Epically frustrated. In need of some sound advice.

The Sylvania XtraVision 9004 bulbs should not be short lived. They DO burn hotter and harder than standard bulbs to get the extra brightness, but the 45 watt design and the Xenon gas make them last a long time compared to other types of bulbs that use 55 watts. I'm still on the first set I bought many years ago, and have also had plenty of other bulbs with short life last so long I just replaced them while they were still working just to switch to fresh new ones.

I would guess you have wiring issues, perhaps a short where some of the sheath wore off the factory wire and hits some body metal or another wire, and eventually the bulb blows when it shorts or shorts too many times. Maybe there is rust or corrosion on the connectors. That or perhaps the headlight switch or relay needs to be replaced.

I would suggest to keep using the XtraVison bulbs (or Philips VisionPlus or Hi-Visibility, but the Sylvanias are sold everywhere and much easier to get), and if you want the most light on the road from them, upgrade from the factory wiring to a harness with thicker-gauge wire and a seperate relay to get the full voltage the bulbs are designed to handle. This gets an impressive amount of light out of the bulbs.

Here's a link explaning the wire harness upgrade:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

You can buy pre-made wiring harnesses, but you can make your own a lot cheaper, just buying the sockets, relays, and some 12 or 14 gauge wire.


The other thing you might consider doing is polishing the lenses, since the lens on these tends to get yellow and cloudy over time, which blocks some light from getting through. You can use products like Meguiar's Plast-X Plastic Polish along with the UV protectant, or other similar 'headlamp restoration' type products. Either that or buy new aftermarket lamp assemblies, they run about $30-50 a pop for each side.


Even with all the newer technology in headlamps over the past decades, there hasn't been much offered for the first gen Explorer. You're pretty much stuck with the 9004 bulbs in the factory lamps unless you want to stick a 55W 9007 bulb in there (which is against the law and completely illegal for street use) and put a bigger load on the wiring and blind other drivers (the filament in the 9007 bulb is oriented front-back instead of side-side like the 9004, so it changes how the light is thrown), or do a DIY and adapt a HID or LED lamp to fit like a few other site members have done.


I think the 9004 bulbs with the factory lamps are actually pretty good for an SUV. With the XtraVision bulbs, they can put plenty of light 50-100ft in front of the vehicle where it matters, and the high beams light up the road for 1/4 mile and then some.

If you've got cloudy old lenses and crusty old wiring, it's no wonder the lighting is not up to your expectations. Spend a little more money where it will help and you should get some pretty impressive results that will make your Explorer safer and more enjoyable to drive in the dark.

Thank you for the detailed response. I actually got lucky with this first gen (it's my third), in the fact that my housing lenses are damn near perfect. Honestly, there's no yellowing at all. I've read through the wire upgrade with the relay in the past, and it's always been on my "to do" list, just never gotten around to it. Maybe I should push it higher up on the list. Swapping to 9007's is out. I've done too much research o. That possibility, and decided against it. Whatever I do, has to function properly... And be legal.

Are the headlamps OE Ford or aftermarket? If they are that perfect, they may have been replaced already. The OE lenses have the Ford logo on them, aftermarket lenses will have the manufacturer name, either Eagle Eye, TYC, Depo, or a few others. The aftermarket assemblies are not as high quality as the OE Ford assemblies, which does affect the beam and light on the road, but it's better to have clear new aftermarket assemblies than very opaque and cloudy OEM ones.

You can get the plugs/adapters for the 9004 plugs and bulbs on ebay for very cheap, plus two dual-87 terminal relays, and then all you need is a spool of 12-14 gauge wire and some connectors and crimpers. The wiring upgrade is also great because it moves the load off the in-line headlight switch (dumb design, the load goes all the way through the switch and back to the bulbs, hence why a direct to the bulb from the battery design gives such a big improvement), so the switch doesn't have much load at all, which is a lot safer and should make the switch last a long time.


You might also consider checking the headlamp aim - it's pretty easy to do with some tape and a wall/garge door and a 4mm socket or headlamp adjusting tool. Just a degree or two makes a lot of difference in how well the light goes where you want it for optimum visibility.

I'll recommend looking at some Philips Xtreme Power bulbs. I have them in my Explorer, and my Paseo.

Finding those might be difficult though since Philips Xtreme Vision are the replacement for those. I have considering those, but recently noticed they have a blue tinted part, so unsure for now. The Xtreme Power bulbs do not have that blue band.

Curiosity got the best of me, amd I went out in the pouring rain to see if they were original. They are. Ford logo stamped on the bottom center of the lenses. Definitely going to switch out the wiring and do the relay mod too. As far as the aim goes, they're spot on. The low beams project quite a distance. I'm very happy in that regard... I just want brighter.

The Philips Xtreme bulbs, and the similar GE Nighthawk / Nighthawk Platinum, do put out more light, but they do it the same way the XtraVision does - overdrive the filament and use Xenon gas to keep it in check - just to a much greater degree.

I prefer the XtraVision since they are, by far, the best when it comes to cost/benefit and what you get for low long you get it.

The 9004 XtraVision bulbs offer about a 20% increase in lumens over standard 9004 bulbs, and they cost about the same, or a few dollars more if you buy them at retail.

The Philips Xtreme and GE Nighthawk offer about a 50% increase, BUT the bulbs cost quite a bit more, AND don't last very long, BECAUSE the filament is overdriven so much.


If you add a wire harness kit with relays, you can actually wind up overdriving the bulbs anyway, just a bit from the slightly higher than operating voltage but it still affects them - so I prefer to do that with bulbs like the XtraVisions, which still gives very decent bulb life. Using a harness in addition to the Xtreme/Nighthawk bulbs will certainly give more output, but the already short lifespan will be decreased even more.

I've read plenty of reviews on the bulbs that show, much like the Sylvania Silverstars, they do not last long because the bulbs are just overdriven so much. There is a happy medium between price and performance, and I think 20-30% bulbs like the XtraVision are it. If you're a light bulb manufactuer though, you sure do want people buying bulbs that only last a short amount of time. This isn't to say that the brighter bulbs are bad, just that they occupy a place in the market where people are willing to pay an ultra-high premium just to have the absolute brightest bulbs on the market, and don't really care about the high price or short life.



As far as the aim goes, the low beams do go pretty far, but you should check the aim by the tape/wall method and make minor adjustments from that. If the aim is off because the low beams are up even a degree or two, they will project farther, but the amount of light on the road where it needs to be will not be as bright as it would be if they were aimed correctly.

toypaseo said:

I'll recommend looking at some Philips Xtreme Power bulbs. I have them in my Explorer, and my Paseo.

Finding those might be difficult though since Philips Xtreme Vision are the replacement for those. I have considering those, but recently noticed they have a blue tinted part, so unsure for now. The Xtreme Power bulbs do not have that blue band.

Click to expand...

Plus one on Philips Xtreme, pretty good and bright buld and last long.