- Aug 16, 2014
- 460
I’ve wanted to upgrade the headlights on my truck. I have an Isuzu Ascender which pretty much has the same headlights as an Envoy.
I do NOT want the uncontrolled pattern that HID and LED lamps in the stock housings cause and blind other drivers. (Not a knock on you guys that have HID's, I drive around in NYC)
What makes a low beam bulb (9006) a low beam bulb is the shading that covers the tip of the lamp, stopping some light from going in that direction. High beam bulbs (9005) aren’t shaded, they’re completely clear.
The Envoy/Ascender headlight housing has this built in shroud around the tip of the low beam bulb (see pic) that I thought would perform the same function as the 9006's shaded tip.
The test: I installed a clear high beam 9005 bulb in the low beam location on one side. The light pattern and cutoff remained identical as with the 9006 shaded low beam bulb.
I decided to do the upgrade.
I got male 9006/5 tails that come with HID kits. Connecting them to the factory headlight plugs, I ran these wires to the coil terminals of a relay, one relay per side. This way, I didn’t hack the wiring harness and eliminated any voltage drop from the hair thin original wires.
I fed the relays with heavy wire, 10 gauge for the passenger side, 12 gauge for the drivers side, to a fuse to the battery, and negative also to the battery. Disabling the DRL system is a must.
I got some made to order headlight plugs, high temp with 12 inch 12 gauge tails. Wired them to negative and the relay for positive.
I installed 100 watt Hella 9005 lamps. Hella lamps will last waayy longer than the cheapo no-name bulbs on ebay. The factory lamp plugs are low profile. The aftermarket plugs are bigger requiring the housing to be clearanced a bit. Also, the 9005 lamp has keying slots inside the socket that are easily shaved off with a razor knife.
The results: Bright, white, beautiful headlights with the original beam pattern and cutoff without overpowering, melting or burning the original wiring, harness, relays, fuses or plugs. I’ve driven around at night a bunch and not one oncoming driver flashed his lights at me.
Amperage? The stock 55 watt lamps draw 4.6 amps each at 12 volts. 100 watt lamps draw 8.3 amps each.
Barring any unforeseen problems, I'm keeping this setup.
I do NOT want the uncontrolled pattern that HID and LED lamps in the stock housings cause and blind other drivers. (Not a knock on you guys that have HID's, I drive around in NYC)
What makes a low beam bulb (9006) a low beam bulb is the shading that covers the tip of the lamp, stopping some light from going in that direction. High beam bulbs (9005) aren’t shaded, they’re completely clear.
The Envoy/Ascender headlight housing has this built in shroud around the tip of the low beam bulb (see pic) that I thought would perform the same function as the 9006's shaded tip.
The test: I installed a clear high beam 9005 bulb in the low beam location on one side. The light pattern and cutoff remained identical as with the 9006 shaded low beam bulb.
I decided to do the upgrade.
I got male 9006/5 tails that come with HID kits. Connecting them to the factory headlight plugs, I ran these wires to the coil terminals of a relay, one relay per side. This way, I didn’t hack the wiring harness and eliminated any voltage drop from the hair thin original wires.
I fed the relays with heavy wire, 10 gauge for the passenger side, 12 gauge for the drivers side, to a fuse to the battery, and negative also to the battery. Disabling the DRL system is a must.
I got some made to order headlight plugs, high temp with 12 inch 12 gauge tails. Wired them to negative and the relay for positive.
I installed 100 watt Hella 9005 lamps. Hella lamps will last waayy longer than the cheapo no-name bulbs on ebay. The factory lamp plugs are low profile. The aftermarket plugs are bigger requiring the housing to be clearanced a bit. Also, the 9005 lamp has keying slots inside the socket that are easily shaved off with a razor knife.
The results: Bright, white, beautiful headlights with the original beam pattern and cutoff without overpowering, melting or burning the original wiring, harness, relays, fuses or plugs. I’ve driven around at night a bunch and not one oncoming driver flashed his lights at me.
Amperage? The stock 55 watt lamps draw 4.6 amps each at 12 volts. 100 watt lamps draw 8.3 amps each.
Barring any unforeseen problems, I'm keeping this setup.