2010 headlights/foglights

[SpencerDoyle]

What's everyone running in their expeditions as far headlights/foglights go? I know the newer ones can run direct led drop ins but I dont have projectors just wanting better than stocks.

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[JExpedition07]

Sylvania Osram (Stock Halogen). I’ve never had issues with them.

 

[SpencerDoyle]

Sylvania Osram (Stock Halogen). I’ve never had issues with them.

We use h13's right what about foglights?

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[TobyU]

I'm way behind on headlight bulb trends. So lets expand this.

It went from glass 6001 and 6003ish and 4156 etc to plastic housings with 9004. Then 9006 and 9007 and some H7 but all replaceable bulbs.

The blue tinted ones came out (cheesy) and Silverstars (looked good but terrible lifespan)
Years of slight blue, lot blue etc...

Then HIDs got poplular (I remember the first Acura NSX in the 80s- wicked headlights)

Took a few years for conversions..and first ones were a little box you plugged your headlight harness into and then into th enew bulb they sold you that went into housing. Mostly ebay at the time. I remember this going on around 03-05 or so and up.

Now I see the self contained "hid" replacements with 9004 and 9007 #s etc.
Ebay again and marketplace.
Cheap as can be.

Heat sink and cooling fans on many.

I assume if you have a 2000 Ford with a 9007 bulb you just buy a 9007 one of these and pop it in??? Sounds like a plan. Even projection is terrible because not designed to use anything but incandescent and halogen it will still look cool white.

Probably better with cheap clear ebay replacement light assemblies...???

Fill me in here.


Then what about 2003?
Exp and Navi share a lot of same parts and apparently not all 03 Navigators had HIDs. Confusing. What about Expeditions.

I have an 03 Navi that I assume are HID because they are arc like when they come on and when cold are dimmer white for a split second , then purple, then blue, then bright white.

If I would have known there was a non HID option I might have searched for it because I fear a cost replacement issue if one goes out EVEN though I LOVE HID lights.
I am cheap first- mostly.
I see aftermarket whole assemblies on ebay that I assume use standard 9007 bulbs and that might be my cheapest route if I ever need to replace one but when I saw these cheap self contained HID bulbs I wondered.

Please educate me on the current state of headlight bulbs...

 

[JExpedition07]

We use h13's right what about foglights?

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Mine is 9145 on the fogs. I’m sure there are others who will chime in with good A/M lighting suggestions as well. Some good HID kits out there too.

 

[gixer2000]

What's everyone running in their expeditions as far headlights/foglights go? I know the newer ones can run direct led drop ins but I dont have projectors just wanting better than stocks.

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Look at the Diode Dynamics SL1 led bulb or Morimoto 2 Stroke 2.0 led bulb. Maintains factory cutoff and optics. I'm a big hater on Leds because most are designed poorly causing glare but these 2 are the exception. Better than halogen but not as good as hid but hid should be in a projector.

 

[SpencerDoyle]

Look at the Diode Dynamics SL1 led bulb or Morimoto 2 Stroke 2.0 led bulb. Maintains factory cutoff and optics. I'm a big hater on Leds because most are designed poorly causing glare but these 2 are the exception. Better than halogen but not as good as hid but hid should be in a projector.

Those will work good in a non projector headlight? Cause I was worried about scattering and glare and it's an h13 bulb right?

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[gixer2000]

I'm way behind on headlight bulb trends. So lets expand this.

It went from glass 6001 and 6003ish and 4156 etc to plastic housings with 9004. Then 9006 and 9007 and some H7 but all replaceable bulbs.

The blue tinted ones came out (cheesy) and Silverstars (looked good but terrible lifespan)
Years of slight blue, lot blue etc...

Then HIDs got poplular (I remember the first Acura NSX in the 80s- wicked headlights)

Took a few years for conversions..and first ones were a little box you plugged your headlight harness into and then into th enew bulb they sold you that went into housing. Mostly ebay at the time. I remember this going on around 03-05 or so and up.

