LED Headlights

[zalienz]

Alright, cool then, thanks for the input. I will probably go with the 4800 lumen for all, high / low / fog. I used to have yellow fogs in an old Lexus LS400 I had, seemed to do a pretty good job when I used them, which was rare. I think the reflector design has a lot more to do with fog lamp beam placement than the yellow color does. But I thought it looked good. France can keep their yellow headlights, they're probably not legal in California anyway, lol

[Fifty150]

7 minutes ago, zalienz said:

 France can keep their yellow headlights, they're probably not legal in California anyway, lol

Just about as illegal as all those blue headlights that kids get in Japantown for their Hondas.  

[BSUPC]

I passed a car here in NC that was running HID's in the 15k+ color temp. range. Yes that is right, the dude had pink headlights.  And I mean they were PINK !!!!!  Have also seen green( was getting a ticket at the time), yellow, and purple. But the pink ones just made me LOL. Now back to installing this CB, antenna, and speaker in the van. May throw some picks up once I get this project done. 

[Fifty150]

A lot of people see the Kelvin rating, and mistake it for light intensity.  Kelvin is a color range.  A higher Kelin does not make the lamp brighter.  In the old days, people looked for candlepower.  Now, it's lumen.  But I guess all those numbers are confusing, so get the box with the highest numbers.

 

That Citizen's Band radio and antenna sounds interesting.  Are you planning on the roofline and shelf space behind the front windshield?

[BSUPC]

I actually mounted it on the side of the gear shift console. But due to me ordering all of the parts at 3am after work the other night and being half asleep, I had to put the project on hold as I ordered the wrong antenna mount.  :(

But I managed to get the radio and microphone holder mounted and the coax ran. Will be snapping some pics when I get this done. Hoping this will help me cut down on sitting in traffic on the interstate at night, as well as help keep me awake lol. Also plan on installing some LED strip lights in the van. But I am still planning that project out in my head. Also have a brake and rotor project coming up later down the road. The van is almost paid for in full .....  Let the drilling of holes begin.  

[Fifty150]

6 hours ago, BSUPC said:

.....  Let the drilling of holes begin.  

I love it when a plan comes together.

[Fifty150]

basis for comparison, but way back when my ancestors only had two sticks for utensils, I installed 3200 lumen LED on the pickup truck.  The lamp size is H13.  The lamp had 2 LED: 1 low beam, 1 high beam, each putting out 1600 lumen.  At the time, it was crazy expensive......about 3-4 times what they cost today.  And compared to today's technology, these are way underpowered.  Just remember that I am only driving around with 1600 lumen per lamp.  

 

 

[Fifty150]

[Fifty150]

[zalienz]

On 11/26/2016 at 9:00 PM, BSUPC said:

I passed a car here in NC that was running HID's in the 15k+ color temp. range. Yes that is right, the dude had pink headlights.  And I mean they were PINK !!!!!  Have also seen green( was getting a ticket at the time), yellow, and purple. But the pink ones just made me LOL.

 

I've seen that pink and purple crap too. I overheard a couple of guys talking about that, something like, the deeper the color, the "more HID" the bulbs are. Complete rubbish. Reality is, the closer you are to true white (about 6K) the more light you have on the road. Isn't that what it's all about? The ability to see further and clearer?

[Fifty150]

You will be amazed at which myths are believed to be truth.  Especially with cars.  That's why MythBusters has done so many episodes with cars.

[BSUPC]

I agree. I went with the 6K simply because anything higher than that starts moving into more blue color than brightness. 5-6K is the sweet spot of looking good, being effective for seeing, not getting tickets, and just being reasonable. Mythbusters is now a thing of the past. Was bummed when they announced it was ending.  :(   I want to mount a crap load of LED light bars on my van and cruise the interstates. But with my luck I would get pulled and ticketed within the first 5 feet. Might still do it. 

[Fifty150]

Mount all the LED you want.  You could even mount a warning light bar, like on a police car, tow truck, or fire engine.  I've mounted rear warning flashers and wig-wag lights into most of my vehicles.  No ticket unless you actually turn it all on, and you're on a public roadway.  Just remember that all of those off-road use only items, should only be used off of public roads.  

[Fifty150]

On 11/19/2016 at 6:24 AM, G B L said:

With out driving into a pole get a real picture of the road from the driver's seat some night. thanks 

[G B L]

Thanks.  If you ever get on a really small poorly lit road make a video

[Ruzty]

I justed installed HID and ran into so many problems. First it was strobing because apparently the day time driving lights arent getting enough power and then needed to get a relay for it. Does anyone know if I can just turn off the day time driving lights?

I also got a warning on the dash saying my day time are not working. Anyway to turn that off?

[Fifty150]

My vehicle does not have daytime running lights, so i did not encounter this issue.

 

I am sorry.  I don't know anything about HID kits.  When those came on the market, they were just not affordable.  Then LED kits came along, and LED kit pricing dropped to a point that I was comfortable buying them.  But from what i recall, HID kits come with a ballast of some sort, which is inline between the OEM harness & HID lamp, which is suppose to bridge the chasm.  Didn't you get a lighting ballast in your kit?

[Ruzty]

Yah my HID came with ballast and then it was flickering then the read I needed to get a relay which I got and now it works but the day time running light warning in the dash goes on everytime I start my car. Stupid Canada with all their safety regulations. In my previous car I just pulled out the fuse for day time runners but I can't even find where this is or if there is a fuse in the Transit. 

[BSUPC]

What year TC ?  Mine does not have the day time running lights either. 

[Ruzty]

2016

[BSUPC]

Ok. I am not sure if this would be the same or not. But you can try and check Relay #15 in the fuse box under the hood. This should be the Daytime Running Lamps R15 relay. I would also check your owners manual to verify this before attempting just to confirm that this is the correct relay for the 2016 Transit Connect Model. 

 

I express double checking because this is info that I acquired from the internet via other sites and from another continent. It may be wrong. 

[BSUPC]

Ok. Managed to find the 2016 owners manual online and verified that this info is incorrect.  I also did not see anything listed for the DLR's as far as a fuse or relay to check. More than likely they are piggybacked onto another system and not listed. One thing I have noticed on my 2012 TC is that everything seems to be tied into each other someway or another. Removing one fuse to solve one problem creates 1 or more new problems. 

 

If all else fails you could pull one of my redneck moves and just put a piece of tape over the light. Now days the lights are LED's so you cant just pull the cluster and remove the bulb.  :(  And if none of this works then the last option is to ditch the hids and return to halogens or try LED's. 

 

But I hope that it does not come to that. I loved my HID and LED's. 

[Ruzty]

Dang thanks for researching BSUPC. 

[Fifty150]

In my 2016, the LED headlights are working without issue.  But I do not have a Canadian model with DRL.  I believe that the DRL are controlled by the BCM (body control module).  

 

If I recall correctly, there was another thread where the DRL was discussed.

[s5pitfire]

Thanks to all for the valuable information in this topic. It looks like the Street Cat LED brand has been discontinued, or no longer available on Amazon.

 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=h11+led+headlight+bulb&sprefix=h11+&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_4

 

So many options.. Im thinking about getting the Beamtech 4000 lm 6500k LED conversion kit. It has no fan "that is prone to failure", but rather a heatsink. Amazon says it fits the 2016 TC, and is at an excellent price. I like the 6500 color due to having a slight hint of blue (more so than 6k) and isn't blinding like the 8k LED. Cougar Motors LED kit looks nice as well.

Edited November 22, 2019 by s5pitfire
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