My head lights don't seem to be very strong.

I make long winter time drives on unlighted roads and need good lighting.

Is this chronic for this model or do I have a problem?

I know that I can always add lights but had expected better lighting then this from the stock system.

 

The 2005-2007 trucks are usually considered to have very good lighting characteristics. That is part of the reason a lot of 99-04 trucks upgrade to the newer lights (other than they look better). I would check the voltage at you light socket to see what you are getting. You could have wires that are starting to corrode and causing low voltage at the light.

If you want to upgrade the lighting there are a few different ways to do it.

The first and easiest is to upgrade the bulbs. Sylvania Silverstars are very popular as are the Sylvania Xtravisions. I prefer the Xtravisions as they do not have the blue filter on the glass to make the light seem whiter. I think the Silverstars tend to produce more glare.

The second thing to do is to upgrade the wiring to the lights. Many people will run the lights straigt off of the batteries through a relay to get more voltage to them. They can use the existing headlight wiring to open/close the relay. You can wire this up yourself, or buy a pre made kit. Dfuser, a site sponsor here, has a very well put together kit for a reasonable price. It is the third item on the page in the following link. http://www.dfuser.com/mfg/powerstrok...s/lighting.php

Another way to upgrade the light output is with a product called the Britebox. This item allows the filaments for the dim lights to stay lit when you turn on the brights, like when you pull back on the turn signal stalk. A few people have experienced problems with the bulbs overheating and either exploding or melting the housing when running a britebox, so be aware of that possibility. The Dieselsite, another site sponsor, sells this product here. http://www.dieselsite.com/index.asp?...ROD&ProdID=358

Finally you could do a combination of any of these upgrades. I personally installed a Dfuser wiring harness, and Sylvania Xtravision bulbs and noticed a big improvement in the lighting. Some drivers will flash their brights at me, even though I am running my dims and have aimed my headlights according to the procedure in the owner's guide.

 

Thanks, I will follow up on your tips before I pop big bucks for additional lights.

 

Don't overlook the basic stuff.

When is the last time you cleaned your headlights off? I run the scrubber/squeegie over the headlights every time I stop for fuel. It can make a huge difference.

 

Are they the old fashioned sealed beam style (XL models) or the newer more aerodynamic "Dual Beam Jewel Effect Headlamps" (XLT & up models)? The XL trucks came with a low quality 35w GE Halogen sealed beam, upgrading to the 55w GE 'HO' (High Output) version will help. The factory aerodynamic kind can be upgraded to a GE NightHawk.

 

Well,, isn't it just interesting what you find when you actually open the hood and look.

It seems the PO( and I knew this) had installed a BOSS snow plow. This included modifying the headlight wiring. He cut the wires and spliced in the wires to the snow plow headlights. Big bright suckers. So when you turn on the head light switch the plow lights come one.

If the plow isn't installed then the truck head lights come on when you turn on the headlight switch and turn on the #3 aux switch. So, actually the headlights on the truck are being powered by the #3 aux switch.

I plan on keeping the plow, it is way kool.

I guess I now have my choice. Rewire so the plow lights come on from the #3 aux switch and the truck lights come on from dash switch, or leave it as it is and install one of those kool direct to the battery solenoids that will be activated by the #3 aux switch.

What do you guys think?



PS The lights are clean.

 

Leave it, It works...

 

Hmmmmmm I have a Boss snow plow and had it installed. There is a switch in the cab to shift lighting from truck to plow. I'm fairly certain it uses relays since everything but the push frame comes off the truck and the plow lights are powered through the connector in the grill.