Driving Seneca at night.

[columbo]

Our 2014 Seneca's head lights, when on the dim position were very "Dim". Seamed to bearly light anything over 150' or so. Maybe it's just that it's normal and I had expected more from a big rig or the lights needed adjusting. Any other Freightliner M2 owners with same issue?

 

[Robbbyr]

Glad to see you again on the forum!

Yes, mine were also terrible. I did several things. The first was having them aimed when the unit loaded for travel. Mine were WAY off, especially the passenger side.

I tried switching to brighter halogen bulbs like the Sylvania Silverstars. Not much better. But another forum member friend "enlightened" me to newer LED headlight bulbs from a company called OPT7 and they are the answer. I changed both my low beams, high beams, and fog light bulbs over to the new ones. These lights are absolutely fantastic. Not cheap, but we also find ourselves driving at night frequently and safety is worth it.

Here are what I have in mine now: FluxBeam X LED Headlights - OPT7

Now the bulbs we have in our M2's are 9006 for the low beams, 9005 for the high beams, and the 880 bulbs for the Freightliner fog lights I installed.

 

[Robbbyr]

Forgot to mention something regarding installation. OPT7 recommends users leave off the rear headlight enclosure covers if possible to provide more cooling for the LED bulbs. Unfortunately for us that is not possible because we would fill the headlight enclosures with spray from the front tires.

The fellow Seneca owner that turned me on to the headlights also recommended the installation of liquid-tight vents to allow some additional heat transfer. I installed two of the vents in each cover and so far I have not had any problems.

Here is a link to the vent, I used 4 total, 2 per housing:
https://www.polycase.com/ua-006

 

[mikew968]

do you order 1 kit per bulb or 1 kit for low 1 kit for high?

 

[Robbbyr]

Each kit contains 2 bulbs. But you need both the 9005 and 9006 kits to do both headlight assemblies if you want both the high and low beams.

Here is a link to the earlier thread on the lights: http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f5/headlight-upgrade-25283.html

 

[columbo]

Wow!! Seriously what would we all do with out your help Robbbyr. Jayco needs to compensate you. Thanks so much, were still on the look out for the right unit but have narrowed it down to the 37ts. Was tempted with Force HD or the DX3 but over all you just can't beat what you get for the price with the Seneca.

 

[javamon-JAY]

Thanks for the info Rob. Didn't realize that the Seneca had such crappy headlights so I will probably do this soon after delivery (hopefully in 2 weeks). I looked at the LED bulbs on the OPT-7 web site and they mention that they include ECM capacitors to eliminate bulb error messages. Did you have to use these capacitors? If so, was the install difficult?

Thanks!

 

[whatimmadoboutmylegs]

Sorry to be a broken record on these threads, but check your local regulations before installing LED/HID light sources in an assembly made for halogens. It is not permitted in some areas.

 

[oldgrizz]

In British Columbia if the headlight did not come with HID lights they are illegal. I know a fellow who is a D.O.T
(CVSE) inspector and they will do a blitz every now and then and he told me that in a few days they had caught in excess of a hundred vehicles of all types with HID lights. They are fined and given 24 hours to have them removed. If the headlight lens doea not say HID then it is illegal to use them.
I am not sure about LED

Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Robbbyr]

Thanks for the info Rob. Didn't realize that the Seneca had such crappy headlights so I will probably do this soon after delivery (hopefully in 2 weeks). I looked at the LED bulbs on the OPT-7 web site and they mention that they include ECM capacitors to eliminate bulb error messages. Did you have to use these capacitors? If so, was the install difficult?

Thanks!

I would advise you take it out yourself at night before you spend (more!) money on it. Especially when it is rainy with wet roads. But I have not seen anything myself or online that tells me Freightliner has improved the headlights on the newer chassis.

I did not have to use the capacitors and have not had any issues with errors, and I also have not seen anything that tells me Freightliner changed anything in the wiring on newer models.

