H4 led headlight bulbs

[dicklague]

I have read most of the LED headlight threads here, and find them a bit contradictory.

I have tried higher wattage Halogen, HID hi/lo bulbs, bad LEDs to try to make the lights better.

I am not in the market for a $1000 projector lens+reflector conversion.

So in the interest of continuing the search and experimenting, I installed these bulbs in my 1973 last week.
2pcs 40W 4000Lm H4 COB LED Car Headlight Fog Light Conversion Bulb Beam Kits | eBay

I am very happy with them. 2 led bulbs on low beams and 4 on high beams. No solenoid shutter actuation at all.

I am in the process of precisely aiming them. and will use http://www.danielsternlighting.com/images/Aim.pdf for aiming.

So far I am very happy.

I know the purists will quote Daniel Stern and tell me this does not work and is not legal etc.....

I have heard most of that....I just think that I am close to a solution that makes a lot of sense and is reasonably priced for Porch H4 people.

[tirwin]

Why wouldn't these work? The LEDs seem to reproduce the same effect as an incandescent H4.

Where did you place the transformers?

Glad you're trying this out!

[dicklague]

the backside dimension from the mounting flange to the back of the fan is about the same as the normal h4 bulb. I had some in my 95 Saab that were much deeper.

The "transformer" is quite small and fits right in the bucket mounted with some double sided tape. 1/2" thick and maybe 1X2 ".

They put our 4000 lumins each which is very bright. I am quite happy with them so far.

[darrin]

my concern would be with how the fans will hold up under "real world"outdoor conditions and what a fan failure would "look like" in the headlight bucket.

[dicklague]

Originally Posted by darrin

my concern would be with how the fans will hold up under "real world"outdoor conditions and what a fan failure would "look like" in the headlight bucket.

I am planning to put a temperature sensor in there to see how hot it gets .

[darrin]

Originally Posted by dicklague

I am planning to put a temperature sensor in there to see how hot it gets .

Nice -- subbed thanks!

[DRACO A5OG]

let's see some pics, op!

Wow 4000 Lumens per bulb, that is pretty bright considering I tested 2200 Lumen H1's and they were purty bad, worse then my Osram Night Breakers Plus

[uwanna]

I got a set of these H4 replacement LED units. I really like them, VERY BRIGHT. Driving
at night against oncoming traffic with low beam, have gotten no "angry response" from
oncoming drivers. As the OP indicated, the folks that designed these units fixed the electronics to allow the "low beam" LEDs to turn on along with the high beams which
works great for high lumen output, something you can't do with H4 Halogens.
Also I didn't bother to tape down the transformer box, it just lays in there and isn't going anywhere. As far as heat disapated by the fan, the standard 55W bulbs are going to give off more heat than the 40W LED circuits, so heat should not be a problem in the
headlight buckets.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-40W-4000LM-H4-12V-COB-LED-Car-Headlight-Fog-Light-Conversion-Bulb-Kit-ZT30-/262194320110?hash=item3d0bffd2ee:g:BawAAOSwNyFWcNy g&vxp=mtr

[craigerz]

These sound interesting, but I wonder how long they will last in the real world. I've bought kitchen light led's from China, and had them go bad in literally days. I don't have time to play with junk that doesn't last...
So any input in this area would be appreciated.

[Bill Douglas]

Not related to bulbs... But, I had the misfortune to have to replace one of my headlight lenses. The new one was way brighter and I couldn't figure it out as I'd put the original bulb back in. Although they didn't look it, the old lenses were dirty.

[darrin]

Originally Posted by craigerz

These sound interesting, but I wonder how long they will last in the real world. I've bought kitchen light led's from China, and had them go bad in literally days. I don't have time to play with junk that doesn't last...
So any input in this area would be appreciated.

The bulb fans are my biggest concern, question how these fans will hold up when exposed to heat, cold, dirt/etc.

time will tell (and meanwhile I'll enjoy my 80/100w h4 halogen bulbs)

[dicklague]

Originally Posted by craigerz

These sound interesting, but I wonder how long they will last in the real world. I've bought kitchen light led's from China, and had them go bad in literally days. I don't have time to play with junk that doesn't last...
So any input in this area would be appreciated.

Sorry to hear you bought junk.......just NOT MY EXPERIENCE!!

LEDs been good to me!! and they last a long time!!!

In addition to automotive applications, my household experience has been very positive.

I have Chinese LED strip lights under my counters in the kitchen. Have been great for 5 years.

