Help, Halo Projector Headlights are very dim

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

If it's not the bulb then it's the ballast. Nothing lasts forever.

[96SS10SS]

I removed the driver headlamp and removed the guts from the back (no baking needed) and sure enough my reflector bowl was toast. Almost entirely non-reflective for the low beams. Small cracks from the heat on both sides of the bowl too. Need to find bowls, somebody who can recoat them, or new lights entirely.

[shibbs]

I think that's the best/worst picture of it yet.

I wish someone would make a replacement part that could handle heat for a quick swap for these cars. Please keep us all updated on what you find for this, 96SS10SS.

[96SS10SS]

I just ordered both headlamps from Rockauto today. They’re TYC brand and $385 each. I will probably sell my originals to make up some of that cost. Everything else about the OEM assemblies is in good shape for a parts donor or retrofit project. From what I saw, there didn’t seem to be enough data on a reliable aftermarket plug and play solution so I went with OE spec. TYC seemed to be the only OE spec manufacturer that had a good reputation. For all I know, they supplied the originals. I will update this thread with my experience when I get them installed. I’m looking forward to having properly functioning headlights again.

[orange devil]

I just recently started looking into this stuff I want to contact them to see how it holds up to heat this might be an option

[96SS10SS]

The new light assemblies arrived today and I just installed them. The fit and finish is very good. I noticed right away that the projector lens is not a fresnel lens. It is completely clear and does not have the little triangles that you may notice are molded into the OEM lens. You can see the high beam cutoff bar if you look inside. I will report in their performance after driving tonight. I may need to do some aiming to get it 100% dialed in.

New in front/old in back:


Old projector fresnel lens detail with angles I mentioned above:


New projector lens on the car:

[96SS10SS]

I just took a test drive and wow! What a huge improvement. The old lights lit up the road as well as an old pair of Pep Boys fog lamps. The new assemblies have an excellent cutoff and brightness. I had to adjust them upward as they were not high enough on my test drive. The beams are now at the same level out to 25 feet. I can now say it is no longer dangerous to drive at night because of the headlights. I’m just hoping these hold up better than the factory assemblies as I plan to keep the car for a while longer.

[96SS10SS]

Originally Posted by Elvis66

I just recently started looking into this stuff I want to contact them to see how it holds up to heat this might be an option

Chrome isn’t reflective enough for the projectors. I believe it only reflects 60% of the light. However, in my case, that may have been an improvement. Silver (95%+) and aluminum (90%) PVD coatings seem to be the industry standard. If I can find somebody that can coat the reflectors locally and inexpensively, I may be selling a set of restored headlamps.

[96SS10SS]

Just some advice: if you are going to take off the bumper on the ground, remove the fender liners entirely. There is a total of 5 T20 Torx screws and 5 pop rivets per liner. The top bolt on the bumper is impossible to reach otherwise. I spent probably 30 minutes learning that bending the liner back does not give you enough clearance to turn the wrench. With the liner off, it’s still only 1 or 2 clicks on the ratchet per turn. And don’t dimple your fender from the inside like I did with the ratchet, be careful not to hang it against the inside of the fender.

[xc_SS/RS]

How were you able to pull the projector out from the back? I thought you had to bake the lights to get to the projector.

[96SS10SS]

If you remove the cap for the bulb access, you can get to 4 torx screws (T15 I believe). Loosen them and detach the small plug for the high beam shutter wires. I had removed the ballast and was able to get the small plug open through there; you may not need to remove the ballast but it gets other wires out of the way. You have to turn the reflector this way and that but it will come out. I believe Ofer/gen5diy has stated you can disassemble even more of the projector through the back without baking it. I just stopped once I found the culprit.

[96SS10SS]

I would love to get a list of members who have had the same issue where their factory headlights have gradually failed to put out a safe level of light and present it to Chevrolet for an explanation. I think Chevrolet should have to recall these lights or reimburse people who have had to replace them. If there were states that measured light output as part of a state safety inspection, most of the cars who drove at night often would probably fail. However, since this issue seems to appear when the warranty ends, they probably won’t be concerned in the least.

[xc_SS/RS]

I think mine are failing but I am looking hard at the tyc lights. Still d1s bulbs?

[96SS10SS]

They are still D1S Philips Osram bulbs with Panasonic ballasts (original were Matsushita - Panasonic’s prior alternate name for some product lines). I actually look forward to driving at night again. I have always loved driving at night and this issue was dampening my fun with the car. I highly recommend checking the reflectors if you can. Most likely that’s the issue.