Fix / retrofit/ replace Delta off-road light bar

[H2Finally]

Hi, new to forum, amazing info thanks! Apologies in advance for the laundry list of questions!

I really like how the Delta 10X xenon off-road light bar look on my Hummer H2 (not to mention it was my biggest budget H2 accessory back when) and has been there mainly (sadly) as a design element for the last 15 years! The old seals are giving up as moisture now enters most of the individual lamps after a car wash. Found this forum to learn how to fix / reseal the lights — and read Virgil's opinion of Delta lights instead.. lol

So instead may I ask:

1. any recommendations / ideas to improve or even replace them if possible? New bulb / LED / entire new lamps? (There are 8 lamps, so budget has to be realistic…). The aluminum roof/light bar is stock GM Hummer & cut to the 60 series Delta lights housing dimensions/back housing curvature — so any replacement lights housing should be the identical size/dimensions (Not feasible to modify the existing aluminum roof bar). Or should I just reseal them up?

2. I bought Delta (01-1479-50X) 60H Series 5.4" X 3" back up xenon lights, because they matched the front off-road lights (again alas, prior to finding this forum). To use them as rear-off-road lights, should I mount them on top of the roof rack, or below the tires (thinking of using Nilight 90046B tow hitch light brackets)?

3. From reading here, are best choices for my 2004 Hummer H2 :
- Headlights upgrade to Philips 9007 XtremeVision Upgrade?
- Backup / brake /turn signals upgrade to Sylvania Zevo 3157 white LED?
- DRL upgrade to Zevo 4114? (assuming I can cleanup the old light housing)

4. always wanted angel eyes headlights

and found a $174 external XKchrome 7" halo rings on amazon... would they just look too stupid on my stock headlights?

5. or are there any "best choice" smoke/black 7" headlights with white Halo/Angel Eyes worth upgrading to? Saw some $159 pairs on amazon Audexen branded with 1100+ 4.5 stars? (smoke that matches my black magic brushguard off-road lights would be nice!).

6. Matching black/smoke with Halo DRL replacements would be amazing, but H2's are weird 4-3/4" DRLs that are not easy to replace correctly.

This is my baby and our family's forever truck. To everyone willing to share advice and opinions, thank you in advance!

 

[-Virgil-]

Hi, H2Finally. Welcome to the board. We're in a state of flux (hah!) right now, with a new site owner and new site software, so please be patient with us. Also, buckle your seat belt, because this is going to be a little bit of a bumpy ride; on this board you get the answers you need...even if they don't line up with the answers you think you want. The intent is not to put you down or insult you, it's to give you reliable advice. Nobody here gets anything for giving advice, and nobody can force you to follow that advice, but that is what you should do if you are thoughtful and wise (and you really, as you say, want to keep this vehicle "forever").

I really like how the Delta 10X xenon off-road light bar look on my Hummer H2 (...) I bought Delta (01-1479-50X) 60H Series 5.4" X 3" back up xenon lights, because they matched the front off-road lights (...) always wanted angel eyes headlights and found external XKchrome 7" halo rings on amazon... would they just look too stupid on my stock headlights? (...) or are there any "best choice" smoke/black 7" headlights with white Halo/Angel Eyes (smoke that matches my black magic brushguard off-road lights would be nice!) Matching black/smoke with Halo DRL replacements would be amazing(...)

Vehicle lights are life-safety equipment, not fashion accessories and playtoys. If all you ever want to do with this vehicle is walk around it or set in a chair near it and get high off looking at the lights, then be as fashion-forward about them as you want. But in the highly likely event that you actually drive this vehicle on actual public roads at all, you need to shift your attitude a lot, because right now you're getting it completely wrong.

First, stop with the trinkets. Stick-on "angel eyes", headlite-shaped toys, blackout lights, etc. Just stop. None of this stuff is legitimate lighting equipment, and "good reviews" are meaningless at best. See here and here and here (and that's just three of many).

Also, you are the only one who cares what your lights look like. I don't mean your opinion doesn't matter, just that you aren't going to be impressing anyone -- not a single, solitary soul -- with matching blackout angel eye blah blah blah whatever whatever whatever. Seriously: at best nobody else cares (much more likely: they see your collection of light-shaped toys and think you're a dufus), so you might as well equip your vehicle with lights that really work.

Now, on to your specific questions, starting with your Delta light bar:

The old seals are giving up as moisture now enters most of the individual lamps after a car wash.

