2017 Ram Laramie using high beam circuit for off-road lights.

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Cactus Red
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Location: Chino Valley, AZ.

2017 Ram Laramie using high beam circuit for off-road lights.

Post by Cactus Red » Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:09 pm

Hi guys,

This applies to Projector headlights.

Decided on Black Oak LED's 20" Dual row 200W with combo optics. The quality of the Black Oak LED’s is on par with, and exceeds many of the name brand lights and the pricing is roughly half. The package I purchased on Black Friday was $434.00 including mounts.

www.blackoakled.com

To access the headlight remove the grill and remember to reach thru the fender to disengage the white clip behind the light housing.

I added Rough Country tow hook mounts to the order. Installation wasn't as easy on this truck as the third gen. The tow hook bolts are a PITA - the nuts are not attached to the body, so they are difficult to remove and install with very limited access. I used a 3/8" breaker bar w/ 18MM socket to hold the nuts from the back. Once removed, install the right side bracket first. Slide the light thru the larger opening on the left side, set in down by the intercooler if present. Install the left side bracket and tow hook. The brackets appear to be wider than required, but once the light is attached and the nuts tightened, it work fine.

The light came with a very nice complete wiring harness - I was impressed with the quality! However, I do things differently, so I used a TE Potter and Brumfield T92S7D22-12 relay vs the Hella style provided. These work very well with the CANBUS system on Ram/Jeep vehicles and don't chatter like the Hella’s do. Wiring is simple. Switching power is applied by a SPDT toggle in the cab with one wire going to the high beam circuit, the other directly to the battery. The center pin completes the loop to the relay. Fused power to the light is then attached via the two pins on the right side of the relay - I have the option of adding another light to the system with the second set of pins.

For our RAM 2500 the high beam power is Pin #7 on the headlight. I carefully spliced, sealed, and re taped the harness.

Previously I’ve used HID lights – Hella, Light Force, and my favorite, KC Hilite 35W #851 driving lights. I would have preferred to use them again, but the parking sensors in the front bumper limit what can be installed. So, my comparison in light output is apples to oranges, and I knew that going into this purchase. The four KC’s on Cactus Red were awesome – a flat fan of light. They were rated at a combined output of 14000 Lumens.

The Black Oak LED is rated at a staggering 22000 Lumens. It is incredibly bright ball of light – I can easily see clearly at a half mile (our streets in Chino Valley, AZ. are ½ mile apart). With the combo optics, there is a lot of side lighting as well, and over all I’m very pleased with the output. Black Oak specs show the spot optics at 10 degrees, the floods at 40 degrees.

On the relay, the brown wire is the common center from the switch, the black is ground. The blue is battery to switch, the green stripe is high beam to switch. Fused battery power input is inboard, output to the light is outside edge. It's a much simpler relay than the Hella style. They are fully sealed and potted as well. The one on Cactus Red is now 10 years old, and still working. The one on Miss Rubi, our JKUR is on year seven with no problems.
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Attachments
light bar installed.jpg
relay wiring.jpg
pin 7 high beam.jpg
relay info.jpg
I'm just along for the ride...

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