Dodge dart headlight bulbs?

[jabski]

New guy, and searched this but got nothing.
Not sure what bulbs I have. I THINK I have the 9012, but I can't find my manual.
I wish I had gotten HIDs from the factory, but didn't think they would be necessary. However, I find myself straining to see as good as I would like to at night.
Anyway, do I have options for brighter bulbs on this car?
Thanks.

 

[-Virgil-]

Welcome. 9012 is correct. There is no safe brighter upgrade for the bulbs, and -- this is important -- it would be dangerous and illegal to install an "HID kit" in your present headlamps. However, it would be safe, effective and legal (and preserve your new car's warranty) to install the factory HID headlamps. You could buy them from the dealer parts department or, I just checked and there are tons of results at http://www.car-part.com , an online search engine for used parts. These cars are so new that the headlamps off a car that's been hit in the rear or the side are likely to be in perfect condition, and you'd pay less than from the dealer.

It's possible the service department might need to change some settings in the body computer to recognize and operate the HIDs correctly. I don't know specifically for the Dart; some cars are like this and some aren't, but since the halogen and HID headlamps are both bi-function projectors the odds are in favor of no settings change being needed. You would, however, have to make sure the headlights are aimed correctly once installed in your car.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

You would, however, have to make sure the headlights are aimed correctly once installed in your car.

Could that also explain why he's having a hard time seeing with the present lights, in that they're not aimed correctly? Or did Dodge miss the mark with the factory halogen lamps?

 

[-Virgil-]

I don't have a lot of drive time with the Dodge Dart headlamps, but my impression was that they are fairly good. It would be a good idea to make sure they're properly aimed -- with the caveat that this has a specific meaning. Far too many dealership service departments don't have (or have but don't use) the correct tool for the job, which is an optical headlamp aim machine. It look something like a television camera and gets rolled into position in front of each headlamp in turn. I have seen lots of shops just shine the lights on a wall a random or improper distance away from the car, without checking that the floor's level (it's usually not), etc. I've seen even more shops respond to customer complaints about the headlights by just randomly raising the aim in an effort to get the customer out of the shop quickly. There is only one correct aim setting!

 

[hokiefyd]

Or did Dodge miss the mark with the factory halogen lamps?

I make the assumption that they're similar to the projectors in the current 300, which also take HIR2s. I didn't care for them for a few reasons. The light didn't seem well 'focused' down the road, which may have been okay if the beam spread was particularly wide, but it wasn't that either. I also didn't care AT ALL for the high beam system, which was simply a movable shutter in the projector. This may work okay with HID systems where you have 3000+ source lumens, but I didn't find that it worked well at all with a capped halogen bulb with 1800 +/- source lumens. Because the cutoff is aimed more or less at the horizon (these were VORs as I recall), all you get with high beams is light up in the trees/sky. Because the area of the projector that shines on the actual road is already exposed with the low beams, you got no more light on the road than you had before.

I thought it was a particularly poor implementation of a high/low system with a compact unit (for styling) apparently as the priority with real lighting performance coming second. I sympathize with the original poster, if the Dart's lamps use similar or identical projectors to the 2012 300 I once had as a loaner. I'd be looking to retrofit the OEM HID solution immediately.

 

[Hilldweller]

My FIAT has the bi-HIR projectors and they work great once they're aimed. Even the foglights are real foglights and work great in, errrrr, the fog...

OP --- start with aim.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

I've seen even more shops respond to customer complaints about the headlights by just randomly raising the aim in an effort to get the customer out of the shop quickly.

Or LOWER them, so that reassuring hotspot is even MORE visible. Bright hotspot on road="I think I see better, yay!"

 

[-Virgil-]

I make the assumption that they're similar to the projectors in the current 300

They're not. The 300 has headlamps made by Korean supplier Mobis. The Dart has headlamps made by AL. Two totally different, separate companies. AL also makes the Fiat 500 system, though I think the 500 projector might be different from the Dart projector.

the high beam system, which was simply a movable shutter in the projector. This may work okay with HID systems where you have 3000+ source lumens, but I didn't find that it worked well at all with a capped halogen bulb with 1800 +/- source lumens.

I'm not sure what you mean by "capped" halogen bulb.

Because the cutoff is aimed more or less at the horizon (these were VORs as I recall), all you get with high beams is light up in the trees/sky.

That's not actually true -- the cutoff plate, when in the low-beam position, obtrudes on part of the high-intensity zone. When the cutoff plate is in the high-beam position, the hot spot gets brighter and "fuller" (there's more of it in the up + left directions). But some people feel there's not a lot of difference between the low and high beam because unlike conventional systems, the high beam light source is not brighter than the low beam light source, so there's no change in luminance on the road below the cutoff. The seeing distance is extended, however.

