I don’t have hi and low beam lights… Al have you checked for road grime on the lens or maybe just replacing the lights with new stock ones… I’d think the lights are interchangeable from 99 thru at least 09… check the parts manual at GEMcarpartsdirect.com… the now have a live chat box to ask questions as well or call… also think there maybe an aftermarket light the Dennis (Gemmechanic) has put together
Bob
I live in a pretty rural area and work in a small village about 3.5 mi away. The village has some streetlights but not many and the trip home is 2.5 mi in the dark with no streetlights and quite a bit of other traffic. Straight road but several hills and I’ve just made it a policy to NOT drive after dusk w/ my GEM.
OTOH my community (40 homes) has NO streetlights but also little traffic so I have taken it out after dark in that environment. But to drive on the roadway w/ other traffic running 35MPH is just something I’m not prepared to risk w/ just the OEM headlights anyway!!
AFAIK the GEM headlights are working as designed, no grime, dirt or corrosion of the reflector or lens. I haven’t changed the bulbs so maybe that’s something to try. I have “re-aligned” them though that’s really a joke though since the reflector diffuses the light into a pretty broad beam in short order instead of focusing it down the road. I haven’t measured the beam dispersal angle scientifically but I’d guess it’s probably a 60 degree spread rather than a more focused 20 degrees. You can see maybe 20 feet in front of the GEM with reasonable clarity but not much more than that. We have a lot of deer in the area that come out at night and that’s not much stopping distance.
Al
I’ve left my headlights alone… added front yellow LED turn signals to the grill area of my car as well as LED rear lights… think my car is more visible with them… with the cargo box on the truck I’ve blocked the two rear lights at the rear window but have reflectors on the rear of the box… I’ve gotten old and really don’t drive mine much after dark… with daylight savings I get home in the light… over the summer only 3-4 times on warm nights Sherry and I may go for a night cruise… fun to cruise quietly after 11pm
Bob
You might need to update to current lighting standards if your talking about the dim “bulb” standard equipment on the older models?
I have sealed low and high beam headlights on my 2008. I don’t know when GEM switched to sealed beam over the old bulb type. I have read in some of the GEM sales literature that "sealed Low/High beams were an option in some years. Mine came as standard equipment on my 2008 ten year centennial model.
They are actually Plenty bright here in my gated home complex. I have people flashing me at night, Although the previous owner had just put 15" wheels/tires on it a month before I bought it from him. I bet my head lights just need to be aimed due to the higher wheel/tire height. Aimed or not… they are plenty bright compared to my old golf cart and it had sealed beams also.
If your lights are not bright enough… get with the times and change to sealed beams ? Or buy a brighter bulb?
Kind regards,
Jerry
It’s not that easy due to the fact the housing is molded into the front piece. It would take some body work to make it all work. I’m sure it can be done but …
Hi and lo beams would take some wiring as well.
I think I’ll just avoid driving at night!!
You could mount a couple of extra sealed beam lights under the front center nose or under the fenders… Red neck style from Walmart?
I stay home at night… I’m old as dirt. They roll up the streets in my 55+ complex after 7 PM…
Easy solution, add an LED 18"-24" light bar. We use them on our jeeps and hunting rigs and I am adding one or two to my GEM in a few weeks. They are about 400 for a very very very nice ones. Between 10K and 20K lumen depending on the manufacturer, so in english they are about 500 times brighter than the old KC daylighters and because they are LED they will not kill your batteries quickly. The ones I have on my jeep will light my entire pasture and I can see easily 1/2 mile. Easy to mount easy to wire and super bright.
If you are worried about being seen you can install interior LED lights like i did. I posted a quick how to about a month ago. It took about 2 hours to install and they are amazingly bright.
LED lights are a good idea due to their low volt draw. $400 is not a good idea. I have all the GEM part #'s needed to retrofit the high/low beam lights assemblies. If the parts are actually available?
My high/low beam headlights are plenty bright for my in-complex use and the 16mph speed limit. I question if they would be bright enough for outside road use at 25+ mph? They are about I/2 the size of a regular 2008 vintage car sealed beam. I don’t venture out on the FL roads at night other than in my SUV.
A LED light bar might be the best idea for county road use and shining racoons. I would not want to mount it up on the roof… maybe under the front chrome bumper?
I bought a bike and bought this light…you would have to manually turn it on but it really puts out the light… two might even be better… mount them on the front bumper if you have one…
You can easily mount a 6" - 8" LED bar on your front grill guard. This might cost 150.00, look on Ebay. I would go this route over retrofitting new lights in the body if you do not have the experiance with this type of work. It can look great if done properly and amazingly ghetto if not. A light bar is easy, looks good and is brighter than any of the light options you are considering. Good luck.
I don’t have a front grill guard on my GEM so that option is out (unless I installed a grill guard of course). I’ve thought about other mounting positions but can’t come up with anything very attractive and I don’t want it to look “ghetto” <VBG>.
Al
Can also blind on coming drivers an get you a ticket.
Which is why non-dimmable lights aren’t really street-legal.
think GEM car may have only put dimmable lights and heaters on earlier NY cars… because it was/is the law
Bob
looks like the first hi/low head light was produced in 2007… think you’d need to make some cosmetic changes or buy a new hood cowl… the head light part keeps the same part number thru 2007 # 0106-00164… GEMcarpartsdirect is off line so I couldn’t ask them what was need to convert
the hi-low link… http://www.gemcarpartsdirect.com/partsmanual/2007/body.pdf
there is a quick parts book at… GEM Parts - 1999-2004
Bob
[quote=ApacheshoresGEM;23855]Easy solution, add an LED 18"-24" light bar. We use them on our jeeps and hunting rigs and I am adding one or two to my GEM in a few weeks. They are about 400 for a very very very nice ones. Between 10K and 20K lumen depending on the manufacturer, so in english they are about 500 times brighter than the old KC daylighters and because they are LED they will not kill your batteries quickly. The ones I have on my jeep will light my entire pasture and I can see easily 1/2 mile. Easy to mount easy to wire and super bright.
Extreme LED Light Bars[/quote]
Thank you for the LED light source… Appears to be high quality at reasonable prices. I’m going to pop for the 18 curved bar mounted under my curved chrome bumper, There shall be light!
Jerry
I drive my 825 all over town at night. My lights are fine. If your having problems seeing you may have them adjusted too low. At 20 feet my “hot spot” is at about 24 inches. Move them up a bit and see if that helps.
[quote=Rascal;23911]Thank you for the LED light source… Appears to be high quality at reasonable prices. I’m going to pop for the 18 curved bar mounted under my curved chrome bumper, There shall be light!
Jerry[/quote]
There shall be a lot of light. You will be surprised at how bright they actually are.
This winter I am pulling all the lights off my gem except for the headlights, filling all the body holes and using LED DOTs for all the lights, brakes, turn signals etc… Planning on painting it so it is a good time to ditch all the battery killers.
Hmmm
GEM lights consume 2 amps (3 with brake lights) In the scheme of things almost insignificant.