BajaNomad - offroad light question

offroad light question

woody with a view - 12-7-2011 at 08:10 PM

so one of my lights is deteriorating around the bulb. there is rust and the reflective coating is changing color. i got them from a friend and they look like KC's. the glass says TLC 4213. there is TLC in a circle on top of the chrome housing.

a search for TLC 4213 on google turns up a KC reference on amazon. is this a KC product? why doesn't it say KC anywhere?

my BAJA trip in january will be better if i get this solved soon.

Ken Cooke - 12-7-2011 at 08:19 PM

My advice is to toss out the old light and to buy a new one. New KC lights cost roughly $100/pair. Why not replace/upgrade before your big trip?

woody with a view - 12-7-2011 at 08:24 PM

because there is a 23 year warranty on a KC.

http://www.kchilites.com/warranty/

Ken Cooke - 12-7-2011 at 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
because there is a 23 year warranty on a KC.

This warranty is limited to the original purchaser and a sales receipt may be required.

BooJumMan - 12-7-2011 at 08:32 PM

The NAPA brand Halogens are really bright good quality, for the price. I think they are like $20 or $30 each. If you want to go real bright, get the Kragen HID's. They are $135 each though but very bright. KC's are decent enough.

woody with a view - 12-7-2011 at 08:33 PM

thanks Ken. i'm just asking if TLC is a KC?

i have an RMA already, no receipt required.....

woody with a view - 12-7-2011 at 08:44 PM

yeah, all good suggestions, but FREE is good, too! and why should the warranty only apply to the original owner?

411?

Ken Cooke - 12-7-2011 at 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
thanks Ken. i'm just asking if TLC is a KC?

i have an RMA already, no receipt required.....

TLC = brand name of light?

RMA = Receipt Money Advance?

David K - 12-7-2011 at 10:17 PM

Woody, KC is in Williams, Arizona... why not call them up?

ddawson - 12-7-2011 at 11:44 PM

Sounds like you need this:

http://www.kchilites.com/store/products/4213-%252d-Lens%7B47...

CaboRon - 12-8-2011 at 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
yeah, all good suggestions, but FREE is good, too! and why should the warranty only apply to the original owner?

All waranties that I have seen are only for the original owner... seems to be industry standard ... and yes, many of these things seem wrong ... however they are all in the favor of the manufacturer.

woody with a view - 12-8-2011 at 06:33 AM

i guess i need to call them. i don't want to send the light in and it's a knock off.

as for the warranty. if i receive something as a gift for my birthday (what i told the guy via email and that i had no receipt) why should the warranty be void? total BS! the guy agreed and gave me a RMA = Return Merchandise Authorization number....

thanks for the replies.

wessongroup - 12-8-2011 at 08:04 AM

Like your thinking .. woody ... and it never hurts to ask... ya can only get "one" of two answers .... just saying ..

Have heard some stories from folks who have driven in various "countries" where using your night driving lights to "blind" the other driver .. Is part of driving at night .... And is thought of a great sport ... as long as YOU win... :lol:

[Edited on 12-8-2011 by wessongroup]

Ken Cooke - 12-8-2011 at 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
i guess i need to call them. i don't want to send the light in and it's a knock off.

as for the warranty. if i receive something as a gift for my birthday (what i told the guy via email and that i had no receipt) why should the warranty be void? total BS! the guy agreed and gave me a RMA = Return Merchandise Authorization number....

thanks for the replies.

Please tell us what the manufacturer says?? I run KC 150w Daylighters atop my 'Baja Buck-stopper' and they really lit up Hwy 3 between Valle de la Trinidad and Ojos Negros a few weeks ago. Of course, I turned off the lights for on-coming Hwy traffic.

Outskirts of Ensenada @ 8:40 p.m.

J.P. - 12-8-2011 at 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wessongroup
Like your thinking .. woody ... and it never hurts to ask... ya can only get "one" of two answers .... just saying ..

When i was running coast to coast in my Peterbuilt I had a Pair of aricraft landing lights mounted under my bumper to Discourage the K.C. light crowd. :lol:

[Edited on 12-8-2011 by wessongroup]

Bajatripper - 12-9-2011 at 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Woody, KC is in Williams, Arizona...

