Jeep light install

[Cupboard]

Do you have problems with things having to be rated for road use?
I'm pretty sure most of your "modifications" would be illegal to do over here because you're using non-incandescent bulbs in holders that were only approved to have incandescents. If you want LED lighting you have to buy complete replacement E-marked units.

Whether anyone would actually notice or care...

edit: oh, and if you think a slightly chared bulb holder is bad, Defenders have a habit of burning out their head light switch. It's a popular mod to add in some relays and heavy cable, the stalk turning on the relays that supply the lights. You get an extra couple of volts to each light that way too.

[stealth007s]

It looks like you caught this just in time. Nice work

[Grant Lamontagne]

Technically these should be approved by the DOT, but no one checks this.

I think these are going to have to come out though.  They don't seem to be working properly.

Def

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[derekmac]

You need a resistor to use LED bulbs for the signal lights.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah I know,  but I don't know anything about that so unless I can get a ready made solution handed to me I'm just toss them.

Def

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[derekmac]

I can't help ya there either.     Are they the same bulb as your reverse lights?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yes, except these are amber and I need white for reverse lights.  Luckily I have a ten pack of white bulbs coming as I'd planned to replace my brake lights with them too.  Now I'm not so sure I want to replace my brake lights as I imagine I'll have the same problem as they double as the rear signals.

The reverse lights should be good though.

I'm sure I'll find a use for the others- maybe sell them to other guys in the Jeep club.   

Def

[derekmac]

Ah, I somehow missed that they were amber.    

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah those ones have to be amber because of the clear lenses.

Def

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[Grant Lamontagne]

I replaced the reverse lights today.  I have a whole pile of 3157 LED replacements now since I'd planned on replacing the signal lights, but after the previous fiasco (they were changed back to bulbs) I decided not to mess with my signal lights.  I guess I am just going to have to learn to live with incandescent signals.

As usual it started with pulling the light off:



The photos are a bit out of order- you see me changing the passenger side bulb here because I didn't take photos of doing the driver's side, which I did first.



Once the light housing is off, make sure you are pulling the correct bulb (reverse light on the bottom on JK's, reverse light on top on TJ's) out, and use a rag or gloves to do it since the oil on your hand may damage the bulb.  Yes I know I am replacing these bulbs, but you never know when you might need them back in, as we saw from the signal light issue above.



Fire in the replacement LED and put the whole mess back together.



It looks wrong in this photo, but the driver's side (left side for you UK guys!) is the LED while the passenger side (right) is the standard incandescent bulb.  I know it looks like the incandescent bulb is brighter in this photo but it really isn't.  Here are some close ups- you can see that the LED bulb is significantly more white than the yellow-y incandescent.

LED:


Incandescent:


I'll see about trying to get some photos later on when it gets a bit darker to see what they look like, but in the meantime I think they are going to be a good thing.

Def

[MadPlumbarian]

Well that sucks! JR

[Grant Lamontagne]

I did some research on the resistors and found they are pretty cheap and easy enough to install that even me, with my nonexistent electronical skills could manage.  I just ordered ten of these:

http://www.dx.com/p/6-ohm-50w-hid-led-warning-canceller-decoder-load-resistor-w-wire-connectors-golden-blue-148003#.U5w8x3ZaaSo

I figure I will need four of them (2x front, 2x rear) and I imagine my boss will require a set as well since I also got him some LED signal replacements too.

And, two extra to drop the price and in case I screw up a bit. 

Def

[Cupboard]

You don't actually need the resistors, though it is one way to solve the problem.

The better way to solve it is to get a better flasher unit that can cope with the LED indicator lights.
One of the big advantage of LEDs is their reduced power consumption and putting in the resistors negates that.

The other thing to bear in mind is that it shouldn't matter where you put the resistors because all the lights on one side are in parallel, so you could put all the resistors together in a a convenient location, whether that's by a light or not.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was wondering about that.  I figured the resistors just signed as much power as the incandescent bulb but converted it to heat.

That's annoying. Still, at least I won't have to worry about following blown bulbs.

Def



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[Grant Lamontagne]

The LED fogs I put in before were cheap hunks of smurf and kind of crapped out on me, so I decided to invest in some better ones.  I hope they last a lot better than the first set.   

The old set was about $7 on ebay and these new ones were about $50, so I'm hoping that translates into a better quality bulb.  Either that or I got taken.   

Here is a comparison of the old and new bulb.



And a comparison of them lit up- on the left is the new one, on the right is the old one.



And here are some better shots of the new and old ones:









And here is the pair of them now installed.



Let's hope these last better than the old ones.  When I took out the old ones, the individual LED chips were falling off the frame.   

Def

[MadPlumbarian]

Well I guess we'll just have to wait till the sun goes down,, JR

[Grant Lamontagne]

In case anyone is wondering where all that mud on the Jeep came from, here are a few photos from the quick trail ride we did the other night.

Jeff's Jeep:



Mine:



A couple of bullfrogs in the mud hole:





Jeff's son managed to catch one:



It was a good time! 

Def

[Whoey]

The LED fogs I put in before were cheap hunks of smurf and kind of crapped out on me, so I decided to invest in some better ones.  I hope they last a lot better than the first set.   

The old set was about $7 on ebay and these new ones were about $50, so I'm hoping that translates into a better quality bulb.  Either that or I got taken.   

Here is a comparison of the old and new bulb.



And a comparison of them lit up- on the left is the new one, on the right is the old one.



And here are some better shots of the new and old ones:









And here is the pair of them now installed.



Let's hope these last better than the old ones.  When I took out the old ones, the individual LED chips were falling off the frame.   

Def

The seal on the old ones looks a bit dodgy... perhaps humidity getting in there? I hope you cleaned a bit before installing the new ones? might be worth looking at that it's properly sealed this time.

[RimfireNZ]

Hey Geoff did you install HIDs in your main headlights? Or are they the ones mounted by the windscreen?

I'm thinking about installing HIDs into my faculty housing on the hilux (somehow. It seems like a faff) and sticking a pair of HID spotlights linked up to the high beams too.

[gregozedobe]

The LED fogs I put in before were cheap hunks of smurf and kind of crapped out on me, so I decided to invest in some better ones.  I hope they last a lot better than the first set.   

The old set was about $7 on ebay and these new ones were about $50, so I'm hoping that translates into a better quality bulb.  Either that or I got taken.   

Def

I was wondering what the beam pattern was like with the new LEDs ? 

For fog lights to work properly they need a very low, flat beam that goes out only below horizontal so the glare reflected from the water droplets that make up fog aren't dazzling you (and other drivers).  The light emitted by LED "globes" is often quite different from regular filament globes, and unless the LEDs, reflector and lens are all designed to work together the results can be worse than well designed regular filament globes. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

So far they seem fine.  Oddly enough we haven't had a lot of fog lately to try them properly.

Def

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