Brighter headlights on Gen-1 explorer

[Kiliona]

Dragging up an old thread...

Putting resistors in series with the light sort of defeats the purpose of the relays. The point of the relay is to bypass the stock (Christmas tree light) wiring, which has so much resistance that the headlights usually operate at well under specified power levels. That translates to poor visibility, and dangerous driving conditions.

Imma be perfectly honest, this was so long ago I have no idea what I was trying to get at with that comment. I don't think I meant to wire the resister in series with the headlights, but rather in series with the relay in order to give the headlights some voltage between the 12.8 which was deemed slightly too low and the 14.4 alternator voltage which was deemed decreased the life span drastically. Add some resistance to the relay circuit in order to provide the proper voltage instead of just saying "well it's either 14.4 or nothin".

Just trying to defend my idiocy, but I still dont remember exactly what I was getting at x D

 

[mr cribb]

I am not arguing any logic or laws, just personal experience.

I ran 9007 bulbs in my 9004 specified housing for about 3 years. This came after I shelled out good money for stock bulbs only to last a month. Keep in mind I was delivering pizza at night and needing to use headlights all the time. After the 3rd bulb quit on the low beam side, I picked up some 9007 bulbs from the junkyard and they worked all the way up until I crushed my truck in November 2014.

I swapped the pins on my stock harness to make the bulbs work. I never got stopped by the law, or brighted by other drivers, nor did I burn up any harnesses doing so.

I am not saying to break the law or burn down your truck doing this modification. Do so at your own risk. It worked for me, and I am only reporting my results.

 

[vq5speed]

Kiliona you made a comment in 2013 xlt4wd90 response to it in 2014 you respond back now 2015 will have to wait till 2016 to hear xlt4wd90 response back hahaha

 

[nkfroth]

In Star Trek....

Kiliona you made a comment in 2013 xlt4wd90 response to it in 2014 you respond back now 2015 will have to wait till 2016 to hear xlt4wd90 response back hahaha

....it's called a time warp. Please don't tell me Ranger enthusiasts don't like Star Trek....

 

[Kiliona]

Kiliona you made a comment in 2013 xlt4wd90 response to it in 2014 you respond back now 2015 will have to wait till 2016 to hear xlt4wd90 response back hahaha

Wow... You just made me realize how long I've been on this forum x D.

In order to contribute to this (old) thread, remember everyone! grease from your fingers causes hotspots and premature failure of light bulbs! don't touch them, and wipe them off before installing!

 

[xlt4wd90]

Sorry folks, I don't spend a lot of time here.

Yes, oils from your fingers can cause the glass envelop of most bulbs to crack at the temperatures they usually run at. So don't touch the bulbs themselves, but if you do, wipe them off with a degreaser that doesn't leave any residue.

Another thing about replacing 9004 bulbs with 9007, the 9007 low beam is a higher wattage than that of 9004, so it will draw more current. So Mr. Cribb got lucky with the wiring harness and switch.

I also got unlucky with a set of Sylvania Xtravision H4 bulbs I got for the Aerostar; it seemed they only lasted a few months. On close inspection, they made the filament about 1/2 the length of a standard bulb. This makes it burn hotter, or whiter, with the same applied power. This also causes the filament to burn out faster. Definitely not worth the cost.

I'm now using some Bosch 55/100W H4 bulbs, which didn't cost much more than their regular 55/65W bulbs, but and the beams much more effective. I don't get to use the high beams much in SoCal, but when I need them, they are very nice to have.

 

[mr cribb]

I'm now using some Bosch 55/100W H4 bulbs, which didn't cost much more than their regular 55/65W bulbs, but and the beams much more effective. I don't get to use the high beams much in SoCal, but when I need them, they are very nice to have.

I can say that the only time I burned up a headlight harness was when I didn't use a relay in conjunction with a set of fog lights.

Never had an issue with 9007 bulbs. Strange that others have.

Are you saying the bosch bulbs are superior to anything else available that won't ignite the vehicle?

 

[xlt4wd90]

I hear you Mr. Cribb.

I've installed relays with heavy gauge wires for the headlights of all my cars, to avoid the overheating of the wires and switches, and to provide brighter lighting. What a lot of people don't realize is that in addition to the headlight switch, the multifunction (hi/lo) switch gets strained as well, and relays save all of them. The stock wiring were not able to support stock lights, so there was no way they could handle higher power lights. (9007 has 55w lo, while 9004 has 45w lo). I'll admit that one of my headlight switches burned up from my using the fog lights, which were just wired into the low beam wires, with no relay. Another one shut itself off after using the brights (65w) for a while.

I don't think the Bosch bulbs are much better than any other decent quality bulbs, but some other brands were just disappointing. Most specialty bulbs are also short lived, and don't always provide better performance than the standard bulbs. In addition to the Sylvania Xtravision bulbs, I also had a set of "long life" 9004 bulbs made by GE that died after less than a year of use. I had thought that Sylvania and GE were good brands, but now I don't know.

 

[nkfroth]

Denatured alcohol

Sorry folks, I don't spend a lot of time here.

Yes, oils from your fingers can cause the glass envelop of most bulbs to crack at the temperatures they usually run at. So don't touch the bulbs themselves, but if you do, wipe them off with a degreaser that doesn't leave any residue.

-----------------
Denatured alcohol has been the standard for many years, although it may not be common in todays garage.

 

[Al Frei]

headlight lens

any suggestions on where to get replacement for 91 explorer headlight lens? mine is so yellow the light barely shows through! OR, a complete after market headlight assembly?

 

[xlt4wd90]

You might first try to clean up the lenses with something like this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/lens-renewal-kit-67723.html

This is a temporary solution, as they will haze up again from sun exposure.

If you want replacements, a quick search on the net brought up some choices:

http://www.carid.com/1991-ford-explorer-headlights/