Community Forums

tommar · 05-20-2020, 04:15 PM

I just got home from a trip and ran out of daylight and REALLY struggled to see during the last hour of the voyage. The driving lights are poorly aimed and the headlights are badly glazed over. So... maybe the lenses could be polished but I'm thinking they should be replaced. Others have said these are 1995-'99 Ford Bronco parts. True? Another person replaced the lights with Euro style units on his Dutch Star, a 1998, just like mine but left no purchasing info. Sure could use aome help here!

Joestein · 05-20-2020, 04:21 PM

I have a 98 pace arrow. Better bulbs helped and so did polishing. But I will need new ones sooner or later.

TechWriter · 05-20-2020, 04:28 PM

Try LEDs headlights.

dmholt · 05-20-2020, 04:35 PM

If you want to try polishing your headlights, the RV Geeks have a video with a product called Headlight Restore that they recommend highly.

https://www.thervgeeks.com/repair/be...t-restoration/

hewebb · 05-21-2020, 05:18 AM

I found these for ours. Not sure your are the same. I am sure there are replacements available from some aftermarket supplier.

2001 Newmar Dutch Star Diamond Clear Headlights unit Pair (Left & Right) – RV Lights & Motorhome Headlights – Top Quality at Best Price

Dutch Star Don · 05-21-2020, 09:10 AM

"tommar"......If yours takes a Ford Bronco headlight, you can buy those lenses all day long on the internet. You'll get better lighting out of a new pair, but it won't be dramatic.

Adding LED bulbs to a standard lens is a waste of money. In order for an LED to work properly, the lens has to be designed to focus the light. Most of the LED lights you see on new cars are behind a focused lens (looks like a fisheye when viewed from the front). An LED will look great in a standard lens, because it's bright and will shine everywhere, but that's the issue. If you were to pull up to a tree lined road, the trees would all be illuminated, but you would have no increased lighting down the road where you need it.

If you do a search, you can find the Bronco lenses that have LED's designed into the lens. They're pricey, but will give you much better lighting, down the road, where you need it.

Here is an example...…

https://www.carid.com/1995-ford-bron...284621786.html

tomgrigsby · 05-21-2020, 09:18 AM

If you want to replace just the headlights and not markers the part numbers are TYC 20-1934-00 Passenger side and TYC 20-1935-00 Driver's side. Entire assemblies can also be purchased - you are correct they are from the Bronco. My lenses were ok so I just upgraded to M4 LEDs. They are 6000 lumens and much brighter. There are less expensive LED bulbs but i couldn't confirm the lumen output and decided to go with M4 since the product data was extensive and RV Geeks did a video on them. My passenger halogen bulb failed so figured it was a good time to jump. Pics are in full daylight so the difference is pretty surprising.

PPCPilot · 05-21-2020, 01:09 PM

Someone did a write up on this some time back where he addressed the issue with poor lighting was a result of dropped voltage at the headlights and he resolved it by fixing that issue. I wish I could find THAT thread again too as I too, suffer from this issue with my 2000 MA lights.

tommar · 05-21-2020, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomgrigsby

If you want to replace just the headlights and not markers the part numbers are TYC 20-1934-00 Passenger side and TYC 20-1935-00 Driver's side. Entire assemblies can also be purchased - you are correct they are from the Bronco. My lenses were ok so I just upgraded to M4 LEDs. They are 6000 lumens and much brighter. There are less expensive LED bulbs but i couldn't confirm the lumen output and decided to go with M4 since the product data was extensive and RV Geeks did a video on them. My passenger halogen bulb failed so figured it was a good time to jump. Pics are in full daylight so the difference is pretty surprising.

OP here! Did you put the M4 LEDs in your existing Bronco lens? Mine are badly frosted and yellowed. I'm thinking about buying aftermarket LED lens assemblies that have focused projectors. The photos are great but not sure the driving experience will be good. Dutch Star Don noted that the lights will be brighter but the light might not go to where the light is needed. Others have said that an aftermarket headlight relay may be necessary because of voltage drops. Dunno how complicated a relay installation would be. After I purchased my MH, the headlight switch failed... then that switch failed too. So now I'm on the third switch. Anyhow... I'm torn as to whether to do a headlight polishibg/restoration or to go for new LED assemblies. Any input is welcome!

tomgrigsby · 05-21-2020, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommar

OP here! Did you put the M4 LEDs in your existing Bronco lens? Mine are badly frosted and yellowed. I'm thinking about buying aftermarket LED lens assemblies that have focused projectors. The photos are great but not sure the driving experience will be good. Dutch Star Don noted that the lights will be brighter but the light might not go to where the light is needed. Others have said that an aftermarket headlight relay may be necessary because of voltage drops. Dunno how complicated a relay installation would be. After I purchased my MH, the headlight switch failed... then that switch failed too. So now I'm on the third switch. Anyhow... I'm torn as to whether to do a headlight polishibg/restoration or to go for new LED assemblies. Any input is welcome!

