Dakota Headlights

[Mopar Tim]

I will say slantsixdan is outspoken BUT I agree with him 110 percent!! Even my 2012 Ram 3500 had **** OE lights! Can you imagine after market? BUY THE FACTORY LIGHTS!!!!!!!! It is a safety part. Bite the bullet!! ITS YOUR LIFE!!! WOW.
And I get pissed off with morons that have bought after market lights and blind me coming towards me at night. I want to throttle them!!

EDIT: Please excuse my colorful language, I am Adamant about this. BE SAFE PLEASE. It may be me you hit!

 

[slantsixdan]

Actually, that's not necessarily true, especially with Dorman

Dorman markets a lot of parts I don't hesitate to use. But this thread's about headlamps, and in this particular case I'm right and you're, well…not.

I've pulled parts out of the Dorman box that were actually just re-boxed OE

If any of them were headlamps, I will buy you a six pack of whatever you drink.

 

[slantsixdan]

I will say slantsixdan is outspoken

Thank you, that's one of the nicer things I get called.

Even my 2012 Ram 3500 had **** OE lights!

The Ram didn't get half-decent lights until '13, and then only if you spent for one of the deluxe trim levels. The Jeep Wrangler still has pathetic headlamps, and that would be one of the easiest, least costly ones to upgrade, but they move super-slow on it because they feel the Wrangler buyer cares more about tradition than they do about seeing at night. That's not a guess on my part; that's the actual answer I got when I asked the people who actually make that decision.

BUY THE FACTORY LIGHTS!!!!!!!! It is a safety part.

I have this argument all the time. "I want [halos, angel eyes, blackouts, projectors, switchbacks, LEDs, HID kit, etc]", I tell them they'll be sharply increasing their likelihood of being in a crash or hitting a pedestrian and recommend the factory lights, they carp and bellyache about how the factory lights are boring. Ummm…they're not fashion toys, they're life-safety equipment.

Even worse: "I need brighter brake light bulbs because I put blackout nightshades tint on the lenses, it looks great but I need a brighter bulb".

Even worse than that: "I bought [[halos, angel eyes, blackouts, projectors, switchbacks, LEDs, HID kit, etc] and I must of done something wrong because I can't hardly see at night"...then I have to tell them they won't be able to see at night until they start all over again with new factory lights. :-(

 

[RustyRatRod]

I agree with Dan that ALL the aftermarket replacements are low quality.

That said, when I repaired Kitty's Escape when she hit the deer, I used the Dorman replacements and they work well. Just as good as the factory lights, IMO. Your results may vary.

 

[67redcudavert]

Actually I do get flashed on occasion while driving my wife's 98 Wrangler which has the original basic old style 7" round halogen sealed beam bulbs, which are pretty bright. And the factory did a pretty good job of aiming them, they're not shining into oncoming traffic.

Dan, I have a question about my Dakota lights. If the headlights were mediocre at best when the truck was new, how are new parts going to be any better. And their problem isn't their aim, but a lack of some somewhat focused light being projected forward. They just give off light that kind of lights up the area immediately in front of you.

I'm open to suggestions on what kind of light would be better.

 

[crackedback]

I am A-flipping-mazed that Slant6Dan hasn't posted on this yet.

Trailbeast is looking up some headlight relays for my older Dak. All the current goes through the switch. Ugh. Have you looked into this?

jos,

I think you may have been referring to me. I did find some connectors that work on the 9007 headlight bulbs. I'd have to order them and they are more expensive than the standard headlight ceramic connectors. I can definitely put a relay kit together for a Dakota with the correct connectors.

 

[slantsixdan]

If the headlights were mediocre at best when the truck was new, how are new parts going to be any better.

They'll be better for being new instead of old. The more important point is that the aftermarket junk will be worse than mediocre.

I'm open to suggestions on what kind of light would be better.

Recipe for decent seeing already given.

 

[slantsixdan]

I agree with Dan that ALL the aftermarket replacements are low quality. That said, when I repaired Kitty's Escape when she hit the deer, I used the Dorman replacements and they work well. Just as good as the factory lights, IMO.

Those last three letters (IMO) are the problem. The difficulty is, what we feel like we're seeing isn't what we're actually seeing. The human visual system is a lousy judge of how well it's doing. It's not just you, it's everyone; we humans are just not well equipped to accurately evaluate how well or poorly we can see (or how well a headlamp works). Our subjective impressions tend to be very far out of line with objective, real measurements of how well we can (or can't) see. So it's very easy to have a situation where we feel like our headlamps are useless but in fact they're doing an adequate job of keeping us safe, or where we feel like we have good (or adequate, or just as good as original, etc) seeing when in fact we don't.

This is why headlamp technical standards are in objective, measurable terms, not subjective terms that have a tester look at the beam and say "Yep, looks OK to me". A very large range of performance is allowed in a legal headlamp, though -- unfortunately there's a lot of room in the standard for mediocre headlamps -- so even on the occasion that the knockoff headlamps actually do meet the standards, that doesn't make them equal to the originals.

 

[jos51700]

Huh?
First I heard of it.

Did I miss something?
Forget something?

No, you didn't, I'm a retard and I meant this guy:

jos,

I think you may have been referring to me. I did find some connectors that work on the 9007 headlight bulbs. I'd have to order them and they are more expensive than the standard headlight ceramic connectors. I can definitely put a relay kit together for a Dakota with the correct connectors.

I'll take it.

 

[clhyer]

Thanks again Dan, I really appreciate your inputting to this thread.
Cal

 

[slantsixdan]

Shirley!

 

[Oaktree]

I have a 2000 Dakota that I bought new that now has 228K on it. Overall, it has been a good truck, very little trouble with it. That said, there are a couple items on it that have been mediocre since day one, the headlights and the heater.

I have spoken with other Dakota/Durango owners and they were in agreement with me. When it's below 10 degrees the heater will keep you from freezing but not really warm.

They must have made some changes between 00 & 02. I had an '88 Dakota and the heater in that was no great shakes, but the one in my '02 is a blast furnace! Even in sub-zero temperatures it'll get that cab warm in no time. My only complaints on the heater are that the temperature control is kinda vague...over much of it's range not much change but there's a spot about mid-way where a small change makes a big difference. Also, the lowest fan speed is a bit too high...turn fan on and roast, turn fan off and windows fog up. I've been meaning to fiddle with resistors to drop the speed down a bit but haven't gotten around to it.

As far as headlights on it, they're OK. Only in the last year or so have I had to polish 'em. I can't think of anything I've driven where they were better, but I've sure driven a lot that were worse. All in all I haven't been real impressed with headlights since they got away from sealed beams. Maybe there are some makes that have "good" modern lights but I haven't driven any of them.