Head Lights for an Interceptor

[LuckyRabbit]

Hi all
New poster


Just got a 15’ Police Interceptor Utility
Ex undercover car, so normal idle hours


I really like it, 100k on the clock, seems well cared for


I would like better lights, installed some diode dynamics SL1s and they had a MAJOR V pattern, I could see high into trees on the side of the road, but it was a black hole right in front of the truck, tried rotating the bulbs and adjusting the lamps, no joy



Any suggestions for upgrading these headlights without installing different projectors?

Thanks

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[drudis]

Proper aiming is 25 feet and 2 inch drop, while aiming at a blank wall. Maybe you could grab (installed loosly) LED bulb, and play/wiggle it, to get the pattern you would like. It might take some custom shimming to get the "filament" into the sweet spot of the reflector. Plan-B would be to get a COB LED headlight bulb, this has a LARGE "filament" and throws light EVERYWHERE... (not recommended as on-coming drivers will always be flashing their highbeams at you). https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/f3...b.png?odnHeight=640&odnWidth=640&odnBg=FFFFFF

 

[mmorey79]

The only good solution, IMHO is to have the headlights "retrofitted" with better projectors. The stock protectors suck and will have a bad pattern with any bulb, it's just not an issue with halogens as they aren't as bright. Even the HID version isn't very good. The actual projector module inside the headlight is a Hella "E55" style projector, the most popular projector that drops in is the EVOX-R from Morimoto (there are lots of clones that aren't as good but are still better than stock) or you can get an adapter to go from the E55 (G3 I think it's also called) to newer Hella or other style projectors. If you're a good DIYer you could probably do it yourself, the biggest issue is that the headlights are "permasealed" so you have to bake them at somewhat high temps and really fight to get them apart.

 

[LuckyRabbit]

The only good solution, IMHO is to have the headlights "retrofitted" with better projectors. The stock protectors suck and will have a bad pattern with any bulb, it's just not an issue with halogens as they aren't as bright. Even the HID version isn't very good. The actual projector module inside the headlight is a Hella "E55" style projector, the most popular projector that drops in is the EVOX-R from Morimoto (there are lots of clones that aren't as good but are still better than stock) or you can get an adapter to go from the E55 (G3 I think it's also called) to newer Hella or other style projectors. If you're a good DIYer you could probably do it yourself, the biggest issue is that the headlights are "permasealed" so you have to bake them at somewhat high temps and really fight to get them apart.

How does the new projector install? Is it a unscrew the old screw in the new or is it more surgical?


I’d like to get these lights better, but this ain’t a classic or a sports car, not going to invest too much into the truck
Thanks

 

[peterk9]

I had a 2017 Explorer Platinum with the HID headlamps and noticed that they tended to wake up the birds sleeping in the treetops at night.

Peter

 

[mmorey79]

How does the new projector install? Is it a unscrew the old screw in the new or is it more surgical?


I’d like to get these lights better, but this ain’t a classic or a sports car, not going to invest too much into the truck
Thanks

It has four screws that mount it to a bracket, basically Ford made one headlamp with several reflector/lens/projector combinations that are semi-modular as most manufacturers lights are now. The bracket that holds the projector is also what aims it so you just have to replace the projector module itself with a new one. Unfortunately that can get quite pricey if you're not comfortable doing it yourself due to the amount of labor involved, but a DIY person can probably get it done for not much more than the price of some new aftermarket headlights that won't be likely to be any better than the stock ones if not worse. This post from a builder shows what the inside of the light looks like: 2011 2012 2013 2014 Ford Explorer HID Projector Conversion Headlights - BlackFlameCustoms.com

 

[LuckyRabbit]

It has four screws that mount it to a bracket, basically Ford made one headlamp with several reflector/lens/projector combinations that are semi-modular as most manufacturers lights are now. The bracket that holds the projector is also what aims it so you just have to replace the projector module itself with a new one. Unfortunately that can get quite pricey if you're not comfortable doing it yourself due to the amount of labor involved, but a DIY person can probably get it done for not much more than the price of some new aftermarket headlights that won't be likely to be any better than the stock ones if not worse. This post from a builder shows what the inside of the light looks like: 2011 2012 2013 2014 Ford Explorer HID Projector Conversion Headlights - BlackFlameCustoms.com

How long does the conversion normally take and what’s it running most folks to put in a better projector with LED?

 

[mmorey79]

How long does the conversion normally take and what’s it running most folks to put in a better projector with LED?

I'm not a professional, I've taken my lights apart which took the better part of a day including cleaning out the permaseal to re-seal them with easier to open butyl but I haven't replaced the projectors yet (I have adapters and new ones for mine that I need to do at some point). You would probably ideally want to find someone local-ish to do it as shipping is expensive and not everyone doing it is a "serious business" would be good to see what they're working with and/or be able to track them down to get your stuff back worst case.

 

[LuckyRabbit]

Not a bad idea, just the down time with having the lights out, coming into winter I have limited time for driving my other vehicles

 

[peterk9]

Not a bad idea, just the down time with having the lights out, coming into winter I have limited time for driving my other vehicles

Does the 2015 headlight still use a shutter for Hi/Lo beam?

Peter

 

[mmorey79]

Does the 2015 headlight still use a shutter for Hi/Lo beam?

Peter

Yes 11-15 are bi halogen or bi xenon projectors