headlamps suck, off the shelf

[camcruiser13]

so I picked up my new to me truck and drove at night, thought the lights were broken, turns out they just suck real bad, anybody got a plug an play upgrade or autozone off the shelf set of lights they used with success?

thx

 

[camcruiser13]

what am I a neeb

its a 92 sr5 pickup v6 truck. probably need that info as well

and yes I searched, im not that new

 

[KLF]

There are 2 issues that contribute to the poor headlight output in these trucks: crappy DOT sealed beam headlamps, and pathetic undersized wiring in the factory harness. I fixed both, it was not cheap or easy, but it was definitely worth it, HUGE difference.

Headlights: I went with Hella E-code headlight assemblies, with 55/100W H4 bulbs. Very nice pattern, excellent cutoff to the beam, and the high beam is awesome. I bought mine waaaay back in 2002 from what used to be Susquehanna Motorsports, now they are rallylights.com

http://www.rallylights.com/all/h6545-hella-165mm-ece-hi-lo-h4-conversion-headlamp-kit.html

I did a lot of research on wiring harnesses, ended up home-brewing my own, from parts I had in my bins, and stuff I had to order from Waytek Wire. Comes right off the battery, #12 wires to each headlight, separately fused & grounded, only uses the factory wiring to trigger the relays. I'll try to find my hand-scratched out wiring diagram, maybe post it up.

 

[camcruiser13]

that's what I was afraid of. yeah if you find your diagram post up

 

[KLF]

There may be other options, I think a few places were selling pre-wired plug-and-go harnesses.

 

[ferg]

Roger Brown(?) used to sell a wiring setup that bypassed the factory harness.
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Headlights.shtml#OnLineOrdering