LED headlights

[HarryStone]

Originally Posted by caryt

You will NEVER get proper light from swapping bulbs into a housing that is designed for incandescent bulbs with any LED or Hid replacement period! It has nothing to do with the construction of the bulb its the focal design of the housing and no replacement LED or HID bulb will be correct. Its science its a fact.


Get a housing designed for the bulb and its great...except LED's do not heat up the outer covering so snow may not melt...Hid retrofits do not have this issue.


If you need brighter light you can get a correctly made 12ga harness with relays and run higher wattage bulbs at the expense of life of the bulbs.

You can't be serious! There are many tests done on many different LED bulbs, that show that you CAN get quality light from an LED bulb in a projector or a standard halogen bulb headlight assy.

[bpu699]

I replaced the headlights in my highlander with led’s with an external power module. $100 or so on amazon. Works great, way brighter, no issues in years. Dispersal pattern is stock. The ones I bought have 10 or so leds on each bulb...

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by bpu699

I replaced the headlights in my highlander with led’s with an external power module. $100 or so on amazon. Works great, way brighter, no issues in years. Dispersal pattern is stock. The ones I bought have 10 or so leds on each bulb...

Are they DOT approved?

[VanDiemen23]

Originally Posted by caryt

You will NEVER get proper light from swapping bulbs into a housing that is designed for incandescent bulbs with any LED or Hid replacement period! It has nothing to do with the construction of the bulb its the focal design of the housing and no replacement LED or HID bulb will be correct. Its science its a fact.


Get a housing designed for the bulb and its great...except LED's do not heat up the outer covering so snow may not melt...Hid retrofits do not have this issue.


If you need brighter light you can get a correctly made 12ga harness with relays and run higher wattage bulbs at the expense of life of the bulbs.

Demonstrably untrue. H4 LED design has moved to putting the LED strips at the same position as the incandescent element, and also have the cutoff shields. The science is the same. Phillips now makes a DOT H4 bulb but its pricey at over $200/pr.

And it does no good to run higher wattage bulbs if the coach cant deliver the amps from the back to the front. Been there, done that. Have the relays and all. I'd need to run a separate cable just for the lights.

[Dav L]

Originally Posted by caryt

You will NEVER get proper light from swapping bulbs into a housing that is designed for incandescent bulbs with any LED or Hid replacement period! It has nothing to do with the construction of the bulb its the focal design of the housing and no replacement LED or HID bulb will be correct. Its science its a fact.


Get a housing designed for the bulb and its great...except LED's do not heat up the outer covering so snow may not melt...Hid retrofits do not have this issue.


If you need brighter light you can get a correctly made 12ga harness with relays and run higher wattage bulbs at the expense of life of the bulbs.

Ah, wrong. Just for kicks, what's the science you are leaning on to make that declaration?

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Dav L

Ah, wrong. Just for kicks, what's the science you are leaning on to make that declaration?

One could ask you a similar question...

What are you relying on to say that the LED bulbs commonly installed in place of halogen bulbs are 1) legal, and 2) safe?

There are many regulations regarding headlights in cars driving US roads. Making a legal modification to a headlight assembly is not as simple as replacing a halogen bulb with an LED bulb - the process must be done with DOT-approved parts. The reflectors used in halogen light assemblies are typically not suitable for use with LED bulbs, which is why the LED bulbs seen on many shelves are not approved for use in them.

[HarryStone]

Originally Posted by richard5933

One could ask you a similar question...

The reflectors used in halogen light assemblies are typically not suitable for use with LED bulbs, which is why the LED bulbs seen on many shelves are not approved for use in them.

Partially true. Most reputable LED bulb manufacturers, that make bulbs for headlights, have done much testing to ensure that their bulb matches the original halogen bulb in size and shape, mimicking the placement of the light output. That is why many LED bulbs today have a similar beam pattern as a halogen, but with more light output.

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by HarryStone

Partially true. Most reputable LED bulb manufacturers, that make bulbs for headlights, have done much testing to ensure that their bulb matches the original halogen bulb in size and shape, mimicking the placement of the light output. That is why many LED bulbs today have a similar beam pattern as a halogen, but with more light output.

Maybe - maybe not.


Can you post a link to a DOT approved LED bulb which can just be dropped into an existing halogen lamp housing/reflector. Maybe even one which will not require modifications to the area behind the bulb to accommodate the extra cooling of the LED or extra space it takes?


My point is that it's not as simple as many think it is.

[Sherpa Vern]

Sadly, DOT kept Americans tied to inferior headlights until !984, not allowing anything but a sealed beam headlight, first introduced around 1936 and not allowing any headlights with a replaceable headlight bulb.

European headlights have always exceeded the quality, beam focus and down the road light than the antiquated headlights used in the US.

