H11 and 9005 upgrade

Hilldweller

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I tried to post this in an old thread and it vanished into the ether...

But, I've traded the Jeep and its wonderful headlights, driving lights, floodlights, etc with it.
It was sad but the dang little-engine-that-couldn't just didn't pull my trailer reliably.

Now I've got a new Power Wagon with horrible H11 lows and 9005 highs. What to do, what to do.

Scheinwerfermann had said in another thread that an H9 could fit an H11 socket with "modification" ----- what's the mod and can my stock plastic/wires take the additional load and heat?

Awesome truck, btw.
NewPowerWagon003.jpg~original
 
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Alaric Darconville

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I tried to post this in an old thread and it vanished into the ether...

But, I've traded the Jeep and its wonderful headlights, driving lights, floodlights, etc with it.
It was sad but the dang little-engine-that-couldn't just didn't pull my trailer reliably.

Now I've got a new Power Wagon with horrible H11 lows and 9005 highs. What to do, what to do.

The no-brainer (or not so much of a brainer) for the highs is to go with HIR.


Scheinwerfermann had said in another thread that an H9 could fit an H11 socket with "modification" ----- what's the mod and can my stock plastic/wires take the additional load and heat?

There's a writeup with details on the basemod here. If there is no bulb shield in the factory low beams, and the H9 doesn't have blacktop/silvertop/whatevercolortop, the mod is ill-advised. Also, you and most everyone here know this, but for the edification of newcomers: Those "4000K Hyper White" bulbs are a cruel joke!

As far as heat-- it's only 10W (nominal) higher input for the H9.

Measuring the voltage drop now will give an indication of how much resistance your wiring is giving you-- if there's significant loss with a 55W bulb it'll worsen with the 65W bulb.

Awesome truck, btw.

It's a beaut, for sure! Sorry to hear that the Jeep's going away, though...
 

Alaric Darconville

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Which one? Is it a direct fit?
This is new ground for me; I've been a 7" round guy for years...

Very nearly a direct fit-- there's a minor base modification to a tab, but the bulb shank is the same diameter, so there are no issues with fitment and vibration once you've trimmed down a tab. If you can use a Dremel, or are good with toenail clippers, you'll do just fine. See here for details.
 

Alaric Darconville

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From searching older posts looking for Scheinwerfermann's wisdom, it looks like the Toshiba HIR1 is just fine.
EDIT: OOPS, it's not "just fine" (my Kung Foo Grep is weak today)
 
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-Virgil-

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No, you want a Philips HIR1. The Toshiba product was discontinued in Q4 2009, and the last couple of production runs had very inconsistent quality to put it diplomatically.

It's likely an H9 will fit directly into the headlamp without any mods to the lamp or the bulb base tabs. You may have to dremel a plastic ridge or two out of the electrical receptacle part of the H9 bulb to accept the H11 socket. This mod may not work acceptably in those headlamps; do one side first and go for a night drive, paying careful attention to glare above the cutoff and placement of the hot spot. That truck has a horizontal cutoff with no upkick on the right (it's a VOR-type low beam), which means you will likely really be zapping other drivers with heavy-duty glare unless you aim the lamps carefully and conservatively according to their mount height.
 

Hilldweller

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The aim on the lights is very load dependant; no self-leveling device. You'd think that it would be mandatory on a heavy-duty truck...

I might go with the Osram Night Breakers instead; I cleaned the inside of the (vast) windshield this morning and it made a remarkable difference. Another thing skipped in the dealer prep, btw.

And I used the foglights in the fog this morning for the first time.
Crikey. They work.
I thought they were ornamental types but they're really good reflectors, well-aimed, and have 9145 bulbs. They belted light out to the sides like morning was upon me. If only the headlights had that sort of enthusiasm.


No, you want a Philips HIR1.
Where?
 