Really? That surprises me, it isn't a very big town. Stayed there on our way to the Grand Canyon last summer.

David K - 12-9-2011 at 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajatripper

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Woody, KC is in Williams, Arizona...

Really? That surprises me, it isn't a very big town. Stayed there on our way to the Grand Canyon last summer.

Yah they moved there from California a few years ago.. like so many other businesses did after what the damn ... (oh, never mind)... :lol:

We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railroad Hotel and took the train ride to the canyon... What a great time, and the cost was very reasonable... We would love to go back and spend more time at the canyon... Baja Angel wants to do the mule ride to the bottom... Then maybe we will be ready for the ride into San Pablo Canyon from San Francisco de la Sierra!

Train Robbery was included in the deal! :lol:

durrelllrobert - 12-9-2011 at 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by J.P.

When i was running coast to coast in my Peterbuilt I had a Pair of aricraft landing lights mounted under my bumper to Discourage the K.C. light crowd. :lol:

This is the light I use to discourage them: [IMG]http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh37/durrellrobert/TecateLight.png[/IMG

[Edited on 12-9-2011 by durrelllrobert]

wessongroup - 12-9-2011 at 11:02 AM

J.P. ..... now that's what I call an advantage... :lol:

.. good thinking

woody with a view - 12-9-2011 at 12:32 PM

turns out TLC is an "older" KC product. i think i'm gonna just buy a new reflector and bulb and install them into the housing. i'd like to keep my old school TLC's running strong for years to come.

David K - 12-9-2011 at 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by durrelllrobert

Quote:

Originally posted by J.P.

When i was running coast to coast in my Peterbuilt I had a Pair of aricraft landing lights mounted under my bumper to Discourage the K.C. light crowd. :lol:

This is the light I use to discourage them:

Your photo link was missing the final ] after [/IMG

More Baja lies, folks...

Ken Cooke - 12-9-2011 at 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Yah they moved there from California a few years ago.. like so many other businesses did after what the damn ... (oh, never mind)... :lol:

http://www.4wdandsportutility.com/features/1111_4wd_kc_hilit...

Ken Cooke - 12-9-2011 at 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
turns out TLC is an "older" KC product. i think i'm gonna just buy a new reflector and bulb and install them into the housing. i'd like to keep my old school TLC's running strong for years to come.

Be sure to post photos of how the rebuild goes with your lights, and how they work out in the field. I'm curious about this older style of KC light.

woody with a view - 12-9-2011 at 06:56 PM

they are similar to the daylighter series, if not identical. 6" long range.

i'll resurrect this thread later with the details.

Ken Cooke - 12-9-2011 at 07:02 PM

I will look forward to reading about your lights and how they held up to the real-world conditions in Baja. As for KC products, I have been running their 150w Daylighters since 2002 and I have been very satisfied with their performance.

woody with a view - 12-9-2011 at 07:18 PM

yeah, i've had them installed for over a year now. the grommet on the bad one is gone but i siliconed where the grommet should be to keep out the moisture. maybe it didn't seal adequately. it looked clean when i got them off craigslist for $30.

anyway, $26 from amazon and a new reflector is on the way. the light output on the bad one is 1/5 the good one. can't wait to light up the night again.

805gregg - 12-9-2011 at 08:03 PM

If you want to see, dump the old tech and get Lightforce, made for the outback.

woody with a view - 12-9-2011 at 08:10 PM

okay! for $56 i got a set of lights that blow dorrs off the tundra headlights. i only use them for pre-dawn runs south of the border trying to get a jump on the daylight. i don't drive at night, i only use them before dawn shows her crack, jack!

no interest in offroading at night.....

[Edited on 12-10-2011 by woody with a view]

Roberto - 12-9-2011 at 08:38 PM

Frankly, I would go with Hella 4000s. They are pretty much the standard.

