Guest tbutera2112 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 my lights on my car are dim as shit...i have about 40ft of vision at the most with my lowbeams on... i never noticed it being this bad when i got the car, but after hitting a deer ive been paying more attention and realized that i cant see anything...hell ill be sitting behind a car at a red light and the brake lights reflect off the ground and cancel out the light from my headlights...its nuts what could cause this? i know the car didnt come like this, hell i dont even think it was like this when i bought it because when i bought it i was overly happy with the light output...i took this pic yesterday or the day before any reccomendations on headlight bulbs that would make it brighter? halogen bulbs not HIDs do i maybe just need new bulbs? my housings dont look yellow or fogged up or anything.... i havent washed them in awhile but it rained the other day.... maybe theyre just dirty? heres the only pic i have of the headlight housing, and unfortunately the light is on because i was taking pics for another headlight issue the other day... but you can see it doesnt look faded or anything http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i82/SaleenSS90/CIMG1417.jpg any ideas? im tired of driving blind at night time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Removed Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 foggy lens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 foggy like condensation or fading? the housing dont look faded (as far as i can tell) and ive never noticed moisture in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Removed Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 covered in clear? lol j/k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 do you think new bulbs would fix it? ide be willing to buy the silverstars or ultrastars or whatever the hell they are if they actually work better than normal shit...i always thought that all halogens were equal though....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 The silverstars work better, but have you checked how they're aimed? Sometimes they don't get aimed well after an accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 The silverstars work better, but have you checked how they're aimed? Sometimes they don't get aimed well after an accident. they are aimed perfectly, there just isnt any light output they were bad before i hit the deer, and were not affected afterwards do bulbs get dimmer as they get older? do you think a set of silverstars would help enough to justify the cost, or would it be a marginal difference to what ive got now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 they are aimed perfectly, there just isnt any light output they were bad before i hit the deer, and were not affected afterwards do bulbs get dimmer as they get older? do you think a set of silverstars would help enough to justify the cost, or would it be a marginal difference to what ive got now? They do dim as they age, and I do think Silverstars are worth the money but I just want to make sure that there isn't some other problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffro Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 a guy at work was having the same issue. his low beams were really dim, but his highs were normal. turned out to be a fuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpfiend Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 I put the silverstars in my wife's acura RSX... while they were brighter they burned out in less than 6 months! I went back to the factory style bulbs and they have lasted for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Your next modification needs to be to swap an HID Kit in there. You already have the projectors. I'm going to do this on my wife's minivan come summertime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Your next modification needs to be to swap an HID Kit in there. You already have the projectors. I'm going to do this on my wife's minivan come summertime. Having projectors does not = HID Ready. A full oem hid swap is in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 don't know for sure on SAAB but a buddy of mine converted his MS3 non "GT" that came with Halogen standard and all he had to add was the internals. Lined up next to my car and it's a perfect match to my OEM set up. Having projectors does not = HID Ready. A full oem hid swap is in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1647545494 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 looks like a weak ground or corroded connection at the lamp try just unplugging the lamp and then plugging it back in you can also loosen and retighten all the grounds for the lighting system and see if it helps. if you get nothing from doing any of that have rob teach you how to do a voltage drop test and work backwards from the lamp untill you find the bad wire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farkas Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 I'm suprised noone has suggested checking grounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1647545494 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 looks like a weak ground or corroded connection at the lamp ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 don't know for sure on SAAB but a buddy of mine converted his MS3 non "GT" that came with Halogen standard and all he had to add was the internals. Lined up next to my car and it's a perfect match to my OEM set up. Unfortunately, the halogen projectors will never have the correct cutoff. They are literally built to completely different specifications due to the immense difference between the two. Anything is better than the retards sticking the HID kits into their non-projector housings and blinding half the highway. So fucking stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farkas Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 ... lol, don't know how I missed that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 This: a guy at work was having the same issue. his low beams were really dim, but his highs were normal. turned out to be a fuse. and this: looks like a weak ground or corroded connection at the lamp try just unplugging the lamp and then plugging it back in you can also loosen and retighten all the grounds for the lighting system and see if it helps. if you get nothing from doing any of that have rob teach you how to do a voltage drop test and work backwards from the lamp untill you find the bad wire Could also be a weak alternator. Lights don't just dim that much even when they're old. They're more likely to just go out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedfocus1647545489 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 +1 on voltage drop being the likely culprit. It's very common with older jeeps for instance (but alot of cars are similarly designed) because the wiring to the bulbs is poorly designed and undersized even for stock wattage bulbs. Then over the years corroded connections and breaks just conspire to make it worse. Usually going up a size in wires helps alot, but you can also add in a relay and run higher wattage bulbs for a greater increase in output. Sounds like you just want a "normal" amount of light, so I'd start with the wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 thanks for the suggestions everyone...ill have to play with it some day when its a little nicer out and see what i can find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGU Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 take the projector lens out the head light out and then clean that. after time they get dirty. im sure theres more of an issue but this will help you some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 when you hit the deer was there any damage that had to be repaired by a shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Removed Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 looks like a weak ground or corroded connection at the lamp try just unplugging the lamp and then plugging it back in you can also loosen and retighten all the grounds for the lighting system and see if it helps. if you get nothing from doing any of that have rob teach you how to do a voltage drop test and work backwards from the lamp untill you find the bad wire agreed..alot of newer cars have to small of wiring on the bulbs and burn up easy when you hit the deer was there any damage that had to be repaired by a shop? no, it was just the lower bumper cover that was repaired Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 if it was an issue with the connection at the lens, wouldnt only 1 light be dimmed? ill have to figure out where/if these lights are connected and look around there,i will check my grounds too ide buy some silverstars, but if they only lasted 6 months i dont wanna bother...ide get maybe 3 outta them since my headlights come on with the ignition and cannot be shut off unless the car is shut off...theyd burn up quick being on all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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