What's new
By:
Ram Heavy Duty Forum

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

2020 ram 3500 led to xenon conversion

Z

zhauler

Member
Messages
32
Reaction score
23
Points
8
hey all,

i can't stand these LED projectors, they do not illuminate like the xenon do.... (of course this is simply my opinion)

i've been looking around for some OEM xenon enclosures i can swap the led's out with....

is the wiring harness the same between led and xenon?

i found some parts on mopar sites: Part Number: 68406277AD

also on rock auto, but i dont know if these are xenon or led....

any help would be appreciated!
 
zhauler said:
hey all,

i can't stand these LED projectors, they do not illuminate like the xenon do.... (of course this is simply my opinion)

i've been looking around for some OEM xenon enclosures i can swap the led's out with....

is the wiring harness the same between led and xenon?

i found some parts on mopar sites: Part Number: 68406277AD

also on rock auto, but i dont know if these are xenon or led....

any help would be appreciated!
Click to expand...
There are no oem housings that use HID, and most manufacturers are moving from using hid to strictly LED. The part number you posted is the base halogen headlight housing, which you definitely don’t want to put HIDs in.
 
Check out Diode dynamics . Bought HID from them back in 15 before decent LED came out . They are still working in the 14 I had . They probably make some decent LED lights now.
 
GPurcell01 said:
I hate people that run aftermarket HID's...
Click to expand...
Depends on what bulbs the cheapies are junk but the good name brands tend to be an aimed bulb that matches the OEM bulb with similar “cut off” and do not scatter the light like amazon specials
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
Depends on what bulbs the cheapies are junk but the good name brands tend to be an aimed bulb that matches the OEM bulb with similar “cut off” and do not scatter the light like amazon specials
Click to expand...
HIDs are omnidirectional just like a halogen bulb. The reflector design, or projector bowl and shield design is what creates the cutoff and spread, not the bulb. When a headlight housing is designed, the bulb is chosen first, then the reflector/projector is designed specifically for the that bulb. ANY aftermarket LED or HID “replacement” bulb is going to scatter light when it reaches the distance that the reflector/projector can’t control the pattern any more, no matter how expensive or what brand. Sure, we can have pages of people posting pics of how nice and crisp their cutoffs are when pulled up 10’ away from their garage door, but the reality is, they are scattering light at distance in real driving situations.
 
Jimmy07 said:
HIDs are omnidirectional just like a halogen bulb. The reflector design, or projector bowl and shield design is what creates the cutoff and spread, not the bulb. When a headlight housing is designed, the bulb is chosen first, then the reflector/projector is designed specifically for the that bulb. ANY aftermarket LED or HID “replacement” bulb is going to scatter light when it reaches the distance that the reflector/projector can’t control the pattern any more, no matter how expensive or what brand. Sure, we can have pages of people posting pics of how nice and crisp their cutoffs are when pulled up 10’ away from their garage door, but the reality is, they are scattering light at distance in real driving situations.
Click to expand...
Jimmy, You are correct, but it can be done properly

I (my son) modified the halogen quad assemblies to accommodate Bi-Xenon Projector bulbs, Tuning H1 V3 with Mini H1 Shrouds, using 55watt ballasts in each of the two low beams and the two high beams. Those bulbs do the cutoff, not the quad reflector. It took some careful aligning, but we got it done. They do not shine over the trunk of a Camry, so pulling up behind anyone, they do not shine into their rear window. The exceptions are Ferraris, BMW roadsters, etc. And, I have never been flashed.

In 2016 the LED mods were terrible if using the quad reflectors, that's why we went with the HIDs. If I were doing it today I would go with LEDs which have now been perfected. The HIDs are the brightest, but my major complaint is the cutoff, you absolutly cannot see anything above the cutoff, which is dangerous on busy local roads. The new cars with LEDs and new LED mods do not have that problem.
 
zhauler said:
hey all,

i can't stand these LED projectors, they do not illuminate like the xenon do.... (of course this is simply my opinion)

i've been looking around for some OEM xenon enclosures i can swap the led's out with....

is the wiring harness the same between led and xenon?

i found some parts on mopar sites: Part Number: 68406277AD

also on rock auto, but i dont know if these are xenon or led....

any help would be appreciated!
Click to expand...
I agree with "they do not illuminate like the xenon do", however, I am very satisfied with LEd projectors on my 2020 3500.