 

[jabski]

Not sure why my other post didn't make it on here, but whatever.
Thanks for the advice and tips.
No, the Darts headlights are OK for my girlfriend, as well as my coworker who has one also. It's just that my night vision isn't so good anymore.
I took the advice and inquired about the factory HIDs from the dealers parts dept.
In a nutshell, he said it would be VERY involved, as in needing a different computer (sounds kind of suspect, but anythings possible).
And he too advised me not to go aftermarket. He told me about some guy with a 2008 Ram who bought one of the kits, and how it fried his wiring and computer after a period of time.
Guess I'll just be happy with what I have.
Thanks

 

[Hilldweller]

Is most of your night driving on lonely roads where you can run highbeams?
If so, fit a pair of driving lights to come on with the highs ---- I think it would make you very happy.

 

[-Virgil-]

But where is he going to put "driving" (supplementary high beam) lights on a Dodge Dart? They'd be useless down in the bumper fascia (fog lamp location), and looking at pics of the Dart's front end, I can't imagine an effective way to mount them up at the height of the headlamps where they could be of use, without blocking the turn signals etc.

As for the idea of a different computer being needed for HID vs. halogen headlamps: that is beyond just "suspect".

 

[jabski]

No, not really regarding the driving area .but with daylight savings time change, it's dark when I leave work and drive home, so that's starting to bother me now . thanks for that idea , though. I'll just be happy with what I have.


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[Hamilton Felix]

My head is still in the past. Say "Dodge Dart," and I keep seeing the 1967 Dart that was the Operators' work car when I first started working for City Light. I just think "7 inch round lights and there's plenty of room above or below the bumper." :D

But with today's cars, the "no place to mount it" problem is very common. At the very least, many of today's designs argue for projector lights with very small frontal area. I've about accepted that on our 2007 Corolla any fogs will have to fit the factory openings. And I don't see any way to mount driving lights that doesn't look totally weird or else involve surgery to the grill.

I wish you luck with the very best bulbs and most careful aiming on that new Dart.

 

[-Virgil-]

I think everyone used to have a Dodge Dart. I had a few, myself. If I recall, Popular Mechanics (or Mechanix Illustrated, or Popular Science, or Mechanics and Science) had a survey poll sometime in the 1980s about what the general favorite car was, and the Dart (and Valiant) topped the list.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

My head is still in the past. Say "Dodge Dart," and I keep seeing the 1967 Dart that was the Operators' work car when I first started working for City Light. I just think "7 inch round lights and there's plenty of room above or below the bumper." :D

And the bumpers weren't covered with a giant black plastic thing, making installing lamps correctly pretty easy, since you could see all the metal and not have to do fabrication work to reinforce the installation.

But with today's cars, the "no place to mount it" problem is very common. At the very least, many of today's designs argue for projector lights with very small frontal area. I've about accepted that on our 2007 Corolla any fogs will have to fit the factory openings. And I don't see any way to mount driving lights that doesn't look totally weird or else involve surgery to the grill.

The Previa was ultimately more straightforward to install the Hella XLs on than earlier estimations. At least the bumper cover has a level top-- the '01 Corolla has only sloping surfaces.

I think everyone used to have a Dodge Dart. I had a few, myself. If I recall, Popular Mechanics (or Mechanix Illustrated, or Popular Science, or Mechanics and Science) had a survey poll sometime in the 1980s about what the general favorite car was, and the Dart (and Valiant) topped the list.

I had two '65 Darts, a 4-dr 270 (with the 225, then later a 170 (was going Way Too Fast with the 225 and then it went Way Too Lean and burned holes in three of the piston tops), then a 273), and a '65 GT (that had so many other issues that I transplanted the 273 from it to the first '65).

 

[hokiefyd]

Regarding my earlier post, by "capped halogen bulb", I was speaking about the coating on the end of the HIR2 bulbs that are in these. In retrospect, the existence (or not) of the dipped coating probably doesn't make a difference either way in this application, a projector.

 

[-Virgil-]

Your HIR2 bulbs have blacktop on the tips? That's interesting, can you show us a picture? As far as I'm aware, the only HIR2 bulbs in production (made by Philips) do not have blacktop.

 

[hokiefyd]

I had the original Toshibas with the "bubble" envelope, and they had coated tips. I assumed (apparently incorrectly) that the current Philips bulbs would also.

 

[-Virgil-]

I must not have followed you. Which vehicle did you have the Toshiba bulbs in? They went out of production in 2009, and the Chrysler 300 with BiHalogen didn't come out until several years later -- factory equipped with the Philips bulbs. The Toshiba 9012 had a very tiny amount of blacktop applied at the very tippy end of the capsule; the Philips has none.

 

[hokiefyd]

Correct. I had the Toshiba bulbs in my '07 Toyota Corolla; I purchased the bulbs aftermarket to replace the HB4s. I thought I remember seeing a picture of the Philips bulbs with the blacktop on it. After looking at them, it's clear (ha!) that they are not capped. I didn't physically remove the bulbs from the rental 300 I had to inspect them; I simply remember (incorrectly) seeing a picture of capped Philips HIR2s.