"Delta" branded lights are among the many disreputable items on the market. These are not quality products. If you want there to be a functional light bar, you would probably want to install a new one. A good one, this time, from a legitimate maker, in up-to-date LED technology, such as one or two of these. But...it doesn't sound like you actually use all these off-road lights you describe on your H2; you mention that they're "mostly as a design element". In that case, you could save money and keep your design element by permanently and safely cutting power to the Delta thing you have now and just leaving it alone, after re-sealing the lights (do not use RTV silicone or household caulk to do this, or you will fog up the reflectors...instead use urethane sealant, the kind intended for windshield installations).

2. I bought Delta (01-1479-50X) 60H Series 5.4" X 3" back up xenon lights

Just like with your "xenon" light bar (which isn't), here too you are running into one of the ways Delta products are fraudulent: they slap the "xenon" name on halogen lamps they sell with dark blue bulbs. Blue glass does not make a halogen bulb have anything to do with xenon or HID lighting, it just makes the bulb (and the lamp it's installed in) useless. Moreover, that's not a backup light at all. It's a flood/work light. Backup lights have specific photometric requirements; whatever random white light facing rearward doesn't become a backup light just because a scummy vendor says that's what it is.

(if it were actually a xenon lamp, it would be a really silly product. Xenon lights have a warmup period before they provide full output, and they react badly to hot-strike/being switched off and on and off and on. Would you really put it in reverse and then sit there waiting for your xenon backing lights to warm up before proceeding?)

To use them as rear-off-road lights, should I mount them on top of the roof rack, or below the tires

Depends on what you want to light up, and what kind of driving you're doing in what kinds of off-road environs.

From reading here, are best choices for my 2004 Hummer H2 :- Headlights upgrade to Philips 9007 XtremeVision Upgrade?

No, your best choice for the headlamps would be to ditch the pathetic factory lens-reflector units and install something better in their place. There are numerous good options (and even more bad ones). Which ones to buy would depend on how well you want them to work and how much you can spend on them. You can have excellent halogens, excellent Bi-Xenons, excellent LEDs...or lousy halogens, lousy Xenons, lousy LEDs. It really matters what you buy.

Backup / brake /turn signals upgrade to Sylvania Zevo 3157 white LED? DRL upgrade to Zevo 4114? (assuming I can cleanup the old light housing)

First of all, no, white LEDs must not be put behind red lenses. For red lenses use only red LEDs. Also, very important, you will need to check and see if those LED bulbs will work safely in your lights. Credit where it's due, you're looking in the right direction; the Sylvania Zevos are among the only legitimate "LED bulbs"...but even so, they do not work (or work well) in every lamp they fit in. (the 4114 and 3157 Zevo LEDs are the same bulb, just in different packages). It looks like somebody replaced your H2's tail light clusters with aftermarket toys that give much worse performance (do a much worse job of keeping you from being hit) than the stock lights, even with the intended bulbs, so you're already behind the 8-ball there. Same goes for your front turn signals (more trinkets), and while they can't be seen clearly in these pics, probably your front and rear side marker lights, too.

always wanted angel eyes headlights

There are one or two legitimate LED "angel eye" headlamps that will fit your H2. They are costly but good. One is made by JW Speaker, that's this one -- it has the "upper half" of an LED ring -- and the other, with a full ring, is made by Weldex (tough to actually buy; check with Daniel Stern, who you can find on the web). There's also this feature-packed JW Speaker lamp which, while not having an "angel eye" ring, exactly, does have a whole lot of bling…and it's functional bling.

There's also (yet another) giant amount of junk by this description...

are there any "best choice" smoke/black 7" headlights with white Halo/Angel Eyes worth upgrading to?

...such as this. No.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

"good reviews" are meaningless at best. See here and here and here (and that's just three of many).

And sometimes a product will get a bad review, or less-than-perfect review, because the reviewer *doesn't know enough about the subject to properly review it*. I recall a case where a flash drive got dinged a star because it worked fine with all the filesystems they tried, but when they had it formatted as FAT32, it wouldn't allow them to copy a 5GB file to it despite having enough free space. What the reviewer didn't realize is that it was a limitation of FAT32, not of the flash drive. FAT32's largest file size is 4GiB-1, or 4,294,967,295 bytes. Their misapprehension of the technology could possibly lead others with the same limited understanding to avoid the product.

So in between shill reviews and people not understanding the topic properly, it's easy to see why a particularly bad product can receive rave reviews. It's particularly rampant with automotive lighting because the very same things that can make a headlamp objectively bad can make it feel subjectively good, like excessive foreground light. Or they believe getting high-beamed frequently is a testament to how bright the lights are, not how dangerously glaring they are.

 

[H2Finally]

Thanks for the detailed reply Virgil! Appreciate your input and I will research your suggestions.

