Spyder headlamps.....my take on 'em...and LIGHTING in general

[shovelbill]

well....what I'VE heard is the Sylvania's burn out pretty fast.....and i'm a Philips guy, so that's the route i took.....i've used Osram standard bulbs in the past and everything i've read they're neck and neck with Philips.....now the OSRAM Silverstars are a horse of a different color, even though Osram owns Sylvania.

i'd like to believe they became popular because they were readily available from AutoZone and the like, but i can't say that with conviction.....dfx seems to have no issues with them so it's all about choice.

these bulbs HAVE to keep to a standard, so all the 55W bulbs should be the same as far as lumen, but they all THROW a different amount of light because of different filament winding and gas....the color temperature has to do with a couple variables....like Osrams "striped" blue bands.....the filament isn't filtered but the reflected blue makes a "whiter" light, some 3400K

pick your poison, they all seem to do basically the same thing....longevity may be another issue altogether......a +100% bulb will NOT last as long as a stock LL or a +30%....there's a trade off.......i'll change bulbs more often to get the light i want......some folks don't want to do that and won't reap the benefit of a longer beam, better pattern or whiter color.

the new Philips RacingVision is said to be +150%, but i've red on the Candlepower forum it has a lifespan of less than 20 hours....

i just bought the newest Philips H4 XtremeVision +130%, 6 months ago it was +100%...so go figure. The Osram Nightbreaker Laser is a +130% and they said it doesn't last very long either.....these guys are real deal lighting guru "scientists"....they know wht they're talking about, but i'll try **** for myself.

they ALL also say the Spyder headlights are "toys and trinkets" not worthy of being put into service on a roadworthy vehicle.....go figure. i highly doubt they tested them....even Daniel Stern told me they were junk......i sure respect their collective knowledge, but i'm extremely satisfied with the headlight system i put together.......trinkets and all..........now some of those e-bay ***** are just that.....$30 for headlights? pass.

do you and see for yourself.....

i have my own issue to deal with now.....which will be my next post

 

[shovelbill]

Gotta cool it on the spending until next Thursday. If I blow too much between paydays I get in trouble. But I'll snatch them up next Thursday and get them put in. Those are the ones I found, I was just puzzled by the picture. So for 9006's is there a consensus so far as to the most lumens at 14v for the money?
I bought these earlier today

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I saw there is a new silver star which are like these but allegedly brighter yet. But they have blue on the lens to change the color.

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and PS....if i remember correctly, Sylvania lost a class action law suite involving bullshit advertising on those "silverstar" bulbs....google it if you want, i don't use them so i didn't pay attention really.

 

[shovelbill]

ok guys.....i need help.

coming home from work i noticed i had no dash lights....figured it was a fuse and forgot about it after i got home......when i just went to make sure the alarm was on i heard it "beep" 2x for off, the once for on.....but i didn't see the parking lights flash with the beeps. they worked this morning when i remote started her.....hit the "start" button and the parking lights go on and she starts.....after she starts the headlights go on till i turn the key on, then they go off till i take off the e-brake and the the DRL's go back on.

went outside and looked in the dash fuse box....the 20A fuse was blown....i replaced it and it blew bout 3 seconds after i turned on the parking lights......so i turned em off, put in another fuse and it blew all on it's own.

any ideas where to start? i suck at diagnosing electrical...........................also.....2x in the past my cruise contrl stopped working,or i should say didn't work when i tried it. first time was when i was in Utica. i changed the fuse, which didn't LOOK blown at all and on the way home i had cruise.....then it happened again a few weeks ago.......i sure as fu@k hope there isn't a "fuse"correlation betwixt the two and the fuse panel.

it's gotta be grounding somewhere.....i hope it's an easy find too.

HALP!!!!!

 

[shovelbill]

the hazards work all around, corner light flash too. i wonder if one of the four front lights grounded against the radiator support....those new lenses seem to be deeper than the stock units. when i put her together the last time i noticed one of the bulbs was "out".....when i took out the for screws it seemed to push itself out of the grill and the socket was not in the lens.........i did notice the gaskets the socket seat on were deteriorated.....i forgot about that till just now.

HALP!!!!!

 

[michael hurd]

Just had a friend who changed out his cruise module, the worm gear inside was toast. ( tore it apart on the bench after replacing it with a used one ) Around 300,000 kms, so ~ 186k miles.

If your truck is high mileage, it may be fubar'd.

 

[michael hurd]

If it's blowing a fuse that quick, you basically have a dead short to ground. Wiring chafed anywhere visible or pinched?

 

[shovelbill]

Just had a friend who changed out his cruise module, the worm gear inside was toast. ( tore it apart on the bench after replacing it with a used one ) Around 300,000 kms, so ~ 186k miles.

If your truck is high mileage, it may be fubar'd.

would that cause it to blow a fuse then work after changing it......and work fine for a month or so? this is why i like old stuff.....and kick starters.

 

[shovelbill]

If it's blowing a fuse that quick, you basically have a dead short to ground. Wiring chafed anywhere visible or pinched?

tomorrow before work i'll pull the front park/turn lights and see.....my gut is telling me it's there, but i'm an electrical idiot

 

[shovelbill]

tomorrow before work i'll pull the front park/turn lights and see.....my gut is telling me it's there, but i'm an electrical idiot

why would it blow with no light on? only thing on was the courtesy light in the cab.....headlight switch OFF, click, blown......wouldn't the parking lights need to be powered to blow from a grounded wire?


unless it has something to do with the alarm......that uses that circuit.

 

[michael hurd]

why would it blow with no light on? only thing on was the courtesy light in the cab.....headlight switch OFF, click, blown......wouldn't the parking lights need to be powered to blow from a grounded wire?


unless it has something to do with the alarm......that uses that circuit.

I am about to crash for the night, but if it blows a fuse by itself with the switch off, might be your alarm installation.