Headlight wiring harness

JimWilson · December 30, 2003

Anyone know of another company that makes those headlight wiring harnesses? You know the kind I'm talking about; they not only boost the volts going to the bulbs, but they also allow the lows to remain on when you hit the highs.

I've got one from www.suvlights.com on my truck, and now I want to get one for my wife's SUV. suvlights.com has been jerking me around a bit so I want to see if there are other companies making them too (her truck uses 9007 bulbs). I know about the one from Kennedy Diesel, but IMO they charge too much $$ for it. Do any other companies sell a GOOD harness?

Photo · December 30, 2003

Jim,

Here's a company up here in Canada that sells a Headlight Harness similar to Kennedy's.

http://www.dieselservices.com/

If you click on the 'Purchase Online' link, then 'GM Diesel', '6.6l Duramax' you will find it further down this page on the left hand side. Here is the link to take you directly to the booster:

http://www.dieselservices.com/webstore/mor...FTOKEN=78681564

They also sell replacement bulbs in different wattages for the low-beams, plus 100 watts for the high-beams.

I have not purchased this booster yet, but plan on doing so before the end of the week.

You can change to US Dollars by clicking on the US flag in the top right corner of the webpage.

You should be able to get the harness and replacement bulbs for less than what Kennedy wants for his harness alone.

If you buy one, please let me know what you think of the quality of the parts are.

Thanks,

Photo....

8100LT · December 30, 2003

Here is a good alternative. Premier Motoring. I have also had a problem with suvlights.com. Items on order since 12/3/03. I know they recently moved. Hope they catch up soon...

SteveM

JimWilson · January 2, 2004

Here is the link to take you directly to the booster:

http://www.dieselservices.com/webstore/mor...FTOKEN=78681564

I don't really see any mention about using all 4 lights for the highs, which is mandatory for me.

You can change to US Dollars by clicking on the US flag in the top right corner of the webpage.

Oddly, this didn't work for me. But I guess it doesn't really matter; at over $204 Canadian it's WAY more then I'm willing to pay (seeing as how it's about $20 worth of parts anyway).

JayMan · January 2, 2004

Just browsing from the Light Duty Forum. This issue has been covered in the LD forum and if you don't mind some wiring work, such as relays and diodes, there are excellent articles on how to rewire your Electrical Center to keep the Lows on when you switch to High. A search should uncover the article at:

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...=13607&hl=diode

Or you can go to Painless Performance at:

http://www.painlessperformance.com/

I still for the life of me can't figure out why GM turns off the low beams when you switch to high beams. As time goes by, this becomes more irritating.

JimWilson · January 4, 2004

I checked with Painless about their harness. According to them they don't have a 4 headlight high beam setup because it's against DOT regulations. Funny, but I went right through the NJ state inspection with mine, and if anyone is picky about asinine, or obscure, rules and regulations it's those chumps. But they didn't utter a word about them...

JayMan · January 4, 2004

I checked with Painless about their harness. According to them they don't have a 4 headlight high beam setup because it's against DOT regulations. Funny, but I went right through the NJ state inspection with mine, and if anyone is picky about asinine, or obscure, rules and regulations it's those chumps. But they didn't utter a word about them...

I'm confused here: Painless was the first reputable company to offer a wiring harness to allow all 4 lights to remain on when in high beam. I have a 2000 GMC Sierra and put their harness in last year.

On low beam, I can use the fog lamps as the factory setup. When I flick to high beams, the high beam lights turn on, the low beams stay on thanks to the Painless relay, and the fog lights go out.

The fog lights have to turn off as that is DOT regulation. You can only have a maximum of FOUR lights on at any one time.

For the 1999-2002 trucks, Painless harness #30821

For the 2003 trucks, Painless harness #30822

At the Painless online catalog, click on the left frame "Headlight Relays." You will find the GM headlight harness.

The difference at nighttime is literally day and night. The next mod for my truck is a push bar on the front bumper and a pair of Hella HID driving lights. Though I will have to be careful as those ARE illegal!

