Desperate ham pleads for the bright lights (9)
I believe the answer is:
headlamps
'the bright lights' is the definition.
(lights on a vehicle)
'desperate ham pleads' is the wordplay.
'desperate' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen this in other clues).
'ham'+'pleads'='hampleads'
'hampleads' is an anagram of 'HEADLAMPS'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for headlamps that I've seen before include "Lamp shade for illuminations on front of vehicle" , "Lights at the front of a vehicle" .)