2011 Dim Headlights

[JeffK2011EX]

Hi Everyone,

I recently purchased a 2011 Explorer Limited. It has the projector style head lights and what I assume are HID based on what I've read on the forums. They produce a very white light, and have the horizontal cutoff of the top of the beam when I pull up to my garage door.

My question is why do they seem so dim? My other vehicle is a 2003 Dodge Ram with halogen bulbs and I can see more width to the road, further down the road, and brighter than the explorer.

I also have a coworker with a 2016 explorer, which might be a different bulb type? But theirs is probably 3x brighter than mine.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[sheltonfilms]

All 2011-2015 explorers had projector headlights. Do you have adaptive cruise control? The 302A package was the only one to have HID bulbs and this made up around 2% of all Explorers made. It also had adaptive cruise which is why I'm asking.

HID bulbs also grow dimmer with time unlike Halogen bulbs.

2016-up use LEDs.

 

[JeffK2011EX]

I looked up the 302a package and I don't have any of those options. So do I just have halogen bulbs? If they are I'm surprised by how white they are compared to other halogen I've seen.

 

[sheltonfilms]

I looked up the 302a package and I don't have any of those options. So do I just have halogen bulbs? If they are I'm surprised by how white they are compared to other halogen I've seen.

I guess you just have halogen bulbs. Are you the original owner?

 

[JeffK2011EX]

No, just purchased it about 2 months ago.

 

[sheltonfilms]

Sounds like a previous owner changed to whiter halogen bulbs or has added an HID aftermarket kit (garbage).

Do you have wires coming through the big round (like 3") rubber boot on the back behind the headlight bulb?

 

[JeffK2011EX]

No wire going through the boot. I pulled off the boot to see the back of the bulb and this is what it looks like.

 

[sheltonfilms]

Ok that’s weird. It’s the same bulb as the factory HID setup but the factory doesn’t use that green ring on the back to secure it. Factory uses a flanged retainer that is screwed in to the projector using t10 torx screws.

The previous owner may have added the ballast and bulbs but adapter the D3S HID bulb to the 9005 bulb base using the green adapter. The housing is the same for non hid or hid so there is a spot on the bottom of the housing for a Osram Xenarc D3S ballast.

You have a way to contact the old owner?

 

[JeffK2011EX]

Unfortunately no. I bought this at a dealer that I believe bought from an auction. I did a google search on the VIN before I bought it and it was at auction in a different state.

 

[sheltonfilms]

Pm me your vin I want to look at build data on it.

 

[JeffK2011EX]

PM Sent. I did a google search and see there is a 9005 to D3S conversion ring that clamps around the D3S bulb. Maybe that is what the previous owner did.

 

[Ironworker40]

Do the explorers with the HID bulbs from the factory have the same shutter that moves for the high beam? I have halogen and mine the high beam is way up in the trees. This was a stupid setup. My low beams are okay now that I put the 9011 bulbs in them but they are not great. I wonder if the HID are any better.

 

[sheltonfilms]

PM Sent. I did a google search and see there is a 9005 to D3S conversion ring that clamps around the D3S bulb. Maybe that is what the previous owner did.

Ok here is what’s weird. Your car doesn’t show having adaptive cruise, active park assist, or blind spot detection (all components of the 302a package). But the build data does show as having High Intensity Discharge headlights. Again this is only available as part of the 302a package. I have no idea what’s going on here. Can you take a picture of the 4 wire plug on the back of the headlight assembly showing the colors? I think the wire colors were different for Hid vs halogen.

Do the explorers with the HID bulbs from the factory have the same shutter that moves for the high beam? I have halogen and mine the high beam is way up in the trees. This was a stupid setup. My low beams are okay now that I put the 9011 bulbs in them but they are not great. I wonder if the HID are any better.

The projector assembly is different so I don’t know if the shutter is different or not. The main difference in projectors is the focal point as a D3S bulb and 9005 bulb have different light patterns so the projector is designed around the bulb. Shutter assembly is probably the same.

 

[peterk9]

Do the explorers with the HID bulbs from the factory have the same shutter that moves for the high beam? I have halogen and mine the high beam is way up in the trees. This was a stupid setup. My low beams are okay now that I put the 9011 bulbs in them but they are not great. I wonder if the HID are any better.

I had the OEM HID headlamps in my 2011 Limited and, yes, the high beams to light up fairly high. Lots of upset tree squirrels. They used the shutter arrangement.

Peter

 

[JeffK2011EX]

Does this picture help?

 

[sheltonfilms]

Those colors match with factory HID wires. Man this is odd.

 

[JeffK2011EX]

Those colors match with factory HID wires. Man this is odd.

So assuming they are Factory HID, which based on your research on the build sheet they are, I wonder why the bulb doesn't mount in the housing like you mentioned above with thetorx screws.

Lol, maybe they ran out of the HID housings at the assembly plant and used these green adapter rings to put them in.

Could they be dim because of age? If they were original bulbs that would make them over 6 years old. I'm wondering if they are worth replacing just to see if I can get more light output.

 

[sheltonfilms]

The mount definitely looks off. Maybe 2011 had a weird mount.

My 2013 has HIDs and they aren’t the brightest but they are a lot better than halogens.

Problem is HID bulbs are expensive. OEM Osram bulbs will set you back about $160 a pair.

You could go with Morimito aftermarket ones for $70 a pair.

I run Morimito projectors, ballasts, and bulbs in my ford ranger and they are the best bang for the buck.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I know when I upgraded on my previous 2013 XLT from the Halogen to HID the light output was much better, cleaner and much further light output.

The comparison of the 2011 - 2015 vs the LED of the 2016+ is really almost "night and day"