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How-To: LED Headlight conversion kit

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by C1ph3r, Oct 14, 2014.

  1. Oct 14, 2014 at 8:57 AM
    #1
    C1ph3r

    C1ph3r [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Hey guys. I just recently started selling LED lighting and wanted to create a quick how-to for installing them. reference this thread. This is only in reference to the ones I sale so i cannot make any comparison to others on the market.

    H4 LED headlight bulb installation
    ***CAUTION*** Be very careful when working with this style bulb and retaining system. I have seen the housing break where the retaining clip attaches. Do not force anything. Try to avoid putting any excessive pressure on the retaining clip. I take no responsibility for any damages caused to you or your vehicle. If you feel you may not be able to perform this task, stop and seek assistance. ***CAUTION***

    The H4 style bulb is unique with the manor it is retained in the headlight housing. There is a small retaining clip that applies pressure to the back of a metal retaining plate that is attached to the bulb. There is also a rubber seal that fits very tightly around the base of the bulb allowing a tight seal and only allowing the connector to protrude.

    The aftermarket LED headlight bulb has a unique feature that aids in installation. The metal retaining plate is removable. Allowing just the plate to be secured into place first into the headlight housing.

    To remove the ring from the led bulb, with a rag or gloved hand, grasp the metal retaining ring with one hand (the metal can be sharp. please use caution) and with your other hand, grasp the heat sink and gently rotate the bulb counter clockwise. you will feel and hear the bulb unlock from the ring.

    IMG_4389_30dd3430b5967c06bd5c57c97a6aa3309e7d618c.jpg

    IMG_4390_350ceaee579845df3354dc34343b877bfce2af5d.jpg

    IMG_4391_e0e65db25df52985c9983120771487a7c9b55149.jpg

    IMG_4383_6e043bf4629bd062f44d003a074eb24799dfdf8d.jpg

    Now install the retaining ring back into the headlight in the same manor the original bulb was installed. The plate is keyed in the same manor a stock bulb would be and should only go in one way.
    IMG_4392_3b0ce3a5c735840c36f3789a6c38baf4c6f5e777.jpg

    Next you will want to work the rubber seal around the base of the retaining ring in the headlight. it will need to be worked far enough down so that the bulb will be able to lock back into the ring.
    IMG_4393_29c88ab91af290992fc4680391263e4f0a83512d.jpg

    Slide the bulb into the ring and lock it into place.
    IMG_4394_188c47894aa3276716cc996f4348cfaa8cca0d88.jpg

    Connect all the wiring, secure the LED driver and clean up.
    All done.

    Comparison of stock and LED. Driver side, or the right side in the image is stock halogen.

    IMG_4356_5cf22f4b04a7ca92a11618bd42e59c18d5665dac.jpg

    Both sides finished.

    IMG_4366_a9d14f2cddaac61d7b96815c3b89bb9dc242385d.jpg

    I do not have a very good place to get night time photos. So this is the best i can do for now.

    low beam against wall

    IMG_4452_67537ab82721dce0db9c9029ca94dc22e4ed9408.jpg

    high beam against wall

    IMG_4453_8e5b7093b45c364b539d5629a6e65b96f9aefb08.jpg

    low beam against hill

    IMG_4454_de6e999c1583fd90e9ada843e62f1eb0f34ddfa3.jpg

    high beam against hill

    IMG_4455_0acdcb07ad2cfcae7efa20caf9148aa5ac4ad51a.jpg

    Down the road

    IMG_4450_699348a3bf54448350b6d82ace89e581e888c4c8.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2014
  2. Oct 14, 2014 at 9:08 AM
    #2
    CH0CO T4CO

    CH0CO T4CO Taco Noob

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    Very nice write up but what would be the difference between doing led's instead of some hid's?
     
  3. Oct 14, 2014 at 9:12 AM
    #3
    Taco Dan

    Taco Dan Well-Known Member

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    great write up. Your kit looks good, great that its plug and play. ill be lurking until i save up enough money to buy your kit.
     
  4. Oct 14, 2014 at 9:18 AM
    #4
    95 taco

    95 taco Battle Born

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    LED's don't need warm up time that HID's need.
    On the LED's there is no ballast to go out, and the projectors don't need to be retrofitted to have a crisp cut-off.

    If you have HID's you may experience flickering, bulb warm-up, and if you don't have a retrofit you won't have a clean cut beam, with LED's you just plug and play.
     
  5. Oct 14, 2014 at 9:43 AM
    #5
    C1ph3r

    C1ph3r [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for all the kind words everyone.

