Okay, newbie here needs advice and help. I wish to upgrade my headlights to super white as I hear them referred to on my truck. Do I need a new wiring harness to handle the increased load and what brands would you recommend? Same with super white bulbs, which would you recommend?

I am thinking of upgrading the factory fog lamp bulbs. Same questions with them.

Appreciate any and all help.

 

Before you do so, you might want to check the laws in your state. Most states make it illegal to increase the wattage of your headlights. Some superwhites will be the regular 55 W bulbs but with more lumens.

 

From experience just stick to the rated out put bulb that came in the truck a 55watt bulb and get a good aftermarket bulb and you will not need to upgrade the wiring harness. I personally have used the Sylvania Cool blue which really do not shine blue but did shine better than a regular stock bulb, I then went to a PIAA Superwhite bulb and they are amazing. Very bright and a good white light but not cheap 65 $ a set. I believe you will need 9007's for the headlamps and 9006's for the fog's. If you want more than that you will have to shell out the big $ for HID lights.

 

FYI - I have done quite a bit of research on this subject and I have found that there are several things you can do to improve the OEM Ford lighting.

1. I purchased the 01 Lightning Heads and Corners. These Headlights are the new "Complex Reflector" style of headlamp you see in several of the newest cars. And, I might add that, with a perfectly clear lens, they do put out more light!!

2. You can (and should) install two relays directly from your battery to the headlights. One relay for your brights and one for your dims. First, because your OEM wiring is only 18 gauge wire. And second, because then the only load your OEM light switch and bright/dim switch will carry is a few "millivolts" to switch the relays on and off. This way, if you choose to install
bulbs that draw a lot more juice (like 100/85 9007 Bulbs), the relays are designed to take all the load .... and your OEM wiring harness will last longer in that it doesn't have to carry the load.

Also, HELLA Lighting of Germany proved that even a half-volt drop in power to your headlamps will reduce brightness of your lights to just 92%. A full volt, on older equipment, will reduce your lights to 83% of their optimum brilliance. As you're wiring and
switches get older the loss gets worse!

3. It's really hard for Police officers to tell whether a new vehicle has bright factory lighting or bright after marketlighting. What they don't like is "blue" or other color lighting. If your lights are properly adjusted "down and to the right" side of the road in the dim configuration, you won't have any problem with the police if you are using bright white bulbs. I have replaced the original 65/55 bulbs with 100/85 pure white off-road bulbs from JCWhitney.com. You can definately see the difference in lighting on the road but looking at the lights, it's hard to tell they aren't the OEM lighting. So, I went for it .... but I made sure they are properly adjusted too. That is very important.

4. It is legal to use Fog Lights with your Dims. It is also legal to use a pair of powerful Driving Lights if they are only on when your bright lights are on. So, if you install a pair of 100 watt Road Lights that really light up the road, you can install them on a third relay that is also triggered to come on only when your brights are on. Mine are on a switch so I can turn them off too.

So, adding up all the watts of lighting on the road; I have two 100 watt bright lights and two 100 watt Driving Lights that come on at the same time. That's 400 Watts of pure, bright, white light on the road. The average car (on brights) only has two 65 watt bulbs for a total of 130 watts of light. You'll see the difference!!

Resources for more information and products:
www.danielsternlighting.com (Great articles by Daniel Stern)
Competition Limited, Box 337 Pinckney, MI 48169
Proprietor: Gene Henderson (734) 878-5553
(Quick delivery of everything you'll need)


Good Luck and Happy Driving!

BillVoyles
________________________
99 Red Regular Cab Step-Side 4.6
K&N, AMSOIL SAE 5W-30, Relays on
Lighting. Yet to come: true duals
with Magnaflow Stainless Steel
Mufflers and "X" Cross-Over tube.
Tinted Glass, Innovation Lid, L Wheels
with Bridgestone 285/50 HR18 Tires.
2"-4" Drop using lower control arms
front and leaf springs rear.

 

Bill,

Is there a site that shows the process to run this new wiring setup directly form the battery to the lights with the new relays? I can figure things out, but it would be easier if there were already a laid out plan in place.

 

I just edited them into my original reply (above) while you were writing your reply. ha

Yes, there are some excellent articles that you will want to read complete with full color diagrams of how to lay out your wiring for your relays at www.danielsternlighting.com or you can email Dan at dastern@vix.net . If you go to the www.google.com search engine and ask for daniel stern lighting his site will come up.

The other resourse for all the parts you'll need is at:

Competition Limited
Box 337
Pinckney, MI 48169 USA
Proprietor: Gene Henderson

FAX: (734)878-5477
Phone Orders: (734)878-5553
Tech Help: (734)464-1458

Gene has the 9007 light sockets pre-wired with huge 12 gauge wire, which is what you need if you're going to install the 100/85 watt bulbs from JCWitney. You should pick up a copy of JCWhitney's big catalog on the news stand. Or just go to
www.jcwhitney.com.

BTW, JCWhitney has brand new FORD SPORT TRUCK Catalogs out now that are loaded with trick stuff for Fords. They will send you
copies of both catalogs FREE for the asking at their site.

Also: You said "from the battery". I think you should know that all your hard work will be lost with relays if you don't also run a heavy gauge wire (10 gauge) back to the negative ground on the battery from the relays to complete the circuit. That is extremely important. Read all the articles carefully. You'll be an expert on relays.

Good Luck,

BillVoyles

.

 

NOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stay away from the JCWhittney!!! Well as far as the bulbs they sell. The bulbs have less then 15% xenon gas inside. Xenon gas is to keep the filement cool. In turn keeps from melting lences and wiring harnes'es.

If you want I will find the picture of my friends F150 that had these bulbs in them. Fricken fried his wiring harness.. ug

 

Picture of my truck with Eaglite Xenon Superwhites.

 

CAUTION, i just got some hyper white bulbs for my 2000 xlt...i went ahead and ordered head and fog lights so they both would match...well, when i got them (i ordered them from thailand), the fog lights would not fit...i ordered the 9006...they looked perfect, even comparing to my factories, but when i tried to put them in, there was just enough difference in them that they wouldnt work...so at some point, they changed the fog light bulbs...could this be the H3 or H4 bulbs that i have heard of?

any help guys?