And regarding the legality of headlight swaps, the other members are correct and I suggest you should evaluate the legality of changing headlights bulbs yourself. Now OPT7 claims they have done extensive research to ensure the beam pattern remains nearly the same so it doesn't create any more glare than a halogen bulb. And these are LED bulbs, not HID capsules that typically do generate more glare when put into a housing that is not designed for HID.

And there are Freightliner trucks (Cascadia at least) that do have LED headlights from the factory. So our units with LEDs may not raise suspicion since other Freightliners do have similar lights. The color temperature of the OPT7 lights seems to match the Cascadia's lights as compared to if you put them in an old VW Beetle where they would stick out like a sore thumb!

 

[javamon-JAY]

I looked at the LED bulbs on the OPT-7 web site and they mention that they include ECM capacitors to eliminate bulb error messages. Did you have to use these capacitors? If so, was the install difficult?

The capacitors are in fact built-in. Makes it even more attractive. So pretty much plug-n-play unless you want to do some minor drilling for the additional plug vents.

 

[javamon-JAY]

I would advise you take it out yourself at night before you spend (more!) money on it. Especially when it is rainy with wet roads. But I have not seen anything myself or online that tells me Freightliner has improved the headlights on the newer chassis.

I did not have to use the capacitors and have not had any issues with errors, and I also have not seen anything that tells me Freightliner changed anything in the wiring on newer models.

And regarding the legality of headlight swaps, the other members are correct and I suggest you should evaluate the legality of changing headlights bulbs yourself. Now OPT7 claims they have done extensive research to ensure the beam pattern remains nearly the same so it doesn't create any more glare than a halogen bulb. And these are LED bulbs, not HID capsules that typically do generate more glare when put into a housing that is not designed for HID.

And there are Freightliner trucks (Cascadia at least) that do have LED headlights from the factory. So our units with LEDs may not raise suspicion since other Freightliners do have similar lights. The color temperature of the OPT7 lights seems to match the Cascadia's lights as compared to if you put them in an old VW Beetle where they would stick out like a sore thumb!

Copy on all the advise. I should be able to determine if they have upgraded the headlights by looking at the bulb (I would be surprised if it was LED). One of the first things I will do when I get it home is check the headlight alignment and make any adjustments. I may even aim the beam a little low at first just to make sure there are no issues with the LED beam pattern causing glare to oncoming traffic.

 

[memphis02]

Our 2014 Seneca's head lights, when on the dim position were very "Dim". Seamed to bearly light anything over 150' or so. Maybe it's just that it's normal and I had expected more from a big rig or the lights needed adjusting. Any other Freightliner M2 owners with same issue?

I had the same problems on my '14. The headlights just didn't cut it. This was after upgrading to premium silverstar bulbs.

I ended up installing a 20" LED light bar from Amazon for about $30 . I mounted it on the grill in the bumper. After using it for the first time, this weekend, I can absolutely recommend it. -You might even get flashed a few times because of its brightness....

 

[javamon-JAY]

FYI...using a light bar as a headlight supplement for highway driving guarantees a pull-over and ticket here in Florida. No offense, but your light bar solution is going to attract a lot of attention if you are using it for highway driving.

 

[sennister]

~snip
And regarding the legality of headlight swaps, the other members are correct and I suggest you should evaluate the legality of changing headlights bulbs yourself. Now OPT7 claims they have done extensive research to ensure the beam pattern remains nearly the same so it doesn't create any more glare than a halogen bulb. And these are LED bulbs, not HID capsules that typically do generate more glare when put into a housing that is not designed for HID.
~snip