    All very good points and thank you for answering that. There is no ballast with LEDs but there is an LED driver. This is basically the component used to reduce the voltage down to a usable range for the LED.
     
  6. Oct 14, 2014 at 10:04 AM
    #6
    CH0CO T4CO

    CH0CO T4CO Taco Noob

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    Ah i see, thanks for the useful info as i'm looking to upgrade my bulbs so now i'm thinking LED is the way to go :)
     
  7. Oct 14, 2014 at 10:09 AM
    #7
    Blackdawg

    Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

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    ALL OF THEM!...Then some more.

    Actually just to clarify, a driver is used to help stabilize voltage to a preset optimum voltage. Especially in our trucks the voltage can fluctuate a lot, LEDs don't like that. So a Drive just tries to keep the same voltage and same current to the LED..
     
  8. Oct 18, 2014 at 8:39 AM
    #8
    CAD41985

    CAD41985 Well-Known Member

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    Interested, any output shots?
     
  9. Oct 18, 2014 at 2:08 PM
    #9
    C1ph3r

    C1ph3r [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I don't. I'm out of town at the moment but I'll try and get some when I get back home.
     
  10. Oct 18, 2014 at 2:10 PM
    #10
    MatthewMay1

    MatthewMay1 I'm an amateur professional.

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  11. Oct 18, 2014 at 2:21 PM
    #11
    GZeus24

    GZeus24 bystander

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    I wonder what these would look like through a projector..... :)

    Also, the website doesn't seem to say but are these dual beam; hi/low?
     
  12. Oct 18, 2014 at 6:22 PM
    #12
    C1ph3r

    C1ph3r [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Yeah these are duel beam. All H4 bulbs are H/L. Not sure how they would fair in a projector. May not work so well since the reflector isn't the same. But again, not sure.

    Here is my buddies F250. Not my tacoma but should give u an idea. This is just the low beams. He didn't get me a high beam shot

    1EC54DFA-BE4F-4F2F-965E-AC3ADE9D5DC6_a4e89f2baa0658430e47e6d2e0bbca067ae3b8a3.jpg
     
  13. Oct 19, 2014 at 5:41 AM
    #13
    CAD41985

    CAD41985 Well-Known Member

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    Pretty solid. If you could when you get back, get me a shot of hi/lo from your taco and show how crisp the cutoff line is. I'm switching from a retrofit hid to these because of bull$&@! state inspections here in Virginia
     
  14. Oct 19, 2014 at 5:48 AM
    #14
    Kolunatic

    Kolunatic Broke ass

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    Interesting.
     
  15. Oct 19, 2014 at 10:46 AM
    #15
    C1ph3r

    C1ph3r [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Sure thing. I will tell you going from a retro fit to these you probably won't be happy. But then again if you don't have a choice. :eek:

    I also noticed that the cut off isn't as flat as a normal bulb. But I'll try to capture that in an image for ya
     
  16. Oct 19, 2014 at 6:43 PM
    #16
    C1ph3r

    C1ph3r [OP] Well-Known Member

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    ok. OP updated with more pictures. the same pictures can be found in my sale thread HERE
     
  17. Oct 20, 2014 at 3:37 PM
    #17
    CAD41985

    CAD41985 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks. They look pretty good, not the current crisp cutoff line I have from my retros but much brighter than stock
     
  18. Oct 21, 2014 at 11:54 AM
    #18
    C1ph3r

    C1ph3r [OP] Well-Known Member

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    i would agree. I myself dont have retro fits obviously, but i dont think you will ever get that kind of cut off with a standard non-projector head light.
     
  19. Oct 24, 2014 at 3:47 PM
    #19
    o0oSHADOWo0o

    o0oSHADOWo0o Just lurking in the darkness

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    Just a few LEDs...
    Although I purchased mine somewhere else many months ago, I have these same bulbs in my 2012. I absolutely love them. :D

    Here is a picture with a side by side comparison of these and the stock halogen bulbs shining on a wall that is 240 feet away. I have the LED bulb on the driver's side and the stock halogen on the passenger side.

    The low beam cut-off is not as well defined as the halogens, but look at the ground to the left and the right. The LED on the LEFT lights up way more than the halogen on the RIGHT, and brighter too !!!

    Now look at the left and right side of the wall. the halogen dies off quickly to the right but the LED bulb continues to light up the wall further to the left.

    These are far better than the stock bulbs, in my opinion. :cool:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2014
  20. Oct 24, 2014 at 7:58 PM
    #20
    C1ph3r

    C1ph3r [OP] Well-Known Member

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    thank you for that review and photo. i didnt think to get a shot like that for mine. So few places around me for night time photos i just didnt think to bother.

    Thanks again.
     

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