Headlight Illumination Issues

[Tattooo]

If I ever get my truck back I'll have them do this recall

[rufous03]

Still, the ecu and vosla bulbs are more than adequate.

 

If I needed anything more, yet alone 2000-5000$ in extra lighting, I'd probably not drive at night.

I will debate that with you, don't know what type of road you operate on, but here I find the lighting sucks big time, update or no update Dark when I go to work now and dark when I return, low beam for city driving is Ok, high beams are good only if you want to illuminate low flying birds, absolutely no side to side lighting, no adjustment for side to side either, no adjustment for High beam. Overall poorly designed.

[SierraRover]

The #PIT5374 TSB has been done on my 2014 Sierra. The results: The Vosla 28432 55 watt bulb is approximately the same brightness as the Sylvania modified base 9011 65 watt bulb. The Vosla appears to be a little "whiter" in color. Both or either are acceptable, and a major improvement over the 9012 55 watt stock bulb.

 

The Vosla appears to have sharper "edges" around the light, but that is probably a function of the geometry of the projector lens on that side of the truck (for those who have swapped bulbs, you know I left the new Vosla bulb in the passenger side lamp, while switching the driver's side back to my previous modified base 9011 bulb to make the comparison, because the driver's side bulb is readily accessible but the passenger side is not).

 

The Vosla bulb has a visible colored coating on the inside of the bulb -- which may be similar to the coating I read about on the web that was present in the vaunted (but no longer available) Toshiba 9011 Halogen Infrared (HIR) bulbs. That coating apparently is reflective and contributes to a hotter, and thus brighter, filament. The Vosla data sheet (attached) for the 28432 states it is a replacement for the 9012 bulb and is an HIR2 bulb with "30% more light." That makes sense and squares with what I am seeing -- the 28432 at 55 watts is roughly equal to the 9011 Sylvania at 65 watts.

 

The GMC dealer tech today indicated GM's flash to the BCM upped the "wattage" of the headlights, but that may just be shorthand for the new bulbs being brighter than the old stock bulbs. The wattage didn't increase (both old and new bulbs are rated at 55 watts). The TSB more correctly states that "the new BCM calibration will increase the voltage to the headlight bulbs in both the low beam and high beam selections." Even that is a somewhat misleading, because we know that the bulb burns the same at both high and low beam settings; the only difference between the two is the movement of the shutter. However, I am guessing GM's recalibration of the BCM upped the voltage to the bulbs from a nominal 13+- volts to 14 volts, in order to squeeze a little more out of the new bulb.

 

See the attached Vosla datasheet for lifespan expectations at different voltages. B3 indicates the minimum number of hours at which 97 percent of the lamps (i.e. virtually all) last. After this time elapses, the frequency of failure starts to increase. By the time the Tc value is reached, 63 percent of the lamps likely have failed [source: Osram Carlightblog.com]. If I am right about the voltage now running around 14 volts to the headlights, the life span of the Vosla bulbs will be fairly short.

 

It is probable that another reason GM chose to go with the Vosla 55 watt HIR2 bulb compared to the Sylvania (or other) 65 watt 9011 bulb -- which would have about the same illumination -- is that the 65 watt bulb draws more current, and would be closer to the amp limit of the fuse. Therefore, I would not recommend running the modified 65 watt modified base 9011s after the TSB has been done -- and I don't perceive any practical benefit in terms of lighting, either.

 

If anybody has an additional insights or ideas, or if you see flaws in my thinking as expressed in this post, let me know! Forgive me if I've "rediscovered" and included information others have posted on this thread before. I'm going to stick with the GM provided Vosla 28432 bulbs... and think GM deserves some grudging credit for coming up with a decent (albeit late) solution to the "dim Sierra headlight problem," among other things because their solution draws less amperage than the modified base 9011s.

Vosla datasheet for 28432 55 watt HIR2 bulb.pdf

Vosla datasheet for 28432 55 watt HIR2 bulb.pdf

Vosla datasheet for 28432 55 watt HIR2 bulb.pdf

Vosla datasheet for 28432 55 watt HIR2 bulb.pdf

Edited October 29, 2015 by SierraRover

[Dropsix]

I will debate that with you, don't know what type of road you operate on, but here I find the lighting sucks big time, update or no update Dark when I go to work now and dark when I return, low beam for city driving is Ok, high beams are good only if you want to illuminate low flying birds, absolutely no side to side lighting, no adjustment for side to side either, no adjustment for High beam. Overall poorly designed.

I live in a rural area. It's all dark country roads.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Dropsix

[rufous03]

I live in a rural area. It's all dark country roads.

I notice you are operating a 2014 Sierra, Are they similar to the 2015?

Edited October 29, 2015 by rufous03

[jamin87ss]

14/15 r the same

[WLC]

My wife's Durango has better lights than my two trucks combined! It's a bad projector design . Looks good but works bad IMO.

[Dropsix]

I notice you are operating a 2014 Sierra, Are they similar to the 2015?

 

Exact same. Originally the lights were a little dim but acceptable. I was a little annoyed there wasn't an HID option from the factory.

 

But with the Vosla bulbs and BCM update I am totally fine.

[David Pam]

 

Exact same. Originally the lights were a little dim but acceptable. I was a little annoyed there wasn't an HID option from the factory.

 

But with the Vosla bulbs and BCM update I am totally fine.

Don't get use to it. I've had mine in since this silent recall started. They started out pretty good like you something I could live with. They have now gone to a dingy white or yellow which ever you prefer. I'm guessing over time they will get worse and I will replace them. I think that by GM using them as DTRL makes them go yellow faster as they are in use all the time.

[rufous03]

 

Exact same. Originally the lights were a little dim but acceptable. I was a little annoyed there wasn't an HID option from the factory.

 

But with the Vosla bulbs and BCM update I am totally fine.

Can't explain that. I have absolutely no lighting to the side and high beams are too adjusted too high. IMHO GM engineers need to go back to school! Why would you design a system with little or no adjustment. They need to stop worrying about looks and get something that is practical and works. When I spoke with GM I suggested they send someone out to take a road trip with me at night to find out what real world night driving involves. Hopefully we encounter the odd moose, deer or bear!

[jamin87ss]

Vosla bulbs make them bearable, before there were utterly horrable, I will admit I never use high beams they are worthless, even with the update, its just simply poor projector headlight design

[SierraRover]

I will keep an eye on the Vosla bulbs (installed in my truck on 27 October 2015) to see if they go dim as time goes by. If they do, I will return to using the 65 watt 9011's with the modified base... which I perceive as putting out about the same amount of light at the 55 watt Vosla HIR2 bulb.

 

And I agree, the GMC Sierra projector headlights are a poor design. GM should have installed a factory HID system or something better than the stock equipment.

[theatasigma]

I had the update done when it first came out, tonight when I was driving up to Maine, I was noticing that my lights seem very yellow when reflecting off the road and no longer white like they used too. Got some fogging too so I am not sure if the two are related. Going to check with the dealer and see if anything is wrong, didn't pull any codes when I hooked up my reader so I am not sure what to check next.

[SAKO79]

GM did the update kit on my headlights today let's see how they are tonight they replace the headlight bulbs and they re Flashed the computer

[Imcrazy]

I had not driven my buddies 2015 Silverado LT with the old fashioned reflector headlights at night until Saturday when we swapped trucks so I could detail his (owed him a favor) HOLY CRAP even the updated lights on my Sierra suck compared to his Chevy, I'm thinking I either need to add some supplimental lights behind the grill or try to trade my GMC for a Chevy