Why Do My 9007 Bulbs Have Covers Over Them? 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan. Removable?

therock

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I am talking about OE 9007 headlight configs that have the little cover/sheild over the front of the Bulbs. Why is this and has anyone found out what happens if they are removed?

Thanks
 

Alaric Darconville

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I am talking about OE 9007 headlight configs that have the little cover/sheild over the front of the Bulbs. Why is this and has anyone found out what happens if they are removed?

They are glare shields. If they are removed, they expose other drivers to unnecessary glare.

The light they block is NOT useful to anyone. Not to you the driver, not to your passengers, and certainly not to other drivers. (Also, NO, they do not "capture light that would have been lost and redirect it". They just stop glare.)

The upshot of this is that they should not be removed. There is nothing to gain from removing them, and aside from losing a critical function (glare control), you also risk damaging the rest of the headlamp assembly.
 
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therock

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They are glare shields. If they are removed, they expose other drivers to unnecessary glare.

The light they block is NOT useful to anyone. Not to you the driver, not to your passengers, and certainly not to other drivers. (Also, NO, they do not "capture light that would have been lost and redirect it". They just stop glare.)

The upshot of this is that they should not be removed. There is nothing to gain from removing them, and aside from losing a critical function (glare control), you also risk damaging the rest of the headlamp assembly.

Thanks, Glad I asked, I am in the process of replacing the pitted assemblies on my 2002 Grand Caravan and adding a Putco Harness with some Clear 100Watt lamps and was going to experiment with the old assemblies but may abort that now.

I wish Kennedy Diesel would make a 9007 kit. Much heavier duty. I'm sure the Putco will suffice. The KD kit made an eye popping diff in my Truck
 
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Alaric Darconville

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Thanks, Glad I asked, I am in the process of replacing the pitted assemblies on my 2002 Grand Caravan
...with OEM (not "OEM-style", or anything other than genuine OEM) assemblies?

Clear 100 Watt lamps

Those CEC bulbs probably sacrifice a lot of focus, which means more glare for oncoming drivers, more glare for you, and less punch.

Go for a Philips X-Treme Power, or perhaps a GE Nighthawk Platinum (not "Sport"!).

The harnesses and relays are a good idea-- I don't know if Putco is good or not, however. Scheinwerfermann may (will/does/always) know(s) more than I do on that, I'm sure.
 

therock

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...with OEM (not "OEM-style", or anything other than genuine OEM) assemblies?
They are aftermarket, TYC I think, from rock auto.com. I could not afford the dealership price. Tell me why you ask. I would love to know the difference.
Those CEC bulbs probably sacrifice a lot of focus, which means more glare for oncoming drivers, more glare for you, and less punch.

Go for a Philips X-Treme Power, or perhaps a GE Nighthawk Platinum (not "Sport"!).

The harnesses and relays are a good idea-- I don't know if Putco is good or not, however. Scheinwerfermann may (will/does/always) know(s) more than I do on that, I'm sure.

You have me curious now because I have been running that brand lamps for years. They are very reliable. And amazing in my truck. Are you still talking about 100 W and those other brands. Do they have non-colors I do not want any colored lights.
 

Alaric Darconville

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They are aftermarket, TYC I think, from rock auto.com. I could not afford the dealership price. Tell me why you ask. I would love to know the difference.
Most aftermarket stuff is non-compliant junk.

These reports from CAPA (Certified Auto Parts Association) http://www.capacertified.org/press/CAPALighting2.pdf and http://www.capacertified.org/press/CAPALighting3.pdf show some real 'winners' from TYC and DEPO. Some examples did not even physically fit the vehicle for which they were "designed". Others may have fit but produced noncompliant beams, and probably also have noncompliant materials.

You have me curious now because I have been running that brand lamps for years. They are very reliable. And amazing in my truck. Are you still talking about 100 W and those other brands. Do they have non-colors I do not want any colored lights.

Both bulbs mentioned have some coloring, but on parts of the envelope that do not result in that color being part of the compliant beam. I'd rather they have NONE, but they must have done this to appease the people that want "style".
 

therock

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Most aftermarket stuff is non-compliant junk.

These reports from CAPA (Certified Auto Parts Association) http://www.capacertified.org/press/CAPALighting2.pdf and http://www.capacertified.org/press/CAPALighting3.pdf show some real 'winners' from TYC and DEPO. Some examples did not even physically fit the vehicle for which they were "designed". Others may have fit but produced noncompliant beams, and probably also have noncompliant materials.

WoW! I can only hope they have made some effort to improve since them and will see soon enough eh. At $200.00 each for the OE I just cannot do it.

Mercy!
 

therock

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Well, Heh, I sent an email to TYC Genera that included the links to the reports and asked them if things have changed since these 2003/2004 reports. I was told those issues were addressed. We shall see.

Hello Mr. XXXXX,

Thank you for your inquiry. We have long since addressed the issues raised in those reports. If you see different or disagree please contact me personally. There should not be any products made before the dates we upgraded our process remaining in anyone's inventory.