Now I see the self contained "hid" replacements with 9004 and 9007 #s etc.
Ebay again and marketplace.
Cheap as can be.

Heat sink and cooling fans on many.

I assume if you have a 2000 Ford with a 9007 bulb you just buy a 9007 one of these and pop it in??? Sounds like a plan. Even projection is terrible because not designed to use anything but incandescent and halogen it will still look cool white.

Probably better with cheap clear ebay replacement light assemblies...???

Fill me in here.


Then what about 2003?
Exp and Navi share a lot of same parts and apparently not all 03 Navigators had HIDs. Confusing. What about Expeditions.

I have an 03 Navi that I assume are HID because they are arc like when they come on and when cold are dimmer white for a split second , then purple, then blue, then bright white.

If I would have known there was a non HID option I might have searched for it because I fear a cost replacement issue if one goes out EVEN though I LOVE HID lights.
I am cheap first- mostly.
I see aftermarket whole assemblies on ebay that I assume use standard 9007 bulbs and that might be my cheapest route if I ever need to replace one but when I saw these cheap self contained HID bulbs I wondered.

Please educate me on the current state of headlight bulbs...

I'm just going to hit some key points here that need some corrections..

Blue tinted glass halogens not only were cheesy but that blue tint also cuts down on output.

Hid conversions started roughly 2001. I actually had the first conversion that was released. It consisted of Hella Gen 3 ballasts(the little box) converted to amp connectors from D2s. Bulbs were osram hid bulbs with the base removed and a new base installed to fit whichever housing they were going into. Very high end components and cost $700.

The issue with clear aftermarket is lense distortion. Not all but a lot of them have very fine ripples in the plastic causing all kinds of weird effects with your headlight output.

Hid have become pretty cheap and you could replace all your navi components for roughly $150 of you buy quality parts(2-ballasts,2-bulbs,2-igniter, relay harness of needed).

Self contained HID is not a thing. Self contained led is a thing. As I stated above an led won't touch an hid but hids require a projector or a reflector designed for hid.

The issue with most led is that the manufacturer just drops LEDs on the board and ships them out the door. The LEDs need to be placed in the EXACT same place as the halogen filament to maintain the optics. Morimoto and Diode Dynamics seem to be they only ones doing that

 

[gixer2000]

Those will work good in a non projector headlight? Cause I was worried about scattering and glare and it's an h13 bulb right?

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Yes, I explained that a little in my post above.. Those 2 are the only ones on the market that won't scatter like crazy

 

[Muddy Bean]

Fogs? The stock ones are just fine for me [emoji6]




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[gixer2000]

Fogs? The stock ones are just fine for me [emoji6]




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Do you have any wall shots of those? I've never seen those on a wall and I'm interested

 

[Muddy Bean]

Negative. I can work on making that happen though.


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[TobyU]

I'm just going to hit some key points here that need some corrections..

Blue tinted glass halogens not only were cheesy but that blue tint also cuts down on output.

Hid conversions started roughly 2001. I actually had the first conversion that was released. It consisted of Hella Gen 3 ballasts(the little box) converted to amp connectors from D2s. Bulbs were osram hid bulbs with the base removed and a new base installed to fit whichever housing they were going into. Very high end components and cost $700.

The issue with clear aftermarket is lense distortion. Not all but a lot of them have very fine ripples in the plastic causing all kinds of weird effects with your headlight output.

Hid have become pretty cheap and you could replace all your navi components for roughly $150 of you buy quality parts(2-ballasts,2-bulbs,2-igniter, relay harness of needed).

Self contained HID is not a thing. Self contained led is a thing. As I stated above an led won't touch an hid but hids require a projector or a reflector designed for hid.