Some of the issues when it comes to bulb swap (LED or HID) is that the point where the bulb is generating the light (filament, diode, ball 'o plasma) isn't necessarily the same. A halogen enclosure is designed to place the filament in a position so that the rear reflector properly collects the light and reflects it forward in the proper pattern. A little bit too far out or in and the reflectors are no longer tuned properly which causes light to scatter where it wasn't intended. Then combine this with the size of what is emitting the light. How thick is a filament? 1/32" or so? That is a guess. Well a diode in a LED is much bigger so even if they "tune it" they really can't focus the light emission to as small of an area as a filament so you are still going to get some light hitting the reflector that isn't tuned right. They can tune where the bulk of the light is coming from but they really can't properly tune it because they are shooting for as big of a market as they can. They can't have a bulb for each specific reflector design out there. Heck there would be hundreds of different bulbs needed just for GM alone. Then there is the fact that LED and HID simply are designed to work in a projector based headlight assembly rather than a simple reflector in a halogen setup. My Subaru WRX has LED headlights which are in a projector. Some cars use a similar projector design but with halogen bulbs. For instance the Base and Premium versions of the WRX have halogen projectors and the Limited that I have is LED projector. Standing there looking at a headlight assembly you would have a tough time telling them apart until they are turned on. Well there is a way but it has nothing to do with the projectors. A trained eye would spot the couple cosmetic differences in the assembly which indicate the Limited or STI over the other models.

As for the other post on using a LED light bar. Yeah, great way to get pulled over in MN as well. There is a reason they are marked for off road use only.

If it were me and the headlights that bad. I would take the risk of swapping out the high beams but not the lows. Maybe do Silverstars on the lows but they have shorter lifespans and are not going to put out that much more light. If you are running the high beams you are probably in an area where it is pretty dark anyhow and there is no one around to blind.

 

[srxhare]

Hi , did have any problems installing the Opt 7 in your Seneca?
I bought them for my 2016 Seneca & i am havig some challenges in getting the bulbs to install

 

[Robbbyr]

Hi , did have any problems installing the Opt 7 in your Seneca?
I bought them for my 2016 Seneca & i am havig some challenges in getting the bulbs to install

Mine went in okay, just to be very careful in aligning the bulb tabs to the headlight housings. They only go in one way, make sure you have them "clocked" properly and the right bulb in the right spot (high beam/low beam).

 

[RyRoRyan]

Can they go in just like they are (plug and play) or is modifying your housing required? It sounds like they can be plug and play but may overheat if you dont use the vents. Has anyone just plugged them directly in, kept the external housing on and them still work ok? I am looking at them as well as my boss but are not to keen on cutting into our housing to add a vent.

 

[Robbbyr]

Can they go in just like they are (plug and play) or is modifying your housing required? It sounds like they can be plug and play but may overheat if you dont use the vents. Has anyone just plugged them directly in, kept the external housing on and them still work ok? I am looking at them as well as my boss but are not to keen on cutting into our housing to add a vent.

While I did install 2 vents in each, the vents probably are not going to make all that much difference given their size. I think the thing working in our favor is the very large volume of the headlight housing, certainly as compared to many automobile's headlight housings. I believe there is little likelihood they would overheat, perhaps the most likely occasion would be in very hot weather conditions and if you ran them on high beams constantly. That might occur since the low beam lamp stays on when you engage the second (high beam) bulb and you would be creating twice the heat.

Where I also found the main headlights lacking was between where the headlights hit the road and the front bumper. Not critical at highway speeds, but sometimes pulling in somewhere late at night traveling on secondary roads the up-close visibility was lacking. I suppose unavoidable due to the height of the headlights as compared to a low-slung car. But the Freightliner foglights I added, equipped with OPT7 LED bulbs, lights up that area like it is daylight. So if you find that deficiency to be true in your driving experiences too, that is an option. Not cheap to add the foglights, but I wanted all the lighting help I could get with an absolutely stock appearance. Now I do.

 

[RyRoRyan]

So let me give everyone an update on this. If you are doing this to an M2 Seneca, you need to order the standard FluxBeams and not the FluxBeam X's. The new X's come with the wiring requiring you to use the capacitor, which in no way can you fit two of those in the housing (ask me how I know). The set that Robby got apparently still had the option of using the capacitor, but that is not the case now. Only the regular FluxBeams have this option still. I just confirmed this with OPT-7 technical support. Just FYI.