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Old 11-28-2015, 06:24 PM   #1
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C5500 Kodiak (Super C) headlight help

I searched and didn't find much on this topic which surprises me to maybe I'm not using the search tool correctly?

I'm looking to upgrade my useless headlights on my 2005 Dutchmen on c5500 Kodiak chassis. I looked at the Syvania and GE Nighthawk replacements but has anyone used anything else? Thanks in advance.

4x6 Sealed Beam to LED Headlight Conversion

Sealed Beam Headlight Conversion Kits
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Old 11-30-2015, 07:18 PM   #2
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Well I figured out what wording I needed to get the results in the search box. After searching I'm going with the H4 conversion instead. Anyone recommend a good wiring/relay harness? Thanks!
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Old 11-30-2015, 10:09 PM   #3
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The H4 is just a halogen...and nothing really special. I would not be surprised if the Kodiak already had halogen sealed headlights.
I think the '05 C5500 has separate high and low beam bulbs like the smaller trucks...so you "could" just upgrade the high beams(?).

If you want BRIGHT, look for HID kits. High Intensity Discharge might be sold in kits that are not DOT approved, so buyer beware. To use these elements, you need to have the light housing with removable bulb element.

Best luck

See the ones here:
Xenon HID Kits - HID Headlight Kits | XenonHIDs.com
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Old 12-02-2015, 08:36 PM   #4
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This place has the best headlight conversions : Deep Space Lighting | Quality, application-specific HID lighting

I don't know if they have a kit for your application. If you don't see anything you should contact them to ask about it. The guy that started the company, David, is a friend of mine and very very knowledgeable about this stuff. And he's always ready to try to help somebody see better.
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Old 03-25-2016, 10:03 AM   #5
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Sorry, I am late to the party.
Go to Rally Lights, Hella, TerraTrip, Hans, WRC, ZAMP
Contact Ray, let him know you want to upgrade your Chevy Kodiak. He will build you a custom harness with relays, and supply the Hella housings and recommend the proper bulbs. He has done this for several owners on the Kodiak Yahoo group.
One of the main issues with the Kodiak is the poor wiring, especially the ground. Just improving this without changing the bulbs will help.
I went with the whole package, after trying Silver Stars (which helped a little). Now I am not worried to drive at night. 100% improvement.
Good luck,
Bill
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Old 03-28-2016, 05:46 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by bowtiebill View Post
Sorry, I am late to the party.
Go to Rally Lights, Hella, TerraTrip, Hans, WRC, ZAMP
Contact Ray, let him know you want to upgrade your Chevy Kodiak. He will build you a custom harness with relays, and supply the Hella housings and recommend the proper bulbs. He has done this for several owners on the Kodiak Yahoo group.
One of the main issues with the Kodiak is the poor wiring, especially the ground. Just improving this without changing the bulbs will help.
I went with the whole package, after trying Silver Stars (which helped a little). Now I am not worried to drive at night. 100% improvement.
Good luck,
Bill
Thank you for the response. Do you know how much the wiring harness cost? I have tried the SilverStar and did not notice a difference. I also bought Autopal housings and put h4 bulbs in them with the adapter and still little to no difference. If the harness is not too expensive I'm willing to try that. Thanks so much again!
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Old 03-28-2016, 07:36 AM   #7
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I have replace my lights with LED. Bought all glass bulbs from Amazon. Then purchased H4 LED bulbs from Amazon. Only replaced outer headlights.
I replaced all the wiring with relays for headlights. Biggest change came with running 10 gauge ground wire from frame to each set of headlights.
Headlight alignment is very important. I used my SUV as a guide. Put SUV 25' from garage door. Used tape to mark where headlights shined on door. Then put MH in same position. Aligned low beams to the tape marks. Very happy with my headlights.
You can find many articles on Kodiak headlights over on Diesel Place Medium Duty Trucks forum.
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Old 03-29-2016, 04:30 AM   #8
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I have replace my lights with LED. Bought all glass bulbs from Amazon. Then purchased H4 LED bulbs from Amazon. Only replaced outer headlights.
I replaced all the wiring with relays for headlights. Biggest change came with running 10 gauge ground wire from frame to each set of headlights.
Headlight alignment is very important. I used my SUV as a guide. Put SUV 25' from garage door. Used tape to mark where headlights shined on door. Then put MH in same position. Aligned low beams to the tape marks. Very happy with my headlights.
You can find many articles on Kodiak headlights over on Diesel Place Medium Duty Trucks forum.

