2005 Freightliner Coronado Headlight Upgrade

I am trying to find out if the headlights on my Coronado can be replaced with the 7" round LED lights from either JW Speaker or VisionX? My truck has plastic headlight housings with individually replaceable bulbs.

If this upgrade can be done, please give me an idea of how to go about it. If you did this upgrade on your truck, I'd also like to hear how you liked the new lights. Thanks!

 

I haven't found anything yet. I've reached out to Trucklites, JW Speaker, VisionX and Headlight Revolution. They are all eager to sell me a set of lights, but none of them can provide any details on installation in a Coronado. I have the older style round fixtures with dual bulbs.

 

Sorry I am so late responding. Thanks for your input.

My Coronado an '06 and is equipped with the plastic assemblies and plastic or polycarbonate lenses. It is a Grote assembly (7" round headlights). It does not look like I could cut away enough of the existing housing to install the JW speaker housings in their place.

I've purchased a new set of Grote assemblies and a set of JW Speaker adapter assemblies to see if i can cobble something together. Unfortunately, I haven't made much progress yet.

 

Finally!

Took it to the freightliner dealer this morning to verify the alignment. Don't wanna be that guy!

 

I ended up purchasing all new stock lighting assemblies (made by Grote.) The two complete headlight assemblies, I just stored on the truck in case there was ever any problem with the conversion. The running lights are new factory fixtures with JDM Astar Led bulbs in them. I also purchased the JW speaker headlight mounting kit, but ultimately only utilized the fixture retention rings.

I then removed the factory fixtures and went to work on them. I removed the bulbs and the bulb mounts (save the self threading screws). I very carefully cut away the lense only, being sure to leave the base housing as undamaged as possible. I cut away the back of the fixture, only removing the backing, but none of the corners that give it strength, and staying well away from the attachment points.

The new light, just like the old fashioned sealed beams, has "indexing" bumps or tabs on it to ensure that it is secure and aligned properly in the fixture. The old housing must be notched to accept these tabs securely and keep the light tight and oriented properly.

Once the new light was properly fitted into the housing, I used the fixture retention rings from the JW speaker kit to hold the light in place and used the self threading screws (although I predrilled the holes) retained from the bulb mounts to fasten them. You can see the trim ring in the background of the second photo. The trim rings will need modification as well. The mounting flanges are bent flat, and new mounting holes are made to allow the screws to fasten to the thickest part of the original housing.

Unfortunately, I only have a few photos.

IMG_2348 2 by petrel posted Nov 11, 2018 at 6:35 AM

IMG_2349 by petrel posted Nov 11, 2018 at 6:34 AM

IMG_2351 2 by petrel posted Nov 11, 2018 at 6:36 AM

Note: I used a Dremel tool to cut the fixture.
Be sure to apply uniform pressure when marking the holes and installing the trim/bulb retention ring. The fixture must not move at all. You know how these rigs vibrate!
When reassembling, be sure to apply blue loctite to the screws holding the headlight bezel, and be sure not to over tighten them.
I made sure that I could return to stock lights and wiring, while on the road, so I did not make any changes to the truck or the wiring.
I combined two aftermarket wiring harnesses into one in order to make the lights work properly and avoid any changes to the factory wiring.