My lenses were good so I simply installed M4 LEDs. I'm sure I'll need to adjust them a bit, but just in the yard the difference is amazing. LED bulbs pull far less power than the original halogen bulbs, so voltage drop is not an issue - with LEDs you do not need relays. If your lenses are cloudy, I'd say replace them. You'll otherwise need to keep polishing them every few months. If you buy something that has LEDs already in them, try to find out what the lumens are. Most replacement LEDs are not much brighter than the halogen bulbs - they are just a different color

Massparanoia · 05-22-2020, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPCPilot

Someone did a write up on this some time back where he addressed the issue with poor lighting was a result of dropped voltage at the headlights and he resolved it by fixing that issue. I wish I could find THAT thread again too as I too, suffer from this issue with my 2000 MA lights.

Yes you need a relay harness for your headlights.

They make great ones here.

https://www.rallylights.com/wire-harness

Massparanoia · 05-22-2020, 09:41 PM

LED lights work best in reflector housings, NOT in projector housings. HID headlights work best in projectors, not reflectors.

I highly recommend GTR lighting for LED’s, specifically their ULTRA’s.

www.gtrlighting.com

Also orientation of the LED’s in the housing is critical. For best output and beam pattern, it’s typically recommended that the LED chips on the bulbs be pointing at the 9 and 3 o’clock positions in the housing.

Dav L · 05-23-2020, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPCPilot

Someone did a write up on this some time back where he addressed the issue with poor lighting was a result of dropped voltage at the headlights and he resolved it by fixing that issue. I wish I could find THAT thread again too as I too, suffer from this issue with my 2000 MA lights.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/hea...de-387578.html

Within that thread, I also put in aftermarket relay tied to the original wiring that ensured I had full voltage to the headlights and resolved the issue where the Low beam was designed to NOT be on when on High beam mode. On later models this became a recall and Newmar rewired those to ensure both Low and High beams were on.

The key to putting the aftermarket relay in easily is to order the relay with the correct connectors on it. http://theretrofitsource.com will have what you need. Look at the connector / bulb type on your headlights and order the right harness. Pretty inexpensive upgrade.

As far as adding LED to a non projector housing, The success of this depends on a few things. If you buy a QUALITY LED than it should provide a significant improvement. The LED will be designed to send light similar to an incandescent bulb so the standard reflector will work reasonably well in focusing the light forward. Most LEDs will also put out more Lumens than the standard bulb so that helps too.

There are a zillion crappy LEDs on the market that don't work well.

"LED lights work best in reflector housings, NOT in projector housings." Ummm, that's a generalization that I have not found to be true in general. The projector works better than a reflector for any bulb type I have used. There is a "night and day" difference between the two. But, whatever light the bulb puts out, is put to the front of the road better and with less glare to oncoming traffic (due to the solenoid gate shutting off light to the top of the pattern). The retrofitsource has plenty of videos of side by side comparisons.

Best is when you install a LED (or even better - Bi-Xenon) bulb in a projector style housing. But that's a big step up in complexity and cost.

tommar · 05-23-2020, 10:43 AM

OP here! I am a bit confused about LEDs and projector vs. reflector (stock) headlight assemblies. I was of the impression that projector assemblies are for both LED, HID and xenon bulbs. Dutch Star Don said that reflector assemblies scatter the light and won't place the light to where you want it. Also, while headlight relays are important, my take is that LEDs require less voltage than halogen bulbs.

So since my rig has 1996 Ford Bronco/F-150 headlight assemblies, I found a Spyder brand assembly(s) to fit which is designed for LEDs. They range (depending on the vendor) from $79 a pair to $240 a pair. Then, I'll have to order 9307 LED bulbs from Cougar Motors or Hikari. I'll put them in and if they work OK without relays, great... if not then relays. How does this sound?