Ir will be interesting to hear if there is a Bi-Xenon replacement
 
I'm more than happy with the LEDs in my Limited. Coming from a 2017 with halogen they are are a major improvement imo. Having the directional headlights doesn't hurt either
 
Jimmy07 said:
HIDs are omnidirectional just like a halogen bulb. The reflector design, or projector bowl and shield design is what creates the cutoff and spread, not the bulb. When a headlight housing is designed, the bulb is chosen first, then the reflector/projector is designed specifically for the that bulb. ANY aftermarket LED or HID “replacement” bulb is going to scatter light when it reaches the distance that the reflector/projector can’t control the pattern any more, no matter how expensive or what brand. Sure, we can have pages of people posting pics of how nice and crisp their cutoffs are when pulled up 10’ away from their garage door, but the reality is, they are scattering light at distance in real driving situations.
Click to expand...
Bi-xenon yes because they have one projection point where a halogen has 2 one for low and one for high in a standard Xenon bulb only has one projection point to mimic as each housing only has either high or low not both so the area where the gas burns in a hid can be placed in the same spot where the halogen light burns the element mimicking the same cut off as the halogen in the same housing….

Now that being said projector retrofits are by far better than a drop in bulb kit. For a time i retrofit projector housings for people but not many want to endure the 700-1000$ it costs for a good retrofit
 
yeah i wasn't looking for anything aftermarket....

i could have sworn that there were two different headlamp offerings between 3500 models, and the LED was only for the high end stuff...

i swapped in LED lamps on my zr1 and my visibility went to ****....

i put back in the oem xenon/hid projector modules and its better by a magnitude of ten as far as the light projection goes....

these LED headlamps just project like 10 feet out in front and do nothing for illuminating further down the road, which gets dangerous in my area as there is zero street lighting... (also severely lacking in street reflectors and even no painted lines)

:rolleyes:
 
zhauler said:
yeah i wasn't looking for anything aftermarket....

i could have sworn that there were two different headlamp offerings between 3500 models, and the LED was only for the high end stuff...

i swapped in LED lamps on my zr1 and my visibility went to ****....

i put back in the oem xenon/hid projector modules and its better by a magnitude of ten as far as the light projection goes....

these LED headlamps just project like 10 feet out in front and do nothing for illuminating further down the road, which gets dangerous in my area as there is zero street lighting... (also severely lacking in street reflectors and even no painted lines)

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
There are 3 headlight options from the factory… halogen reflector housings, led reflector housings, and led projector housings…. Post a picture of your lights so we know which ones they are
 
zhauler said:
yeah i wasn't looking for anything aftermarket....

i could have sworn that there were two different headlamp offerings between 3500 models, and the LED was only for the high end stuff...

i swapped in LED lamps on my zr1 and my visibility went to ****....

i put back in the oem xenon/hid projector modules and its better by a magnitude of ten as far as the light projection goes....

these LED headlamps just project like 10 feet out in front and do nothing for illuminating further down the road, which gets dangerous in my area as there is zero street lighting... (also severely lacking in street reflectors and even no painted lines)

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
The factory LED lights on my Limited light up the road way beyond 10', in dark areas it's a night and day difference as I can see way out clearly with no issues. You don't say which trim level you have, are you talking factory led lights?
 
zhauler said:
these LED headlamps just project like 10 feet out in front and do nothing for illuminating further down the road, which gets dangerous in my area as there is zero street lighting... (also severely lacking in street reflectors and even no painted lines)

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Interesting. My 2020's LEDs are excellent.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top