Replacement Bulbs - Headlights

[Kurtyg2020]

Lets talk headlights. I have a 2016 Expedition Limited with the projectors, I was looking into replacing the bulbs, I want to keep the stock look. Has one replaced the bulbs and if so what did you go with. I want to find something closer in color with the LED fog lights and a bit better light output for driving in the country but I haven't replaced a bulb or even thought about this is 15 years. I did a search for this topic and I found some threads on replacing the whole headlight, but nothing I just the bulb. Thanks in advance.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

There are a lot of threads on here about this. You are about to get a lot of advice. I tried LEDs but could not find one that satisfied me in terms of the distance the light was projected. I opted for 35W 5000K (color temp) HIDs. I bought mine from XenonHIDs.com I went with these: https://www.xenonhids.com/35w-ac-canbus-ballast-hid-kit.html
They work very well in the factory projectors. You have to use the 9005/HB3 bulbs in the 15, 16, 17 what's in the manual in incorrect.

 

[JExpedition07]

I like my halogens. Not a fan of LED here either.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

I like my halogens. Not a fan of LED here either.

Halogens or HIDs?

 

[JExpedition07]

Halogens or HIDs?

Regular old halogens. They are cheap and produce good light. Granted I have good vision. LEDs are just white and don’t seem to travel as far to me, it seems like LED light dies quick in the road in the dark. I like the HIDs they seem to travel far and produce clean light.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Regular old halogens. They are cheap and produce good light. Granted I have good vision. LEDs are just white and don’t seem to travel as far to me, it seems like LED light dies quick in the road in the dark. I like the HIDs they seem to travel far and produce clean light.

My halogens did a lousy job of lighting up the road in the 17. I also found that LEDs didn't project well and HIDs just put the light right out there.

 

[07xln]

The oem halogens are horrible. I couldn’t believe how dim they were.

I went with $50 LEDs and couldn’t be happier. They match the fogs and put out plenty of light. The key is getting the right wattage and lumens.

 

[JExpedition07]

The oem halogens are horrible. I couldn’t believe how dim they were.

I went with $50 LEDs and couldn’t be happier. They match the fogs and put out plenty of light. The key is getting the right wattage and lumens.

I don’t know why the new halogens are so dim. My mom got a new escape recently and the headlights are terrible compared to mine when I drove it. She got an SE ecoboost one with the 4WD peppy little thing but not nearly as comfortable as my truck. The non projector halogens in mine light up the road great.

 

[gixer2000]

The oem halogens are horrible. I couldn’t believe how dim they were.

I went with $50 LEDs and couldn’t be happier. They match the fogs and put out plenty of light. The key is getting the right wattage and lumens.

The key is to not use led. They dont project like and hid or halogen and lack width. Plus to top it off they don't belong in a reflector housing or a projector that were not designed for them. Lumens wont give you more distance or width it'll give you a brighter foreground causing your pupils to dilate more and that's not what you want for night time driving.

 

[gixer2000]

I don’t know why the new halogens are so dim. My mom got a new escape recently and the headlights are terrible compared to mine when I drove it. She got an SE ecoboost one with the 4WD peppy little thing but not nearly as comfortable as my truck. The non projector halogens in mine light up the road great.

I would check the headlight alignment. Its pretty common for oem to be adjusted lower than they should for optimum performance. Measure the height from the center of your headlight lense(center of projector, or bulb tip) to the ground. Turn the lights on pointed at a garage door from 25' away. Your cutoff(top edge of the light on the wall) should be 2.5-3" lower than the measurement you took. If its lower, bring it up within 2.5-3". That will usually make a big difference depending on how low they were

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

I would check the headlight alignment. Its pretty common for oem to be adjusted lower than they should for optimum performance. Measure the height from the center of your headlight lense(center of projector, or bulb tip) to the ground. Turn the lights on pointed at a garage door from 25' away. Your cutoff(top edge of the light on the wall) should be 2.5-3" lower than the measurement you took. If its lower, bring it up within 2.5-3". That will usually make a big difference depending on how low they were

Even after I installed the HIDs I still had to raise the headlights up significantly from where they were from the factory.

 

[gixer2000]

Even after I installed the HIDs I still had to raise the headlights up significantly from where they were from the factory.

Did you measure them to check the alignment? Just curious how low they were. Unfortunately it's a very common for for all manufacturers (not as common with high end cars) to be way low out of the factory

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Did you measure them to check the alignment? Just curious how low they were. Unfortunately it's a very common for for all manufacturers (not as common with high end cars) to be way low out of the factory

I can't say for sure because the first adjustment the dealer did and they just raised them and later asked me if it was better. Before the dealer touched them, from the driver's seat the cutoff line was about 15' in front of the truck. Nothing was projected beyond that. It was like they were pointed all the way down at the ground.

 

[Kurtyg2020]

There are a lot of threads on here about this. You are about to get a lot of advice. I tried LEDs but could not find one that satisfied me in terms of the distance the light was projected. I opted for 35W 5000K (color temp) HIDs. I bought mine from XenonHIDs.com I went with these: https://www.xenonhids.com/35w-ac-canbus-ballast-hid-kit.html
They work very well in the factory projectors. You have to use the 9005/HB3 bulbs in the 15, 16, 17 what's in the manual in incorrect.

Andy, do you get the warning cancellers/capacitors and relay harness? Also where they plug and play type of deal. I was looking at the ones your purchased or the LED ones on the same site. I haven't messed with my alignment, but I think that it is pretty close to being correct.

 

[07xln]

The key is to not use led. They dont project like and hid or halogen and lack width. Plus to top it off they don't belong in a reflector housing or a projector that were not designed for them. Lumens wont give you more distance or width it'll give you a brighter foreground causing your pupils to dilate more and that's not what you want for night time driving.

Are we really gonna do this again???????????????

 

[gixer2000]

Are we really gonna do this again???????????????

We can if you'd like...

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Andy, do you get the warning cancellers/capacitors and relay harness? Also where they plug and play type of deal. I was looking at the ones your purchased or the LED ones on the same site. I haven't messed with my alignment, but I think that it is pretty close to being correct.

I didn't get the cancellers/capacitors and have no problems with flickering, and I don't have any bulb out warnings. For our trucks we don't need them.

 

[Kurtyg2020]

I didn't get the cancellers/capacitors and have no problems with flickering, and I don't have any bulb out warnings. For our trucks we don't need them.

Thanks Andy, you are a big help.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Thanks Andy, you are a big help.

I'm glad that I could help.

 

[07xln]

We can if you'd like...

All the sudden youre an optometrist now

Not worth it arguing with you. My lighting works for me