Headlights, Are you kidding me????

[jpsageusa]

So I finally got around to aiming my headlights. So the drop at 25' is 24". No wonder I can't see anything when driving at night. Way to far for the adjusters to compensate. I can't imagine how it got out of the factory that way. But anyway, the lights are screwed into aluminum sheet metal brackets. It should be a simple mater of unscrewing the self tapping screw and moving the bottom of the assembly. But I thought I would throw this plan out to the community before I step into the breech. Any comments?

Second part is that there is space around the light assembly that allows water to come in. I don't believe that water spraying on my new LED bulbs will be a good thing. I am thinking of sealing the crack with some hi-temp silicone.

I am hoping that someone else has had a similar experience with headlights.

Thanks for any feedback.

john.

P.S. Yeah I know, no reason to drive after dark

[W0GEN]

Originally Posted by jpsageusa

So I finally got around to aiming my headlights. So the drop at 25' is 24". No wonder I can't see anything when driving at night. Way to far for the adjusters to compensate. I can't imagine how it got out of the factory that way. But anyway, the lights are screwed into aluminum sheet metal brackets. It should be a simple mater of unscrewing the self tapping screw and moving the bottom of the assembly. But I thought I would throw this plan out to the community before I step into the breech. Any comments?

Second part is that there is space around the light assembly that allows water to come in. I don't believe that water spraying on my new LED bulbs will be a good thing. I am thinking of sealing the crack with some hi-temp silicone.

I am hoping that someone else has had a similar experience with headlights.

Thanks for any feedback.

john.

P.S. Yeah I know, no reason to drive after dark

Only my opinion on the gap on top of the bulbs... I believe there is quite a bit of heat generated by LED headlights. Would the lack of air flow be of any concern? I realize your concerns with water, and would use dielectric grease on the connections to eliminate any corrosion concerns.
Bill

[jpsageusa]

Originally Posted by W0GEN

Only my opinion on the gap on top of the bulbs... I believe there is quite a bit of heat generated by LED headlights. Would the lack of air flow be of any concern? I realize your concerns with water, and would use dielectric grease on the connections to eliminate any corrosion concerns.
Bill

Good thought, Thanks Bill

John

[manwithtools]

Originally Posted by jpsageusa

So I finally got around to aiming my headlights. So the drop at 25' is 24". No wonder I can't see anything when driving at night. Way to far for the adjusters to compensate. I can't imagine how it got out of the factory that way. But anyway, the lights are screwed into aluminum sheet metal brackets. It should be a simple mater of unscrewing the self tapping screw and moving the bottom of the assembly. But I thought I would throw this plan out to the community before I step into the breech. Any comments?

Second part is that there is space around the light assembly that allows water to come in. I don't believe that water spraying on my new LED bulbs will be a good thing. I am thinking of sealing the crack with some hi-temp silicone.

I am hoping that someone else has had a similar experience with headlights.

Thanks for any feedback.

john.

P.S. Yeah I know, no reason to drive after dark

I'm not sure how water is going to get to your bulbs, they are inside the headlight housing are they not? They usually turn to latch into the housing. That's no different than a car, truck or SUV. Water can get to the back side of the headlight housings in all cases. In fact your headlights are likely from a car or SUV, as are mine and most other motor homes.

You are referring to the gap around the housing (headlight assembly) are you not? your actual bulb should be dry and safe inside the housing. If they aren't, you will have other issues. Am I misunderstanding something in your explanation.

[Mekanic]

Originally Posted by jpsageusa

So I finally got around to aiming my headlights. So the drop at 25' is 24". No wonder I can't see anything when driving at night. Way to far for the adjusters to compensate. I can't imagine how it got out of the factory that way. But anyway, the lights are screwed into aluminum sheet metal brackets. It should be a simple mater of unscrewing the self tapping screw and moving the bottom of the assembly. But I thought I would throw this plan out to the community before I step into the breech. Any comments?

.......

Thanks for any feedback.

john.

P.S. Yeah I know, no reason to drive after dark

Moving? Do you mean install some flat washers between the headlight assy and the mounting surface?