The way I look at it, there must be a balance between function & passion. Accessorizing my 17 years old truck falls more on the passion continuum. I must love it first, regardless of function. Never liked the long rows of LED off-road light bar look as I find they distract from the original design aesthetics of the vehicle. Never did care much what others think — my fellow Hummer off-roaders used to make fun constantly about the amount of chrome billet on mine 😅 (which are sadly beginning to bubble after all these years). It's not that I don't use the delta light bar, it's just that 99% off-road trips were organized during daytime. Lights that are on the truck must be functional. I will fix them using windshield urethane at the mean time thank you!

I read that the 4114 differs than the 3157 in that they're designed to run on 14V and hence lasts longer as DRL bulbs? I will make sure to purchase the appropriate red, amber & white Zevos. Amazon has all, so not an issue.

Not crazy about the half halo look. Browsed through other JW Speakers selections on Amazon — some reviews highlight warranty issues if purchasing through Amazon. Might need to buy from a local distributor if I go with JW. Googled Weldex 7" headlights with DRL halos, they look promising; I will email Daniel Stern and ask for details & options. Although to be honest, I never felt driving at night with the stock H2 headlights a safety issue (perhaps the height of the truck gives me a better field of view that compensates. And driving necessarily slower on the huge truck). From aesthetics point of view, I would actually prefer a (better) halogen (+ halo lights 😬) replacements. Low beam LEDs that lit up only half the huge 7" head lights look "incomplete" to me.

Again, for all the information much obliged Virgil!

 

[H2Finally]

the very same things that can make a headlamp objectively bad can make it feel subjectively good, like excessive foreground light.

This makes sense, will read more to avoid choosing the worst performing, highest rated headlamps!

 

[-Virgil-]

The way I look at it, there must be a balance between function & passion.

Well, actually...no. Function must come first, because other people exist, and endangering them so that your lights will stoke passion in you is not OK.

Never did care much what others think

Are you sure? Because if that's true, then why all this hyperfocus on passionately loving what your lights look like?

I read that the 4114 differs than the 3157 in that they're designed to run on 14V and hence lasts longer as DRL bulbs

That's true for real (incandescent) 4114K bulbs versus real (incandescent) 3157 bulbs. But if you look closely at the bulbs in the Sylvania LED Zevo "3157", "4157" and "4114" packages, you'll see they are the exact same bulb, right down to the part number.

I never felt driving at night with the stock H2 headlights a safety issue

That might very easily be true, but keep in mind that how headlamps "feel" (how well they seem to light your way) and how headlamps are (how well they actually light your way) are often two very different answers. This is a quirk of the human machine; we are not good judges of how well we can see or how well the local illumination is working for us...it only feels like we are.

I would actually prefer a (better) halogen (+ halo lights 😬) replacements.

There are no real/legitimate halogen 7" round lamps with halo.

 

[Hilldweller]

Lightbars have come down in price. A lot.
Delta was never good so, no matter what you pick, it will work better.
But if you have the funds go with the best: https://www.bajadesigns.com/?gclid=...y0xWHsDhslAbItUIia8gk2Kb8NqZJT9kaAjBDEALw_wcB
And only offroad for most of them. They do have some nice lights you can wire to come on with your highbeams though.

 

[-Virgil-]

Baja Designs puts out some good stuff, but I don't think I would categorically elevate them as "the best". Osram's LEDriving light bars are really excellent, for just one example. But there is a ton of crap out there, too, so careful and knowledgeable shopping is required.

 

[John_Galt]

If you are wanting to stick with the multiple small "pod style" lamps for your lightbar, you could replace those lamps with diode dynamics SSC2 pods. They are available with multiple lens choices, in either 6000k white or "3000k" selective yellow. They're individually much less expensive for the Sport models than a baja designs S2 pod.

 

[H2Finally]

Well, actually...no. Function must come first, because other people exist, and endangering them so that your lights will stoke passion in you is not OK.

It's a continuum right? Not a black or white option. Factory OEM headlamps fall under "pathetic" in your consideration, but certainly functions well enough for GM to get DOT approval and adequate for most H2 owners including myself. I'm looking for products that LOOKS attractive to ME — which functions well enough not to be a hazard on the road.

I received Daniel Stern's reply, and am still trying to decide if I like the look of the Weldex halo headlights enough to bother switching my factory ones. One challenge is I can't google any actual installed pictures on any vehicles anywhere to see what they look like "in the real", much less any owners reviews. They will be custom ordered & not returnable!

Appreciate the info on the Zevos!

View attachment 14512

I wonder how many batteries would be required to power up everything!

If you are wanting to stick with the multiple small "pod style" lamps for your lightbar, you could replace those lamps with diode dynamics SSC2 pods.

