9007 bulbs for Dodge Caravan, have tried Phillips Extreme Vision & GE Nighthawk NHX

9007 bulbs for Dodge Caravan, have tried Phillips Extreme Vision & GE Nighthawk NHX

Hello,

I have been running GE Nighthawk NHX 9007 bulbs based upon a search here in my 1998 Dodge Caravan which is notorious for poor headlight lighting.

I have also run the Phillips Extreme Vision bulbs. I like the GE Nighthawk NHX 9007 bulbs a bit more, but as noted during that search they don't last very long. I was able to squeeze a year and a half out of the first set which really surprised me but ever since it has been about 6 months per bulb max and my driving habits have changed.

Might you have any additional bulb suggestions? I have owned a few of these vans with the quad headlights and lighting has not been wonderful either.

The GE Nighthawk NHX 9007s have gotten me to the point where lighting is just good enough to drive at night but my lighting situation leaves much to be desired in comparison to my other vehicles.

Thank you again for your time.

Re: 9007 bulbs for Dodge Caravan, have tried Phillips Extreme Vision & GE Nighthawk N

ukiltmybrutha said:

The GE Nighthawk NHX 9007s have gotten me to the point where lighting is just good enough to drive at night

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Right, and unfortunately that's the choice you have to make: adequate nighttime seeing, or long bulb life. You can't have both. It's an obvious pick; even premium bulbs are cheaper than crashes.

but my lighting situation leaves much to be desired in comparison to my other vehicles.

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The '96-'00 Chrysler minivans have awful headlamps, and it's a pretty good bet yours (like most others) have degraded/clouded-up lenses and toasted reflectors. To fix that, you'll need a new set of genuine headlamps -- the aftermarket items are junk.

The wiring is too thin; there's a lot of voltage drop. Fix that this way.

Of course, the headlamps have to be aimed correctly.

Re: 9007 bulbs for Dodge Caravan, have tried Phillips Extreme Vision & GE Nighthawk N

-Virgil- said:

Right, and unfortunately that's the choice you have to make: adequate nighttime seeing, or long bulb life. You can't have both. It's an obvious pick; even premium bulbs are cheaper than crashes.



The '96-'00 Chrysler minivans have awful headlamps, and it's a pretty good bet yours (like most others) have degraded/clouded-up lenses and toasted reflectors. To fix that, you'll need a new set of genuine headlamps -- the aftermarket items are junk.

The wiring is too thin; there's a lot of voltage drop. Fix that this way.

Of course, the headlamps have to be aimed correctly.

Click to expand...

So well put as always Virgil. They are aimed painstakingly according to that URL. I never stopped to think about the voltage drop. I am on it!

I am sure that you somehow knew that I am running aftermarket headlamps and really have no excuses since you have mentioned that in every one of your posts. I'll see what the OEM ones cost. I am terrified. I am thankful that you have an understanding that the 3rd generation Chrysler minivans have notoriously bad headlamps even from the factory.

Thank you as usual for the tough love.

Re: 9007 bulbs for Dodge Caravan, have tried Phillips Extreme Vision & GE Nighthawk N

ukiltmybrutha said:

So well put as always Virgil. They are aimed painstakingly according to that URL. I never stopped to think about the voltage drop. I am on it!

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Remember, though, that as you fix the voltage drop you'll shorten the life even further. Intensity changes with changes voltage to the power of 3.4, life changes with changes in voltage to the power of -13.

I am sure that you somehow knew that I am running aftermarket headlamps and really have no excuses since you have mentioned that in every one of your posts.

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Well, that explains why even the premium bulbs have gotten [you] to the point where lighting is just good enough to drive at night. Really, they haven't even done that. There is no bulb that can undo the poor design and construction of an aftermarket headlamp. Increasing the voltage will make your bad headlamps brighter, but it won't otherwise improve them.

Re: 9007 bulbs for Dodge Caravan, have tried Phillips Extreme Vision & GE Nighthawk N

That's if genuine headlamps are even still really available, which they might or might not be. I see them here and here, but I'm still not 100% for sure. I don't have a Chrysler-product vehicle, but I understand Chrysler might have changed their line of crash parts for older vehicles, basically by supplying the cheap aftermarket junk at dealer-original-parts prices. So you'd want to watch out for that; if the ones you buy are marked or boxed as being made in China, don't accept them (or send them back).

You might want to consider this setup out of Europe instead, which puts Hella 90mm modules for low beam and high beam, plus a turn signal. It would be nice if they would sell the kit without the actual Hella modules, so you could select from the wide range available (European or USA spec, halogen/HID/LED, various price points, etc), but that might be pushing your luck. With or without that, though, the "six eyes" retrofit, with wiring upgrades as applicable, would do a better and more cost-effective job of solving the problem than can be achieved with real or aftermarket original-type headlamps.

Re: 9007 bulbs for Dodge Caravan, have tried Phillips Extreme Vision & GE Nighthawk N

Thank you both. Really appreciating this and digesting it all.

Re: 9007 bulbs for Dodge Caravan, have tried Phillips Extreme Vision & GE Nighthawk N

I had a couple 3rd generation Caravans. The worst headlights on any vehicle I've ever driven. If you are looking at the European projector set, I would caution you to contact the company first to verify they are actually using Hella modules. I bought a set for the Gen 4 Caravan. These: http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/282249222811?vxp=mtr

They were originally were selling for around $600 but I think they were closing out their stock. The projectors were not Hella and had some funky beam patterns and weird adjusters. I could probably modify them for Hella projectors but its not a drop in proposition.

Re: 9007 bulbs for Dodge Caravan, have tried Phillips Extreme Vision & GE Nighthawk N

Lee Dodge said:

I had a couple 3rd generation Caravans. The worst headlights on any vehicle I've ever driven. If you are looking at the European projector set, I would caution you to contact the company first to verify they are actually using Hella modules. I bought a set for the Gen 4 Caravan. These: http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/282249222811?vxp=mtr

They were originally were selling for around $600 but I think they were closing out their stock. The projectors were not Hella and had some funky beam patterns and weird adjusters. I could probably modify them for Hella projectors but its not a drop in proposition.

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Thank you for the warning!