2004 chevy silverado head lights

[jeeppoor]

Replaced the head light bulbs.
We have noticed over the years how they have seem to fade or be getting dimmer.
After doing some research I found out they start getting dimmer as they get older.
So I upgraded them.
....9006 ->9012 upgrade
Bumps 'em up from 1000 to 1850.
But, these^ will fade with time also.

Needed items;
2- Philips 9011 bulbs, high beam
2- Philips 9012 bulbs, low beam
Dremel style cut-off blade,
Razor knife blade,
And 1 Nickel
I used the cardboard box that Amazon shipped in and, using a nickel, traced the outline, twice, and cut out the 2 holes.
Insert the low beam (9006) bulb into the hole and making a template; trace the outline of the tabs
Extend the cut lines on the template
Insert the new 9012 bulb in the hole so it's protected. Holding the bulb in place, follow the template lines and with the dremel, cut down the center tab to match.
Insert and check fit.
Next, insert the high beam (9005) bulb into the 2nd hole, mark for your template, insert the new 9011 bulb and cut the center tab to match.
Insert new bulb.
Finished
Repeat for the 2 bulbs on the other side, and you're done.

I just thought that this might help some of you that are running Chevy and GMC trucks, suvs.

 

[civicmindedex79]

Assuming this is a "cat-eye" style truck? Good info but I would probably not go through the trouble myself. But I agree my lights have sucked since I got my truck but the headlights are all fogged over also.

 

[TBItoy]

Jumpering the relays with diodes so the high beams turn on lows and fogs also is a good easy mod that makes driving at night not suck


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[BUG-E J]

Assuming this is a "cat-eye" style truck? Good info but I would probably not go through the trouble myself. But I agree my lights have sucked since I got my truck but the headlights are all fogged over also.

Mines an 05 and i got all 4 of the front lenses shipped to me on ebay for 40-50 bucks. Didnt help seeing but looks alot better. Except for the one that doesnt fit right and keeps falling out :****:

 

[civicmindedex79]

Mines an 05 and i got all 4 of the front lenses shipped to me on ebay for 40-50 bucks. Didnt help seeing but looks alot better. Except for the one that doesnt fit right and keeps falling out :****:

I go the taillight from ebay that matches the headlight you got that falls out.

 

[rpf500]

Jumpering the relays with diodes so the high beams turn on lows and fogs also is a good easy mod that makes driving at night not suck


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Agree. I did the diodes, added Sylvania ultra stars, and LED fog light bulbs off Amazon. All kinds of light at night.

 

[jeeppoor]

Assuming this is a "cat-eye" style truck? Good info but I would probably not go through the trouble myself. But I agree my lights have sucked since I got my truck but the headlights are all fogged over also.

Yes they are cats eye. Sorry I should have mention that.

 

[TacomaJD]

Re:

2 different bulbs fit in the fog lights on those trucks, cant remember the numbers off the top of my head, but having the bright bulbs in the fogs makes a huge difference and is plug and play. Ran them in both trucks Ive had in those models.

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[zukimaster]

Glad you made that easy for dummy's like me to understand.

 

[TBItoy]

So all you have to do is snip the tab down a bit to make it fit in the stock hole?

Seems like a simple explanation

 

[TacomaJD]

Fyi about the fogs. My 06 came with 9145 45 watt bulbs. Earlier Chevy's had the 9140 40 watt bulbs but all are based off of the H10/9005 series. The key is wattage/wiring and heat/melted lenses. Putting a 55w 9005 in mine will likely lead to melted wires or lenses. But, upgrading a 40w 9140 to a 45w 9145 "should" work just fine. Best to search though to see what was successfull on average vs what caused problems.

You shouldn't melt wires before oem size fuse pops should you??

Yeah I think it was the 9005 I swapped to, that sounds right. Been a while. I had them in my old 06 2500hd for the 5 years I owned it, always ran fogs when driving at night and never popped a fuse or discolored/melted the fog light lense. Pretty sure they are in the fogs on the 05 1500 I have now, as they are bright as **** too. (I haven't looked to confirm since I bought it). It's a popular bulb swap on those trucks, friend of mine has had them in his fog lights on his 06 2500hd that he still has. We put them in our 2500's at the same time years ago, I sold my truck in 2016 and he still has his now in 2018, so his have been fine for upwards of 7 years. We just went to Advance and bought the cheapest brand 9005 bulbs they had and swapped them in.

 

[civicmindedex79]

So all you have to do is snip the tab down a bit to make it fit in the stock hole?

Seems like a simple explanation

Hell yea I totally missed the simplicity of it. I will be trying this. Thanks for the extra explanation to all.

 

[onepieceatatime]

Not sure how it works but a buddy told me about this setup http://fleeceperformance.com/electronics/gm-all-lights-on/gm-all-lights-on-module.html

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[TBItoy]

Not sure how it works but a buddy told me about this setup http://fleeceperformance.com/electronics/gm-all-lights-on/gm-all-lights-on-module.html

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That's the "diode jumpers" put on a nice neat circuit board. Clean.

I use 2, 25 cent diodes jammed into the relay pin holes


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[TacomaJD]

Figured I'd do a little video action of my fog lights to add to the thread. Still haven't looked to confirm, but my truck has to have the 9005's in the fogs. They are brighter than my low beams by a long shot. See video below.

http://youtu.be/gWreTwi_D-Q

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