The issue with most led is that the manufacturer just drops LEDs on the board and ships them out the door. The LEDs need to be placed in the EXACT same place as the halogen filament to maintain the optics. Morimoto and Diode Dynamics seem to be they only ones doing that

Thank you. I was just kind of paraphrasing on the years and going from memory. I always hated the ones that were too Blue. A little blue like Silver Star was awesome but the cheap blue ones were just cheesy.
I was confusing the new LED ones with what I thought was an HID replacement self-contained bulb. I recall now all the listings I have seen are LEDs.
If I ever have a bulb go out on my 03 Navigator I will have to check out and see if those will fit or what else I can do because eBay seems to be pretty inaccurate on their listings.
What you said about the HIDs being very cheap now and replacing the whole system might be an option to but what about just replacement parts if I don't want to replace the whole system?

These two brands you mentioned above.., are these LED replacements? I'm not sure if a factory HID bulb like in my navigator can be replaced with other things but I'm assuming the manufacturers have gotten smart and want the money so they make some that at least fit into the lenses and lock into place. I understand lots of times you will cut down on your real light pattern and visibility. Some people do not care as long as they look bright white with a blue tint or purple. I, especially as I get older, really appreciate the killer headlights that mine has.

 

[gixer2000]

Thank you. I was just kind of paraphrasing on the years and going from memory. I always hated the ones that were too Blue. A little blue like Silver Star was awesome but the cheap blue ones were just cheesy.
I was confusing the new LED ones with what I thought was an HID replacement self-contained bulb. I recall now all the listings I have seen are LEDs.
If I ever have a bulb go out on my 03 Navigator I will have to check out and see if those will fit or what else I can do because eBay seems to be pretty inaccurate on their listings.
What you said about the HIDs being very cheap now and replacing the whole system might be an option to but what about just replacement parts if I don't want to replace the whole system?

These two brands you mentioned above.., are these LED replacements? I'm not sure if a factory HID bulb like in my navigator can be replaced with other things but I'm assuming the manufacturers have gotten smart and want the money so they make some that at least fit into the lenses and lock into place. I understand lots of times you will cut down on your real light pattern and visibility. Some people do not care as long as they look bright white with a blue tint or purple. I, especially as I get older, really appreciate the killer headlights that mine has.

As for swapping parts from your navi, I was just giving you a price for the entirw thing to help understand how cheap it is now. Individual pieces can be ordered.

Diode dynamics and Morimoto build hid and led replacements. They are by far the leaders in the automotive lighting game.

 

[CaptOchs]

When you go HID, you should be using projector headlights. You can upgrade to Spyder projectors fairly cheap. They might only last about 5-10 years before they are ready to be replaced. Don't throw out the stock lights. https://www.spyderauto.com/product_...ar_model=Expedition&car_year=2010&submit=Go+!. Buy the headlights first because some aftermarket headlights use a different bulb.

As far as HID. IDK. I ran them for years in my Charger and it seemed like every 6 months a fog or a headlight would go. I tried various brands (each claiming to be best) but ultimately it was a PITA diagnosing why they would stop working. Not sure if the Expedition has the same constraints as the Charger, but Dodge put the smallest grade of wire for headlights/fogs. The HIDs are pretty demanding. I ran 35w and 55w but it didn't matter. I replaced a lot of wire as well as the 9006 sockets.

My Spyder headlights eventually yellowed and the LEDs stopped working. I bought a new set that didn't have projectors. I switched to LED lights. They are just as bright. I kind of wish I didn't monkey with HIDs for so long and just tried LEDs instead. They fire up as quickly as a halogen and are instantly bright. The HIDs took a good 5 seconds before they were at max brightness, so I didn't use them for my high beams.

Bottom line, consider LED over HID. Just be sure you get a decent set that doesn't interfere with electronics. The fog lights might be a smaller grade wire, so they sell "fog light LED bulbs" that draw less power. You can match the color of the headlights or you can buy yellows. Whatever you prefer.

 

[gixer2000]

When you go HID, you should be using projector headlights. You can upgrade to Spyder projectors fairly cheap. They might only last about 5-10 years before they are ready to be replaced. Don't throw out the stock lights. https://www.spyderauto.com/product_list.php?car_make=Ford&car_model=Expedition&car_year=2010&submit=Go+!. Buy the headlights first because some aftermarket headlights use a different bulb.

