headlight bulbs

[hounddog]

If you like heavy brew like Lions, you should like this as well. 

That is not to say they are the same, but that they share the same heaviness.

[Rupert]

Not bad. A good quaffing beer.

[S204STi]

Enjoying some Easy Street Wheat atm... yum.

[hounddog]

Just purchased a set of Silverstar Ultras for the Ram, high beams only for now.  Sale price of $42. 

Anyway, the salesman told me that I need to be sure to use a conductive grease with them to keep the bulbs cooler and to keep them from overheating the pigtail on the harness.

I would like them in before dark today, Tuesday.  Any opinions on that? 

[Cookie Monster]

Never heard of using headlight grease, but then again I've never used Silverstars either.

[hounddog]

It is actually sparkplug grease. 

[CJ]

Do you see it there from the factory?

[93JC]

My opinion?

Take the headlights back to the store you bought them from and get a refund. Silverstar/Silverstar Ultras are a complete waste of money.

[SVT666]

My opinion?

Take the headlights back to the store you bought them from and get a refund. Silverstar/Silverstar Ultras are a complete waste of money.

I agree.

[hounddog]

Fuck me with a stick;

LAMP


1. Disconnect and isolate the battery negative cable.
2. Remove the four plastic push-in fasteners that secure the upper radiator seal to the grille support and both fender ledges.
3. Remove the two plastic push-pin rivets that secure the upper radiator seal to the radiator.
4. Remove the upper radiator seal from the vehicle.

NOTE: It is not necessary to remove the grille from the front of the vehicle to service the front lamp units. The illustration shows the grille removed only to assist in clearly identifying the locations of the front lamp unit mounting provisions.
5. Remove the screw that secures the upper mounting tab of the front lamp unit to the Front End Module (FEM) carrier (also known as the radiator closure) .
6. Using a socket with a magnetic insert or with a small piece of butyl tape inserted, reach down between the grille and the FEM carrier to access, remove and retrieve the screw that secures the lower mounting tab of the front lamp unit.

7. Remove the fastener that secures the tab at the bottom of the access panel to the front of the front wheel house splash shield .

8. Reach through the access opening of the wheel house splash shield and lift the slide lock upward far enough to disengage it from the lock post integral to the back of the front lamp unit housing .

9. From the front of the vehicle, grasp the outboard edge of the front lamp unit firmly and pull it straight forward to disengage the ball stud from the plastic grommet in the FEM carrier.
10. Pull the lamp away from the front of the vehicle far enough to access and disconnect the two wire harness connections from the park/turn signal bulb socket and either the headlamp bulb on vehicles with dual headlamps, or from the headlamp pigtail wire harness on vehicles with quad headlamps .
11. Remove the front lamp unit from the vehicle.


Never mind.

[shp4man]

If the truck's still under warranty and the aftermarket lights burn up the harness it's not covered. Just sayin'

[Rupert]

My opinion?

Take the headlights back to the store you bought them from and get a refund. Silverstar/Silverstar Ultras are a complete waste of money.

+1 big time.

[Rupert]

It is actually sparkplug grease. 

Which is actually dielectric grease.

[Rupert]

Keep with stock wattage on factory headlights, or you risk melting stuff. Don't even bother with Silverstars; they aren't brighter, just whiter, which is actually a bad thing.

[hounddog]

Which is actually dielectric grease.

[hounddog]

Keep with stock wattage on factory headlights, or you risk melting stuff. Don't even bother with Silverstars; they aren't brighter, just whiter, which is actually a bad thing.

All wattage must fall within federal limits. 

I am fairly sure they increase the amperage to the filament thread to get a brighter light, and yes, it cuts the life of the bulb. 

[hounddog]

If the truck's still under warranty and the aftermarket lights burn up the harness it's not covered. Just sayin'

Not so, says the man behind the desk at the Dodge store.

[Northlands]

All I've ever heard and experienced with Silverstars is that they burn out in like a month.

I had a pair that burned out in three weeks. This was about 4 years ago. I was highly unimpressed.

[93JC]

All wattage must fall within federal limits. 

I am fairly sure they increase the amperage to the filament thread to get a brighter light, and yes, it cuts the life of the bulb. 

Voltage is pretty much constant, so... how do they increase the current ("amperage") without increasing the power ("wattage")?

[Cookie Monster]

Voltage is pretty much constant, so... how do they increase the current ("amperage") without increasing the power ("wattage")?

[FoMoJo]

I have a great dislike of unnecessarily bright headlights.  They pose a greater danger to oncoming traffic than any advantage gained by the user.  I've never found it necessary to even use highbeams while driving at night.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I have a great dislike of unnecessarily bright headlights.  They pose a greater danger to oncoming traffic than any advantage gained by the user.  I've never found it necessary to even use highbeams while driving at night.

The use of high beams in traffic is an epidemic. The people who use them in rain and snow are especially dangerous.
I do use high beams on empty rural highways, as they help in spotting deer.

[93JC]

x2

I use my high beams on empty rural highways, and that's it. I think many (most?) modern headlights are too bright and create a dangerous amount of glare for oncoming traffic. Frankly I think HID lights should be illegal. They're too bright.

I also despise the attitude that some drivers have toward others, saying "I don't care if my lights are [too] bright: they help me see and I feel much safer." Those sorts of people are colossal assholes.

[FoMoJo]

x2

I use my high beams on empty rural highways, and that's it. I think many (most?) modern headlights are too bright and create a dangerous amount of glare for oncoming traffic. Frankly I think HID lights should be illegal. They're too bright.

I also despise the attitude that some drivers have toward others, saying "I don't care if my lights are [too] bright: they help me see and I feel much safer." Those sorts of people are colossal assholes.

[S204STi]

I feel like the ideal lies somewhere in between.  I was driving my friend's Previa van this morning to work and the lighting is so dismal that it's frankly unsafe at night.  On the other hand, my overwattage bulbs which put out 2/3 the lumens of xenon HIDs give me great night vision including at high speed.  I'd say the biggest offenders though are the Jeeps, trucks, and the like with ineffective reflectors which create a ton of glare without any appreciable increase in visibility for the driver.  Xenon HIDs, while annoying, are certainly less of an issue AFAIC as long as they are in effective projectors with leveling motors.

[S204STi]

Oh, and Silverstars are junk.  Buy the Philips Xtremepower bulbs instead.

[Rupert]

Oh, and Silverstars are junk.  Buy the Philips Xtremepower bulbs instead.

That's the one. I couldn't remember the name, but they're in my Explorer. Maybe it's the crappiness of the lenses, but I can't see the difference between those and crappy econo-bulbs.

[Rupert]

All wattage must fall within federal limits. 

I am fairly sure they increase the amperage to the filament thread to get a brighter light, and yes, it cuts the life of the bulb. 

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html

All lumens must also fall within the legal limits. Brighter bulbs have better filaments and better gas components, and it's these things that cut the life of the bulb. Your Silverstars have these better filaments and gases, but then they ruin the whole thing with a blue filter, so you end up with a bulb that lands in the low end of the allowable lumen range while not lasting very long.

[Rupert]

I had a pair that burned out in three weeks. This was about 4 years ago. I was highly unimpressed.

Three weeks? Sounds like you got oils from your hands on the bulb glass.

[Rupert]

I have over-wattage driving lamps on the Explorer, which turn off with the high beams, and I use them in the appropriate contexts. I also have over-wattage bulbs in the Porsche as low beams, but the lamps are so low and the cut-off so sharp that no one is ever bothered (I can see the cutoff when driving, and the bright part doesn't ever hit anyone's mirrors or windshield).