Trying out some new LED headlight globes

[onetrack]

I've been considering ways of improving the lighting on my Hilux - which while reasonably adequate in its original form, could benefit from an upgrade. I did upgrade to Osram Halogen "Nightbreaker" globes a while back, and they were an improvement over the standard incandescent H4's. Despite that, I still felt the need to upgrade the lighting further.

 

I've been weighing up purchasing some LED driving lights, but I don't have a bull bar or even a nudge bar to mount them on. Either items I consider to be fairly necessary for driving light mounting, as the plastic/ABS resin bumper is not really ideal for lights mountings. And then there's the cost of the LED driving lights, they are coming down, but they're still expensive.

 

So I accidentally ran across Autobarn having a Fathers Day sale, and I saw these Philips LED replacement headlight globes on special. They were down to $109, as compared to a normal $149 - so I thought I'd give them a shot.

Installation was simple, they're a direct replacement for the normal H4's, and the improvement in lighting is quite substantial. They're a brighter, whiter light, with increased illumination distance, so I think the investment was worthwhile.

 

The only concern to me is that the box says "up to 1500 hrs life". I don't consider 1500 hours life as something to really brag about, and the "up to" seems to indicate they might only make 1000 hrs of life. 

I'm trying to estimate just how many kms or years that 1500 hrs of globe life will be, but it's difficult to do an estimation as I have no average figures to work on for average speeds, or hours spent with the lights on. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

 

https://autobarn.com.au/ab/Autobarn-Category/Shop-our-Full-Range-by-Brand-at-Autobarn/Philips/Philips-Ultinon-Access-2500-LEDH7-H18-6000K--11972U2500X2/p/210531

[old man emu]

Sorry to be a bit of a naysayer, but I have heard that these LED bulbs are not permitted for use if LED lights were not originally used by the manufacturer. NARVA  is a well-known supplier of automotive electrical components such as lights. Here is their honestly stated consumer information: "if you decide to retrofit LED globes to your vehicle and drive it on Australian roads, you risk violating relevant legislation".

 

More here: https://www.narva.com.au/blogs/blogs/2022/Feb/23/aftermarket-led-globes-adr-approval

 

There is a bit of confusing information in the AutoBarn entry for the lights. "Automotive-Standards Compliant: Philips Ultinon Access LED bulbs comply with EMI standards for electromagnetic interference". That only refers to a Standard electrical equipment must meet so as not to interfere with the operation of other electrical equipment in the vehicle. Remember back in the day when the car's ignition system would produce static from teh tranny on the dashboard?

 

[onetrack]

Well, I'll take my chances with the lawmen. With the amount of LED lighting on vehicles around today, banning retrofitted LED globes seems to me to be petty bureaucracy. Every second vehicle I run into on the highway at night now is ablaze with LED headlights, and LED driving lights.

The long-distance road trains look like a circus carnival on fire coming towards you - and God help you if they're a bit slow on dipping their lights, you can't see anything for 5 seconds after a good eyeful of their high beams.

 

The best part of the LED globes is that they're only 20W, as against the 50W/75W of the originals, so less drain on the electrics, and less wiring load.

 

https://www.actionauto.com.au/product-category/led-headlights/#:~:text=Upgrading to LED car headlights,handy range of upgrade kits.

 

It appears the headlight laws relating to LED use restrictions, centre around complete replacement LED headlight assemblies, which must be ADR approved, and originally fitted to the vehicle.

 

Edited August 13 by onetrack

[spacesailor]

OME .

Is correct , but if your own headlights are inadequate for your night driving ,

good enough,  the law should be changed .

Manufacturers do not know what we use their vehicles for .

And are not built for any specific individual owner .

Therefore most vehicles  ' should '  be modified  .

my  Ford Cortina , had four headlights ,

dipped 35 watt , highbeam 45 watt .

I nearly ran over a black dog in the road as those headlights were inadequate. 

I changed them to 80 watt, & 130 watt landing lights . No more problems .

How many hours in night driving. 

Seldom more than two consecutive full nights driving,  = 16/18 hours .