When i installed my new lights in my 06 Jeep they were way too high and that is how i had to fix it.
That let me get back to where the light adjustment screws worked again.

[manwithtools]

Originally Posted by Mekanic

Moving? Do you mean install some flat washers between the headlight assy and the mounting surface?

When i installed my new lights in my 06 Jeep they were way too high and that is how i had to fix it.
That let me get back to where the light adjustment screws worked again.

No, I'm pretty sure he means moving the head lights relative the mounting angles by drilling a new locating hole in the angles. The method Monaco used to mount the headlights in hat vintage of coach is not very elegant. I'm not sure how they ever aligned them at the factory or if they even did. I'm not sure how to make small adjustments because they did not use the factory housing adjusters on my similar model coach.

[vito.a]

I installed new headlight assemblies in our coach and I'm also having trouble aiming them. The headlights have adjusters on the housing but they need a major correction to get in the ball park first. I'm thinking of using some split clear tubing around the top and one side to re-aim them.

[jpsageusa]

Thanks everyone for sharing their advice and experiences.

Wow, we went out last night and learned that it may be harder than I thought. Once you put the headlight assemblies in the fiberglass shell there is not much wiggle room. It is no wonder that the adjuster didn't have much control. We are going to continue on this tomorrow. I will post what we learn.

[Arch Hoagland]

Put some more weight in the back of your coach and the front end will go up...thus the headlights will shine out further down the road.

Just kidding.

Last month the low beam LED headlight went out my 2004 Lexus.

$700 to fix and not at the dealer. Bulb was $100 at Napa, control board $400 online and $200 to remove the front bumper and driver fender to get to the control board.

Be careful with the LED lights....

[followingsea]

Are the LEDs original equipment?

There are some other discussions on the subject. Some folks just do not have good night vision.

Have a vintage (aka old) MH and a more vintage. The light do not appear as bright and new cars but I can see just fine going down the road.


Sunday night I driving home at night then I got up early and drove newly opened I-11 into Arizona. So I was looking at how well the 'bright' lights helped you see down the road. One car was doing a very good job of lighting up the side of the road.

As I was passing a second car, I could see farther done the road with his lights. When I returned to the right lane, high beams were not on. Since the brighter lights were properly aimed, I was not blinded by his lights.

[RobRoy]

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Put some more weight in the back of your coach and the front end will go up...thus the headlights will shine out further down the road.

Just kidding.

Last month the low beam LED headlight went out my 2004 Lexus.

$700 to fix and not at the dealer. Bulb was $100 at Napa, control board $400 online and $200 to remove the front bumper and driver fender to get to the control board.

Be careful with the LED lights....

and ya can buy a standard 9006 bulb or the likes at the Dollar store if need be ...unlike some led's that can get tricky to find while in the city ..let alone while in Timbuktu

[manwithtools]

Replacement LED 9006 bulbs a pretty common now. I'm sure that's what the OP has done, replacement LED's in his OEM housings. It's easy to replace incandescent or even Halogen bulbs with decent LED bulbs today and they don't cost $700. Closer to $75 a bulb for decent ones with even light output,sharp cutoff and great intensity.

LED's operate cooler, draw less current and last longer than other bulb types if you get quality ones. Checkout VLEDS for some higher quality LED replacement bulbs.

I'm not worried about these failing in the boonies, something else on a motor home is FAR more likely to fail than an LED with 20,000 hours of life expectancy. If you drive at night replacement LED bulbs can be game changer, I've not done it in the motor home, but all my daily drivers have LED's.

[manwithtools]

Originally Posted by followingsea

Are the LEDs original equipment?

Highly unlikely a 2006 Motor home will have OEM LED's. I'm almost certain the OP is referring to aftermarket replacement LED bulbs. OP, please confirm this for us.

[CountryB]

Originally Posted by manwithtools

LED's operate cooler, draw less current and last longer than other bulb types if you get quality ones. Checkout VLEDS for some higher quality LED replacement bulbs.

The LED itself may be cooler, but they have/need large heat sinks around the electronics at the base. In some cases they don't even fit the stock light housing without some trimming.

Converting RV Lights to LEDs – Part 10: RV Headlights! - TheRVgeeks