LED Headlights - 2020

[HCA]

Looks absolutely awful!

Osram is making some LED bulbs as retro fit for H4:

I spoke with two LED suppliers in France who basically said that LED technology has moved quite some, with a lot producing 7" lamps (like the old sealed beam) but they are in early stages with a very poor beam pattern - apparantly it is a very flat beam that is good for centre lane driving on an autoroute but no good for country roads. It will, they think be another couple of years for them to progress.

In the meantime, both agree that the Osram H4 9726CW you mention above is as good as it gets. 80€ the pair.

[JLescenski]

Two questions for those that have converted.

Do the dash lights still dim with the LEDs or is it all or nothing

Second, if you used them for indicator lights, did you have to add a resister to keep them from flashing really fast?

[HCA]

To dim the panel lights, yes you need to add a little step dimmer.

For indicators, yes the resistance is increased - a purpose flasher unit iis easier than a resistor. But do check first with the bulbs you propose to use as i have seen some that include a resistor.

[Bigbaldybloke]

See the below which a friend sent, apparently from Practical Classics?

[billwill]

See the below which a friend sent, apparently from Practical Classics?

Clear as Mud. I can't work out from that whether LEDs can be used on our cars or not.

[Bigbaldybloke]

As I read it it’s only about headlights and states that you cannot just fit LED bulbs in an existing lens unit but you can fit a complete new LED light unit.

[UAB807F]

As I read it it’s only about headlights and states that you cannot just fit LED bulbs in an existing lens unit but you can fit a complete new LED light unit.

I must admit I don't understand why that is.

These days I don't drive much at night so the headlamps were only there for the MoT and I'd left the ancient sealed beams in. Last year I ended up driving home in early evening and decided the headlamps weren't good enough, so I looked at upgrading.

First shot was some Quadoptics with halogens and then after talking to a guy at the club I tried some LED bulbs. I set them up in the workshop against a line on the wall and the pattern didn't seem to change to me.

Can someone explain what I'm missing here ?

Brian

[Bigbaldybloke]

Brian

I’m completely with you, it’s just if you came across a pedantic MOT tester or traffic policeman they could be awkward!

[HCA]

LED replacement bulbs on their own are just produce a whiter light than halogens - the actual light depends on quality though.

These bubs in an existing headlamp such as ours will produce the same pattern but maybe a bit whiter (brighter).

LEDs only come into their own when:

1. Designed with a suitable reflector or projector to give a better beam/range.

2. Arranged in a matrix formation that produces a flatter beam (a la Audi and others) but expensive.

3. Chipped to a specific colour (eg amber or red) that behind a coloured lens to match the LED colour, will give a more intense light.

And of course they are cheaper to run.

If I were an MoT tester, I would be more worried about HID Xenon lights that certainly can be a problem.

I have not a clue what that Charlotte Baroness de whatever is trying to say, suffice to say that she upholds my theory that all politicians should be drowned at birth

[gherlt]

It's all about dazzling oncoming traffic.
We do that when the car is loaded (with our soft springs, the car goes down quickly at the back) or the headlights are incorrectly adjusted.

Our cars are fitted with twinkle lights, the oncoming traffic is hardly dazzled, we can be happy if they see us at all.

"Good" LED bulbs (OSRAM, PHILIPS and certainly others, possibly even a Chinese one ?) build LEDs whose light generation exactly imitates the old halogen bulb. But they give much more light.
Therefore, the blinding is also much stronger. That is why in the EU retrofit bulbs and lamps for cars without automatic height adjustment and headlight cleaning systems are limited to 2000 lumens.

And then there are the LED bulbs, which simply produce too little light, produce too much light, set the light focus somewhere, in the end simply sell some kind of imitation and somehow scatter light onto the road. Glare included.

Abuse is inevitable and not to be controlled from the outside, so ... it is easier to ban all this.

[David1953]

My reading is where new headlights are fitted these must not dazzle other road users. My MOT tester has said he is not qualified to determine the technology used to make the light and he is only concerned with the output.

[baileyman]

Isn't the reflector designed with a focus where the bulb's illumination must come from? Replacement LED bulbs may have somewhat different dimension than the original. Then the spread of the resulting beam could be anywhere. John

[mbell]

Isn't the reflector designed with a focus where the bulb's illumination must come from? Replacement LED bulbs may have somewhat different dimension than the original. Then the spread of the resulting beam could be anywhere. John

It's this. The light output of led is different in terms output pattern and location. The reflectors are designed specifically for the position and pattern of a standard bulb. If the two don't match then the beam pattern is ruined and *could* result in lights that dazzle other users.

It's pretty impossible to test the combination of bulb and reflector with out specialists equipment. Hence the law that bans mixing led bulbs with none led reflectors.

LEDs aren't banned you just need to replace the full unit, which isn't a big issue on our cars with the standard light units. It will also ensure you get better lights, which is the whole point of moving to LEDs.

[peterako]

Recently fitted PNM's LED units to my +2.

Vastly superior low beam to the H4 halogens they replaced.

High beam not a good as the H4's they replaced.
Possibly because the low stays on with the high beam thus reducing 'night vision to the distance'.

Overall happy with them, and the lower power draw is a real bonus

Peter

[Bud English]

And then there are the LED bulbs, which simply produce too little light, produce too much light, set the light focus somewhere, in the end simply sell some kind of imitation and somehow scatter light onto the road. Glare included.

Abuse is inevitable and not to be controlled from the outside, so ... it is easier to ban all this.

You've got it exactly right. Not all LED bulbs are created equal. Last year I bought relatively inexpensive Hikari LED bulbs from Amazon for my truck and grocery getter. In January these bulbs, by this specific manufacturer, were recalled at the direction of the NHTSA for "Excessive glare or brightness to oncoming drivers can cause the risk of a crash". I was notified by Amazon of the recall.

The bulbs installed in the grocery getter worked well in both low and high beam. In the truck, high beam was almost useless. In both cases I had replaced the bulbs only into existing headlight units and checked the aim. I never had another driver flash their lights due to either being too bright. I'm back using halogens in both cars. I try not to drive at night anyway.