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Interesting low beam issue

Old Nov 19, 2024 | 12:34 PM
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Question Interesting low beam issue

Howdy fellow ram owners,
I need help solving a puzzling issue and hoping some of you may have some ideas. I purchased a 2015 Dodge Ram Laramie and noticed after a few months that driving at night with low beam was getting dangerous because the light was so dim that you can't see well 5feet away.
I then replaced the regular halogen bulb with new LEDs, recommended on some truck parts testing website but it didn't change much even if the LED seems pretty strong.
I thought the clocking was wrong since the shutter before the cat's eye is coming halfway down, I had to clock for the LED lights to shine sideways instead of up and down but it doesn't matter, the light projected on the road is very dim.

The headlights and cats eye seems clean without condensation, mechanic says lights are aligned. Maybe those headlights doesn't work well with LED and I need to try with new halogens?

Hopefully some of you may have some ideas as I can't drive in the dark now..

cheers
 
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Old Nov 19, 2024 | 01:00 PM
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Check your grounds. A marginal ground will make the lights dim.
 
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Old Nov 19, 2024 | 02:48 PM
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I agree, and will also suggest confirming that you have battery voltage available to the bulb in addition to the good ground. Just be aware that the high input impedance of a digital multimeter can mask a poor / corroded connection since it, by design, does not load the circuit.

-Rod
 
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Old Nov 19, 2024 | 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by HeyYou
Check your grounds. A marginal ground will make the lights dim.
To do this, I connect one part of the voltmeter to the battery negative and the other to some a few areas of the car's frame, right?
 
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Old Nov 19, 2024 | 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by dimdam
To do this, I connect one part of the voltmeter to the battery negative and the other to some a few areas of the car's frame, right?
That will only tell you if you have continuity or not. I would be more inclined to actually find where the lights ground, physically inspect and clean 'em.....

I had a whole HOST of things stop working on one of my older trucks, simply because of a broken ground connector. (which everything tied into....)
 
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