DOT approved European headlights for motorcycles in the US, but would not approve the same headlights for cars. Since the mid 60's, I have used DOT approved European headlights for motorcycles, in all but one of my cars, to include my current motorhome. I guess I look like two motorcycles coming down the road, side by side. My headlights are aimed correctly and do not create an issue for oncoming traffic. It is most important to properly aim headlights to improve the night time view down the road and not creating an issue for oncoming traffic.

LEDs have certainly improved in recent months. We've come a long way from the "pineapple" style LED lights that led the way to getting rid of incandescent bulbs. Those style LEDs have no business being in a headlight.

There are many capable manufacturers who are doing a good job of understanding how headlights are designed and building LED lights that correctly locate the light source, the same location as the halogen light source is located. Like with many products, there is plenty of junk out there that sells because it say LED on it.

Consumers need to do a little homework to get the quality products that work. I can't remember when I took a science or physics class in junior high or high school, that covered how parabolic mirrors work. A smaller light source, properly placed in a headlight, will produce excellent results compared to huge amounts of light, improperly placed.

DOT has been historically slow to actively make efforts to improve safety in vehicle lighting.

[HarryStone]

I found several different brands and types of LED headlight bulbs on Amazon that are DOT certified, and from personal experience, they are easy to install, and clear the factory rear cover. I only needed to do a slight mod to the rear cover to allow the wiring to protrude from the housing.

As for your link; https://smile.amazon.com/NINEO-Headl...&tag=cb-osp-20

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Sherpa Vern

Sadly, DOT kept Americans tied to inferior headlights until !984, not allowing anything but a sealed beam headlight, first introduced around 1936 and not allowing any headlights with a replaceable headlight bulb.

European headlights have always exceeded the quality, beam focus and down the road light than the antiquated headlights used in the US.....

While the DOT might not be always on top of things like headlights, having one that meets DOT standards generally means that the light pattern will not create a danger for other drivers.

Many drivers do install EU-spec headlights, and the main difference that I've seen is in the cutoff on low beams.

Originally Posted by HarryStone

I found several different brands and types of LED headlight bulbs on Amazon that are DOT certified, and from personal experience, they are easy to install, and clear the factory rear cover. I only needed to do a slight mod to the rear cover to allow the wiring to protrude from the housing.

As for your link; https://smile.amazon.com/NINEO-Headl...&tag=cb-osp-20

Thanks for the link. I did some research on these, and it's curious that their own website mentions nothing about being DOT approved (or any other certification) leading one to wonder if they truly are. It would seem that if they went through the trouble of building a product which was DOT approved it would be all over the packaging and advertising.

Everything I've found in researching this shows that replacing halogen bulbs with LED bulbs is typically going to not produce DOT approved headlights, which some projector systems can be upgraded to LED bulbs.

I've seen numerous reviews on all these "easy to install" kits, and while some mention the cutoff for low beams, I've yet to see one mention the actual light pattern. An example of a low beam pattern is in the photo.

I"m not saying that it's impossible to do a conversion, just that it's really difficult to do one properly and safely.

[Dav L]

Originally Posted by richard5933

One could ask you a similar question...

What are you relying on to say that the LED bulbs commonly installed in place of halogen bulbs are 1) legal, and 2) safe?

There are many regulations regarding headlights in cars driving US roads. Making a legal modification to a headlight assembly is not as simple as replacing a halogen bulb with an LED bulb - the process must be done with DOT-approved parts. The reflectors used in halogen light assemblies are typically not suitable for use with LED bulbs, which is why the LED bulbs seen on many shelves are not approved for use in them.

I didn't "quote" any science.
1) Legal: Don't care
2) Safe: Not rocket science. If the headlights aren't bothering anyone (people aren't passive at high beaming back) and I can see, then for my purposes, they are "safe". A heck of a lot safer than when I couldn't see with the "DOT" approved OEM headlights that were unsafe at any speed.

[fagnaml]

mahdi --

When I purchased my Ventana LE 18 months ago and then drove the coach at night after an LSU football game, the headlights did a very poor job of illuminating the highway resulting in a very uncomfortable 'dark' drive home. My first thought was to replace the OEM bulbs with Sylvania Silverstar bulbs which I "love" in my Jeep --> https://www.sylvania-automotive.com/...star_ultra.jsp The Silverstar bulbs helped some but the highway illumination was still darker than I liked.

When I had the coach at Cummins Coach Care here in Houston for its 2-year coolant changes, I asked the Service Manager to check the headlights. What he found was Newmar improperly set the "alignment" of the headlights and they were "beaming into space". Once the headlights were properly positioned, illumination of a highway improved by many, many magnitudes.

So before spending monies on an LED headlight system, the lower cost option to consider is 1) check that the headlights are aligned properly to illuminate a highway then 2) replace the OEM bulbs with Sylvania Silverstar or comparable brighter bulb.

[dfm]

Originally Posted by David 70

Here is an excellent video that explains the LED bulbs.
https://www.headlightrevolution.com/.../low_high_fogs

These guys are the best. Great info and videos on their website and you can just phone or email any questions.