Poor low beam lighting Volvo 780

Discussion in 'Volvo Forum' started by Metalicious, Jan 30, 2023.

  1. Metalicious

    Metalicious Road Train Member

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    So, I ordered new headlight assemblies from some company that had them on the cheap, with the halogen bulbs already installed. My current issue is the headlights have very poor low beam lighting. I did have LED bulbs (what was in it when I bought it), thought maybe it was cause of worn out projector chrome reflection or whatever is supposed to provide the light being beamed out from the light itself. Replaced with halogen and that was even worse. The assemblies I ordered are cheap, $260 for the set, was thinking about putting HID bulbs in, but after reading they last much less than halogen or LED, I ordered a new set of 4600 lumen LED low beam bulbs as well. The current high beam 9005 bulbs work fine and great. Main issue with the assemblies I already have are the adjustment screws won't move the beams up or down on either light currently. Should this solve the issue, temporarily at least? I figure if it works for me for 6 months for under $360 it's not that bad.
     
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  3. KB3MMX

    KB3MMX Road Train Member

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    Fahren LED retrofit bulbs should solve your problem and they're very reliable and affordable.
     
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  4. Metalicious

    Metalicious Road Train Member

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    I will look into those if the others I ordered don't work out too well. The ones I bought actually claim to be 20,000 lumen per set but I don't much believe that. Thank you for the suggestion of the Fahrens
     
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  5. boneebone

    boneebone Road Train Member

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    What is the brand name of the set of headlight assemblies that you currently have?
     
  6. Metalicious

    Metalicious Road Train Member

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    I'd have to ask my wife. I ordered some that were called Torque then had an issue with FedEx so told them to return them and then my wife ordered this set I have on now from Amazon. Some Chinese name but they were $299 I think. They work great, with my LED bulbs in them. Nice and bright beams rather than looking like i taped cell phone flashlights to my headlights.
     
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  7. ducnut

    ducnut Road Train Member

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    No bulb is going to fix a non-adjustable reflector. Properly adjusted beams are the first thing to address. Spend the money and buy the artificially inflated OEM housings; not aftermarket replacements. New housings made a world of difference on the Volvo I used to drive. Then, buy a high quality, 5000K halogen bulb, which is the bulb type the housing is designed for. No matter, projector beam headlights suck.

    I have a friend who is a lighting engineer for a Tier 1 supplier. He and I agree, the lack of proper reflector sizing and design are the problems with projector beam lighting. They’re meant to project a pencil beam; not cast light over a specific area. Many times, the manufacturer dictates the design outcome and the lighting engineer has to make it happen, even if it’s a poor design decision.


    If I positively knew they wouldn’t cause cause CAN bus issues, I’d try them. But, their reviews indicate some vehicles simply can’t run them.
     
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  8. Metalicious

    Metalicious Road Train Member

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    Nah I'm good with what I got. Works great for me. Looks a lot better than the fogged up factory assemblies that were on it too.
     
  9. MooneyBravo

    MooneyBravo Heavy Load Member

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    Just make sure you do it right because I know one thing, a lot of trucks are running around with lights that seem like they belong on a locomotive or were designed to light up the sky. They are way too bright. And flashing high beams at them does absolutely nothing. They see better but are killing everyone else.
     
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  10. ducnut

    ducnut Road Train Member

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    The flip-flop crowd are switching their low-beam plug to the high-beam bulb and reflector, which allows them to run high-beams AND factory driving lights. The projector beam headlight design is horrible. I get it. But, like you say, blinding everyone else is NOT cool. I see multiple Volvos like this on I-70, everyday.
     
  11. Metalicious

    Metalicious Road Train Member

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    I get what you guys are saying. But I'm not blinding anybody. The lights now are what they should have been with the housings I got. The high beams don't seem as good but the projector definitely produces good lighting with a nice beam pattern, when the old housings made it look like I was trying to drive with a flashlight for a headlight.
     
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