MOD Replacing Headlamp Assemblies in a 2017 Newmar Ventana Motorhome - PART DEUX

[Neal]

This is a follow on modification to the prior mod:

MOD - Replacing Headlamp Assemblies in a 2017 Newmar Ventana Motorhome

Yesterday I received Anzo USA 111144 Dodge Nitro G2 Projector Halo Chrome Clear Amber Headlight Assembly that someone else found somewhere and I had it saved to my cart for a long time. They are Dodge Nitro headlamps which apparently and seemingly is what is used in my 2017 Newmar Ventana. I...

rvforums.com

The headlamp assemblies that work in the Newmar Ventana (2017) are the same as for a Dodge Nitro G2:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038AVAR6/?tag=rvf01-20

I drove an hour at night to get to my current campground a week ago and I had to drive with the brights on to get satisfactory lighting. As we all know, first we don't drive RV's at night, second, RV headlights suck! Even with the brights on cars didn't care as it wasn't too bright for oncoming traffic and was perfect for my driving. But I knew this wasn't right and there had to be a better option. I already changed the headlamp assemblies so I researched putting LED lights in these assemblies for an even better upgrade. I learned that this headlamp assembly takes H1 and H7 bulbs for normal and brights so I did some Amazon research and decided on the two items below:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X1W3LYT/?tag=rvf01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DFGDMXH/?tag=rvf01-20

Yesterday I started the process of pulling the bulbs out and putting these LED lights in and it wasn't as easy as I had hoped - LIKE ALWAYS!!! There is a cover plate on the back of the bulbs that seals them in, not sure why, but there is. I gave up and googled the lights and realized there has to be a screw holding this cover plate on so today I went back to give it another try. Long story short I had to pull out the headlamps completely to change the bulbs. There are 4 or 5 screws holding this cover panel on the back side of the bulbs, which of course I left off when done as I wanted the LED light cooling fans to have breathing room to keep things cool. I learned how the retaining clips worked and got the old bulbs out, they were simple halogen bulbs, and put the new LED assemblies in which worked perfectly.

For the normal lights I had to cut the wires and put female spade connectors on the coach side so the LED light wiring could plug into the two wires. Verified and it worked. The brights worked with the stock plug, I just had to unplug and rotate it to get the polarity right and all checked good. Headlamps reinstalled, of course kicking myself for getting myself into these crazy situations but in the end the difference is HUGE!!!

Before I had yellowish lighting out front, now it's bright white lights. I will have to re-aim these but as they are right now they look great. I finally tested them after dark and I'm sure the pictures below don't do it justice but I'm thrilled with the lighting I have now.

Normal:

Brights:

 

[RandDescape]

Neal it looks like those LEDs come w/ an outboard ballast. Did you tuck those into the projector housing inside the dust cover or did you strap them outside of the housing? If you put them outside how did you modify the dust cover to manage the wire pass thru?

- Richard

 

[Neal]

Neal it looks like those LEDs come w/ an outboard ballast. Did you tuck those into the projector housing inside the dust cover or did you strap them outside of the housing? If you put them outside how did you modify the dust cover to manage the wire pass thru?

- Richard

They are inside the dust cover. In fact right now the dust covers are not attached but I will be re-attaching them, probably with gorilla tape. It's just impossible to work with the dust covers with the headlamp assemblies in the coach. Maybe now that I know where the screws go I could but I didn't reattach it (yet).

 

[Rich W.]

I like the Dodge headlight assemblies better than the originals and the factory units lack a but in fit and finish, but when I addressed this issue with my Ventana, I didnt know about the availability of better direct-replacement assemblies. So I upgraded to LED bulbs, after trying Sylvania “super bright” bulbs that did little to help.

My light assemblies take H13 bulbs which combine high and low beam in one bulb. The results were outstanding - with the OE lights, I sometimes had to check to see if they were really on. Pics are before and after and the M4 products H13 kit (no fans, just big heat sinks).

One thing to consider about the M4 kits is that they are not all DOT approved. But mine are no brighter than all the other LED headlights on cars and trucks and the important factor is to adjust them correctly.

 

[Neal]

I originally tried LED lights in the factory installed assemblies. The M4's didn't seat well for me, they wobbled, so I returned them and ended up using LasFit H13/9008 bulbs. I'd suggest using Fahren H13/9008 if I was doing it today in the factory installed assemblies, they are impressive. But the overall problem is the factory assemblies are reflectors which don't serve well for LED's but instead projectors are what's best. The new assemblies I installed are projectors.

 

[Rich W.]

I originally tried LED lights in the factory installed assemblies. The M4's didn't seat well for me, they wobbled, so I returned them and ended up using LasFit H13/9008 bulbs. I'd suggest using Fahren H13/9008 if I was doing it today in the factory installed assemblies, they are impressive. But the overall problem is the factory assemblies are reflectors which don't serve well for LED's but instead projectors are what's best. The new assemblies I installed are projectors.

My M4 H13 LEDs fit tight but I had to realign them a bit with the set screw. The Ventana light assemblies dont look like anything you’d find on a car or truck - is it a coincidence that the Dodge units fit? How’d you figure that one out?

Also can you post a pic of the front of your rig? Maybe from a front corner so I can see how they match up with the side of the front cap?

My OE headlights were so weak they should have been the subject of a safety recall. And adding brighter conventional bulbs didn't help. But I never thought if replacing the entire assemblies.

 

[Neal]

Mine fit tight but I had to realign them a bit. The Ventana light assemblies dont look like anything you’d find on a car or truck. Is it a coincidence that the Dodge units fit? How’d you figure that one out? Also can you post a pic of the front of your rig?

I believe @redbaron was the one that found this by DOT code on the assembly. Newmar uses lights (assemblies) from cars/trucks probably because they are already DOT approved. For example, here are the rear light assemblies, also Dodge. If you can find the DOT number stamped on the assembly you can then use that to find the info and suitable replacements. As we all know, our Newmar motorhome is a kludge of 3rd party components off the shelf.