I just think it's awesome that you did this. I have been thinking about trying this since I bought the truck in 2007.

 

dont want to hijack this thread, but I have a question about fog lights. Why do all car/truck makers turn off fog lights when bright lights are turned on?

 

Because they are foglights and not driving lights. Your high beams are not supposed to be used in fog, so you would never use the two of them together.

 

Will you calm down and listen?

Now you ask where I get my information. Lets just say a combination of both experience and from people much smarter than you or I.

Failed headlight switches are not uncommon on Fords, especially older ones. This is because the switched cannot handle the load that is placed upon them. On older Rangers and Aerostars, I have replaced several headlight switches that melted. They melted because of the high load and high resistance. My personal van has a relay harness and heavier gauge wire. My van is as bright on lows and my moms and brothers vans are on high. They still have the stock wiring. My mom has had her headlight switch fail twice, and the second time, the entire plastic plug on the back melted down and had to be replaced. This is just running stock bulbs.

HID lights are safe and legal on vehicles that came factory with them. They have a special projector that aims the light correctly and keeps it focused. Halogens in contrast use a reflector, and it is aimed differently to best take advantage of the light source. When you put an HID bulb into a halogen housing, as stated in the words of a lighting consultant, whom I will link you to shortly, its like putting on someone else's glasses and expecting to see better. The HIDs are out of focus. All the light that is meant to be cast down the road is spread around the foreground. This elevated level of foreground light will give you an immediate impression that you can see better. This is because the HIDs are such a vastly different light source.

Adding a relay harness is less expensive than a good HID kit. And it is entirely legal, and it gives you a starting point for better bulbs. A good relay harness can be had for as little as $50, and on the high end might run you around $80. The bulbs are inexpensive and there are lots of choices. In contrast, to even approach what might be semi legal and safe on HIDs, you need the bulbs, the ballasts, the wiring, and new headlights with proper projectors. Good luck on the last one. Getting safe and legal HID headlights requires DOT approval. Without that, no one is going to invest the money it would take to develop a safe but still illegal headlight. Furthermore, you are talking about $500 plus to acquire such a kit. The cheap kits consist of nothing more than a little wiring, a ballast, and some bulbs, and they leave the rest up to you.

A great source for more information from people who specialize in lighting and have done their research to learn the truth are the people over at www.danielsternlighting.com.

To get you started, here is some info on the relays, which explains very well how bad most stock systems really are.
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...ys/relays.html and also explains how to fix them.

Here is the truth about HID bulbs in all its full ugliness. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...s/Hid/HID.html. A video which shows you the difference in beam pattern is apparent. You do not need special equipment to spot a bad conversion. I have let my opinion be known on pictures that users here have posted, but if you know hat you are looking at, it would be apparent to everyone what the problem is.

 

To give the OP another option: If you are running 9007 or 9008 bulbs you can get an upgraded headlight harness...

FD$Acc

It made a large difference in my truck. My wiring was weak and this definitely puts out more amperage. I also upgraded to the Silverstars for further improvement. If you wanted to go all out for a bulb, get the Osram Silverstars. This is Sylvania's European division and their Silverstars are pure white (the Sylvania Silverstars have a faint blue tinge to them).

I thought it was something to do with the wattage (2 low beams and 2 fogs did not exceed a wattage limit but 2 high beams and 2 fogs did). I searched the CA vehicle code and couldn't find anything, so I don't know.

I did, however, add 9005 headlight bulbs to my fogs for a little extra oomph to see directly in front of the truck now to complement the headlight harness and Silverstars in the headlights.

 

I believe it's the law in some states.... think you can only have SO many lights on at once, etc....

I got a warning on my 03 Ex with the 6 lites on no ticket, but Mr Leo didn't like it...

So I usually only put all 6 on when out in the boonies
(or when the oncoming doofus wouldn't dim HIS brights !!!)