Thank you,


Mr. XXX McCxxxxx
[email protected]
 

-Virgil-

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It's understandable why you would want to upgrade your headlamps, but you're going about it in an unsafe way. Please change your plans and do it the right way -- for your benefit as well as everyone else you share the road with. Also please keep in mind that the lighting modifications/products you're asking about or recommending are illegal. Rule 11 of this board prohibits advocating illegal activity.

TYC's assurances are not credible, nor based in fact. Their stuff is (objectively) still grossly inferior to genuine lamps. But I have to ask what other response one could reasonably expect from a manufacturer of inferior knockoff junk! Think about it for a few moments: one couldn't reasonably expect to ask a manufacturer of cheap knockoff parts "Hi, does your stuff still suck?" and expect anything other than "Oh, no, of course not! Our stuff is great!". So I'm not sure what the point is of even asking in the first place.

Even more importantly: DO NOT RUN HIGH-WATTAGE BULBS of any brand. Doing so is not only illegal, but also guaranteed to melt down your new headlamps in short order, and extremely dangerous due to illegal levels of glare no matter how you aim the lamps, poorly-focused beams, electrical system damage/unreliability from the low-quality electrical components you have in mind).

And even if you were looking at standard-wattage bulbs, CEC is not a quality product. It is cheap, poorly-made junk with filaments nowhere near where they're supposed to be (=thoroughly destroyed beam focus). This is stuff you cannot see or evaluate with the untrained naked eye. It takes proper test equipment. However, the safety degradation is very real. That goes for the modifications it sounds as though you made to a truck of some kind, too.

There are two (and only two) 9007 bulbs you should consider using: the Philips Xtreme Power or the GE Night Hawk Platinum.

Relays and heavy-gauge/low-loss wiring are an excellent idea, but putting in off-brand (e.g., "Putco") parts means sooner or later, at random, your headlamps will fail while you're in the middle of needing them. This is not a smart or safe way forward. KD and Putco are far from the only choices; good-quality harnesses (and good-quality components to make your own harnesses) are readily available from various reliable vendors.

Finally, to answer your initial question in this thread: do not remove the bulb shields. Alaric Darconville has provided exactly the right explanation.
 
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therock

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It's understandable why you would want to upgrade your headlamps, but you're going about it in an unsafe way. Please change your plans and do it the right way -- for your benefit as well as everyone else you share the road with. Also please keep in mind that the lighting modifications/products you're asking about or recommending are illegal. Rule 11 of this board prohibits advocating illegal activity.

Sorry, I guess I'm ignorant of these facts but not any more.

TYC's assurances are not credible, nor based in fact. Their stuff is (objectively) still grossly inferior to genuine lamps. But I have to ask what other response one could reasonably expect from a manufacturer of inferior knockoff junk! Think about it for a few moments: one couldn't reasonably expect to ask a manufacturer of cheap knockoff parts "Hi, does your stuff still suck?" and expect anything other than "Oh, no, of course not! Our stuff is great!". So I'm not sure what the point is of even asking in the first place.

Oh I agree for sure, I was not sucked in, just passing along the response, and like I said I will see soon because they are already shipped. I'm going to make comparisons for sure.

Even more importantly: DO NOT RUN HIGH-WATTAGE BULBS of any brand. Doing so is not only illegal, but also guaranteed to melt down your new headlamps in short order, and extremely dangerous due to illegal levels of glare no matter how you aim the lamps, poorly-focused beams, electrical system damage/unreliability from the low-quality electrical components you have in mind).

I hear you. As ignorant of the above that I am I would never run them in a stock harness. I have 65k miles on the Kennedy Diesel / 100w CES with no burnt or discolored sockets. Just sayin. The Putco seems to be fine but the relays are yet to be proven to me. Not sure what to do now though. Got lots to think about. The KD harness and relays are real quality stuff though.

And even if you were looking at standard-wattage bulbs, CEC is not a quality product. It is cheap, poorly-made junk with filaments nowhere near where they're supposed to be (=thoroughly destroyed beam focus). This is stuff you cannot see or evaluate with the untrained naked eye. It takes proper test equipment. However, the safety degradation is very real. That goes for the modifications it sounds as though you made to a truck of some kind, too.

Thanks, I had no idea, thats why I'm here I guess.

There are two (and only two) 9007 bulbs you should consider using: the Philips Xtreme Power or the GE Night Hawk Platinum.

I'll be sure and look into them.

Relays and heavy-gauge/low-loss wiring are an excellent idea, but putting in off-brand (e.g., "Putco") parts means sooner or later, at random, your headlamps will fail while you're in the middle of needing them. This is not a smart or safe way forward. KD and Putco are far from the only choices; good-quality harnesses (and good-quality components to make your own harnesses) are readily available from various reliable vendors.

Please put me onto the other vendors as I have Google'd my behind off and cannot find any others.

Finally, to answer your initial question in this thread: do not remove the bulb shields. Alaric Darconville has provided exactly the right explanation.