1500 ÷17 = 88 hours .

spacesailor

 

 

 

 

 

[old man emu]

I agree that the lights on late model vehicles are a pain, especially when the drivers have their headlights on during the day and they are on high beam. That's one of the many faults of caravan towers.

 

While I agree that LEDs have great benefits for safety at night, I think the reason that retrofitting is prohibited is because the way that the light from the interacts with the original reflectors and lenses of older vehicles is not the same as the way the old H4s do. IN other words, while the LED produces a better light for illumination, their design can result in that light not being focused correctly.

 

This video sort of explains what I am talking about

 

 

[spacesailor]

So change your inadequate headlights to H4 130 watt .

They will still be yellow, & the roo's will still jump into that " sunshine patch " .

spacesailor

[Marty_d]

2 hours ago, old man emu said:

Remember back in the day when the car's ignition system would produce static from teh tranny on the dashboard?

 

Couldn't you just let her sit in the passenger seat like anyone else?

[onetrack]

The YooToob video is pretty useless, like a lot of the videos on there. If you insert a headlight globe without ensuring it's seated properly, I don't think you should be allowed to use hand tools without close supervision.

The H4 headlight globe is foolproof, the 3 tangs are specially shaped, and only fit one way into their respective slots - you'd have to be a complete and utter dill to mess that up.

 

The part that aggravates me is the smaller spaces the designers leave behind the headlights with every new model, that makes getting globes in and out, a complete PIA. You often have to remove adjoining components today to get the globes in and out. And don't get me started on the myriad of different headlight adjustment methods and special tools required - and the lack of instructions on what each adjuster does, and which direction to screw it, to alter the headlight position!!

 

I guess I was spoilt with the superb headlight adjustment system on the HK/HT/HG Holdens. GMH installed a nice big hex-shaped plastic knob on each adjuster that was easily accessed and rotated with the finger tips, to provide the necessary adjustment. The designers that thought like that, with foresight and design skill, have obviously all died.

[onetrack]

Spacey, installing 80W and 130W globes for low and high beam is most certainly illegal in all States, and will get you an unroadworthy sticker. Plus, the extra load on the headlight wiring can blow headlight fuses, or even melt plastic components anywhere near the globes.

[Jerry_Atrick]

@onetrack - if you have a roofrack - can try mounting a light bar or spots on it... I used to have spots on a roof rack - worked a treat.

 

[old man emu]

8 hours ago, onetrack said:

The YooToob video is pretty useless,

It was pretty basic, for sure. The point I wanted to get from it was that it is the position of the "point source" of the light in relation to the focal points of the reflector that produces the correct beam. If the "point source" is not in the correct position, then the beam is out of focus. In the video, the beam was out of focus because the light assembly was not completely home. 

 

IN these pictures, notice that the point sources of the light are at slightly different distances from the base. That slight difference can throw the resulting beam out of proper focus.

 

 

[spacesailor]

The choice is .

Illegal orsafe .

You choose ! , for the driver that has inadequate original lights, to see properly at night .

I would be mortified to kill a child dressed , in it's dark hoodie on a moonless rural road , that has no footpath. 

All those cheese holes would be in a perfect alignment. 

spacesailor

 

[old man emu]

45 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

The choice is illegal or safe .

You know that safety has nothing to do with the enforcement of rules and regulations. The requirements of the Australian Road Rules are rules of strict liability. That means no matter what your reason is for straying from them, you commit an offence.

 

The safety aspect arising from fitting LEDs is not that they DO produce a more useful light, but that the light is not focused in the way that the manufacturer's design for the focusing was meant. IN other words, the LEDs may be out of focus and can dazzle oncoming motorists. 

[spacesailor]

I'm only getting back at those fancy new vehicles that blind us each time they

Come over a rise .

Why should those that can afford HID & LED on their newer cars. get away with blinding the rest of us .

spacesailor

[red750]

Cars approaching over speed humps are a curse. They may have their lights dipped but thet flip up into your eyes like they are flashing you.

[ClintonB]

19 hours ago, onetrack said:

Spacey, installing 80W and 130W globes for low and high beam is most certainly illegal in all States, and will get you an unroadworthy sticker. Plus, the extra load on the headlight wiring can blow headlight fuses, or even melt plastic components anywhere near the globes.