-Virgil-

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The aim on the lights is very load dependant

For the sake of traffic safety, please do not put H9s in your low beams for that exact reason -- unless you are prepared to get out and aim the lamps down whenever the truck has a load!

no self-leveling device. You'd think that it would be mandatory on a heavy-duty truck...

What are you, some kind of Euro-weenie communist or something? (NOTE TO MODERATORS: This is a joke. I bet my next paycheck that Hilldweller gets it and thinks it's funny. It is not intended to insult him or anyone else, nor is it intended as a slam against Europeans or Communists or weenies.)

I might go with the Osram Night Breakers instead

Smarter idea, I think.

And I used the foglights in the fog this morning for the first time.
Crikey. They work.

Greattt...so they give you auxiliary lights that work and main lights that don't.


Philips HIR1 in the high beams. You can get it from a GM dealer under p/n 15094219.
 

Hilldweller

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I do wheel with some Euro-weenies... The Swiss ones are especially compliant with all regulations.

I ordered the Night Breakers and wussed-out and ordered Range Powers for the highbeams. Compared to the stock Jeep lighting I had much less to complain about in the first place.

I am going to think about a light bar now and something to supplement the highs as well as maybe putting my HIDs on for use offroad.
I have to see what fits, if this thing uses PWM to manage the highbeam circuit, etc. Rallylights built me a nice harness to obviate the PWM on the Jeep...
 

Hamilton Felix

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My brain is still back in the days when trucks had big flat grilles. For years, I've wanted a grille or bulkhead that held my headlights, driving lights, fog lights, and was mounted with a bottom hinge and top adjustment screw/bolt (or vice versa). There's no reason that one couldn't have a simple mechanical "master elevation" control knob inside the cab that would make elevation correction easy. Aim all of your lights correctly with the truck empty; after the forklift sets that pallet of Sakrete in the back, just turn the knob a bit and correct your aim for the trip home.

But alas, our vehicles are no longer shaped with big flat front ends. I guess that dreamed was destined not to be.....:sigh:
 

Hilldweller

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My brain is still back in the days when trucks had big flat grilles. For years, I've wanted a grille or bulkhead that held my headlights, driving lights, fog lights, and was mounted with a bottom hinge and top adjustment screw/bolt (or vice versa). There's no reason that one couldn't have a simple mechanical "master elevation" control knob inside the cab that would make elevation correction easy. Aim all of your lights correctly with the truck empty; after the forklift sets that pallet of Sakrete in the back, just turn the knob a bit and correct your aim for the trip home.

But alas, our vehicles are no longer shaped with big flat front ends. I guess that dreamed was destined not to be.....:sigh:
I owned 3 motorcylces with headlight adjustment on the dash; two of them had slick button-controlled motors and one had a knob.
I don't think that Americans would adjust them correctly though; auto-leveling would be the only way.
Since bulb replacement would skew performance, it would have to be only for HID or LED...
...bring on the LEDs already...
 

Alaric Darconville

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Since bulb replacement would skew performance, it would have to be only for HID or LED...
...bring on the LEDs already...

Bulb replacement *shouldn't* skew performance if the correct bulb is installed. The tolerances on the shanks and keying tabs and the filament placement and all that should be pretty darn accurate. What skews performance most is vibration, impact, collisions, suspension problems, and that big bag of Sakrete in the back.

But people trying to decide between getting a heated gas pedal or autolevelling headlights will go for the heated gas pedal 80% of the time...
 

Qship1996

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Why is it Rallylights,Candlepower,etc sell the Philips low beam 9012, but do not offer the Philips 9011 high beam HIR bulb?
 

Diesel_Bomber

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Air shocks or air bags(my preference) in the rear + cheapy 12v cigarette lighter tire inflator = manually leveled headlights. :) Easy enough to run the filler lines to a schrader valve under the rear bumper or some other convenient spot.
 
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MichaelW

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At least you have 'quad beam' headlights instead of the lesser H13 dual beams.
 
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