With LED's would you need a wiring upgrade? Since they have such a low power draw it seems that the stock wiring would carry plenty of power for LED.
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Old 03-29-2016, 07:10 AM   #9
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With LED's would you need a wiring upgrade? Since they have such a low power draw it seems that the stock wiring would carry plenty of power for LED.
I did wiring change before LED's. Not sure it would make a difference. Bright LED's still draw current. I have not changed to LED on my inner high beams. But did put Sylvainia Silver Stars that draw more current than stock.
When adding relays the low voltage of DRL is lost. Not a problem with LED's but may be a problem with Halogen. Did not take long for my high/low beam Silver Stars to burn out on DRL.
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Old 03-29-2016, 08:18 AM   #10
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Thank you for the response. Do you know how much the wiring harness cost? I have tried the SilverStar and did not notice a difference. I also bought Autopal housings and put h4 bulbs in them with the adapter and still little to no difference. If the harness is not too expensive I'm willing to try that. Thanks so much again!
The harness with the relays, 4 new Hella housings, and bulbs, was around 400 bucks if I remember correctly.
Not cheap, but made a BIG improvement.

Good luck,
Bill
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Old 03-29-2016, 01:54 PM   #11
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I will look in to the wiring harness, maybe the LED at some point. I do already have Autopal housings and I bought bulbs, don't remember which h4 bulbs I got though. I am just going to change the low beam for now. I can worry about the high later on.
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Old 03-29-2016, 02:24 PM   #12
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I will look in to the wiring harness, maybe the LED at some point. I do already have Autopal housings and I bought bulbs, don't remember which h4 bulbs I got though. I am just going to change the low beam for now. I can worry about the high later on.
Outer headlights are both high and low beam. When high beam is on all 4 headlight are on. That's why there are few complaints about high beams.
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Old 10-21-2017, 10:47 PM   #13
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bumping a really old thread i know but hopefully to give info to other folks with the classic crappy 4x6 sealed beam lights found in the kodiaks and other rigs.

i had heard the kodiak rigs suffered from poor lighting but it wasn't until we bought ours and drove it at night that i finally understood what people were talking about. my word, its like there is only candles inside those housings or something. first upgrade was to change out the housings for the Hella H4 conversions. this was a noticeable improvement but still not great. after this i ended up with a set of H4 LED units from M4LED and cut off the factory headlight plugs and wired in H4 plugs to get rid of the adapter harness. i still need to do some adjustments to the lights but all i can say is WOW!! for a total of about $180, its a HUGE difference! I'm pretty sure that the only thing better now would be doing the Tahoe headlight housing conversion but I'm not interested in that due to the body work involved so it'll stay quad light setup.
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Old 10-22-2017, 02:39 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by ElCaminoManT View Post
bumping a really old thread i know but hopefully to give info to other folks with the classic crappy 4x6 sealed beam lights found in the kodiaks and other rigs.

i had heard the kodiak rigs suffered from poor lighting but it wasn't until we bought ours and drove it at night that i finally understood what people were talking about. my word, its like there is only candles inside those housings or something. first upgrade was to change out the housings for the Hella H4 conversions. this was a noticeable improvement but still not great. after this i ended up with a set of H4 LED units from M4LED and cut off the factory headlight plugs and wired in H4 plugs to get rid of the adapter harness. i still need to do some adjustments to the lights but all i can say is WOW!! for a total of about $180, its a HUGE difference! I'm pretty sure that the only thing better now would be doing the Tahoe headlight housing conversion but I'm not interested in that due to the body work involved so it'll stay quad light setup.
Good report.
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