02GF74
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 posted on 15/1/17 at 03:43 PM |
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LED headlamp bulbs
Anybody fitted LED headlamp bulbs? Looking to fit either the 80 or 100 W version, as In photo below, to Volvo 8950 headlamps.
Will the give correct beam pattern, what about legality of the higher wattage bulbs, I think standard H1 are 55W.
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BenB
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| posted on 15/1/17 at 04:01 PM |
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I looked at this before and it appeared at least at that point you couldn't get the correct pattern with these retrofit units. You can get
proper LED replacement lamp/bulb units but most of the forum users saying how great their LED bulbs were were also having to replace normal bulbs for
MOT..... Which does make you wonder how "great" other road users thought they were... I ended up deciding not to bother...
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Mikef
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| posted on 15/1/17 at 04:27 PM |
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Went down this road a few weeks ago decided that it was a bit of a minefield re legality issues, so have gone for some Osram Night breakers . Most
impressed.
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 15/1/17 at 04:35 PM |
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LED and HID retrofits are illegal unfortunately. You can get lamps that don't create glare but the vast majority will. You will have to replace
both for MOT , on paper at least.
All the comparisons I saw online show the led lamps a bit poorer than decent incandescent bulbs and both are dwarfed by 4300K HID retrofits.
I've tried them all but only a properly shielded HID will not end up with people flashing you left right and centre.
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CosKev3
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| posted on 15/1/17 at 06:50 PM |
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I tried some H4 LED bulbs in my dominators and to look at they were a lovely bright white,but the light that you get on the road for you to see things
was awful,really bad 
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WesBrooks
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| posted on 16/1/17 at 09:06 AM |
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Spent months trying to figure out what lights I wanted on the 4x4 project. Light units are e-marked for use with a specific type of bulb. Swap this
out and the e-mark no longer applies and therefore without the user personally going through all the testing then it won't be road legal as
compliance with the regs can't be proven.
There are some LED light units (as in the whole unit inc reflector and lens) that are road legal but if the output is beyond a specific limit then you
need washers, and either automatically levelling suspension or headlights. There is one or two exceptions to the latter (think it was Subaru) but
generally speaking unless there is a OEM equivalent of your car with the HID lights you're unlikely to be able to use them legally even with
these boxes ticked.
All that said the big one for me was the problems the LED units have with snow and ice. Halogens kick out a lot of heat and this can help to keep the
lens clear of snow and ice, which can accumulate while driving. With LED lights they do kick out heat, but it tends to be on the base and back through
eh PCB/electronics. Beam patterns can be knackered by a good frost, or completely blocked by snow leaving you either invisible or immobile. Trucklite
think enough of this problem to add heating elements to their lenses for the defence spec lights, but alas last time I looked don't do UK
pattern lights.
On a similar note there are a few people struggling with compensation/refund/guarantee claims for LED tail/signal/etc lights. Some
manufactures/suppliers are saying that the lack of bulb means there is little to no heat to evaporate the water. I've gone LED for all other
than the head lights and so am hoping I don't suffer this!
http://doctrucker.wordpress.com
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BenB
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| posted on 16/1/17 at 01:10 PM |
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Yes, sometimes all the wasted energy is useful. At home I've converted most of the lights to LED. I wondered about converting the oven lamp to
LED until someone pointed out the wasted energy is heat which would be needed to created somehow in the oven anyway 
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aardvark101
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| posted on 19/1/17 at 04:47 PM |
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This thread has answered my question before i asked it, brilliant 
As an aside, can anyone recommend a supplier of good quality LED bulbs for brake, turn etc, as i do not
fancy any of the Chinese takeaway jobbies off of the bay of doom.
cheers Paul
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WesBrooks
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| posted on 23/1/17 at 09:33 AM |
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Not sure where these are made but they are e-marked. I was looking at getting defender/mini style lights from here:
http://www.bowerspartsonline.co.uk/vehicle-components/land-rover-parts
I've noticed you can also get the Wipac versions from here:
https://www.paddockspares.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=wipac+LED
I can't vouch for either yet though as I'm still drafting my loom and waiting for a delayed bonus from work!
Edit: I can vouch for quick delivery from bowers though! Ordered some LED side markers from them and they arrived promptly.
[Edited on 23/1/17 by WesBrooks]
http://doctrucker.wordpress.com
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