LED headlights?

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DukeTheDuster

DukeTheDuster

Duke The Duster
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Hey everyone, I was wondering if there are any plug and play led headlights for a 1974 Plymouth Duster? My headlights are really dim and are pretty much useless at this point, and I want something bright so if I’m driving at night I won’t be struggling to see the road! Thanks!
 
DukeTheDuster said:
Hey everyone, I was wondering if there are any plug and play led headlights for a 1974 Plymouth Duster? My headlights are really dim and are pretty much useless at this point, and I want something bright so if I’m driving at night I won’t be struggling to see the road! Thanks!
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Putting better lights in isn't going to help much for the money spent unless you take care of the voltage drop issue's between the battery and the bulbs.
Do some reading up on headlight relay kits.
Believe me after a relay setup for your lights you won't need LED's
A relay setup for my lights and some GE Nighthawk bulbs makes more light than I need and even more than some oncoming drivers think is necessary. :D
Out member @crackedback can explain why and help you with that.
 
There was a thread where a guy on here bought some jeep LED headlamps and used em on his 64-65 cuda. Had to machine down some of thecooling fins to fit in the headlamp bucket. Pretty pricy but nice. Even though LEDs draw less than regular lights, trailbeast is correct about the voltage drop. The power has to run about 12'-15' total length to get to the lights. This results in about 10v output voltage at the lights when its wired stock, plus melted hi beam plugs, and bulkhead connectors when the **** gets old and crusty. Even with more efficient LEDs its still a good idea to run a relay setup to provide power from the battery directly to the lights, and take the load off the bulkhead connector, headlamp switch and high beam switch.
 
TrailBeast said:
Putting better lights in isn't going to help much for the money spent unless you take care of the voltage drop issue's between the battery and the bulbs.
Do some reading up on headlight relay kits.
Believe me after a relay setup for your lights you won't need LED's
A relay setup for my lights and some GE Nighthawk bulbs makes more light than I need and even more than some oncoming drivers think is necessary. :D
Out member @crackedback can explain why and help you with that.
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This!!

Crackedback is a wealth of information. His technical suggestions are sound and the upgrade kits he sells are high quality and work exceptionally well. I have his kit in my car and the difference is amazing!
 
I think JW Speaker and Truck Lights (I cant recall their name) are the two best. Anything else is junk. Plan to spend $600+
 
moparmat2000 said:
There was a thread where a guy on here bought some jeep LED headlamps and used em on his 64-65 cuda. Had to machine down some of thecooling fins to fit in the headlamp bucket. Pretty pricy but nice. Even though LEDs draw less than regular lights, trailbeast is correct about the voltage drop. The power has to run about 12'-15' total length to get to the lights. This results in about 10v output voltage at the lights when its wired stock, plus melted hi beam plugs, and bulkhead connectors when the **** gets old and crusty. Even with more efficient LEDs its still a good idea to run a relay setup to provide power from the battery directly to the lights, and take the load off the bulkhead connector, headlamp switch and high beam switch.
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I also converted over to LED's on my '71 Duster. Yes, I had to grind a few fins to make them lay flat, not a big deal. The end result is a cleaner, clearer, brighter light, I am more at ease driving at night now. I bought the 7" LED's for a 2014 Jeep at $79.- pair, and never looked back.

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DukeTheDuster said:
Hey everyone, I was wondering if there are any plug and play led headlights for a 1974 Plymouth Duster? My headlights are really dim and are pretty much useless at this point, and I want something bright so if I’m driving at night I won’t be struggling to see the road! Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have been running the JW Speaker 8700 Evolution 2 headlights since 2017 and I absolutely love them. There is a company called Truck Lite or something like that that makes some LED lights that look much more original looking than what I have, you may want to do a youtube or google search for LED headlight reviews. I picked mine from the reviews and the pattern that they throw out, not for general aesthetics to impress people.

Here's the install.

What Are You Doing To/With Your Car Today?
 
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A relay kit and $15 GE nighthawks will do wonders for our old cars. I've picked up the headlights for as little as $5 each on sale.

I don't like the look of LED lights and just because something is "brighter" doesn't mean it works in a range that your eye will pick up. There are a lot of LED lights out there that are not very good, so pick carefully if you go that route.

Pick your parts, pay your money.
 
