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| LED headights? (Page 1/6) |
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John W. Tilford
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FEB 14, 12:43 PM
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'Watched a recent YouTube video where a guy installed LED headlights in his Fiero. No modifications whatsoever. Even the male headlight plugs fit the female on the Fiero. I think he quoted about $50 or $60 for both headlights.
Assuming the LED lights would use a fraction of the power of the incandescent, this has to be good for the 33 year old wires. LEDs should also last longer than incandescent. Are there any negatives here? If not, any recommendations as to which LED headlights?------------------
John W. Tilford
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dremu
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FEB 14, 03:13 PM
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Oof, you're opening a giant can of worms.
Some folks love 'em, some hate 'em, some folks will launch into a lengthy diatribe about legality.
Like you, I find that the lower power consumption of LED's is easier on aging wiring and that they have longer life than traditional bulbs. I also think there's a ton of chinesium ones made to look flashy for the import boy-racer crowd which have worse light than a traditional bulb, and have about the same life expectancy due to cheap manufacture. Be wary of those that have like two dozen LED's facing every which-way inside the housing. I suspect the ones at the price you point you mention are in this class and should be avoided.
I ended up buying the Truck-Lites. They're not cheap, but they're IMO a reputable name, and if I figure in my time and hassle to install and align multiple sets of incandescent or cheapo LED's, I come out ahead.
I won't touch on legality -- it's a sore subject with many folks here -- save my usual commentary on cops: Drive like an idiot, you'll get pulled over. Give the cop attitude, they'll find even more things to tag you for.
I don't drive like an idiot, so I don't get pulled over. When I do talk to the cops -- a holiday DUI checkpoint, say -- the correct answer ends in "Yes sir"/"No sir" or "Yes ma'am"/"No ma'am". Don't give them reason to go looking for violations, and they won't go to the hassle of digging through the vehicle code to find them.
My .02, which, with inflation, is worth less than nil.
-- A[This message has been edited by dremu (edited 02-14-2021).]
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IMSA GT
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FEB 14, 04:07 PM
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Dave (The Ogre) will comment on this subject once he see's the title. He'll give you the legal reasons to NOT do this conversion.
My opinion is that LED's are not reliable enough to use for required life-safety devices. For those guy's offroading with those LED bars and lights mounted who use them once in a while and it doesn't matter if they fail, that's fine. LED headlights run hot as hell, they require a heatsink and sometimes even a cooling fan. Too many points of failure for me PLUS if you notice, no major reputable manufacturer makes LED headlights for sale in the U.S. Only these no-name Chinese companies sell them. Even Sylvania will only sell actual LED headlight assemblies in Canada. Here in the U.S, Sylvania sells driving/fog lights only because it doesn't matter if they fail while driving. I'll stick to my old Sylvania sealed beams  [This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 02-14-2021).]
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theogre
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FEB 14, 04:26 PM
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1. 99+% of cheap LED are Illegal because counterfeit/fake often w/ bogus "DOT" and maybe "ECE" marks.
Trucklight and others are way more $, like ~ $300, and fully DOT "approved" with correct makings On The Bulb front "glass" easy to see and "understand." (Understand when you know DOT lighting codes. Many codes are publicly available but not all easy find, some only in docs by SAE.)
1 cheap China made LED HL claim has fully DOT "approved" on amzn etc but no proof so far that what is claim is true as no-one has posted a good pic showing front "glass" markings. Then add many reviews say the plastic for front is very cheap and easy to damage. use search here amzn etc.
2. LED HL look good on paper and claim 20,000 Hr or more lifetime but real life often Not good to outright fraud and often won't last long even for High $ units or LED installed by vehicle manufacturer still have problems. Trucklight and other warranty only 1 to 3 years for $300 LED HL...
● Vehicle Power is Very Dirty w/ power surges, brown outs, high volts, etc. You may not see power problems because very short duration but for most LED, they see like hitting them w/ hammers. Trucklight claim has surge protection yet warranty can still voided by power surges.
● LED make Heat and Must lose that heat fast or overheat and die. Trucklight and many others HL use back of shell as passive heatsink. Big problem is most HL buckets block airflow and LEDs can't cool.
Heat Generated by LEDs is why when you buy loose 1w and higher LED often are made on heatsinks or heat spreaders that mounted to bigger heat sinks.
Most LED HL have "power pack" inside or near by needs cooling too.
LED "long life" fraud isn't just for cars.