David K - 12-9-2011 at 09:58 PM

... and get HIDs or convert the halogens to HID! 1/3 the wattage and twice the brightness+ :cool:

amazon rocks

woody with a view - 12-13-2011 at 08:31 PM

i got the reflector yesterday in the mail. the old one was rusting around the edge of the glass and near the bulb. it took 10 minutes to disassemble the light and put it back together.

before (without rockguards):

rsz_1100_8822.jpg - 30kB

time for a break!

woody with a view - 12-13-2011 at 08:34 PM

5 minutes later i was in bidness. just need to adjust the light again as the new one is shining on the fascia of my neighbor across the street. the old one was that bad that i couldn't aim it right, apparently.

rsz_100_8828.jpg - 33kB

Ken Cooke - 12-13-2011 at 08:39 PM

This is great news, Woody. I adjusted mine outside of Valle de la Trinidad after dark last month. They help with regard to seeing livestock while driving after dark on the highways.

woody with a view - 12-14-2011 at 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
They help with regard to seeing livestock while driving after dark on the highways.

i like the fact that oncoming traffic sees me WAAAY before they are coming around the next bend.

Ken Cooke - 12-14-2011 at 09:10 PM

You will be impressed with how well auxiliary lighting augments your factory headlamps.

David K - 12-15-2011 at 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
You will be impressed with how well auxiliary lighting augments your factory headlamps.

YUP!

The two outside lights are Kragen 7" HID (35 watt) Euro (Driving) beams. The two inside lights are Hella 4000 Pencil (Spot) beams that were 100 watt halogens, but I converted them to 35 watt HID (5,000ºK color).

Against my garage wall:

Note how much whiter and brighter the HIDs are compared with the stock halogen (yellowish) headlights.

Here are the Hella lights when they were 100 watt halogens:

Note the Kragen HIDs using 1/3 the power are brighter than the halogen Hellas. HID (High Intensity Discharge) is more expensive, but really ligts up the night!

The newest trick in lighting is LED, uses even less power than HID, is tiny in size and makes some insane light... but the price is still VERY high!

KaceyJ - 12-15-2011 at 11:19 AM

DavidK

Could you make it easy on this novice and siimply tell me what long range model HID lights to get for my Tacoma so I can see the bloody cows at night from as far away as possible. Yea, I drive at night and I like it.

I take it the "HID's" are a little easier on the electrical system no ??

Thank you

jadams - 12-15-2011 at 11:27 AM

David K
where did you get the bar? readymade or did you have to make it?
Jim

David K - 12-15-2011 at 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by KaceyJ
DavidK

Could you make it easy on this novice and siimply tell me what long range model HID lights to get for my Tacoma so I can see the bloody cows at night from as far away as possible. Yea, I drive at night and I like it.

I take it the "HID's" are a little easier on the electrical system no ??

Thank you

Depends on your budget... The 'cheapest' HID driving beams are the Kragens (Now O'Reilley?) which are made in China, but are very bright. On the negative, they use plastic housing and they both cracked soon after I installed them (2008) driving to Gonzaga and south of L.A. Bay... Josh fixed them both using fiberglass... and then gave me the Hella 4000 metal lamps (off an off road racer). I had Josh modify my light bar to hold 4 lights from the two it was made for... and now have all 4 of my lights.

So, HID are the brightest type bulbs... and you want to stay between 4300 and 5000ºK in color temp. for the whitest light. Higher and they become too blue and get dimmer. The Kragens are in that range.

If not HID, then 100 watt to 130 watt halogen will do, but you will need a relay on the wire harness.

Driving Beams (also called Euro Beams) will light up more area plus give you distance. Pencil (Spot) beams will light the greatest distance but only as wide as the road.

Fog Beams, are short but very wide patterns... good for cornering.

[Edited on 12-15-2011 by David K]

David K - 12-15-2011 at 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jadams
David K
where did you get the bar? readymade or did you have to make it?
Jim

Custom made by my stepson Josh, at Stewart's Raceworks in Santee, on his day off...

That was in 2008 on my 2005 Tacoma... When we moved it to my 2010 Tacoma... it only required re-drilling the four holes through the mounting location (cross bar). We lated added a weld to the cross bar, as it was not as solid as the '05 was and allowed vibration, but not any more.
Earlier this year, Josh made the bar hold 4 lights by removing the two tabs and relocating them and 2 more.

We used these illuminated switches from Radio Shack for the lights... blue are the driving beams and red are the pencil beams...