As far as HID. IDK. I ran them for years in my Charger and it seemed like every 6 months a fog or a headlight would go. I tried various brands (each claiming to be best) but ultimately it was a PITA diagnosing why they would stop working. Not sure if the Expedition has the same constraints as the Charger, but Dodge put the smallest grade of wire for headlights/fogs. The HIDs are pretty demanding. I ran 35w and 55w but it didn't matter. I replaced a lot of wire as well as the 9006 sockets.

My Spyder headlights eventually yellowed and the LEDs stopped working. I bought a new set that didn't have projectors. I switched to LED lights. They are just as bright. I kind of wish I didn't monkey with HIDs for so long and just tried LEDs instead. They fire up as quickly as a halogen and are instantly bright. The HIDs took a good 5 seconds before they were at max brightness, so I didn't use them for my high beams.

Bottom line, consider LED over HID. Just be sure you get a decent set that doesn't interfere with electronics. The fog lights might be a smaller grade wire, so they sell "fog light LED bulbs" that draw less power. You can match the color of the headlights or you can buy yellows. Whatever you prefer.

For starters spyder is absolute junk and are intended for halogen bulbs not HID. You run into the same glare issues with spyder as you would HID in a reflector.

Ballasts failing every 6 months is a pretty common for Chinese made ballasts which is pretty much whats been flooding the market for a long time. Stop buying cheap kits and you'll get a quicker warm up time and longer life.

As for Led, they are far behind hid and while in some cases are bettwr than halogen still should not be used in a reflector or projector. The only 2 companies providing led that maintain original optics are Morimoto or Diode Dynamics. All these other eBay brands cause a ton of scatter and typically don't last long.

I do my own projector retrofits and have been around the block with many different brands. Everytime I'm lead back to Morimoto, diode dynamics, hella, Phillips and osram for the best quality

 

[chuck s]

I have reflector light fixtures in my 2017 Expedition and was very dissatisfied with the light output of the headlights. Put in a set (4) of Silverstar Ultra halogens like I'd used in my '07 and was still dissatisfied -- heck my Subaru and old Honda S2000 have better headlights.

Putting non-halogen bulbs is any housing designed for them often produces bad light patterns but I'm now very happy with this setup since October. Will see how they work out and I'm sure someone will supply me with dire warnings.

Low beams:
GTR Lighting H11B HID (yep HID) Bulbs, 5000K
35w CANBUS HID Ballasts

High beams:
Supernova PerfectFit V.3 LED Headlights, 9005/9145 Bulbs, 5000K

My headlights pointed at the ground from the factory (exaggeration). Aiming instructions in the owners manual and a tape measure and this can be done at home. Cover one light with a towel to not confuse the beams. Have not had anyone give me the "your brights are on, idiot" flash when using the HID low beams.

I've set the fog lights to be DRLs and remain on with the high beams. Forscan.

My scientific sample of one (1).

-- Chuck

 

[CaptOchs]

For starters spyder is absolute junk and are intended for halogen bulbs not HID. You run into the same glare issues with spyder as you would HID in a reflector.

Ballasts failing every 6 months is a pretty common for Chinese made ballasts which is pretty much whats been flooding the market for a long time. Stop buying cheap kits and you'll get a quicker warm up time and longer life.

As for Led, they are far behind hid and while in some cases are bettwr than halogen still should not be used in a reflector or projector. The only 2 companies providing led that maintain original optics are Morimoto or Diode Dynamics. All these other eBay brands cause a ton of scatter and typically don't last long.

I do my own projector retrofits and have been around the block with many different brands. Everytime I'm lead back to Morimoto, diode dynamics, hella, Phillips and osram for the best quality

Spyder works with LED or HID. They don't melt. They project just fine. I had a good beam with HID. No glare or scatter (except with fog.) The cutoffs were perfect. It was a great improvement over stock. I tried them with halogens and it wasn't enough light. As far as quality, I didn't say they would last the life of the vehicle. I got many years out of them though. By the time it was ready to replace I was ready for a new look anyways.

