99 Dodge Ram 2500 Sport Headlight Conversion

firefighter_2000

Premium Member
Member
May 22, 2010
233
7
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Bauxite Arkansas
Okay... I know this is not exactly warning lights, but it is related. I posted this over on the turbo diesel register, and thought I'd share it here. The second generation dodge rams had marginal lighting for the headlights and were pretty dim even on high beams. I've converted mine to the sport headlights. They are MUCH brighter at night, and saftey is greatly improved.


Here is a shot of my truck with the OLD headlights. Very dim, and NOT safe.


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Headlight Assemblies: Purchased from Headlightsdepot on ebay. Cost: $168.45 including shipping. Excellent quality light assemblies. Made by TYC in Taiwan. Both 9004 & 9007 bulbs are included. Only problem is the rubber welts. Not the best quality in my opinion.


They arrived taped together (two separate boxes one for each headlight)


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They were packaged well, wrapped in plastic.


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View of the front:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0269.jpg


View of the top:


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View of the bottom:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0273.jpg


View of the Back:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0274.jpg


View of the side: Notice the rubber welts. They weren’t as good quality as my old ones. I removed the old ones and installed them in place of these.


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Headlight Harness: Purchased from SUV lights. Cost: $153.00 including shipping. There are TWO of these. One for each side. Great harness, VERY well put together. Not sure on the quality of the materials. Everything has oriental writing on it. May be just fine, but just not sure.


From left: Relays/Relay sockets; Two 25 amp fues/holders; 9004 female plug for wiring FROM old headlight plug; 9004 plug; 9007 plug.


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Close up of relays. The black with white wires comes from the headlight plug, goes to ground on one relay, and loops to the other ground on the other relay The reds, at the bottoms of the plug, come from the fuse/battery. The blue & white wires head back to the plugs to the new bulbs, one for low beam, one for high beam:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0277.jpg


Close up of fuse holders (25 amps each):


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0278.jpg


Female plug for old plug from old headlight; This is what activates the relays. Black with white stripe heads back to grounds on the relays, the blue & white ones head to the "activation" side of the relay. One for low beams, one for high beams.


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0279.jpg


Plugs for bulbs in the headlights. They are marked from SUV lights which one goes to the 9004 & 9007, as marked in second photo. The black wire with ring terminal is a ground and just goes to a nearby fender bolt.


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Removal of old headlights:


Removed the screw under the corner light (Phillips head) and pulled straight forward. Remove the bulb and discard the housing.


Remove the three 10mm bolts holding the housing in:


Under the corner light:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0282.jpg


Top corner of the headlight:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0283.jpg


Bottom, under the bumper. Accessed from under the truck:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0284.jpg


Actually jerked the old housing from the mounting base to get it out. Removed the headlight bulb;


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0285.jpg


Housing and mounting base both removed. No cutting required on mine, as is on some of the earlier non-sport models.


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0287.jpg


After I got the old headlights out, it was determined that bumper removal was going to be required to make installation easier & safer. Didn’t want to risk breaking the new ones. Didn’t take any photos of the bumper removal or installation of the headlights. Didn’t remove the bumper brackets (3 bolts) but just removed the bumper from the mounts. Kinda a PITA, but worth it, and much easier for installation. Its VERY straight-forward. Remove the corner light, install the three 10mm bolts and stick the bumper back on. Sorry for no photos, but there was some colorful language and some throwing of tools to get the bumper off and back on.


Finished installation:


Very happy with the finished product. Great fit. Great looks. And most of all, GREAT light output & visibility at night. Up & down adjustments can be made with the Phillips head adjuster under the bottom of the light housing. Side to side adjustment is on the side, under the rubber welts.


Front view passenger side:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0288.jpg


Side view passenger side:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0289.jpg


Front view drivers side:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0290.jpg


Side view drivers side:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0291.jpg


Rubber welt:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0300.jpg


Full front view:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0292.jpg


Wire harness zip-tied to the battery hold down bolt:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0297.jpg


Plug from the old headlight plug going into the harness and the two ground wires going to the front 10mm fender bolt. I put a washer down, then the ring terminals, then screwed the bolt back down:


ai95.photobucket.com_albums_l128_firefighter_2000_Sport_20Headlights_20Installation_000_0299.jpg


Last… Did the fog light modification. Jumped pin 3 & 5 (as marked on the relay I removed). This is specific to the 1999 models. Other years are different.


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