I will research them thanks! Do you know any that might be a direct replacement to the Delta 60 series (4x6")? Maybe just the bulbs even (since I'll need to open up & reseal the deltas anyways). I am ok with less-than-optimum performance, if I can keep the current OEM H2 roof-bar light-bar look. Mixing after-market roof bars with the other 2 factory roof bars I have there (that's carrying my rare GM-made H2 Roof rack) just looks horrible imo.

 

[H2Finally]

What do you think of this Bolt-on Halo for 7" headights? Not modifying factory headlights = not an additional hazard on the road right?

 

[-Virgil-]

It's a continuum right?

No, it really is not. You getting a kick out of what your lights look like does not, cannot, must not take any amount of precedence over traffic safety. If it were only a matter of your own safety, your "continuum" argument would have some merit, but your lights affect the safety of everyone else on the road with you. This is why we have lighting regulations, to stop people who go "they look sick so idgaf as long as they light up good enuf for me to see lol" which is pretty much exactly what you're saying.

Not a black or white option.

Yes, it really is.

Factory OEM headlamps fall under "pathetic" in your consideration, but certainly functions well enough for GM to get DOT approval and adequate for most H2 owners including myself.

The factory headlamps are relatively pathetic as legitimate headlamps go, but everything you have asked about so far -- every single item -- has been much worse than the factory headlamps in terms of safety performance, which is what matters.

Also, there is no such thing as "DOT approval". The DOT lettering on a headlamp does not signify anyone's approval; that's not how things work in North America. Instead, we have what is called "self certification". This means the maker/importer of a headlamp asserts that the lamp meets all applicable requirements. There is no government or 3rd-party test required before the lamp is allowed on the roads.

The small number of reputable makers do real tests as prescribed in the regulations. The much larger number of disreputable makers just fraudulently put "DOT" on the lens and call it good, gambling they won't get called on it. It's usually a pretty good gamble for them...and the buyers of their unsafe junk pay the price, sometimes by getting killed or maimed (and/or killing or maiming somebody else), and yet that's what you think should be "balanced" on a "continuum" against your ideas of what the lights on your truck should look like. That is a very immature and thoughtless position to take.

Do you know any that might be a direct replacement to the Delta 60 series

Hella 550.

What do you think of this Bolt-on Halo for 7" headights?

This is exactly what I'm talking about (toy after toy, trinket after trinket). RGB anything has absolutely zero business on the exterior of a roadgoing car, even if you promise (and pinkie-swear!) you'd only ever run it in white mode.

Not modifying factory headlights = not an additional hazard on the road right?

Wrong. Sticking something opaque to your lenses = blocking part of the light output = impairing the effectiveness of your headlamps.

I can't get any owners reviews.

Try to understand that "owner reviews" of lighting equipment are, at best, completely useless.

At the end of the day, it's your truck and you're going to do whatever you want with it. Nobody on this board can change that. But be aware, you are making yourself look/sound like a 15-year-old. There are other boards where kiddy-car priorities in lighting are championed, but this isn't one of them; this one's for adults.

 

[Lark Hunter]

I'm looking for products that LOOKS attractive to ME — which functions well enough not to be a hazard on the road.

I received Daniel Stern's reply, and am still trying to decide if I like the look of the Weldex halo headlights enough to bother switching my factory ones. One challenge is I can't google any actual installed pictures on any vehicles anywhere to see what they look like "in the real", much less any owners reviews. They will be custom ordered & not returnable.

I'm not trying to place Stern on a pedestal, but I would take his word on performance over a half bushel of owner reviews. He knows his stuff. Insofar as how it's gonna look when installed on your truck, well... Photochop? I honestly do *get* it when it comes to appearance and how your vehicle looks to you when it's sitting in your driveway. I too have a "lifetime" truck, which I've owned since 2001 and have no plans of changing that anytime soon. Bought it when I was not too far out of high school. As time has gone on, I've grown to appreciate what my lights look like from the driver's seat. I tend to value real performance more than a look of performance, and I have ended up tossing a fair amount of blingy stuff overboard to get there.

There is that time when you're out on the road, off the road, meandering through the desert... that your shorts will thank you for have something that just works. Whether it's a deer, a rock, sinkhole, or a sasquatch... you see it, identify it, and miss it. That's a damn good feeling. Something to think about.

 

[H2Finally]

Hella 550.

Awesome! Thank you, I will order 1 and figure out if I can replace the old Delta.

It's a 17 years old truck. Back when there wasn't commonplace LED headlights. There was certainly halo lights. I need to look for what was acceptable back when that has halo & not LED & not a road hazard. I don't want a Hummer EV look on my old truck.