 

I would like some direction on what is usefully possible on my 08 f350 dually.

we live out in the country, an 8 mile drive on 2 lane road with lots of critters.. big and small. my wifes 08 Suburban 'fills the sky' with light with the brights on, never seen anything like it.. The F350 is focused, pinpoint. I think this is the 9008/h13 bulb

Sam

 

As far as CA goes, you can only have 4 lights on at once when on public roads (2 headlights and either 2 fogs OR 2 driving lights). Auxiliary lights (off-road lights) cannot be used AND must be covered on public roadways. Also you cannot use the high beams within 500 feet of oncoming traffic.

There are a few options you have without replacing your lamps. There's the "britebox" which allows you to have high and low beams on at the same time. Also there's an upgrade harness for your headlights. Both of these can be found here:

FD$Acc

I can vouch for the headlight harness. Made a big difference on my 9007 lamps...

You can add brighter bulbs (Silverstar Ultra). I know on my fog lights you can replace the bulb with a 9005 headlight bulb. I hear that the Ultras have a tendency to burn out quicker than other bulbs, but they can be had at just about any auto parts store.

Lastly, you can search around, but there's a modification you can do to allow your fog lights to be on with your high beams.

Not all of these mods are legal on public roadways, but they do help with nighttime illumination!

 

thanks..

I had read lots of posts but came to no conclusion for 2008 models..

I don't have fog lights, and have this (ugly to me) ranch hand front grill guard which blocks using fogs too.. (used truck)

I had the dual light box on my old chevy pickup.. was better..
does the harness REALLY make a difference? altho I did this on my hotrod, I only did it to keep the power off the fuse box, not to improve light output.

and then bulbs are interesting, but as noted, unless the reflector is different all you'll get is more light in the same spot.. which is not what I was going for..

dual light might be it..

Sam

 

Yes, the harness really made a difference on my '03. It's all plug and play and is well constructed. It uses heavier gage wires and relays near the batteries to provide minimal loss between power and load (lights) and higher current draw.

 

For those who wnat to run their fog lights with the brights on, there is an h-13 hi-lo hid kit that can be found on e-bay for $69.00, [you may have to add $20.00 for a relay so they won't flicker with the truck running], the lo beams are on hook up to the high beam wire on your truck and are regular halogen [legal] lights, and the hid's hook up to the low beam wire on your truck so you can run the fog lights with them. I don't live in a communist state, so as long as I use the hid's within reason I do not have a problem with law enforcement. I have four different sets of hid's on my truck, and also have converted my older vehicles ['70's models as well] to hids and have never had a problem. I don't have a problem with the focus of the light beams, they are the same as the halogens in the same housing and you can see way better than halogens, there is no comparison even to the sylvania bulbs, I tried those and they are not much better than stock.

 

I see we started a lot of controversy about LEDs and extra lights which is always a simple option but not quite the answer I was seeking, I'll try this one more time does anyone know a manufacturer of light assemblies LEDs included that will put the driving lights on top it's a pretty simple straightforward question yes or no and if you know the companies name please let me know, when I was in my early 20s the front of my truck look like a Christmas tree 4 to 6 lights including two alternators I no longer off-road so I'm not really interested in extreme lighting I just want a set of headlights that sit up high on the truck and give a better coverage area, sort of like what the plow lights do thanks
PS continue the controversy LOL

 

The '05-'07's use the same lamp,and they don't have that problem-it's the late model housing.
JL

 

I believe on your first post you asked about lights other than leds by another manufacturer, I know of none, but there are a couple of halo type led headlight assemblies on ebay but are probably designed more for those in their 20's and would not give you any more light than you have now. You also mentioned that the directional lights should be lower and the upper slot should be used for the driving lights. I agree, and the mod I suggested addresses that, using the same assy, giving you more light, and not looking extreme and being inexpensive and easy. Harbor freight makes a set of "9 hid lights that are self contained and could mount up high on your truck and cost less than $100.00 each, but that would be more extreme than what I suggested but would work great for plow lights. This is a common problem though, a lot of folks are not happy with the factory lights, bit I'm afraid there are limited options to address this. If you think these mods may make your truck look like a christmas tree, all the extra lights I have are in the stock light housings, and the stock fog light housings exept for one set of lights on my winch bumper. So the answer to your question is no, other than the mod I suggested there are no lights available to give you additional brighter lighting in the upper assy., if there are I don't know of any, but would welcome any new info.