Jump to content

Headlight Illumination Issues


Recommended Posts

Hey all - 2014 GMC Sierra owner here.  Had bulletin done to my truck last year and one of my bulbs is done already.  The bulb that is out is on the passenger side.  I'd like to look at a different bulb that the Volsa bulb, but since they've now increased the voltage that is going to the bulbs, can I still just search for replacement bulbs by my GMC model and model year, or do I need to look for different bulbs that match the Volsas?  I'd like to try an LED bulb or something along that line.

 

Additionally, if I decide to go with a complete swap out of the entire headlight assembly, does having the increased voltage going to the lights make finding a compatible new headlight assembly more difficult?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/24/2017 at 11:15 AM, Shredzy said:

Here are a few pics of the location of the HID components installed. (Used Fondupot's YouTube video as a guide.)

 

Routed the wires to the Pos. & Neg. terminals on the battery along the right fender, using the brace to secure the power wire.

post-83654-0-19595800-1506268640_thumb.jpg

 

Mounted the relay/harness with 2-sided tape to the backside of the grille, just to the right of an opening (to lessen the chance of any water or snow getting directly onto the relays. Also mounted the ballasts on the shroud between the grille & radiator support. (Didn't need to use the extension cable to reach the driver's side ballast.)

post-83654-0-26318000-1506268708_thumb.jpg

 

Pic of the driver's side headlight housing with the igniter mounted on the right side with 2-sided tape. Wires go up to the ballast mounted on the shroud.

post-83654-0-26760400-1506268750_thumb.jpg

 

After reading elsewhere on the forum, I went and changed my vehicle settings to avoid having the HID's come on for short periods of time-turned off the exit lighting and light flash for keyless door lock operation.

post-83654-0-19595800-1506268640_thumb.jpg

post-83654-0-26318000-1506268708_thumb.jpg

post-83654-0-26760400-1506268750_thumb.jpg

post-83654-0-19595800-1506268640_thumb.jpg

post-83654-0-26318000-1506268708_thumb.jpg

post-83654-0-26760400-1506268750_thumb.jpg

post-83654-0-19595800-1506268640_thumb.jpg

post-83654-0-26318000-1506268708_thumb.jpg

post-83654-0-26760400-1506268750_thumb.jpg

What did you ground the capacitor link to?  And what prep did you do to the surface (sanding etc??)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
Upgraded to new 2016-18 Denali headlights with Gen5DIY harness.
5b093fbd215b9_file-3(7).thumb.jpeg.0846b154d10a14d0a3b011edc02e582c.jpeg

Can you please list the setup you did. I’m looking at switching out my 2016 GMC Yukon light bulbs too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I saw the headlight shootout, has anyone done a comparison with the stock LED bulb system from GM with the stock HIDs?  My 2018 came with the LED lights, just wondering how they compare.  I can say they match the fog lights well, which makes it look very nice from the outside, and I think they have good brightness and coverage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just bought a 2018 Silverado 1500 three days ago.  It has the LED projector lights.  Just to give you an idea, I came from a 2014 Grand Cherokee with projectors, but they were halogens and they absolutely sucked.  The LED's in the new truck are much better, but the wife has a 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport with factory HIDs which is better than both the Silverado and Jeep.  So, to rate them overall, the halogen projectors were horrible on the Jeep, barely adequate to be considered road worthy.  Next would be the LED's on the new truck, much brighter than the Jeep, but not as good as the HID's on the Outlander.  The advantage of the HID's is because they can be height adjusted with a knob in the car (4 settings).  Also, when you go to the brights on the Outlander (which are halogen), the low beam HID's stay on too.  Those HID's combined with the fog lights are awesome and with the  HIDs and high beams on at same time are incredible.

 

The LED's on the truck seem to be slightly washed out in terms of clarity or color of what you see (I don't know if it's because the color temperature is too high, they look to be 5 or 6K, which too high for my tastes) and I think the cutoff on the low beams are too low (that can be adjusted up easy enough though).  The brights are fine, if not seemingly set up a little too high, but overall certainly not as good as the HID system on the Outlander.

 

I know LED's are the wave of the future, but if they could put the adjustable cutoff shield like HID's, they'd be much better.

 

I haven't had a chance to drive the truck in rainy conditions at night yet, so not sure how they'll be.

Edited by EDL
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I actually traded in my 2014 SLT because of the headlights. Might be some better systems out there but IMHO the LED's on these Denali's are awesome. The auto headlight feature works very good I like that too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/30/2018 at 1:31 PM, catpartsman said:

I have LED fog lamp bulbs and am SUPER happy with them. I also installed an HID kit from The Retrofit Source and couldn't be happier with the output form them. For the cost of the HID kit ($170), I would do it again 1000 times over vs using the factory set up. I highly recommend the HID's. With these and the LED fogs, I am very pleased with the visibility at night. 

 

LED Fog's https://www.amazon.com/OPT7-CREE-5202-Light-Bulbs/dp/B00SZK1420/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522434603&sr=8-1&keywords=OPT7+CREE+Series+5202+LED+DRL+Fog+Light+Bulbs+-+5000k+Bright+White+-+Pack+of+2

 

HID Kit https://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-systems-20/hid-systems-vehicle-specific.html

Just want to add that I too put those retrofit 5500k HID's in 3 days ago, and they are %100 better than factory. 

 

The stock halogens are just not right in my mind. 

 

The HID's totally make the difference, I would highly recommend them; took around 1.5 hours to install and that was taking time.

 

Once tip would be to silicone the crap out of the grommets, but couldn't be happier. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

My first posting here.

Just turned in my leased 2015 Silverado for a 2018 Silverado. Never had a problem with the lights on the 2015, but I hate the ones on the 2018. Now this one is still a lease also and I don't know how far I could go with any mods on the lights. I read some of the discussions on the 128 pages for this subject but really cannot grasp it all. I would just like to to know a easy upgrade no cutting, splicing, welding, gluing etc. I did enough of that in the last 50 years of owning vehicles ......Chevys in particular. Any advice would be appreciated, should I upgrade light bulbs ( if they are still called that?) or go with some accessory lighting?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

My first posting here.

Just turned in my leased 2015 Silverado for a 2018 Silverado. Never had a problem with the lights on the 2015, but I hate the ones on the 2018. Now this one is still a lease also and I don't know how far I could go with any mods on the lights. I read some of the discussions on the 128 pages for this subject but really cannot grasp it all. I would just like to to know a easy upgrade no cutting, splicing, welding, gluing etc. I did enough of that in the last 50 years of owning vehicles ......Chevys in particular. Any advice would be appreciated, should I upgrade light bulbs ( if they are still called that?) or go with some accessory lighting?

Did you get the 2500HD?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.