LED headlight bulb experiences

[Pondi]

Hi

Got a SLC with standard halogens and would like to get better light. Mercedes tell me you can't retrofit LED headlamps. A specialist company said you can but it'll cost £2K+. Read a lot about LED replacement bulbs with many people saying that the light source positioning and characteristics aren't compatible with the standard lenses. Others say they won't fit and nor have compatible power draws. My question is: has anyone had a good experience of using these bulbs? Do they make driving easier (any not blind other motorists)? I'd be using them in the low beam projector lens rather than the high beam reflector (if that makes any difference). Would love to know where I can get some, if anyone has had a good experience of using them. Thanks

 

[Wolfie1]

I tried some led headlight bulbs in another car, I fitted 1 and then checked the image on a beam tester and there was no image, just scatter and would have blinded oncoming drivers so i just removed, now if you have them convex lenses in your headlights that is what gives you the image and that may work, but cannot say 100% on them as i have not tested that type

 

[markjay]

As far as I know there are no Halogen to LED conversions that are approved for use in the EU, so any aftermarket LED conversion is technically illegal to use in the UK. Most suppliers find a way around it by adding a clause that says 'off-road use only' or 'not to be used on public roads' etc.

(Interestingly Philip's have an official LED convestion kit that they market only outside the EU)

The related issue is how do you declare an illegal modification to your insurer?

One way around it would be opting for brighter Halogen bulbs such as Osram Nightbreaker or Philips Xtreme or Ring Xenon etc which are legal and can be declared to the insurer.

Said that, if you don't care about the above, there are members here who fitted aftermarket LED conversion kits in Halogen headlamps. From memory the main issues were size and physical fitmnet, and cooling/ventilation to ensure that the lens or connectors do not melt as result of overheating. Someone who actually installed these might want to comment.

 

[Pondi]

Thanks for your replies so far. It seems the problem with light beams is more of an issue with main beam as they use reflector lenses. Some people are saying that fitting them to low beam projector lenses can give better results? I did contact my insurer and asked whether they had an issue with me replacing the halogen bulb with LED. The girl I spoke to said they didn't have any problem with me doing so. That did confuse me a bit as I understand it might be illegal in the EU??

 

[whitenemesis]

Halogen to led conversion should be an MoT fail according to the rules, as it's not type approved. This also makes the car technically unroadworthy and uninsurable. I'd take what the lady on phone said with a pinch of salt and would want the decision in writing.

 

[slade1]

Blinding lights are particular bad when fitted to SUVs.

 

[190]

There is no question that aftermarket LED headlight bulbs are illegal. Philips with all their resources spent a lot of time and no doubt money trying to get theirs approved and failed. The Philips bulbs are marketed with "Not for use on public roads" on the box and are still very expensive. Consider that everything else which mostly means cheap Chinese imports will be worse in terms of poor beam patterns.

 

[Petrol Pete]

I have yet to hear good things about this type of modification.....except from the people trying to sell them.

 

[Pondi]

The Philips option looks great. Shame it's illegal. I did contact Mercedes at Brooklands and asked about installing the real OEM headlamp units. They said it would require more than lights, i.e wiring etc. They said they wouldn't fit any parts that weren't fitted to my vehicle in its original spec. I queried that saying that LED lights were available as a factory fitted option. Why wouldn't they fit them (assuming everything that needed changing was changed - at enormous cost no doubt!). The chap was insistent that nothing would be changed outside of the spec my particular car was supplied with. So it would appear that the only legal way to convert to LED is to change the car!

 

[KennyN]

Fitted a set to my Subaru recently to try and improve the woeful standard fitment H7`s , what a waste of time and £££.

The large cooling fan on the rear of the bulb assembly meant that the original cover could not be refitted causing condensation within the headlight unit , fitting them was a faff as the shoulder that the retaining clip pushes against was concealed by the heatsink on the bulb meaning some manipulating of the spring clip was required , the light scatter was horrendous with no definitive beam pattern so I was constantly getting flashed by oncoming traffic and possibly planes (it was that bad). The only way I could use them was with the headlight adjustment set to its lowest position (5) which defeated the whole point of trying to improve night time visibility.