99silveradoz71 · January 5, 2004

Jerry, I've got a set of Hella 550's on the front of a GoRhino black guard...not a bad look at all.

Shark Bait · January 5, 2004

After a lot of research into relay headlight harnesses I ordered a harness from kennedy: http://www.kennedydiesel.com/ and installed it this weekend on my 2004 2500HD.

I could have built the harness from scratch (too much work), just used diodes (does not provide maximum voltage to the bulbs) or purchased on from Caspers, Painless, SUVLights, etc, (not sure of the quality) but in the end the Kennedy harness appeared to be the QUALITY harness of choice.

The harness is very well made, the relays are sealed, the black wire loom matches the factory wiring, it fit prefectly and work as advertised. I took my time with the installation and if you did not know exactly what you were looking for you can not tell anything has been added to the truck. I am very happy with the harness.

All that said, that does not mean the other harnesses are bad or that the diode only method won't work, I just chose to go with what I determined to be the best quality harness avaialble. I agree with one of the other posters that in this case "You get what you pay for". I talked to John kennedy before I ordered and he was knowledgeable, helpful and pleasant. Just food for thought.

JayMan · January 5, 2004

Jerry, I've got a set of Hella 550's on the front of a GoRhino black guard...not a bad look at all.

Ok, you've talked me into it!

JayMan · January 5, 2004

After a lot of research into relay headlight harnesses I ordered a harness from kennedy: http://www.kennedydiesel.com/ and installed it this weekend on my 2004 2500HD.

I could have built the harness from scratch (too much work), just used diodes (does not provide maximum voltage to the bulbs) or purchased on from Caspers, Painless, SUVLights, etc, (not sure of the quality) but in the end the Kennedy harness appeared to be the QUALITY harness of choice.

The harness is very well made, the relays are sealed, the black wire loom matches the factory wiring, it fit prefectly and work as advertised. I took my time with the installation and if you did not know exactly what you were looking for you can not tell anything has been added to the truck. I am very happy with the harness.

All that said, that does not mean the other harnesses are bad or that the diode only method won't work, I just chose to go with what I determined to be the best quality harness avaialble. I agree with one of the other posters that in this case "You get what you pay for". I talked to John kennedy before I ordered and he was knowledgeable, helpful and pleasant. Just food for thought.

The Painless harness appears to be very high quality. My relays are Bosch and they appear to be sealed. Nice heavy wiring. I know a lot of guys who restore 60's cars and trucks, and build hot rods, and they swear by the Painless Performance wiring harness kits.

The diode kit is more sophisticated, but you'll probably experience dimming of the lights. The painless kit keeps the lights bright as the low beams are fed by relay from a separate 12 V source. I used the jump start point under the red cover by the motor. The relays are fused so you don't have to worry about a short melting your electrical system down.

I've also heard good things about Kennedy. You're absolutely right, you get what you pay for.

JimWilson · January 6, 2004

I'm confused here: Painless was the first reputable company to offer a wiring harness to allow all 4 lights to remain on when in high beam. I have a 2000 GMC Sierra and put their harness in last year.

Perhaps I'm the one that's confused you. Allow me to explain...

Yes, the Painless harness (and a few others) allow vehicles with four separate bulbs -- like the GM's -- to have all four lights on simultaneously. However, on my wife's SUV -- which uses a dual filament, single 9007 bulb per side -- Painless does not offer a wiring harness that allows all four filaments to be lit at the same time. That's what I'm looking for, and thus far suvlights is the only one that seems to offer one (in the price range I'm willing to pay anyway).

JayMan · January 6, 2004

Gotcha. Must have been all that eggnog I had over xmas!

Since you're using the same reflector housing, what advantage do you have to having both filaments on? It's the same beam pattern, more or less, with the low filament hitting one area and the high filament hitting another area.

You're better off using the Painless High Wattage harness for single headlights (Includes HD relays) and running higher wattage bulbs, say 150W or 200W highs. Some have "legal" low beam wattage, some offer illegal 100-150W low beam wattage.

I'd say if you can get away with it, run the "illegal" higher wattage low's but make sure your headlights are aimed properly. Maybe aim them a tad low on purpose.

