bob_b
Souderton, PA
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Joined: 08/15/2003
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I installed a set of Sylvania Silverstars and then rewired so that juice comes directly from the battery via a 30-amp relay. The 14-guage wiring that was used from the factory was burning out my headlamp switch prematurely and robbing voltage to the headlights. Now I have an 8-guage wire giving plenty of juice to the headlights. What a difference! The headlamp switch only provides the small amps needed to open the relay instead of powering the light.
'93 Itasca Suncrusier diesel towing a '05 Honda CR-V.
Bob, Pam(DW), Bridget(DD) and Christine(DD)
See you at most of the Penn State tailgates
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gkall
Michigan
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Joined: 08/25/2009
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I did the same relay thing. Easy to do and made a big difference. Aiming the lights hepled a bunch too.
Greg
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rgatijnet1
Florida
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Joined: 06/22/2009
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Before you rewire your headlights, measure the voltage with the headlights on. If the voltage is above 12 volts under a full load, there is plenty of power getting to the light bulbs.
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Mike Schriber
San Diego, CA
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Joined: 10/29/2004
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Thanks for all the replies. The voltage is down but not enough to make me think rewiring will solve the problem. I'm game to try the HID conversion. The price is right and with the harness I end up rewiring anyway. As an added bonus, DDM Tuning is in San Diego (and only a few miles away from my office). I'll take a look and see what bulbs the motorhome uses and order a set tomorrow.
Mike
2006 Damon Daybreak 3276 37' bunkhouse
2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited
SoCal Family Campers
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Desert1667
Pa
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Please keep in mind that any Halogen bulb get's dimmer with age.If its over 5 years old it could be 1/3 less then new. I have Silverstar Ultra's in everything I own. Big difference over OEM.
Have never hade one burn out yet, Maybe I'm just lucky ,5 years and counting.
Ps: The relay with a larger gauge wire would be my second choice.
Michael
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fcooper
Richmond Hill, Georgia
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Joined: 09/23/2003
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I posted earlier about the hid conversion. Tonight, I was driving the motorhome in a dark area approaching a turn. I watched for the first reflection off the street sign that I knew was at my turn. When I saw that sign reflected, the gps distance to the turn was 8/10th mile. My old headlights certainly did not work that well.
Fred
* This post was
edited 07/23/10 06:46am by fcooper *
Fred & Vicki
Richmond Hill, Ga
2000 Holiday Rambler Endeavor/Freightliner/330 Cat
2000 Honda Odyssey toad w SMI Silent Partner braking system
Tire Sentry monitoring system
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Mike Schriber
San Diego, CA
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Thanks for that info Fred. I'm looking forward to trying the HID lights. Speaking of... did you guys go with the Apexcone Raptor lights or the DDM lights with slim ballasts?
Thanks!
Mike
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wny_pat
Western NYS
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fcooper wrote:My experience with silverstar is they are brighter, but don't last very long. Don't last very long at all!!! And that is understating it.
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fcooper
Richmond Hill, Georgia
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Mike wrote:Speaking of... did you guys go with the Apexcone Raptor lights or the DDM lights with slim ballasts?
I got the Apexcone Raptor V2 Mid Sized HID kit (35 watt) with Hi/Lo bulb in bulb color 4500K. Kit was $30, Hi/Lo Bulb added $20, and shipping was $17.
If you order from them, don't be impatient. I had to wait about 3 weeks, they didn't return my phone call, they didn't provide tracking info, but the kit did finally arrive.
The package will not include instructions. The instructions are included on their web site and are well documented.
If you get the Hi/Lo kit, you may have one wire not inserted into a connector. This is because the kit will fit different vehicles that use different HI/LO signals. Once you determine which connector pin that one wire needs to match, the pin can be inserted into the plastic socket. I also had a clearance problem with the plastic ring that held the old bulb into position. With the new bulb, it would not fit properly until I removed a portion of the old plastic ring.
I stored my old halogen bulbs in the coach. The way the kit is made, you could convert back to the old bulbs very quickly if the HID kit ever failed.
Fred
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Mike Schriber
San Diego, CA
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Thanks Fred! How long ago did you get them? I think I'm going to use a 55 watt kit (why not go all the way?).
I wonder what the practical difference is between the DDM kit and the Apexcone? Gotta do some more research!
Mike
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