OK here is my writeup on this headlight upgrade, I found a few odd things while doing this and still have some more research to do on the software upgradability of these last generation Econolines which have the smart module based electrical system similar to the earlier Superduty pickups. There are things that can be turned on and off like DRLs or you can have the interior lights dim to off for example, but there aren't as many options as late model trucks that just have more stuff onboard.

Here are the parts used, Beamtech H13 bulbs and Auxbeam 3157 amber/white switch bulbs. I decided to try these switch bulbs because of the way the front lighting assmbly is designed on these trucks, I thought it would add a unique look and it does. These switch bulbs have a white running light with amber turns, and the white switches off when the turns are active.




The beamtech bulbs include an allen key that can be used to adjust the orientation of the blade, you just remove 1 little screw, rotate the body relative to the lock ring and put the screw back in. The sccrew and the line of holes in the lock ring are visible in the pics. I messed around with one of them and had to adjust it after install, I believe they were both in the correct orientation(vertical) out of the box.

Changing headlight bulbs on this truck isn't hard, 3 screws(1 top, 2 bottom) have to come out and nothing else has to come off.. not even the grill. These bulbs are plug and play so this only took a few munites to do. Here are the OEM lights...




And here is what the LEDs look like...



These LED bulbs are at least twice as bright as the halogens and the beam pattern is the same, there are rectangular hot spots directly in front with a less intense flood off to the sides. I still have to do a headlight alignment but even without that I'm not getting anybody flashing me so I think it safe to say they aren't blinding people. I did compare the beam patterns on the garage door but I didn't get a picture of it. Here is one side with LEDs and the other original.



So how do the switch bulbs work? Do I get hyperflashing? Yes! and no. This is one of the odd things I discovered. With the lights off in daytime running mode, the right turn operates normally while the left sorta hyperflashes.. I wouldn't call it hyperflashing exactly it's more double speed. And it gets stranger... with the headlights on both sides hyperflash.
So I did some digging on the software options that may be able to fix this, newer trucks can be switched between halogen and LED in the GEM/BCM or whatever it's called, and even this truck appears to have an option in there to disable the bulb-out mode, that makes the turn signals run faster when one of the bulbs burns out to indicate to the driver that something needs service. This code appears to be there and the option appears to be set to disable it, but the lights hyperflash anyway. And I looked high and low for a flasher relay and as of yet have not found one, the instrument panel makes a relay clicking sound when the turn signals are on, and some of the relays in the under hood fuse box click with the signals, but removing these relays doesn't affect the lights.. they still flash so thay're not directly inline. And I can't find anything behind the dash.

So I had to admit defeat and install load resistors, i was hoping this wasn't necessary but for now I need correct functionality. Maybe as time passes some more detail will surface on the software options available on these trucks. I will keep trying things too, I have a Forscan with an extended licenced and a compatible interface(OBDLink EX).

I mounted the resistors on the metal rad support and spliced the wires into the harness, I didn't use the clips included with the kit I soldered the wires. A note to anybody doing this, if you use the included splice connectors put them as far back from the connector as possible, the light connectors are already a tight fit through the openings in the support so there can't be any extra bulk in this area.





So once I figured out the correct wires to attach the load resistors it's all working as expected. Another odd thing here is that the turn/running light wiring was slightly different on each side, I had to attach the resistor to the center and outside wire on the left but it was the two outside wires on the right side.

End of the day I'm happy with the results, I get a unique look and a lighting upgrade. I haven't done the rear lights yet but that will be next, the incandescents are so slow compared to the LEDs and I wouldn't mind some more powerful backup lights.

 

Update:
I discovered I had made a mistake on the front turn/running lights, it appears my earlier claim that there were wiring differences between the L and R housings was not correct, the turns use the two outside wires on both sides. Believe it or not I was using a multimeter to probe the wires to find which ones to use, but I got a flashing signal on two different pairs so it took a little bit of experimentation to figure out.

I also just installed LEDs in the taillights and these work as expected without adding more load resistors, I suspect that means that both front and rear bulbs are on the same circuit and a single load resistor per side is enough to keep the electronics happy.