In my lack of insight defense, I only want better high beams. The OE 2002 Grand Caravan's are a joke. Flipping to the high beams is almost no change. I run in country where Deer and dark roads abound and love my high beams on the truck now. The low beams are stock.
What ever I wind up with I never aim my beams higher then legal and If I start getting flashed at night I know to take a hint and make corrections. I get really pissed when I am followed or confronted by a vehicle with poorly aimed beams, or are obviously modified with no respect to others. So I make sure I am not one of those. I just need better high beams on the van.

So, if the TYC's are better then my old cloudy OE's and do not deffuse all over the place I may keep them. As for the harness I would still like a lamp and wiring upgrade. Thanks for the blunt info. I admit I needed it. Please put me onto any harness vendors that you can?
 

-Virgil-

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You might check with Daniel Stern and see what he has to say.

Whether or not you get flashed at night is not a reliable or adequate measure of whether your headlamps are producing problematic or dangerous or illegal levels of glare. High-wattage bulbs in those headlamps will create dangerous and illegal levels of glare no matter how you aim them.

A brighter bulb does not turn a bad headlamp optic into a good one, it just makes a brighter mess. If you want to see well in that vehicle, you'll have to either put in better headlamp assemblies (the European-market units for that van are extremely good; Chrysler spent a lot more money on them than on the home-market lamps) or add a pair of carefully chosen auxiliary high beam ("driving") lamps.
 

therock

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You might check with Daniel Stern and see what he has to say.

Whether or not you get flashed at night is not a reliable or adequate measure of whether your headlamps are producing problematic or dangerous or illegal levels of glare. High-wattage bulbs in those headlamps will create dangerous and illegal levels of glare no matter how you aim them.

I know what you mean believe me. I see drivers run with their high beams on and pass a line of cars that none of which gave a flash to please dim gesture. I'm not a total fool. I understand your point but please give me a little credit. Sure, I did not know the illegal implications but I am not so dumb I would go around blinding folks for the sake of having better lighting. I aim my lights and if I keep getting flashed from time to time while running my low beams I can take a hint. The fact I am here asking and listening should indicate I at least have some degree of intelligence. At least enough to want to get it right.

A brighter bulb does not turn a bad headlamp optic into a good one, it just makes a brighter mess. If you want to see well in that vehicle, you'll have to either put in better headlamp assemblies (the European-market units for that van are extremely good; Chrysler spent a lot more money on them than on the home-market lamps) or add a pair of carefully chosen auxiliary high beam ("driving") lamps.

If you have a link or search term for those it would be great. I cannot find them. To invest $200.00 per for the US OE is not very exciting, but the European possibility has me curious.

As far as TYC, yes they do have a bad rep I am finding out. Those reports were in 2003 & 2004 so I'm not going to be so fast to judge. Although I am not very optimistic.

What a can of worms!
 

therock

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Well, We are whittling it down. I found what is claimed to be the OE assemblies it claims to be "Genuine Original Equipment" for $167.90 opposed to the Dealership $197.00 here. Heh! I don't give up easy. Nor do I settle for trash. :scowl:

Still cannot find info on Euro versions but its an older van so...
 

-Virgil-

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The European headlamps are going to be a "catch as catch can" item on foreign eBay sites. Here's an auction for left and right excellent used ones.

Each lamp takes an H7 low beam bulb and an H7 high beam bulb. There's much more light within the beams, which are also much better focused and much more effectively distributed.
 

therock

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The European headlamps are going to be a "catch as catch can" item on foreign eBay sites. Here's an auction for left and right excellent used ones.

Each lamp takes an H7 low beam bulb and an H7 high beam bulb. There's much more light within the beams, which are also much better focused and much more effectively distributed.

Thank You. I sent a request to ship to the US. Fingers Crossed.
 

therock

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Can you give me the search term so I can keep an eye out?

Thanks
 

Alaric Darconville

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I might add that when getting UN headlamps, take care to get them for the proper traffic directionality. You'll want them for a vehicle made for Right Hand Traffic (like our own), not for Left Hand Traffic (such as the UK or Malta). Although it's easy to conflate "left hand drive" with "right hand traffic", and "right hand drive" with "left hand traffic", be sure that the lamps are described and marked as being for RHT. (However, it may well be that there are no LHT Grand Caravans or their variants that would use these lamps.)
 

therock

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I might add that when getting UN headlamps, take care to get them for the proper traffic directionality. You'll want them for a vehicle made for Right Hand Traffic (like our own), not for Left Hand Traffic (such as the UK or Malta). Although it's easy to conflate "left hand drive" with "right hand traffic", and "right hand drive" with "left hand traffic", be sure that the lamps are described and marked as being for RHT. (However, it may well be that there are no LHT Grand Caravans or their variants that would use these lamps.)

Thanks, he has ship to Europe so we will see. He also has "Or best offer" and I offered full price after knowing what the shipping will be. It looks like he uses DHL.
 

therock

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What H7 bulbs would you put into those? I am not familiar with H7's. Do they come in Hi & Low beam or are they the same but for Wattage's?

Thanks
 
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