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Headlight Issue

RyanStrong

By RyanStrong
in Troubleshooting & Recalls

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TJay74 Senior Enthusiast

TJay74

Posted
Posted

Actually I did in the hopes of getting a whiter bulb, with the HIR bulb GM uses there is only one company that makes the bulb which is Phillips so there are not many options out there.

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SierraRover Enthusiast

SierraRover

Posted
Posted

I've noticed they are at their worst when it is raining at night.

 

The halogen bulb upgrade is reportedly the Philips 9011 (which requires a few modifications to fit). It runs 65 watts instead of the 55 watts in the stock 9012 bulb.

 

I have a pair of 9011's in the garage waiting for the opportunity to install and see how they work.

 

Spurshot's instructions on making the modification: http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/156233-halogen-led-headlight-bulb-upgrades/page-14

TJay74 Senior Enthusiast

TJay74

Posted
Posted

I did the 9011 upgrade, it only takes maybe 5 minutes per bulb to modify them and get them to work. The increase in noticeable for sure.

Stex Senior Enthusiast

Stex

Posted
Posted

drove a 14 loner slt for a week. I live on dark two lane, deer country road, Low beams are down right dangerous. Having to change bulbs on a new ride is lame. With the 14 They could not even match the poor performance of my 09.

KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted

Mine work fine, Im 59 wear glasses since I was 19. People even flash at me sometimes, yes on low beams. I did pull out the blocks in the back if that make a differents.

Pw1 Enthusiast

Pw1

Posted
Posted

Do you work for GM ?? Or people flashing you to get you to turn your lights on????? If you are in art area where wildlife is a possibility this truck is scary. People die from hitting moose !!

Mine work fine, Im 59 wear glasses since I was 19. People even flash at me sometimes, yes on low beams. I did pull out the blocks in the back if that make a differents.

KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted

Do you work for GM ?? Or people flashing you to get you to turn your lights on????? If you are in art area where wildlife is a possibility this truck is scary. People die from hitting moose !!

That's funny as hell, the lights are automatic, I have my own company so I don't need to put up with shit. If the lights were bad id just change them or the truck I can write it off. In Texas there are plenty of dark roads and wild life.
MikeNH Senior Enthusiast

MikeNH

Posted
Posted

Mine work fine, Im 59 wear glasses since I was 19. People even flash at me sometimes, yes on low beams. I did pull out the blocks in the back if that make a differents.

The lights are likely aimed too high if you pulled the blocks and didn't aim them down a bit.

KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted

The lights are likely aimed too high if you pulled the blocks and didn't aim them down a bit.

That's could be why I can see better, Ill get them checked. Don't want to get shot, this Texas after all. LOL
SierraRover Enthusiast

SierraRover

Posted
Posted

Well, I love my GMC -- I've had it for a month now. I have one minor problem with interior lights, but will get that taken care of shortly. And the weak headlights bug me. It would be easy to get frustrated with GM over this but life is too short. I'm still very happy with the truck, and working on solutions.

 

As for the headlights, I'll try the Philips 9011's and am looking seriously at Rigid Industry D2 LED fogs, or maybe one fog and one spot. The look like they would be pretty effective, although I'm sure they get a few blinking headlights back at ya.

fondupot Senior Enthusiast

fondupot

Posted
Posted

Well, I love my GMC -- I've had it for a month now. I have one minor problem with interior lights, but will get that taken care of shortly. And the weak headlights bug me. It would be easy to get frustrated with GM over this but life is too short. I'm still very happy with the truck, and working on solutions.

 

As for the headlights, I'll try the Philips 9011's and am looking seriously at Rigid Industry D2 LED fogs, or maybe one fog and one spot. The look like they would be pretty effective, although I'm sure they get a few blinking headlights back at ya.

 

What probs did you have with interior lighting? And what are you doing to fix it?

SierraRover Enthusiast

SierraRover

Posted
Posted

The two interior lights flicker when the car is in Drive, the headlights are on, and I touch the brakes or put the left turn signal on. This disconcerting at night... it doesn't do it for a right turn signal, only the left.

 

And it stopped doing it the other day while it was raining!

 

I think it is some sort of grounding fault. My plan is to check out the rear left tail light assembly, reseat the bulbs and check the connections. (It could also be a ground fault in one of the doors, but they don't have old-fashioned contact switches any more; they appear to have switches connecting the door handle to the control module!)

 

If those non-intrusive checks on my part don't cure it, it is off to the dealer with it.

 

Anything similar on your end?

pm26 Senior Enthusiast

pm26

Posted
Posted

This is bit off topic but still related. I have owned quite a few Japanese motorcycles and every new one I bought had its headlight aimed so low that i could barely see anything at night. It was downright scary. I improved the night time visibility on every bike 100% just by aiming the headlight higher, of course not so high that I would be a nuisance to oncoming traffic. And it worked without having to use a higher Wattage bulb or doing some other mod.

 

When I use foglights with my truck lights at night , it greatly improves visibility. But my truck is an '06 and I think the factory lights are awesome even without the fogs.

redwngr Senior Enthusiast

redwngr

Posted
Posted

If the Sierra headlights lights were as good as the GMT900 sierra, I don't think this thread would exist.

Test Alpha Enthusiast

Test Alpha

Posted
Posted

I live out in the country, as you see in my sig I have a 2014 GMC and a 2014 Chevy. Since my Chevy is a W/T it has the basic lights, my wife's GMC is an SLT with the projector headlights. I get plenty of night driving in both trucks and feel the lighting is fine but I'm never in a hurry especially with the hogs and deer all over the roads.

 

I do notice a little difference between the high beams on the trucks, driving down dark country roads. The difference I notice is in the peripheral. In other words, the Chevy seems to have a consistent beam from about the 10 o'clock to the 2 o'clock position. The GMC from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock seems to lack lighting in the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock positions but seems fine in the 10, 12 and 2 o'clock positions.

 

Did I confuse anybody :).

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