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How did you go about finding a member on there to have this work completed? I would eventually like to upgrade and a plug-and-play solution from someone on these boards seems like a decent avenue to pursue.
Measured my voltage at the lights with the engine running this morning
battery voltage was 14.33
drivers side : lows 12.65 highs, 12.42
pax side : lows 12.53, highs 12.34
i tested the drop to the battery and it was equal to battery voltage - headlight voltage
so with the voltage lower than the rated 12.8v I’m getting 10ish percent drop in lumens and when i install the harness i plan to see at least 14v at the lights so the lumens should increase to the 1300-1400 ramge or 40-50% increase from what i have now
i also looked at my housings, and there is a lot of waviness in the reflector so that isn’t helping the beam pattern. So i plan to order some OEM 03-04 style lights because I really dont want to use h13 bulbs.
This picture looks much better than reality, to naked eyes there is at least 4-5 individual blocks of light and no distinct “cutoff”
well, i am now reconsidering the 05-07 OEM lights..... after pricing out the 03-04 w/ parking/turn signal assemblies (the TYC ones also suck) it might just be cheaper for me to switch to 05-07.
It doesn't need to be super white. There are a lot of color temperatures you can select. You can have normal halogen color if you like.
I use an 8000 headlight and a 3000 fog light. They combine for very neutral light but the yellows are great in fog or snow in the dark, you can just run the fogs and the reflection doesn't contract your pupils so much. The super white is great for street signs, that's why I do the combo. You would probably like a 4300 or 5000 instead if you just want plain "normal" light from the headlights.
It doesn't need to be super white. There are a lot of color temperatures you can select. You can have normal halogen color if you like.
I use an 8000 headlight and a 3000 fog light. They combine for very neutral light but the yellows are great in fog or snow in the dark, you can just run the fogs and the reflection doesn't contract your pupils so much. The super white is great for street signs, that's why I do the combo. You would probably like a 4300 or 5000 instead if you just want plain "normal" light from the headlights.
4300 would be my preference. i run yellow fogs on my subaru and they are great, no fogs on my Ex. i do like the cutoffs on bi-xenon projectors, that is something that is hard to beat thats for sure
unrelated to this, but i have seen the pics of 05-07 lights with the older grills, but now i can't find it, still more research
Right on. Headlight swap is no problem, it's when you want to change the bumper that the grill looks a little funny without changing it too. That's my understanding.
i ordered OEM 05-07 housings this morning. i think with getting a solid 14v to the lights I will be happy enough, the Ex is only driven 1 day/week unless the weather is bad currently. It needs better lights than what I have now, but really can't justify HID projectors and in bad weather even with a good cutoff they create a lot of glare from the vehicles i have driven that came equipped with them. Even with the crap TYC housings and slightly underpowered, the light is "there" it just isn't well placed so hopefully the 05-07 fixes that. the 05-07 it still a larger reflector than what's on my '94 k2500 and that actually has good lights
i will report back after I get everything and post some cutoff pics of the new housings, which seem to be just about impossible to find.
well I am more than satisfied with my results. The OEM housings have a more than acceptable beam pattern with no dead spots or wierd blocks of light. the 05-07 style fits better, no rattles etc. and with my harness getting full voltage to the lights they are actually really quite bright!
oscillating saw made real quick work of the cutting, and i only had to cut once. the templates that are out there on the web are a bit on the large side, I cut slightly small planning to need to enlarge a bit and was just fine!!!
I am not pleased with ford changing the parking/turn signal connector and socket! they rekeyed it so the old style won't fit in the hole because one of the tabs had been moved like 1/8" and the connecter is different requiring an unplanned trip to the dealer since no one else had pigtails in town, so 92.00 for 2 stupid connecter so i could drive home..........pictures attached