I used to use .22 casings for fuses in my valiants to prevent them blowing (oh to be young and dumb again) after doing these things to see better than the Lucas candles out the front. Somehow i never burnt one to the ground.

[spacesailor]

Yes but I am a little brainier .I rewired my lights through a relay with

Three core house wire . used as  single strand wire .

Plus a 50 amp ceramic fuse .

Just lacked that ' alternator ' upgrade .

spacesailor

 

 

[Litespeed]

Lord Lucas.....prince of darkness

[red750]

A little off topic, but...

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13745437/The-friendly-driving-act-Aussies-dont-know-illegal-cost-2200-fine.html

[old man emu]

Rule 218-1 of the NSW Road Rules 2014 states that it is an offence to drive on a road with high-beam headlights on if there is another vehicle in front, travelling in the same direction within 200 metres. It is also an offence if there is another oncoming vehicle within 200 metres.

 

That is a logical thing IF IT IS NIGHT TIME. That's is no doubt the problem the rule was created to solve. However, the effect during daylight is not a problem because of all the sunlight about. And what about the 'SAFETY" advice to drive with your headlights on during the day? It is a requirement under the Australian Road Rules for the headlight of a motorcycle to be illuminated during daylight.

 

I see approaching drivers flash their headlights at me regularly. That's mainly because there's a Flash-for-Cash operating ahead of me. And sometimes there is the problem of reflected sunlight. The other day I could hardly see ahead of me because the sunlight was reflecting off the windscreen of an approaching semi. 

[spacesailor]

Also cars can get a " wired " light from the alternator. 

Engine on , light on . Just another safety feature I used in the 70s & 80s .

Now I see a few manufacturers are copying me .

spacesailor

 

[red750]

4 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

Engine on , light on

Compulsory in some countries, so it is a built in feature in many cars.

 

Reminds me of the old joke:    

You have to drive with your lights on when it's raining in Sweden.

How am I supposed to know when its raining in Sweden?

[onetrack]

Well, I went for a good long (1/2 hr in the dark) evening drive on the return from my block in the wheatbelt last night, and I was quite surprised by the difference in lighting with the LED globes.

 

1. The level of light they put out, is astonishing. I was formerly using "improved" halogen globes, which I thought were better than the original, base-level halogens - but the LED's just blow all the halogens away.

The light output is so much more, that signs much further ahead reflect a lot more, and earlier, than with the halogens. The much whiter light, lights up a far bigger area, especially to the sides. This is very beneficial to night driving.

 

2. OME is right about the focus from the LED's, it's not the same as the filament globes. It doesn't have the sharp cutoff at the top of the beams on low beam. Despite that, no-one flashed me while I was on low beam, seemingly indicating the LED's weren't dazzling any oncoming vehicles. I purposely left the headlights on the exact same alignment level as they were with the halogens, to see the difference. I'm now going to experiment with some headlight adjustments and checking the beams against a big wall on flat ground.

 

3. The high beams from the LED are quite spread out, and lack penetration in the centre of the beams - something that also surprised me. It seems obvious, that to get the full benefit of the LED globes, I'm going to have to mount pencil-beam spotlights to fill in the gap in the centre of the high beams light coverage.

 

Edited August 16 by onetrack

[spacesailor]

I loved my " Lucas pencil " beam spoties . I had a pair but one got broken & the other , I turned into a ' hand held ' spotting light .

I must see if there's a small " aircraft " landing light I could use to modify it .

They looked great on my cousin's XJ250 Jag .

I demanded them back after I heard he was selling the Jag on the pregnant wife's orders . LoL

( the cousin with a ppl ).

spacesailor

[nomadpete]

Quote:

"high beams from the LED are quite spread out, and lack penetration in the centre of the beams -"

 

To me that confirms OME's assertion that the LED lamps do not match the focal length of the reflector. 

Correspondingly, even though nobody 'flashed' you, I  suggest the upper spread of light would also be greater. More glare to oncoming drivers than the halogens.