You really shouldn't just plug the higher wattage bulbs into a stock headlight system. At the very least, you'll start tripping the CB or blowing fuses. You could also melt down the headlight harness. Since today's headlight housings are plastic, you could also melt the housing.

I have a 1984 Ford F-150 that I bought new. It has those single rectangular headlights. In 1985, I put in European Hella conversions with H4 bulbs. These are legal in Canada, not in the U.S. (No aiming dots on the headlight). The Hella lights are very high quality, thick glass, and very $$$. Yes, I have stone guards!

I found the much better beam pattern alone worth the upgrade. Especially in Low, you can aim the cutoff exactly like a knife. In 1990 I rigged up relays to run European Hella high wattage H4 bulbs (100W low, 250W high). I'm now considering an HID upgrade using either Hella or Sylvania replacement housings.

I'm sure we've all noticed the rather poor light distribution on today's cars and trucks. IMHO you're better off with HID. A buddy of mine picked up a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica in August of last year, and it has the HID option. Literally a night-n-day difference! At night the headlights really are that good, and regular halogen lights seem pale yellow by comparison.

I would happily pay for an HID upgrade if GM offered one.

JimWilson · January 6, 2004

Since you're using the same reflector housing, what advantage do you have to having both filaments on? It's the same beam pattern, more or less, with the low filament hitting one area and the high filament hitting another area.

That IS the benefit. And I only noticed it by mistake...

When the lows are on you get their pattern. With the highs it's a different pattern. However, when you have all 4 filaments on you get BOTH patterns, and on dark roads the difference is phenomenal! And here's where the "mistake" happened.

I was trying to put the highs on, and by accident I didn't pull the stalk back all the way. During this "limbo" state all 4 filaments were on, and remained that way so long as I held the stalk right were it was. It's a bit tough to drive like that though, so ultimately what I'm looking for is something that will replicate this same thing, because the difference in light output was tremendous.

You're better off using the Painless High Wattage harness for single headlights (Includes HD relays) and running higher wattage bulbs, say 150W or 200W highs. Some have "legal" low beam wattage, some offer illegal 100-150W low beam wattage.

I'd say if you can get away with it, run the "illegal" higher wattage low's but make sure your headlights are aimed properly. Maybe aim them a tad low on purpose.

Personally, I would never consider that. I have no intention to run illegal lights for many reasons, not the least of which is I have NO desire to blind other drivers.

JayMan · January 6, 2004

You're better off using the Painless High Wattage harness for single headlights (Includes HD relays) and running higher wattage bulbs, say 150W or 200W highs. Some have "legal" low beam wattage, some offer illegal 100-150W low beam wattage.

I'd say if you can get away with it, run the "illegal" higher wattage low's but make sure your headlights are aimed properly. Maybe aim them a tad low on purpose.

Personally, I would never consider that. I have no intention to run illegal lights for many reasons, not the least of which is I have NO desire to blind other drivers.

edited by Jerry

Sorry, don't know offhand of any company that allows a single headlight system to keep both filaments lit.

If you have the "old fashioned" rectangular glass headlights, an upgrade to a Bosch or Hella aftermarket is MUCH better than keeping both filaments lit. On my old Ford, the difference was amazing.

Some companies also offer HID bulb conversions, but I wonder if the excess heat wouldn't melt the plastic headlight housing?

You'd only blind the oncoming drivers on high beam! After all, that's why I suggest aiming them a "tad" low. I've used the aftermarket Hella H4 bulbs for years, high beam filament is 200w, so you need some sort of relay kit and heavy wiring.

Don't aim to spec, aim about 5 inches lower at 25 feet. With the Hella H4 lights, the beam cutoff is so sharp this makes it easy to maximize light and minimize blinding. I've never had drivers flash me with my Hella H4 lights on low beam. Even running the 100w low filament H4 bulbs.

I've been blinded by dumba** ignorant and/or drunk drivers who refuse to dim at night. They were running stock lights, just too stupid to dim them like decent, good, common folks should .