Driving any vehicle safely involves more than just the type of headlights installed on them. Right now I'm alternating between a 2019 BMW and the 2004 H2. Maybe it's due to the height, the A pillar architecture, and/or the windshield shape — but hands down driving the H2 has much better visibility daytime and nightime. As far as other drivers on the road, kindda ridiculous to have to argue they can see me better in the huge H2 that's twice the size with many more running lights everywhere than in the sleek black BMW, regardless of the 17 years old headlights.

I want to mod it because it's fun, not because it's inadequate. But yes, I want to do it safely, and certainly no RGB! — it was just the only halo I found so far that's bolt on. It would be wired on at night and not be a dark border (hopefully it's bright enough).

Virgil, I sincerely appreciate your passion and willingness to continue to teach no matter how exasperating lol!

 

[H2Finally]

I'm not trying to place Stern on a pedestal, but I would take his word on performance over a half bushel of owner reviews. He knows his stuff. Insofar as how it's gonna look when installed on your truck, well... Photochop?

I'm certain it will perform exceedingly well. I am just concerned about the way it looked on my old truck.

If I can find an actual picture of the Weldex actually installed on any vehicle, I might change my mind about them. I just find it really peculiar in today's interweb that there isn't ANY actual picture I can google. I asked Daniel and he doesn't have any either unfortunately. Perhaps I will ask him if a previous customer would be kind enough to take a pic and share it with me.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

I'm certain it will perform exceedingly well. I am just concerned about the way it looked on my old truck.

If I can find an actual picture of the Weldex actually installed on any vehicle...

What is your fixation with the appearance of the lamps on the vehicle? What matters is if they work safely and effectively and are legal.

You also don't need Photoshop when the GNU Image Manipulation Program is free, so download some pictures and get to manipulating images. But remember: Function over form.

I'm reminded of a comic; this is a cleaned-up form:

(Note: The original was by "Jake Likes Onions")

 

[Hilldweller]

Baja Designs puts out some good stuff, but I don't think I would categorically elevate them as "the best". Osram's LEDriving light bars are really excellent, for just one example. But there is a ton of crap out there, too, so careful and knowledgeable shopping is required.

It's their laser/LED series that get me giddy, sir. But that's racecar sorta stuff, not geezer in a pickup stuff.

Still wishing for a legit LED headlight upgrade for my Ram though. But if wishes were fishes, we'd all cast nets. sigh

 

[shumanchu]

View attachment 14512

PSHHH, there isn't even a lightbar mounted on the steering stabilizers, or the side view mirrors! All that wasted space....

 

[H2Finally]

Back to the drawing board since Daniel was unable / unwilling to supply one single installed picture of the Weldex (none existed in Google), and I am reluctant to be the guinea pig for these $600 lights.

Given that I don't seem to be able to get away from the LED function/look for 2021, I might as well go all in! Does anyone have personal experience with Morimoto Super7 Bi LED? Supposedly the lights come in a kit that's fully customizable (i.e I can add Halos to them)? Online reviews seemed to speak very highly of their beam pattern & lumen (low beam is a priority to me as I hardly use high beam)

The reason being Morimotos also make 4.7"/120mm Type T2 XB (for Tacoma) fog lights that should fit nicely as replacement for the H2's large DRL (my stock ones have foggy reflector, and OEM replacement is $389 which doesn't seem like a good buy). Matching brand bulb temperature for both my headlights & DRLs would be nice!

A Hummer forum I read also recommended the IJDMTOY Tacoma/Tundra 120mm fog lights — with Halos! Alas reviews on Amazon is quite bad, and I'm hesitant to ask for any Tacoma/Tundra 4.7" Halo-fogs recommendations here, given how useless they are viewed as in this fine forum lol.

(FYI I plan to wire both halos ON to act as DRL during daytime. Both will be OFF during nightime. Actual drl/fog LEDs would be wired on to high beam — or manually switched as actual fogs).

 

[H2Finally]

And back on topic to the original question of this thread, the same Hummer forum showed THE ONE LED lightbar I would ever installed in my H2!

Apparently it was a one-off mod done by an employee to use an old Putco led bar he had lying around. He just cut a channel in the oem roof bar for the opening & slide in the putco light bar from the side. It fit so perfectly that it doesn't need any mounting hardware! I need to replicate this — assuming there's an Osram LED bar that will fit!

I also bought replacement taillights, front turn lights & roof marker light housings that will allow me to use the Zevo 3157 & Zevo 194 (expensive tiny bulbs $19 for 2, and the H2 needs 5 amber & 5 red!).