Example: A few years ago Cree made first LED for home use to sell under $10 each thru HD w/ "10yr" warranty. Many people bought them including me and now a lot of them are dead. Many die because tiny power supply in the base fries and go dim, blinking, to totally dead. I had 1 Cree "bulb" die < 90 days so return to HD.
GE and others have similar problems and LED often last maybe a few years if your lucky.------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)
The Ogre's Fiero Cave
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cvxjet
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FEB 14, 04:30 PM
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Approx' 2010 I installed dual beam lights in the front parking light openings.....They were Driving/fog light combo, but I converted one bulb to yellow turn-indicator bulbs....I drove to work every morning across the bay (30 miles) with just them on (IT was at 5 am so almost noone out- including cops)...I was driving on well lit streets and freeways. Did that most of the time for 5 years until I retired. On cloudy days or narrow roads I can put them on like DRLs.
If a cop pulled me over I planned on stating that I forgot to put the headlights up- might not have worked but worth a try...I point this out to AGREE with what dremu stated; Don't drive like a fool and in so doing give cops a reason to notice other...."Illegalities"
Fierosound was the originator of the dual driving lights idea.....I can recommend that if anyone does this, they should use a 921A bulb which is much brighter than the 194 bulbs.....
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theogre
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FEB 14, 07:14 PM
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Illegal LED and other HL bulbs no matter where is made often performs poorly in 1 to several way and worse Blind other drivers even on "Low Beam."
If they "have a warranty" just try to get them replace when they fail often in weeks to months. They will say anything to sell crap and hope will last long enough to get passed Amzn Ebay etc return/fraud programs. Hell, next month be a wonder if you still find that vendor.
Some remember TLA... others BTR... Is same "company" and now both "closed" to sell to new suckers under a new name. Or have they "closed" and charge names again? I don't have time to keep track of them.
Before LED, Many put HID in HB2/H4 shells and Blind other drivers because those shells only made to work w/ Halogen bulbs. Now do same w/ LED "upgrades" and these shells won't focus them and back to Blinding other drivers. HB2 shell w/ 9003 bulb is legal upgrade in many places. Most H4 shell aren't legal w/ any bulb even tho is same size, output pattern is for EU market.
Most Cheap "seal beam" LED HL are no better and can be far worse then that mess.
You Don't need to do anything but use crap HL and light "upgrades." Cops almost everywhere can pull you over just for light issues/problems.
If you have Dim or Dead or other problems w/ 100% Legal OE lights then cops have valid reason to stop you. Is just one of hundreds of "Primary Offense" in most places.
Cops Do Not even have to look at bulb markings to write a Ticket for HL blinding, bad aim, any light dim/dead, etc.
In some places having "Bad HL" Ticket and other "Equipment Violation" can cost you Points too not just "Moving Violation" like Speeding or Fail to Stop at stop sign/light. Point can cost you big time on insurance bill or state can suspend your license have too many points.
Be glad your not in other counties where cops can force you get inspection after fixing a problem. Think UK in recent rule change that allow Cops can void current MOT Cert for crap HL etc. The rule change is in part of fools doing same as above, brighter/hotter halogen, etc.
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olejoedad
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FEB 14, 07:27 PM
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At highway speeds, incandescent bulbs are just fine.
I don't drive twice the speed limit after dark, requiring me to blind the people coming at me.
Gee, I didn't realize that copper wire wore out from low voltage and amperage conditions.
My house is 50 years old, has copper wiring and 120volts.
Maybe I should rewire it because copper wire wears out?
Not happening.
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IMSA GT
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FEB 14, 07:30 PM
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This is why I made the comment that until the major manufacturers produce these, get the necessary approvals and test along with the certification, all LED headlights are not a good idea.
Here are the top 5 manufacturers for 2021:
Cougar Motor
Beamtech
Fahren
Hikari
Auxbeam
Yeah....who, who, who, who, and who?
Where's Sylvania, GE, Philips? They understand the struggles with these types of headlights so they stay out of the way and out of lawsuits.[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 02-14-2021).]
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cyrus88
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FEB 14, 07:42 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by IMSA GT:
Where's Sylvania, GE, Philips?
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Here you go: PHILIPS H6054LED, on Rockauto for $137.79.
Edited: Sorry I couldn't get the link to Rockauto to work.[This message has been edited by cyrus88 (edited 02-14-2021).]
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fierosound
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FEB 14, 08:25 PM
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