We wired in a circuit breaker and dual relay set up along with LED headlights with Angel eye halos. The results are outstanding.

But, as previously mentioned, doing the relay upgrade and fixing other wiring issues at the bulkhead connection is key. The only reason we upgraded the headlights is because Jason, my son, wanted the angel Eye halos, which we wired in with the parking lights so that they go off when the headlights are turned on.

I hope this helps. Eric

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JW Speakers, relayed and entire car re-wired. No bulkhead connector.
I had to pie-cut the headlight bucket a little to make it work. The headlights are fantastic!

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I'm not a fan of circuit breakers in a headlight system. A self-resetting model will keep turning back on and continue to burn up stuff if there is an issue. I prefer an independent wiring/redundancy approach for each side, high/low. If one side fails, the other should still be live to allow you to get stopped. A circuit breaker may not provide that and a manual reset one is dark until you get stopped.

Relays, even with LED lights, are a much better method to get clean power to the headlights.

Buy good relays... the failure rates on chinese relays are VERY high. I've sold thousands of relays over the years. I've had one failure and that I believe was do to some bodywork chemicals attacking the contacts, Ospho or similar. Spend the extra money on Tyco/Bosch stuff!

Just food for thought.


Clean compartment @pauly v.100
 
Here is what I installed in my 73. A little grinding on the back side to get them to fully seat in the bucket. 90941-5 Grote. Very good quality light, about $160 each. As close to stock look as I can find.

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DukeTheDuster said:
Hey everyone, I was wondering if there are any plug and play led headlights for a 1974 Plymouth Duster? My headlights are really dim and are pretty much useless at this point, and I want something bright so if I’m driving at night I won’t be struggling to see the road! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Plug and Play:
LED Best bet is to look into the various posts about the JW Speakers or Trucklites in terms of fit and modifications. Also be sure the patterns these lights produce within the beam (called artifacts) won't bother you since its a big investment.

Sealed Beams https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H29WN2/?tag=fabo03-20
Properly aimed, and with a relay system attached to the alternator output, this is low cost effective upgrade.

Seperate lamp housing with H4/HB2 bulbs Hella 'Visionplus' or Cibie 7" lamps with a good Philips or Narva +30 or +50 Bulb.
Properly aimed, and with a relay system attached to the alternator output, this is a moderately cost effective upgrade. A lot of people like these lamps, which also meet ECE standards, for their performance in fog and drizzle.

One problem with the headlamps that keeps coming is the wiring. The a-bodies in particular have the most mininimal sized headlight wiring and when there is oxidation, corrosion, or any other connection issues it only gets worse. That wiring might not have been marginal for the 40 /50 Watt lamps of the mid 60s but the lamps that came out after that drew more current.

There's also a chance you currently have H6024 with 35Watt low beams. Many put less light on the road than their non-halogen 6014 counterparts. Apparently some people thought it was a good idea to use the slight improvement in efficiency to make lamps that used less power to meet minimum lighting requirements. Brilliant! Not.
 
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I would contact SlantSix Dan for a headlight recommendation and cracked back for a relay kit. Then u will have the best of both worlds. Kim
 
I found these and wanted to know if they would work! The only thing I don’t know about is wiring them up, or if they’ll just connect to the harness!

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This is what the backside of our lights look like. Any bigger than this and they will not fit. These just barely fit without trimming.

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Just a side-question to this discussion that may push me over the edge...is there any weight savings to be had by switching to LEDs? I know that headlights are the heaviest component in the car but stock ones are all glass and they're wayyy up front where they have the most (or nearly the most) significant impact on weight distribution.
I'm liking those Grote lights. Looking as stock as possible is a top priority, IMO.
 
MRGTX said:
Just a side-question to this discussion that may push me over the edge...is there any weight savings to be had by switching to LEDs? I know that headlights are the heaviest component in the car but stock ones are all glass and they're wayyy up front where they have the most (or nearly the most) significant impact on weight distribution.
I'm liking those Grote lights. Looking as stock as possible is a top priority, IMO.
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The led headlights are often heavier do to the heat sinks.
 
Interesting that the heat sinks would make these weigh more than an incandescent sealed beam! One advantage of LEDs was supposed to be a greater portion of the input power being used to make light rather than heat, No? Even if they drew the same amperage, the LEDs should either be cooler, brighter or both.
 
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