Convert headlights to sealed beam

[Chapap]

I have a ‘94 ranger. I do a good deal of driving on dark backroads and need more light. I have been looking for some accessory high beams, but am coming back to an idea I had a while back. I’d like to convert these proprietary headlights to something like a 4x6 sealed beam headlight. That way I can use one of the many drop-in led 4x6 units. I bet I could get it to work, but I don’t know if I can make it putty. I have my old pair to test on, but I’d like to see if anyone has done something half way related to this. My current thought is to get the bulb mount down, then cut some thin sheet metal to fill in the gaps at the edges.

 

[fastpakr]

What do you mean by 'proprietary headlights'? Don't all Rangers (past maybe gen 1) use industry standard cartridge style bulbs?

 

[rusty ol ranger]

What do you mean by 'proprietary headlights'? Don't all Rangers (past maybe gen 1) use industry standard cartridge style bulbs?

I think hes talking about the composite style used after 88 yes. By "proprietary" meaning headlight designed (styled) and built by ford.....rather then i dont know...sylvania or something.

To answer the question....its going to be way more work then its worth. If the factory lights arnt bright enough chances are the plastic is yellowed out from age. Replacement is really the only fix.

Personally id mount some KC dayliters and call it a day.

 

[fastpakr]

Sure, they're designed/built by Ford. But that uniqueness describes basically every headlight on a vehicle in the last what - 30 years?

If you're trying to improve on the OEM lighting, I'd look at retrofitting a legitimate HID projector into a replacement headlight assembly with a clear lens. To be clear - not just an HID ballast/bulb insert into the current lens, but one that's designed to correctly focus and project the lighting forward rather than scattering all over creation.

 

[Chapap]

What do you mean by 'proprietary headlights'? Don't all Rangers (past maybe gen 1) use industry standard cartridge style bulbs?

Maybe proprietary isn’t the best word. I mean it’s a 3rd gen ranger headlight. Fits nothing but this particular truck. I have brand new headlights installed. After experiencing cars with LEDs and HIDs, these halogens are just terrible. I’ll probably tinker with the old headlights to see how much of a hassle it’ll be then throw a pair of accessories on. But maybe it’ll work.

 

[fastpakr]

Okay - I'm definitely on board with the lighting of an older Ranger not being up to par with current stuff. A friend drives a CX-5 that amazes me by comparison. Bright lighting that's focused precisely on the road with no scatter.

 

[Chapap]

Okay - I'm definitely on board with the lighting of an older Ranger not being up to par with current stuff. A friend drives a CX-5 that amazes me by comparison. Bright lighting that's focused precisely on the road with no scatter.

I suppose I’d want to know if the LED sealed beam replacements are as good as passenger car lights before I devote too much time. I know I’ve seen old dump trucks, mixers, semis, etc with them. I figure a trucking company wouldn’t drop 5-10x the price for a headlight if they weren’t better.

 

[sgtsandman]

@PetroleumJunkie412 put sealed beam style LED head lights in his one truck and he hated/hates them.

The older style sealed beams don’t usually perform as well as the modern lights put into vehicles. At least the legal ones usually don’t but there are exceptions.

Installing new housings would be easier and probably would provide better results.

Any other conversions will require housings specifically designed for the bulb you want to use. Like the HIDs mentioned above. LEDs would be the same way. The light output from the bulbs comes out differently than halogens and needs a reflector designed for them.

 

[Chapap]

@PetroleumJunkie412 put sealed beam style LED head lights in his one truck and he hated/hates them.

The older style sealed beams don’t usually perform as well as the modern lights put into vehicles. At least the legal ones usually don’t but there are exceptions.

Installing new housings would be easier and probably would provide better results.

Any other conversions will require housings specifically designed for the bulb you want to use. Like the HIDs mentioned above. LEDs would be the same way. The light output from the bulbs comes out differently than halogens and needs a reflector designed for them.

I’ve never read anything good about hi/low led bulbs in that just replace the halogen bulb. High only tend to be fine tho. My accord had led lows and a halogen high. I had a drop in led that was phenomenal. It was a regular reflector. I also read that halogen projectors don’t like led bulbs.

something like this is what I want to convert to.

