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Ordered H13 60w, received H13 95-100w.

11K views 30 replies 9 participants last post by  tcwagner1 
#1 ·
I ordered some replacement headlights off of ebay, the add shows 55-60w H13 exact replacement, bluer light bulbs. The ones I was sent say "Off road use only" and are rated as H13 95-100Watt. I suspect that I cannot use these and that if I did, it might melt the housings, what do you think? With a higher fuse, is the wiring sufficient on an 05 TC Ltd to handle 100w lights? I have written to get the matter resolved and will let you know who it was and how it is resolved.
 
#3 ·
Without cooling, those bulbs will probably fog/melt the housings.

100W at 12V is about 8.5A, so you need at least a 10A fuse per bulb. I believe if the wiring is already 14g, it should handle the increased current draw, but you intend to run them, you may want to look into doing the battery-direct headlight wiring, so that your current draw for the lights comes directly through the battery, and the switch only controls relays to turn on the juice.
 
#5 ·
I would not put them in. I tried to run 90/100 watt bulbs in my 97 F150 and they burnt the wire harness at the bulbs, and fried the multifunction switch. They did work fine in my 98 Jeep wrangler, though. You would be OK if you bought a heavy duty harness and relay for it to draw current directly from the battery.
 
#6 ·
Thanks all, I am still waiting to hear from the seller.
 
#7 ·
Is this for yor 05? I thought they only switched to H13 in 08 and up models.
In any case, you might melt the connectors if you run those but headlights should be fine. I've run higher wattage than that and only melted the connectors, even the heavy duty ones.
I'd run a relay harness from the battery to your stock bulbs. It would give your bulbs higher voltage and they will burn noticeably brighter and whiter, giving you more light. Blue bulbs do not improve vision, fiy, just looks and even that depends on the personal preferences.
You can also go a full HID route, like I did and have an HID projector retrofitted in you stock housings and you will have much, much better lighting.
I've used these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HID-...Accessories?hash=item27ae10ec7c#ht_3322wt_939

Those are G1, they have G3 now, which put out even better lighting. There's a thread on hidplanet.com/forums on group buy for those.

Alex...
 
#8 ·
Incorrect.

Blue light does improve vision, but for a very bad reason.

Blue light (oddly enough) is the first wavelength of light that your pupil does not adjust to, which is why blue lights can appear to glare, even when they do not in reality (as measured by light reflection devices) any moreso than other lights.

The blue light, since your eyes will not adjust for it's brightness, can then use less light output to allow you to see the same area without proper focus - therein lies the problem. If your eyes don't adjust to the light's brightness, they don't focus properly, either.

Blue lights are illegal in some states.
 
#9 ·
Doesn't look like I am going to get much in the way of satisfaction from the seller.
Here is the ad:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150404459896&viewitem=#ht_3994wt_1165

It is from TuningPros. Here is what the copy says:
One Pair of (2) Xenon Gas 100W H13 HID Light Bulbs
*Bulbs Produces High Wattage Light Output with a Standard Watt Current Drawing
*Easy Installation(Plug In & Replace Stock Light Bulbs)
*More Visibility When Driving at Night(See pic for details)
*Give Looks Of Headlight Just Like Luxury Cars
*Hyper White
*12V Drawing Input
*5000K Color Temperature
*Direct Upgrade Replacement of Stock Headlight Bulbs
*No Need to Modify
**Limited Lifetime Warranty**-
**Warranty only for buyer who agrees pay for $7.00 re-shipping fee per pair of light bulbs.**
SKU : HIDLB-H13-3
*Picture represents actual product*
(The picture represents bulbs that state 55/60W 12V on the base of the Bulbs.)

I have sent them another request as to whether or not "Bulbs Produces High Wattage Light Output with a Standard Watt Current Drawing". I will let you know what they respond. Since they pictured a 60W bulb as the "actual product" but able to produce "High Wattage Light Output with Standard Watt Current Drawing" I assumed they would be safe, but I am not sure now. Oh well, we shall see.
 
#11 ·
Those are junk, your stock lights will probably put out more light than those. Those are just cheap stock bulbs painted blue to produce whiter light.
If you want a real improvement, pick up a set of Philips XP light bulbs. They actually make H13 but since H13 is already an improved design type bulb, it's pretty hard to improve on and stay legal.
I've installed a set in our 2008 and it made a noticeable difference. I'd say at least 15-20% further visibility at night.

