My (potential) headlight fix...

boettcher40 · January 12, 2021

On 12/17/2020 at 11:31 PM, TheGreatOne said:

Thanks.....I have seen the thread....nothing that helps me with my projectors.....either I have to mod the housing or they don't last long or countless other complaints.....haven't heard any positives with anyone about the projector bulb

You only hear about the problems, not the thousands of people who have had no issues.. That is one of the main points of a forum, to help others that may have similar experiences and/or to troubleshoot.

My take on your situation, if you aren't mechanically inclined enough to install HID's then find some LED bulbs that don't require modification to the dust caps. Re aim them and you'll have far better output compared to the halogen bulbs.

I've had my Hylux 45w ballasts and Morimoto bulb HID kit in for a year and a half with no issues, even in our -40F temps during the winter. 3 year warranty through The Retrofit Source and their customer support is top notch!

laughey · January 12, 2021

On 12/15/2020 at 11:56 AM, ajs67donzi said:

Truck details are to the left of this sentence...

From what I've read, "blinding other drivers" only occurs when a headlight system is incorrectly modified.

That's another reason I'm hiring technician's with experience.

The shop labor charge includes some dismantling on the passenger's side, accurate re-alignment, and the lifetime warranty on the bulbs. Worth it, to me, but your MMV.

Just circling back on this.

Given the effort to get in front of that airbox (what can I say, being short is not beneficial in this situation), re-aiming requirements (not everyone has access to a stretch of pavement that's flat and ends with a big white wall) and the lifetime warranty on the bulbs (the GTR2 LW comes from the manufacturer -- curious if the installer covers the labor cost in this...if so, $95 one time is a D-E-A-L).

In the end, it's your money -- you earned it so spend it how you want (don't let anyone, except the SO, tell you how to). LOL

Even candles are better than stock halogens.

laughey · January 12, 2021

On 12/18/2020 at 12:31 AM, TheGreatOne said:

Thanks.....I have seen the thread....nothing that helps me with my projectors.....either I have to mod the housing or they don't last long or countless other complaints.....haven't heard any positives with anyone about the projector bulb

That's crazy talk, man. Maybe all these complaints were specific to HIDs (I had no troubles initially, but when the right side kept giving me fits...airbox...I decided to go the way of LEDs) or some Far East garbage LEDs from Amazon/Alibaba/eBay, but...GTR2, S-V4 or SL1 LED headlights...any one of them will work in your projectors. Contact HR with your specs...they should be able to tell you what you need. As I understood things (when I went fishing), the GTR2 and SL1 work without modifications to the housings. The S-V4 is a maybe. HR recommended the S-V4, but they couldn't promise I wouldn't need antiflicker modules (requiring mods to the housing). I took my chances and WOO HOO, I made ZERO modifications and require NO additional modules (antiflicker). My truck being a CA transplant (day or night, there's no way to shut off the headlights while in DRIVE...it's sad, but it's painfully true), been running them 24/7 @ 20K miles/year for well over a year with ZERO problems.

zmnypit · January 20, 2021

The best LED fix for the 14-15 trucks is the factory 16-18 led headlights. Night and day difference. Not the cheapest option but well worth it if you plan on keeping the truck.

ajs67donzi · February 28, 2021

UPDATE:

To say that the GTR Ultra LED bulbs are a significant improvement would be the understatement of the century!

Brightness is about 100 times better than the factory halogens, and nighttime driving is now both comfortable and safe.

spaceghost2000 · September 21, 2021

@laughey

What angle did you install your SV4's? I just installed mine and they throw up a horrible light pattern compared to my older XB HID's. Are the LED's supposed to be pointing straight up/down? I keep seeing people mention 3/9 o'clock position and I tried that 1st, and it was pretty bad so I tried the default (however the bulb shipped to me) and it was off angle and a little better but still huge sections of darkness, which I assume is caused by the LED's only being on one side or the other. I didn't have time to try any other angles, and came looking for some advice in the forums but have yet to see any posts about which way the bulbs are supposed to be.

laughey · September 21, 2021

@spaceghost2000, I don't remember exactly what I did other than the standard light against the wall, certain distance, level ground, measurement thing. I believe I used the YT video from HR (or somewhere else) for the measurement, but I swear the SV4s came with a guide indicating the proper direction of the LEDs and having to adjust both the collars to set them properly...my beam pattern was unimpressive (not exactly horrible, but not good either) until I did this.

HR should be able to get you that info...calling them isn't as much of a PITA that I thought it would be. I much prefer to communicate via email, text, forums, etc., but HR's non-verbal offerings sucked...I was hesitant to pull the trigger due to conflicting information regarding whether or not I'd need antiflickers. I called to confirm (they were non-committal...antiflickers were a definitely a maybe/probably) and why they recommended SV4's over the GTR's. The dude I spoke with was upfront and matter-o-fact about the 2015 Sierra with OEM projectors needing (preferring) the SV4s. He also said, "if we're wrong, return them for a full refund". So, I went with their recommendation and ZERO problems (other than not initially paying attention to the collar adjustments, of course). Still, took me 30 minutes, start to finish...including a pause to explain to my SO why I was "messing with my headlights again".

One last thing, I did need to whip out my trusty ole headlight housing adjustment screwdriver...I forget the side, but one of them had to be adjusted a good amount...coming from HIDs that were aimed properly, that was kinda disturbing. The other side stayed "as is".

I mean it when I say it, best mod I've done to the truck (outside of the Android Auto). I never need/use high beams anymore and I forget I have fog lights (hardly ever use them now). And no bulb outages, failures or general wonkiness that I experienced with the HIDs.

Good luck!