I did an upgrade to my headlights. It will probably be more than most will do, but there are a couple of things everyone can do.
I contacted a guy named Daniel Stern who upgrades headlights
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply . I've had his website in my favorites for years and use it for reference. I told him what my isuues were and asked what could be done.
1st...He said the headlight lens on my model and year and several others are a 1997-2002 Buick Century. Even though it was a GM fixture, Monaco used aftermarket knock offs. He named several brands and mine was first on the list and one of the worse. He sent me Federal tests done in 2004 that showed the quality of the lens refraction and fit finish was below Federal guidelines, yet they were still being sold. You can buy one of the new knock offs to replace your fogged lens for about $69.00 - $88.00. The GM ones are $405.00 for both. I went for the whole deal and changed out the lenses.
Note: The lenses, new and old have two adjusters on both lamps. I always thought there was just one. There is one closest to the generator that is visible. This is the up/down adjust. Back in the corners are a second adjustment that is directly under the upper aluminum brace. You need to drill a 1/2" or larger hole in the brace so you can o
insert a torx head down through the hole to adjust the right left movement.
Note....Both the old and new lenses have leveling bubbles built in.....I never new that...the bubble cover is on top of the lense in the center, but is hard to see when it gets old. I asked Stern about these and his opinion was they were useless, but might be a good starting point.
2nd...The wiring is undersized for the coach. He recommends that you add relays and upgrade the wiring. This is the part of the upgrade I would recommend to everyone. His kit is $95.00. You could probably piece the parts together, but some parts would be difficult to find. The kit includes (3) relays and holders. (2) ceramic high beam and (2) ceramic low beam sockets. It comes with (2) adapters that plug into your your stock headlight sockets to do the conversion without cutting any of your stock wiring....these trigger the relays. The kit also includes connectors, but no wiring. I picked up the power for the relays from the run bay and mounted the relays inside the big black box.
Here is the neat part about this. With his kit, there is a relay that keeps the low beams on when you turn the high beams on. This was a FANTASTIC improvement on a dark road.
3rd.....I had added SilverStar bulbs to my coach and seemed like I got improvement. Daniel Stern hates them and says that any bulb you buy that is not clear (SijverStars are tinted blue) is being toned down by the tint and is not a good thing. He doesn't sell bulbs, but recommended some Phillips bulbs from Amazon
Amazon.com: Philips 9006 X-treme Power Headlight Bulbs (Low-Beam), Pack of 2: Automotive
in the appropriate size.
Results.....I had a difficult time finding a level area, with a wall and 60' of space to park and back the MH off 25' for adjustment. I did a preliminary adjustment at 11:30 at night (tired) and the went for a drive. There wasn't "oh my gosh" results, but I wasn't overdriving the lights at 65mph.
The big improvement was the low beam/high beam upgrade. I could really light up the highway. I will drill the holes for the other adjuster this week and aim them again when I'm not tired.
The total project was.....hold on.....$600.00. I would recommend to most to do the wiring kit and new bulbs. If your lenses are shot, you may want to at least buy the aftermarket ones to get clear lenses again.
Hopes this helps.....I'll update this week after I find a better wall and can adjust the right/left adjustment.
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