I replaced them with a set of better quality H7 halogens a few weeks ago , LED`s have now been consigned to the "I should have known better" box in the garage along with the "Carlos Fandango" wheel spacers , 4" exhaust tips , sonic the hedgehog roof spoiler and colour magic car polish.

K

 

[neilrr]

If it's that hard for you to see at night rather than spend 2 grand on annoying illegal lights I think my first step would be to spend 20 quid on an eye test.

HTH

 

[slade1]

If it's that hard for you to see at night rather than spend 2 grand on annoying illegal lights I think my first step would be to spend 20 quid on an eye test.

HTH

Agree, why do need ultra bright lights in a densely populated country?

 

[AJA]

I have fitted LED lamps in my wife's Vauxhall Insignia and they are a massive improvement on standard. They light up the road much better and no flashing from oncoming motorists so I guess they're all good.

This is what I fitted -

50 / 50 shot of old and new -

Night shots -

 

[190]

Agree, why do need ultra bright lights in a densely populated country?

We discussed this before. My opinion is that ultra bright headlights are a fantastic improvement for driving on country roads at night. In Urban areas with street lighting I am firmly of the belief that the net effect is reduced visibility for everyone else coming the other way. What we need is ultra bright lights to see with and something substantially toned down for the purpose of being seen by others.

I think Philips failure to get approval for their aftermarket LED lamps is interesting. I suspect they are actually safe but the authorities knowing that they have to some degree already lost control of vehicle lighting are probably reluctant to grant approval in case it creates an avalanche of cheap copies.

 

[Petrol Pete]

I have fitted LED lamps in my wife's Vauxhall Insignia and they are a massive improvement on standard. They light up the road much better and no flashing from oncoming motorists so I guess they're all good.

This is what I fitted -

50 / 50 shot of old and new -

Night shots -

They look OK, have they been checked on a beam alignment rig as used by MOT station ? Is it a legal requirement to have headlamp wash , or is that just for Xenon's ?

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Agree, why do need ultra bright lights in a densely populated country?

Have you ever driven on country roads at night ?

 

[AJA]

They look OK, have they been checked on a beam alignment rig as used by MOT station ? Is it a legal requirement to have headlamp wash , or is that just for Xenon's ?

No not been checked on a rig. I guess I'll find out at MOT time. Other people on the Insignia Owners Club are using them and have had no issues at MOT time.

 

[Germgh0st]

This sort of discussion is one of the main reasons I made sure my C43 had the PPP, so it had the multi-beam headlights. I can drive around with full beam on and not blind anyone

Personally I don't think it's sensible to change headlight bulbs from the type the manufacturer fitted. It can also prove a problem at MoT time as you're fitting bulbs that weren't type approved for the car, I've read many stories about people not passing an MoT because of just this.

I've heard a lot of good things about Osram Nightbreakers and if I had an older car with halogen lights, and I needed more light, then these are what I would use.

 

[Mactech]

If there is an advantage to having a car originally designed back in the '40,s that they all had round headlamps.
This 90's version had ye olde 7" sealed beam units. I was able to replace the whole units with some bespoke LED 7" main/dip units for less than £150 and the results are great. They are 'E' marked and sailed through the MOT.
They are as good as the LED units on my former GLE, or my current Volvo, but without the 'active' technology.
I have also had good results upgrading halogen bulbs to better 'Nightbreaker' or similar. It will not give bi-xenon or 'real' LED results, but it is a step forward.
My experience of LED replacing halogen bulbs in standard housings is that of bright light, but diffused and illegally scattered light.
This is made worse on SUV type vehicles simply because the lamps are higher off the ground relative to your eyeline.
This is verified when I drive the Mazda MX5, sitting just above ground level, I have many more vehicles 'beaming' down on me!

 

[190]

Is it a legal requirement to have headlamp wash , or is that just for Xenon's ?

Headlamp wash and self levelling are required where the output exceeds 2000 lumens regardless of bulb type. For comparison a standard halogen dip beam would be 1000 lumens.