are better fit than others .

carid.com/automotive-lighting

[Dirty30-30]

My headlights are fine on my 08 ram, just put in some offroad bulbs and use the foggers...

[North Star]

Boxhitch makes an excellent point. As a sportbike rider I can attest to the fact it's easy to outride the lights. The newer a vehicle is generally the better highway capabilities it has. Basic light designs haven't really changed much in 50 yrs. A 60W bulb in 1960 puts out about as many lumens as a 2014 60W bulb, give or take. Changing brands at the same wattage is going to make very little difference.

[moosecaller]

You have to have covers on any type of auxillary offroad lighting(light bars, etc) when on public roads, they are only legal for offroad. I was pulled over last week in mid day because my 20" light bar didnt have a cover. Its approx $105 fine for every light. He aslo said there are other charges if caught using them at night on public roads because of the safety hazard. This was a highways guy and an RCMP officer teamed up. They claim its a big safety push right now because of the steady stream of public complaints of being blinded by them on the road.

http://bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/26_58_01
Look at section 4.09 and 4.25 ....question are those light bars off-road lights?? or are they auxiliary driving lights?? I bought mine off ebay as a driving light bar.

[mod7rem]

http://bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/26_58_01
Look at section 4.09 and 4.25 ....question are those light bars off-road lights?? or are they auxiliary driving lights?? I bought mine off ebay as a driving light bar.


If the light doesnt have an SAE/DOT stamp then its not legal for highway use.

[mod7rem]

The only thing I can find on the PIAA website that is DOT/SAE is "night tech replacement bulbs".

[barry1974w]

I have a 20 inch Rigid bar wired to my high beam switch, it's awesome. But as mentioned they are for "offroad use only". Some guys seems be be getting pretty carried away, HID's and LED's even with their lowbeams on coming at them is retina melting.