LED Headlights: Hiw Many Watts?
01-04-2019, 01:59 PM
#16
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Hmm, maybe with the tungsten lamps in-circuit you might see a reading like that, but if you had 10V at that connector otherwise the car's wiring and/or switchgear is wrecked. I'd expect to see less than 0.3v drop at that connector.
01-05-2019, 11:55 AM
#18
Years ago I put in the Rennbay harness and Hella E-code housings for H4 lamps. It was a great upgrade. However, I was replacing the lamps annually--and not cheapy lamps, either. I drive in both urban & rural settings, often at night and often not in a straight line. I can say without a doubt, putting the LED H4 lamps I chose, in the E-code housings with Rennbay harness, was yet another upgrade. YMMV
01-05-2019, 12:56 PM
#19
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Years ago I put in the Rennbay harness and Hella E-code housings for H4 lamps. It was a great upgrade. However, I was replacing the lamps annually--and not cheapy lamps, either. I drive in both urban & rural settings, often at night and often not in a straight line. I can say without a doubt, putting the LED H4 lamps I chose, in the E-code housings with Rennbay harness, was yet another upgrade. YMMV
01-05-2019, 01:27 PM
#20
Originally Posted by lamrith
Which LED's did you end up going with?
01-05-2019, 02:04 PM
#21
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Cougar Motor LED Headlight Bulbs All-in-One Conversion Kit - H4 (9003 Hi/Low) -7,200Lm 6000K Cool White CREE - 3 Year Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H6NZ5QW..._ZIomCbGE22FWT
01-08-2019, 02:22 AM
#24
It all depends on the housing, I believe. I put them in an '06 F250 and was unimpressed. Took the LED lamps from the F250 when I sold it and put them in our Flex--great. I also put similar ones in a Isuzu Trooper. Big improvement.
01-08-2019, 05:44 AM
#25
Nordschleife Master
Years ago I put in the Rennbay harness and Hella E-code housings for H4 lamps. It was a great upgrade. However, I was replacing the lamps annually--and not cheapy lamps, either. I drive in both urban & rural settings, often at night and often not in a straight line. I can say without a doubt, putting the LED H4 lamps I chose, in the E-code housings with Rennbay harness, was yet another upgrade. YMMV
01-08-2019, 02:21 PM
#26
Rennlist Member
I don't think that's true about visibility to the side? At least...I've never heard that, and the H4 lenses have a clearly-defined upper cutoff that does NOT apply to light cast to the passenger side...it is deliberately shining light to that side and higher.
01-08-2019, 04:46 PM
#27
Nordschleife Master
Last edited by MAGK944; 01-08-2019 at 05:06 PM.
01-08-2019, 05:24 PM
#28
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That's the part that confuses me though....the sharp cutoff is clearly relaxed on the side, allowing light to do exactly as you said it wouldn't do. I assumed that was why it was that way, but your statement about road signs seems to indicate otherwise.
Ahh, here we go, from the Headlight Services site linked above:
"The European standard allows all the light to go on the road - they have a law that any overhead or roadside sign has to have it's own, independent lighting or must be highly reflective. So not only is there more light on the road with your low-beams, the high-beams are more precise as well. There is also a triangle of light on the right side to light up roadside signs."
I suppose if you have unlit overhead signs, your ability to see them might be marginally reduced, but my experience, and the text above, suggest signs on the side of the road are generally fine.
One caveat is that I live in such a well-lit area that I could probably do just fine with my headlights off in most places (and many drivers accidentally do, which drives me nuts, but I digress). It's possible that in less well-lit areas, this is something one might notice.
Ahh, here we go, from the Headlight Services site linked above:
"The European standard allows all the light to go on the road - they have a law that any overhead or roadside sign has to have it's own, independent lighting or must be highly reflective. So not only is there more light on the road with your low-beams, the high-beams are more precise as well. There is also a triangle of light on the right side to light up roadside signs."
I suppose if you have unlit overhead signs, your ability to see them might be marginally reduced, but my experience, and the text above, suggest signs on the side of the road are generally fine.
One caveat is that I live in such a well-lit area that I could probably do just fine with my headlights off in most places (and many drivers accidentally do, which drives me nuts, but I digress). It's possible that in less well-lit areas, this is something one might notice.
01-08-2019, 05:45 PM
#29
Nordschleife Master
01-09-2019, 01:31 AM
#30
You don't need that for LED bulbs. An incandescent bulb will vary in brightness depending on the applied voltage.
But LED bulbs are not like incandescent bulbs. They have a constant-current driver which will feed the LED with a constant current, regardless of voltage.
In addition, LED bulbs draw about 1/5th the current of incandescent bulbs. So a "100W equivalent" LED bulb will draw 20W or so.