As far as retrofitting for some people it comes down to cost. Others don't know how to retrofit them. You gambled you wouldn't destroy a pair of stock headlights. Considering the cost of an OEM headlight, others might not be willing to gamble on it. I still have my OEM headlights boxed up in case I need them.

I started with the cheaper sets. I worked my way up through brands. Chinese chips... German chips.. HID kits that show a picture of the kid completely submerged in an aquarium. I tried wiring cancelers and a hire harness that connects to the positive battery terminal. The last brand was the Diode Dynamics kit for $150. When that kit failed, I was done.

Again, as I mentioned a lot comes down to the wiring. If your vehicle can't handle HID, like my Charger, you're going to have problems. Some of more promising ballasts just corroded away in WNY salt. I got better life mounting ballast high, but ultimately they fail.

I have 1 year on my LEDs. So far it's lasted longer than any ballast or HID bulb. They are instant on. They project well. I've been happy with them so far.

 

[gixer2000]

Spyder works with LED or HID. They don't melt. They project just fine. I had a good beam with HID. No glare or scatter (except with fog.) The cutoffs were perfect. It was a great improvement over stock. I tried them with halogens and it wasn't enough light. As far as quality, I didn't say they would last the life of the vehicle. I got many years out of them though. By the time it was ready to replace I was ready for a new look anyways.

As far as retrofitting for some people it comes down to cost. Others don't know how to retrofit them. You gambled you wouldn't destroy a pair of stock headlights. Considering the cost of an OEM headlight, others might not be willing to gamble on it. I still have my OEM headlights boxed up in case I need them.

I started with the cheaper sets. I worked my way up through brands. Chinese chips... German chips.. HID kits that show a picture of the kid completely submerged in an aquarium. I tried wiring cancelers and a hire harness that connects to the positive battery terminal. The last brand was the Diode Dynamics kit for $150. When that kit failed, I was done.

Again, as I mentioned a lot comes down to the wiring. If your vehicle can't handle HID, like my Charger, you're going to have problems. Some of more promising ballasts just corroded away in WNY salt. I got better life mounting ballast high, but ultimately they fail.

I have 1 year on my LEDs. So far it's lasted longer than any ballast or HID bulb. They are instant on. They project well. I've been happy with them so far.

All spyder projectors are for halogen and while they may not melt they still aren't built for it. As for the good beam pattern, without pictures I'll never believe it. Ive seen hundreds of these all with issues and spyder uses the same projector in every housing.

So wait, a diode kit failed with a 3 year warranty and you moved on? I smell BS...

A wiring harness to properly power the ballasts is a must! Any faulures you had was most likely cheap products or poor installation. Considering with the frequency of the failures I'm betting the install was the issue.

 

[CaptOchs]

All spyder projectors are for halogen and while they may not melt they still aren't built for it. As for the good beam pattern, without pictures I'll never believe it. Ive seen hundreds of these all with issues and spyder uses the same projector in every housing.

So wait, a diode kit failed with a 3 year warranty and you moved on? I smell BS...

A wiring harness to properly power the ballasts is a must! Any faulures you had was most likely cheap products or poor installation. Considering with the frequency of the failures I'm betting the install was the issue.

People aren't buying them to put halogens in them. lol. It's a warranty gimmick. There's no evidence they won't work with HID/LED. There are thousands of other owners that differ from you. Just look at any auto forum for owners that install Spyder headlights. When people replace their headlights they most likely put HID/LED in them.

Believe it! Frustration mounted and into the garbage it went. I need to remove all the plastic panel poppers from the wheel fender to gain access to the bulb and ballast. Getting access to the headlights isn't easy either. It's a tight fit with the headlights installed. Removing the headlight isn't an option because you pull the bumper; which I've done twice! Diode was the last straw. If that kit didn't last, I figured I'd try LED.

It's not an installation issue. I know quite a bit about 12v electronics.