LED Headlight Systems..2yrs on

[cactusman]

Could not agree more Peter. I have driven back from Cricklade mostly in the dark. No the lights on my car are not brilliant but they are more than adequate. Modern halogen bulbs do the trick although 100+mph would be foolhardy. Obviously I have never seen the wrong side of 70....

[mark10337]

I'm running H4 without the headlight relay upgrade (at the moment). Totally happy with the setup. Drive home from work every day is in the dark - sometimes heavy rain and sometimes snow. They work fine and are at least adequate.

[cactusman]

If I am honest the relay upgrade does not make a huge difference to the brightness of the lights...I gained about half a volt or so at the bulbs thanks to the direct feed. What you do gain is a much lower current flowing through the old switch.

[Hugo]

If I am honest the relay upgrade does not make a huge difference to the brightness of the lights...I gained about half a volt or so at the bulbs thanks to the direct feed. What you do gain is a much lower current flowing through the old switch.

Has anybody mentioned Xenon bulbs? Much better than Halogen.

[Gfhug]

Xenon = illegal? Without proper levelling system as on modern cars where they are original fit

[Heuer]

HID (Xenon) headlamps are MOT failure unless you have self levelling. They also require specially designed reflectors and lenses; the electronic high voltage control pack takes up considerable room. Not an option for the E-Type.

[cactusman]

David is right. True Xenon discharge bulbs are unlikely to fit and will cause all sorts of dazzle and glare.

[chrisfell]

HID (Xenon) headlamps are MOT failure unless you have self levelling. They also require specially designed reflectors and lenses; the electronic high voltage control pack takes up considerable room. Not an option for the E-Type.

I'm sure this has been mentioned before. It is down to the MOT tester at the time if the test. I'm pretty sure my tame tester wouldn't fail HIDs as long as the beam tester showed a good cutoff for the dip. It's not as if the E-Type has a lot of suspension movement requiring a beam correction mechanism.

The bigger issue with HIDs and LEDs is locating the starter unit. I'm not sure of the tail lengths are critical such that they need to be close to the bulb, or whether longer tails would allow the starter to be positioned in the front valence. I feel a new winter project coming along.....

[cactusman]

The vehicle light regs 1989 and subsequent amendments would be the place to check but I suspect, given the age of our cars, fitting HID, or LEE's for that matter, would not affect the rosdworthiness per set and thus from a fitment point of view, should not fail the mot. However there has been a requirement since the 1930's I believe, that a means to dip the lights to avoid dazzle be present. It can be electrical or mechanical .

As Chris says providing the lights pass the dip test they should pass whether filament, led or HID. Whether most LED or HID bulbs would I rather doubt.

As to extending the wires from the bulb to the control box. The LED controller is a current source...LEDs are driven by a constant current source. So long as the wires can carry the current there should be no problem extending by a foot or so. Current is unlikely to be much above two or three amps so 7.5 amp wire would be fine although I am sure cutting the cable between the lamp and box voids the warranty

HID bulbs are very different, striking an arc through xenon gas. The arc voltage is low....a few tens of volts I believe. However the arc is struck by applying several thousand volts across the bulb to ionise the xenon and initiate the arc. Watch the flash as HID bulbs start... Extending these wires would need cable that can carry the arc current...around 2 or 3 amps but also be able to withstand the strike voltage of several thousand volts...you would be looking at copper cored spark plug cable. And your joints would need to be very well insulated.

[rswaffie]

Hi
H4’s with relays to maximise the light output would be an inexpensive alternative to leds. Depending on your country/local regulations, hid’s might be an option.

[cactusman]

[TauberNewton]

I recently switched to using LED headlights, the brightness of which can be modified, and it turned out to be very convenient! Usually, I come home from work late at night, and the roads are almost empty, then I allow myself to set the brightness above medium. However, there are days when I'm driving through rush hour, and I set the LED headlight brightness below medium not to harm other drivers' vision. Even this level of headlight brightness is enough to illuminate the road. I also use LED lighting