I've got a 2010 T&C Touring. It uses H11 bulbs in both the low and high beam sockets. The headlights are ok, but my aging eyeballs need all the help they can get. I looked into buying Sylvania Silverstar Ultra bulbs, as those advertise better lighting than stock bulbs, but they don't seem to make the Ultra in an H11 model.

I know you can buy bulbs up to 90-100 watt, but I'm sure those would pull too much current through the stock wiring, and I think that many of those are illegal in some if not most states for road use.

I've read elsewhere that a simple modification to an H9 bulb, (cutting off a small plastic tab), which is listed as 65 watts, (as opposed to the 55 watts of the H11), provide much better lighting and will not over-stress the wiring.

Has anyone else done this replacement and if so, how did it work out for you?

 

Look around for a plug-n-play HID kit. FYI, you DO NOT want to pull too much amerage on that system you'll be zapping modules. Not a good thing. Before you do anything get a dealer or someone to aim your assemblies for you. It may have come from the factory ****-eyed..lol

 

I've had the dealer check the aim of the lights, and they claim they are right on. I have no way of checking their claim except to go to another dealer, I guess.

A rough calculation shows that the stock, 55 watt light pulls about 4.6 amps and a 65 watt bulb would pull about 5.4 amps. I don't know for sure what gauge of wiring is used in the factory harness, but would a rise of less than one amp per bulb be too much for the stock wiring?

I have looked at HID kits, and they aren't all that inexpensive. The lowest prices start at about $75 for a two bulb kit and go up to well over $300 for other kits, and that doesn't include installation, (which I would probably try to do myself). To fit both the high and low beams on my T&C would be expensive. The option of using the H9 bulbs is much more affordable and that makes it attractive.

I was just wondering if any other owners had done this and if they had encountered any problems. On other auto forums, most of those who commented on doing this have said they had good results and no problems.

 

Park your van 25 feet from a wall and the beams should hit roughly at 18-24" high and be level to each other.

That would be a homework project to get that info as far as the amps limit to disable the driver, but I would say no problem. There has to be a +/- variable to allow for amps increase with heat. I would say 1 amp would be in that window.