rustykramermetalfab Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Last year I installed new Hella brand headlamps in my 2000 Dynasty. I did not want China junk. Well I got euro junk. The light quality is terrible. Anyone install a newer style bulb in the original Hella 5 Series that works well? I spent so much money on these I really don't want to spend another $100 bucks that does not help. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Busch Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 I am not sure what your lights are. In 2016 I put led headlight bulbs in my 2005 Monaco. My low beam just quit working and I bought the newest version of the 2006 bulb in led. They they have a smaller ballast and transformer and are working great. Speak to Steve at M4 led products. He walked me through the reorder. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustykramermetalfab Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 Paul, Mine are the BMW 5 series lamps made by Hella. My new ones are projector low beams. Your lamps may be out of a different auto. Most of these old coaches use automotive lamps of some kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Busch Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Cool, fun to learn. Mine are from 2006 Ford Expedition. I was looking at projector lights but I put them in my 02 trailblazer and wasn’t happy with them and put factory lens and bulbs back. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vito.a Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) We also have the BMW 5 series halo headlights. I replaced ours with new Hella light modules and I'm also very disappointed. The problem is Monaco just cuts off the locating tabs and mounts the light assemblies with aluminum straps screwed into the fiberglass. There is no proper way to locate the light assembly in the front cap. My high beams were actually crossing each other. These light assemblies have an internal aim adjustment, but it's just for fine tuning. I've played with them some and they are slightly better. I purchased and installed new HID bulbs and ballasts for the low beam. They are brighter but I still have the aiming problem. The best light modification I've gotten is by replacing the original Hella FF300 fog lights with Hella FF300 driving lights. They are easy to aim and very bright. Now the problem is they only work on low beam. Hella makes an LED driving light in this model, but they are very expensive. I'm just using the Hella incandescent version. Edited March 7, 2021 by vito.a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanwill52 Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 11 hours ago, vito.a said: We also have the BMW 5 series halo headlights. I replaced ours with new Hella light modules and I'm also very disappointed. The problem is Monaco just cuts off the locating tabs and mounts the light assemblies with aluminum straps screwed into the fiberglass. There is no proper way to locate the light assembly in the front cap. My high beams were actually crossing each other. These light assemblies have an internal aim adjustment, but it's just for fine tuning. I've played with them some and they are slightly better. I purchased and installed new HID bulbs and ballasts for the low beam. They are brighter but I still have the aiming problem. The best light modification I've gotten is by replacing the original Hella FF300 fog lights with Hella FF300 driving lights. They are easy to aim and very bright. Now the problem is they only work on low beam. Hella makes an LED driving light in this model, but they are very expensive. I'm just using the Hella incandescent version. Vito, ask Paul Whittle about modifying the relay wiring so that your driving lights stay on all the time. I've forgotten the simple details, but he did that for my coach and now the driving lights are on anytime the "Driving Light" switch and the ignition switch are on. I replaced my Hella driving lights with some inexpensive multi-LED driving lights for off-road vehicles. They are extremely bright (white light) and easily aimed. Never have anyone flashing their bright lights at me, but they provide more light, better aimed, than my headlights. No, I do not know if they are legal, nor do I care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vito.a Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Thanks Van. I'll do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustykramermetalfab Posted March 8, 2021 Author Share Posted March 8, 2021 Vito you are so right about how poorly these were installed. From the mounting brackets to the way they sit in the cap. That was a hack job by Monaco. I have been able to run mine on high beam without issue on 4 lane roads but the light pattern on High beam is also really bad. I replaced my fogs with driving lights also before the new headlights but I am not sure what I have. As Van said I have thought about just wiring them to a separate switch on the dash to turn them on when ever I want. I don't think My driving lights are great so I might check into those that you used.. As you stated they are probably not legal but I don't care either, we have to see where we are driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I replaced the headlight bulbs with cheap Chinese led ones and only had high beams working. I then replaced the headlight assemblies with 2004 Ford Expedition knock-offs, and new leds. The aim of the bulbs is pretty good. The ability to see down the road went from nearly black to really poor. Driving at night is still a scary experience. I plan to continue reading about the experience of others, but to try getting to wherever I’m going by sundown. Mike C 2006 Windsor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dl_racing427 Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 DRIVING Lights should ONLY operate with your HIGH BEAMS. Otherwise they will blind oncoming traffic. FOG lights can be wired to operate either with low beams, or if you don't also have driving lights, you can run them all the time. Running incorrect and illegal lights can have serious consequences. There's always the risk of a ticket, but worse, you could cause an accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I have corrected the issue . Sorry for not mentioning it. I, like most people, am well aware of the dangers you mention. I think you meant to say one should drive with “low beams.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Nodine Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 On 3/8/2021 at 6:25 AM, mike said: I replaced the headlight bulbs with cheap Chinese led ones and only had high beams working. I then replaced the headlight assemblies with 2004 Ford Expedition knock-offs, and new leds. The aim of the bulbs is pretty good. The ability to see down the road went from nearly black to really poor. Driving at night is still a scary experience. I plan to continue reading about the experience of others, but to try getting to wherever I’m going by sundown. Mike C 2006 Windsor Because I am retired I don't have to drive at night anymore. Driving a Class A at night is like being in a fish bowl. We usually hit the road about 8 am and try to stop by 3 pm. I like taking it easy and it is fun to get to the campground early and watch others check in. I know folks that leave on a trip very early and drive into the late evening and then pull off into a Walmart to grab a few hours of sleep. That sounds like work to me and not much fun. Sometimes I wonder if my headlights even work and then I see the daylight running lights in the vehicle in front of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wamcneil Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 On 3/6/2021 at 9:48 PM, rusty@kramermetalfab.com said: Last year I installed new Hella brand headlamps in my 2000 Dynasty. I did not want China junk. Well I got euro junk. The light quality is terrible. Anyone install a newer style bulb in the original Hella 5 Series that works well? I spent so much money on these I really don't want to spend another $100 bucks that does not help. Thanks Here’s my experience installing led bulbs in my BMW housings.https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/diy-2003-monaco-dynasty-led-headlight-upgrade-379517.html Mine are the older variant without the angel eye rings. So might be a little different than yours. It took some fiddling, but the end result is a huge improvement. cheers Walter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mile Marker 42 Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 Better off to check your wiring as this is the major problem with coaches. There is tons of information on a mod that uses Bosch relays. I did this mod on my coach and the difference is night and day. A good read for those not sure of what I am talking about is this from Daniel Stern. Anyone good with a 12 volt test light can do this upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanwill52 Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 I did this on my coach. I measured the voltage drop before adding the additional relays and it did not seem to me that it would make much difference...and it did not. I suggest you measure the voltage drop before making this modification. The voltate drop was less than 1 volt in my case. In cases where there is significant voltage drop it would likely help. It did nothing to help me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mile Marker 42 Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 Interesting. You are the first poster that has said this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalcolmH Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) We had all the same issues as others in the post. In order to solve the lack of road lighting at night issue, we focused on a fog light upgrade, as others here have mentioned. Initially I looked for an LED replacement fixture that would match the body opening - no success. Next I looked at an HID upgrade to the existing fixtures. I did find an HID kit that had the lighting capabilities we were looking for and I could sufficiently modify the housing to accept the HID lamp and associated heat sink tabs. The pictures tell the story. Note we did change the BMW Series 5 halo headlights solely because of polycarbonate fatigue and esthetics, road lighting was still extremely poor. The road lighting at night is now excellent! Malcolm Edited March 12, 2021 by ukrmalcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wamcneil Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 That's a good idea. I think I'll look into LED in my driving lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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