Alex...
 
#17 ·
Okay, yeah you're right, I should have clarified that with "halogen". Anyone advertising a 60W halogen bulb capable of 100W's worth of light, is pulling your leg. ;)
 
#22 ·
Clearly, you understand how "it works", but I wanted to point that out because there are plenty of people who might read this thread (and don't necessarily have an account here), who don't know any better.

So you know that I wasn't challenging you.
 
#18 ·
I didn't expect to get a 100W of light, I could see on the picture they were 55/60w, but I thought they might have some minor improvements to give a bit better light. But they came as 100W with "off road use only" which is just false advertising. Still waiting to hear from them on my question as to how many watts they actually pull.
Can anyone tell me what kind of relay's you buy to run in line to the switch and feed off the battery directly for this kind of light?
 
#19 ·
Any regular relay would be fine. The ones you see in the fuse box under the hood are all good for at least the 20A+ fuses they run on. You could use one of those relay's and wire it up. Getting creative, maybe even use a blank spot in the power distribution center.
 
#20 · (Edited)
JcWhitney sells all of the different variations of these bulbs(diamond white, diamond blue, xenon blue, all weather yellow, etc., and I have tried them all. The only ones I liked were the standard color bulbs, but at a higher wattage. The colored ones all put less light on the road, even at a higher wattage. But you will need to use a relay to draw power directly from the battery for the higher wattage bulbs. The high wattage bulbs I bought from them (standard,not colored) I ran on my jeep for 9 years/aprox. 100k miles, with DRL on the low beam, were still working great when I sold the jeep last month. as I mentioned in my previous post, they are likely to cause trouble with the vehicle electrics if you dont install a relay. I was lucky in the Jeep, it was not a problem, but in my other vehicles it has caused damage. My 2003 T&C seems to have pretty good light output, If I were to upgrade it I would purchase some 90w low/100w high beam bulbs along with a heavy duty socket/relay/wiring harness to draw power directly off the battery. That way the load is taken off of the oem wiring/equipment, it is only triggering the relay. This would be the least expensive upgrade. I think the best way to go is hid, if you can afford it. the only time I ran into the heat issue was with a very small aftermarket driving light(brand was Pilot). I put 100 watt bulbs in place of the 55watt ones and the coating on the plastic reflector bubbled up.
 
#24 ·
I think the best way to go is hid, if you can afford it.
And if you change your lamp housings to HID housings. The halogen housings are not designed for it, HIDs produce extra glare, and it's not legal.
 
#23 ·
How did you pay for them? Paypal? If they don't want to settle it with you then open a dispute on paypal against them as "item not as described". The description you provided says nothing about "off road use only" yet the item you recieved is "off road use only" and not of use to you. Explain that in your dispute and I'm almost positive you'll win the dispute, as paypal will look at the item's description and determine this. That is, if they do not want to settle the issue personally.
 
#29 ·
I think it shows the concept though. To be sure, the 3rd generation lamps aren't of a great design. But you see a lot of light above the actual beam; those bricks are very visible. That's glare. The HID will only increase this, though it's certainly there with halogens as well, in a lamp design like the 3rd gens have. With that much glare, you can't really "aim it out" of the equation.

See a striking contrast to something like a 4th gen pattern:



This is my neighbor's garage door, across the street. I'm taking the picture from in my garage. Above the horizontal cut-off, about halfway up the garage, there's NO light. If I had HIDs, their whole garage face would be lit up. Or if you parked your van in my driveway, it'd light up their whole garage.

To be sure, the HIDs put out WAY more light than halogens. Putting them into a projector housing is really the best way to go, though, for everyone's safety. It doesn't really make it more "legal", but it's at least a safe way to go.

Cheers,
Jason

:beerchug:
 
#30 ·
Projectors do make it look better with the cut off line, but the light above the cut off in my van is much better than what I was expecting after seeing some other retrofits or reading. That $43 for the kit was well worth it and does not seem to bother any other drivers.
 
#31 ·
Thanks everyone for the input. The company told me today that it does use 100w and that I can send them back anytime if I am not happy. Only thing is, it will cost as much to send them back as forget the whole thing, so I am $7 smarter.
 
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