Retrofitting 13-15 Headlights into 08-12 (1 Viewer)

[amitbh234]

The ebay headlights come with connectors for the 2013 so they will not be plug and play either. Might as well fork out the extra cash for the genuine headlights. Make sure to get the Euro spec ones which have bixenon projectors and DRL LEDs. I posted the part numbers in the thread linked above
View attachment 1901375View attachment 1901376

Did you have to do any modification to the headlight housing to make them fit with the older style bumper?

Any advice on if and how you integrated the level sensing motor? I am about to do the same. Hoping my upgrade goes as smoothly as yours. Your car looks beautiful. I got the US spec version, couldn’t find the EU spec headlights on normal sites.

 

[amitbh234]

Ok so I bit the bullet and did the mod. Was a big gamble given east headlight was $600 each and install was another $100. Did it during my radiator preventative maintenance replacement. Replaced the heater tees and fan and fan clutch while we were in there.

The big lesson is (and as someone pointed out on another thread) there is some plastic modification required to get it to fit, there was some interference between the tab on the bottom and the headlight washer system. My guy had to take a handsaw and cut away to make things fit with the old style bumper.

I tried to run leds on the high beam but they cut out almost immediately and one of the two Phillips HID bulbs I got is a little yellower than the other one which is white. I’m suspecting something’s up with the bulb so I have another one on order.

It does modernize the front end of the truck a lot. Love the improvement in lighting at night which was the main reason I did it. I finally like the front and look of my car now!! Used to hate how the halogen housing looked.

I used the AliExpress headlight harness and it worked. The DRLs come on only with the low beam which is how it’s designed to run. But the DRLs do come on DRL mode but those LEDs aren’t super strong.

 

[onelittlestar]

Ok so I bit the bullet and did the mod. Was a big gamble given east headlight was $600 each and install was another $100. Did it during my radiator preventative maintenance replacement. Replaced the heater tees and fan and fan clutch while we were in there.

The big lesson is (and as someone pointed out on another thread) there is some plastic modification required to get it to fit, there was some interference between the tab on the bottom and the headlight washer system. My guy had to take a handsaw and cut away to make things fit with the old style bumper.

I tried to run leds on the high beam but they cut out almost immediately and one of the two Phillips HID bulbs I got is a little yellower than the other one which is white. I’m suspecting something’s up with the bulb so I have another one on order.

It does modernize the front end of the truck a lot. Love the improvement in lighting at night which was the main reason I did it. I finally like the front and look of my car now!! Used to hate how the halogen housing looked.

I used the AliExpress headlight harness and it worked. The DRLs come on only with the low beam which is how it’s designed to run. But the DRLs do come on DRL mode but those LEDs aren’t super strong.

View attachment 3815950

View attachment 3815952

View attachment 3815966

View attachment 3815968

Awesome, you just saved me…I was ordering new headlights tonight along with a Rival front bumper, so this should be easy to fit. Glad I jumped on here

 

[amitbh234]

Awesome, you just saved me…I was ordering new headlights tonight along with a Rival front bumper, so this should be easy to fit. Glad I jumped on here

Let me know how the fitment with rival front bumper goes. Here’s how mine turned it

 

[amitbh234]

So I’m coming across an issue with the high beam/DRL (not the accent led light), as ya’ll know the high beam housing in these operate as DRL in the morning. I noticed that when it was in DRL mode, my passenger bulb is dim. I wanted to try the easy diagnostics so swapped bulbs left and right, swapped the high beam 9005 bulbs altogether with Phillips good quality bulbs and then swapped the pigtail harness left to right to see if the issue followed any of those. It didn’t unfortunately. The headlight assemblies are OEM btw.

I have a feeling that it’s a grounding issue. Does anyone know how to check the grounding on the headlight assemblies? I did the job along with the radiator replacement and was wondering if anything could be related to that(ex: ground point on radiator).

Would appreciate some help from anyone in the community well versed in electrical diagnostics.

Oh another weird thing I observed when the high beams are in DRL mode was that the left turn signal indicator on my dash was dimly lit. This issue goes away when the car’s hid low beams come on. So now I’ve been running the car with the headlight in “on” position instead of auto.

Any guidance/help appreciated. I initiated an RMA in case the assembly itself has an issue but hoping I can figure this out and not have to pay my shop again to replace.

 

[Cruisin911]

That is 100% your ali express harness. The headlights are working fine as they are lighting up as intended. However, I ditched the harness altogether and wired up my 13+ headlights with all factory connectors. I cut off the old ones that were no longer needed and spliced in new connectors. For the LED light strips, I ran those pigtailed to the corner running lights, so the LEDs come on with the first click of the stalk. This can be wired to the low beam if preferred. So, if I am running the stock DRLs (the dim high beams) the LEDs do not come on at all. What I suspect is that the wiring harness you have is trying to run the high beam halogens at the lower voltage AND the LEDs at the same time. This is consuming too much power for the other high beam bulb to have the same intensity.

Suggest you throw the harness in the trash and rewire it yourself how you would like it to work. Mine is set up to run like stock. When the DRL high beams are on, the LEDs are not.

 

[amitbh234]

Thanks @Cruisin911! I tried to move the pigtail harness from left to right and the issue was still with the passenger side high beam bulb. Would this rule out the harness?

I wish I was as electrically inclined as you, I am mechanically inclined but don’t know where I’d start with the wiring myself. Unfortunately stuck with the harness for now unless you have a wiring diagram I could get a shop to replicate but that’s a lot of money. My problems with the high beam goes away as soon as a low beams are on, so I’ve just been driving with the headlights on always. The high beams come on strong as actual high beams when the low beam is on.

 

[Cruisin911]

Thanks @Cruisin911! I tried to move the pigtail harness from left to right and the issue was still with the passenger side high beam bulb. Would this rule out the harness?

It's the amount of current. Not the bulb, as you found out.

Another harness is unnecessary. You simply need to pull it out and splice it into your existing harness with the correct connectors. Maybe an hour of work.

The Aliexpress harness is an unknown variable. Your stock system is more than up to the task. Your picture of the LEDs and the DRLs on at the same time tells me the harness is suspect. I'm willing to bet that if you go into your setup->customization->lighting->daytime running lights->off and then hit save it'll turn off your DRLs AND the LED strips.