Also have 3 LED hanging lights 12vac over the island counter and they have been great for 3 years.

My outdoor lights are LED and are on 6 hours a day and have been good for 3 years.

I replaced ALL my shop florescents with LED floods and they have worked well for a year now.

I have 6 LEDs in my range hood lights providing great light for the last 2 years.

I have 4 LED floods on my deck water feature working will every night for 3 years.

I have 6 downlights LED on in my outdoor kitchen, been great for 2 years.

I have LED strip in my outdoor kitchen counter, been great for 2 years.

I have LED panel lights under the counter in my shop running on 12vdc and they have been great for 4 years.

before this I was always replacing florescents and incandescent bulbs.

There is just NO comparison to LEDs.

[dicklague]

Originally Posted by darrin

The bulb fans are my biggest concern, question how these fans will hold up when exposed to heat, cold, dirt/etc.

time will tell (and meanwhile I'll enjoy my 80/100w h4 halogen bulbs)

I never ENJOYED halogens!!

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Not related to bulbs... But, I had the misfortune to have to replace one of my headlight lenses. The new one was way brighter and I couldn't figure it out as I'd put the original bulb back in. Although they didn't look it, the old lenses were dirty.

This is the real trick. 5 steps:
1) I took my H4 housing apart completely and washed/scrubbed/polished everything inside and out (lens, reflector, everything). Lightly grease the long screws and run them back and forth a bit through the threaded supports, replace the busted out rubber isolation mounts with small pieces of silicone vacuum hose
2) Put ceramic sockets on the wiring harness
3) 80/100 bulbs
4) Relays
5) Proper alignment

My alignment was WAY off, what I *thought* were the sharp angled cutoff thingies being projected on my garage door were actually reflections from somewhere else. If you take the housing out of the bucket, you can rough align it so that this surface:


Is vertical. If that is vertical when you mount the housing, then the light will be 95% aligned or better.

After that, my lighting is literally twice as good if not better. It was miraculous.

[matthewb0051]

I purchased a H4 LED set from Sirius off of Amazon. Love these things and at about $100 well worth the cost. As the OP said, the ballast box fits right inside the headlight bucket.

Sirius LED - 4th Gen LED Headlight

[Tremelune]

You could also just drive around with your brights on. Big increase in light output and visibility.

I'm joking, but there is no reason to believe these H4 HID/LED "retrofit" bulbs cause any less glare then when they were introduced and universally panned as obnoxious.

If there are any real numbers or science behind it, I'd buy some myself. Lighting a house is very different from lighting a road. If you want to hear some well-considered and vehement opposition to drop-in H4 replacement bulbs that are anything but halogen, head over to candlepowerforums.com where all they talk about all day is lighting.

Daniel Stern isn't some ranting old man or sheisty salesman.

[craigerz]

Went to buy some h-4 bulbs from the 'Sirius' vendor, sold out! Well, maybe in a few weeks if the restock. Their product looks to be the higher quality between the 2 mentioned on this thread...
Emailed them to find out when they will have them back in and will post when notified.

[uwanna]

Checked out the candlepower.com lighting forum. Seems to be a very knowledgeable resource. Of all the H4 incandesent bulbs referenced, the consensus seems to be that the Philips X-treme Vision +130% bubs are BY FAR the best available. With only 55w/60w they seem to outperform virtually all the other bulbs. They do mention that lifespan is shorter than
,most other bulbs (approx 450 hrs), but if they really perform like they say, that's a small price to pay

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-X-treme-Vision-Headlight-Bulbs/dp/B00QJWUPC6

[garrett490]

For what it's worth....HID headlights jump out at me even when factory installed. Certain angles and the prism effect of the projector just catches your eye....everytime! I have aftermarket H4 HIDs installed in my 911. It's not a daily driver and I have my lights aimed lower than stock...in addition our cars headlights are lower to the ground than most cars. Glare really isn't an issue in my opinion on these cars. Now my 2007 Jeep Wrangler that I used to have.....different story. All those headlights did was glare...especially with HIDs


Please excuse brevity and spelling errors. Sent using iPhone

[matthewb0051]

Originally Posted by craigerz

Went to buy some h-4 bulbs from the 'Sirius' vendor, sold out! Well, maybe in a few weeks if the restock. Their product looks to be the higher quality between the 2 mentioned on this thread...
Emailed them to find out when they will have them back in and will post when notified.

Craigerz:

I checked Amazon and there are several listings for these bulbs and in stock.

Good luck