 

[fastpakr]

@PetroleumJunkie412 put sealed beam style LED head lights in his one truck and he hated/hates them.

The older style sealed beams don’t usually perform as well as the modern lights put into vehicles. At least the legal ones usually don’t but there are exceptions.

Installing new housings would be easier and probably would provide better results.

Any other conversions will require housings specifically designed for the bulb you want to use. Like the HIDs mentioned above. LEDs would be the same way. The light output from the bulbs comes out differently than halogens and needs a reflector designed for them.

You can do a full HID conversion by retrofitting projectors and the reflector issue goes away (projectors don't send light backwards towards the reflector at all). You would need a set of headlights with clear lenses though. Figure on spending at least a couple of hundred dollars plus quite a bit of time to do it right.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

I’ve never read anything good about hi/low led bulbs in that just replace the halogen bulb. High only tend to be fine tho. My accord had led lows and a halogen high. I had a drop in led that was phenomenal. It was a regular reflector. I also read that halogen projectors don’t like led bulbs.

something like this is what I want to convert to.
View attachment 69108

Those ones are shit.

The Osram sealed beam drop ins on amazon are best headlights I've ever used. Have them on my Sterlings and Internationals.

 

[sgtsandman]

I’ve never read anything good about hi/low led bulbs in that just replace the halogen bulb. High only tend to be fine tho. My accord had led lows and a halogen high. I had a drop in led that was phenomenal. It was a regular reflector. I also read that halogen projectors don’t like led bulbs.

something like this is what I want to convert to.
View attachment 69108

Petroleumjunkie412 has something similar to those in his one truck. Those are the ones he hates. The design you post is a bit different than what he has. So, you may have better results.

 

[sgtsandman]

You can do a full HID conversion by retrofitting projectors and the reflector issue goes away (projectors don't send light backwards towards the reflector at all). You would need a set of headlights with clear lenses though. Figure on spending at least a couple of hundred dollars plus quite a bit of time to do it right.

You are correct on that but I didn’t want to venture into those waters. I saw quite a few failed attempts at that conversion as well as a few successes back in the Honda CR-V days.

Discussions on the subject would end up in huge debates that were pretty much like political discussions.

It may be different here but I start getting flashbacks on those debates as a moderator trying to herd the cats and don’t want to go back to that nightmare.

 

[Chapap]

You are correct on that but I didn’t want to venture into those waters. I saw quite a few failed attempts at that conversion as well as a few successes back in the Honda CR-V days.

Discussions on the subject would end up in huge debates that were pretty much like political discussions.

It may be different here but I start getting flashbacks on those debates as a moderator trying to herd the cats and don’t want to go back to that nightmare.

Ive seen some HID vs LED debates. I’d venture to guess that regulation brightness limits make that a moot point at this level. From my very limited experience with an accord (led reflector design as pictured previously), a Camaro (HID projector), and a Harley rental (LED projector), I prefer the led reflector. Both projector setups have a displeasingly sharp cutoff line at the edges of the light pattern and seem to me to be not as good as the accord was. Plus LEDs are the hip thing now… until laser powered lights become a thing. I think I saw that Audi was messing with that.

The Camaro hid has a mechanical shield that flips up and down for high and low beam. I would imagine that’s the only way to do it without having separate hi and low bulbs with HID.

The accord had a much better visibility, but that could just be an illusion from color temperature, vast design difference, and no high/low overlap due to mechanical flapper thing. No clue why, but Chevy put slightly yellow, halogen colored HIDs in the Camaro. I plan on fixing that at some point.

If I decide to try this, I’ll definitely make sure I get some good light units. I’ve done some curiosity reading on LED diodes, and there’s a world of difference between good ones and bad ones. I imagine the chinesium lights can copy the best designs out there, but they turn to when they put in an archaic diode.

 

[racsan]

call me weird but what I would like to do is scale down a full size front end (grille/headlights) from a ‘76-‘77. Ive pretty much made my 94 look like a ‘70’s truck except for the very front of it.
For better lighting at night I have a 6” light bar on the grille guard, not very retro but not very noticeable. for those that havent seen my ‘70’s styled ranger heres some thumbnails: