LIGHTINING ISSUES!!!
#11
05-29-2008, 09:44 PM
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RE: LIGHTINING ISSUES!!!
Once again, thank you for all your input. Sorry I have not replied in a while, but I'm gonna try out all the suggestions you made. Top priority would be to recalibrate the headlight assembly because the light is positioned down, which is not convenient. I also need to buy the HID kit and see how that can be installed for the high beams. One other question though, how do I get the fog lights to work? They have a different switch, and still don't work with all the lights. Do I need to add yet another switch? Any input helpful. You have donemore than enough already though. Thank you for all your help. You really know your stuff 
#12
05-30-2008, 01:26 PM
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RE: LIGHTINING ISSUES!!!
1998 Ram Sport, I had also bought some of these headlights for my truck. The sport models have quad headlights from the factory. You have normal low beams, high beams where the low & high beams are on at the same time, and your fog lights that will only work with the parking lights and low beams. When I put the projector lights in I realized that I could no longer run the low & high beams at the same time. The projector lights just had one connector where my factory lights had 2 per side. I also noticed that when I accidently plugged the high beam connector to the new lights that I barely got any light at all. I played around with these things for about 6 months and could never get them to work like the factory lights. I lived with them for about a year and half and then re-installed the factory quad lamps. I gave the projectors to a guy here in the subdivision that had the standard single light and they work great on his truck. Look better on his truck too! Jeff.
#13
05-30-2008, 11:03 PM
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RE: LIGHTINING ISSUES!!!
DRL is daytime running lights I think.
ORIGINAL: ondatkryptonite
Sorry for the delay, just dropped a brand spankin' new (reman.) 3.9 in my dodge 2 days ago and I've been prepping it to head to Austin for the holiday weekend.
[sm=alcoholic.gif]
Glad I could be of assistance though. [sm=proof.gif]
Yes, the housing is the entire one piece assembly. I'm not sure if the aftermarket housings will utilize the factory adjustment screws since they might be integrated into the stock housings... but it's highly unlikely there wouldn't be a way to adjust the new setup. Here is a guide pulled directly from the factory reference manual to adjust factory headlight housings using 2 adjustment screws (assuming this work is being performed on your 98 Ram Sport):
1998 Ram Sport > Headlights > Aiming
These wiring diagrams may also be of use. I'm assuming DRL stands for Driving Lights, but it doesn't specify:
Headlights Headlamps & Fog Lamps Circuit W/ DRL
Headlights Headlamps & Fog Lamps Circuit W/O DRL
As far as your high beam issue goes, I'm afraid I might have some bad news for you... they're gone! I will answer 2 of your questions at once here, the other regarding the filament count per bulb. Like I said before, the projector lenses are ONLY designed for low beams. Your high beams will NOT work with this new setup. That is the price for projector lenses, however there are HID kits out there (Mobile HID sells a nice kit, though pricey) which will allow you to splice into your factory wiring and retain both low & high beam functionality. The reason the old bulbs have 2 filaments (your stock bulbs should be 9004) is because 1 is for the highs and 1 is for the lows. That would explain why the new bulbs only came with 1 filament.
Lastly, but not leastly(?)... your fog light/driving light issue (those wiring diagrams above may prove helpful here). I had a similar issue with another one of my vehicles in which I wanted the fog lights to stay on when I switched my high beams on (they would only run standalone or w/the low beams). I solved my problem with about a 20 minutes of wiring time and 1 SPDT relay($3). Your solution will most likely be identical, requiring only 1 relay to solve all your lighting issues. the12volt.com will be an excellent resource in this area, explaining how you can easily get your 12 volt systems to do anything your heart desires with the use of seemingly magical relays. But pertaining specifically to your Dodge... here's a thread I found on this very forum which may prove useful:
'DIY Sport Headlight Mod And Driving Light Wireing'
I realize it's not exactly what you're trying to achieve, but you may want to mod it up since you'll be working on your lighting system anyway. A good starting point might be the steering column, as this is where I was able to perform all my wiring and keep my fog lights and low beams on while clicking my high beams on at the same time. If all else fails.... you can always rewire the factory fog switch to be 'hard-wired' (and fused) so that as long as the switch is on (and the ignition switch is on) your fogs will stay on regardless of whatever factory setup is shutting them off when your high beams are activated. Hope this helps, and once again....
[sm=signs003.gif]
Sorry for the delay, just dropped a brand spankin' new (reman.) 3.9 in my dodge 2 days ago and I've been prepping it to head to Austin for the holiday weekend.
[sm=alcoholic.gif]
Glad I could be of assistance though. [sm=proof.gif]
Yes, the housing is the entire one piece assembly. I'm not sure if the aftermarket housings will utilize the factory adjustment screws since they might be integrated into the stock housings... but it's highly unlikely there wouldn't be a way to adjust the new setup. Here is a guide pulled directly from the factory reference manual to adjust factory headlight housings using 2 adjustment screws (assuming this work is being performed on your 98 Ram Sport):
1998 Ram Sport > Headlights > Aiming
These wiring diagrams may also be of use. I'm assuming DRL stands for Driving Lights, but it doesn't specify:
Headlights Headlamps & Fog Lamps Circuit W/ DRL
Headlights Headlamps & Fog Lamps Circuit W/O DRL
As far as your high beam issue goes, I'm afraid I might have some bad news for you... they're gone! I will answer 2 of your questions at once here, the other regarding the filament count per bulb. Like I said before, the projector lenses are ONLY designed for low beams. Your high beams will NOT work with this new setup. That is the price for projector lenses, however there are HID kits out there (Mobile HID sells a nice kit, though pricey) which will allow you to splice into your factory wiring and retain both low & high beam functionality. The reason the old bulbs have 2 filaments (your stock bulbs should be 9004) is because 1 is for the highs and 1 is for the lows. That would explain why the new bulbs only came with 1 filament.
Lastly, but not leastly(?)... your fog light/driving light issue (those wiring diagrams above may prove helpful here). I had a similar issue with another one of my vehicles in which I wanted the fog lights to stay on when I switched my high beams on (they would only run standalone or w/the low beams). I solved my problem with about a 20 minutes of wiring time and 1 SPDT relay($3). Your solution will most likely be identical, requiring only 1 relay to solve all your lighting issues. the12volt.com will be an excellent resource in this area, explaining how you can easily get your 12 volt systems to do anything your heart desires with the use of seemingly magical relays. But pertaining specifically to your Dodge... here's a thread I found on this very forum which may prove useful:
'DIY Sport Headlight Mod And Driving Light Wireing'
I realize it's not exactly what you're trying to achieve, but you may want to mod it up since you'll be working on your lighting system anyway. A good starting point might be the steering column, as this is where I was able to perform all my wiring and keep my fog lights and low beams on while clicking my high beams on at the same time. If all else fails.... you can always rewire the factory fog switch to be 'hard-wired' (and fused) so that as long as the switch is on (and the ignition switch is on) your fogs will stay on regardless of whatever factory setup is shutting them off when your high beams are activated. Hope this helps, and once again....
[sm=signs003.gif]
#14
10-14-2008, 03:26 PM
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I have the eBay headlights and they look really good. I got some H1 bulbs in real HID/ xenon, and they look great, but the
cutoff line is keeping the beam too far down on the road. The beam needs to come up. I am thinking if I disassemble
the eBay projector and trim the shield, or take it out, will that produce a brighter bigger beam?
I live in Mississippi, so the Law enforcement here is not so much worried about HID lights as they are people
with no headlights at all, if you know what I mean.
I would just like to get what I can from the eBay projectors with HID bulbs and ballast, without spending a bunch on a retro. If you have any
helpful ideas on how to do this, please let me know.
Thanks for the help!
cutoff line is keeping the beam too far down on the road. The beam needs to come up. I am thinking if I disassemble
the eBay projector and trim the shield, or take it out, will that produce a brighter bigger beam?
I live in Mississippi, so the Law enforcement here is not so much worried about HID lights as they are people
with no headlights at all, if you know what I mean.
I would just like to get what I can from the eBay projectors with HID bulbs and ballast, without spending a bunch on a retro. If you have any
helpful ideas on how to do this, please let me know.
Thanks for the help!