trackntrail
New member
Nice, I need to rotate mine as well. With the wires at the 6:00 position the left headlight isn't lined up quite right
Real Hi/Lo Beam LED bulb! AWESOME!
- Thread starter BamaDrewski
- Start date
96RedRunner
Senior Member
Well now 2.0
Having had Silver Stars these are a very good improvement, white light, I can see the cutoff driving down fairly lighted city streets since I rotated bulbs.
Driving tree lined scenic highway no street lights beam pattern was nice could see
where it ended on the sides. I parked level ground with HL's pointing at cross traffic at stop sign line. Caught accord camry size cars going by this was two lane hwy bothways, cutoff was below/even with side windows. Drove up from behind to within car length of camry and accord size vehicles rolling to traffic lights cutoff was at rear window bottom. My photographer failed, was smart enough not to tell her that so no pics she had a excuse Monday Night Football I was the DD.
All in all I'd say for now these things are a good buy, see how long they last.
Having had Silver Stars these are a very good improvement, white light, I can see the cutoff driving down fairly lighted city streets since I rotated bulbs.
Driving tree lined scenic highway no street lights beam pattern was nice could see
where it ended on the sides. I parked level ground with HL's pointing at cross traffic at stop sign line. Caught accord camry size cars going by this was two lane hwy bothways, cutoff was below/even with side windows. Drove up from behind to within car length of camry and accord size vehicles rolling to traffic lights cutoff was at rear window bottom. My photographer failed, was smart enough not to tell her that so no pics she had a excuse Monday Night Football I was the DD.
All in all I'd say for now these things are a good buy, see how long they last.
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
I got my bulbs yesterday, and did a "halogen" to "LED" comparison (left is halogen, right is the LED).
FWIW, the halogen on the left is an Osram Night breaker bulb, which I think is pretty top notch for halogens.
From the looks of it, the LED still maintains mostly the same sharp cutoff that the halogen had, so I can see how it should not blind others. It does not seem to me to be much brighter than the halogen, consistent with what Tony has observed, but I have not taken it out on the road yet. It also looks like the pass side is lower than driver, and I thought they were pretty even with the two halogens, so I wonder if the LED changed the aim? I'll readjust and see how things look. Overall I'm pretty pleased so far, will have to check them out on a dark highway this week.
FWIW, the halogen on the left is an Osram Night breaker bulb, which I think is pretty top notch for halogens.
From the looks of it, the LED still maintains mostly the same sharp cutoff that the halogen had, so I can see how it should not blind others. It does not seem to me to be much brighter than the halogen, consistent with what Tony has observed, but I have not taken it out on the road yet. It also looks like the pass side is lower than driver, and I thought they were pretty even with the two halogens, so I wonder if the LED changed the aim? I'll readjust and see how things look. Overall I'm pretty pleased so far, will have to check them out on a dark highway this week.
I installed an LED kit last year with no issues until this morning. I have no low beam and the high only works on the Flash to Pass option. THe kit probably has 1000 miles on them as I rarely drive my truck. ITs a 2000 Runner and the kit I went with is below. I haven't had a chance to trouble shoot as of yet but im hoping none of you have the same issue. I posted a thread earlier to see if anyone has ran into that problem. I will troubleshoot when I get home but other than this, im happy with LED light output
https://www.amazon.com/GENSSI-Elite-Headlight-Bulbs-Conversion/dp/B01D237QF8?th=1
https://www.amazon.com/GENSSI-Elite-Headlight-Bulbs-Conversion/dp/B01D237QF8?th=1
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
I loved this kit when I drove the truck for one day. The lights are so bright that I don't even need to use my HID foglights. And the cutoff is great, the light stops right at the trunk level of cars in front.
This morning I took the truck on a long drive in the dark. Ten minutes from home, one light went out. Fortunately I had the original halogens with me, and put them in in place of the LEDs. The same light was still out.
I checked the LH fuse, it was blown. I replaced it and am back in business.
Not very impressive, if you ask me.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
This morning I took the truck on a long drive in the dark. Ten minutes from home, one light went out. Fortunately I had the original halogens with me, and put them in in place of the LEDs. The same light was still out.
I checked the LH fuse, it was blown. I replaced it and am back in business.
Not very impressive, if you ask me.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
MattRunningman
New member
LEDs and HIDs are awesome, but I they will let you down whenever you don't expect it. I had many troubles due to aftermarket HID conversion kits on my previous truck, so I decided to stay halogen at least until something more reliable appears on the market.
TonyB66
New member
Thanks for the updates.
Although a popular light meter app actually saw more output with my bargain halogens, as noted, I did see the appeal of these LEDs in some instances, and others not. It just wasn't a slam dunk win for me to merit the change. When it comes to lighting, especially headlights, dependability is a huge factor.
The good news, returning is so easy these days. I didn't even need to print a label. The refund was immediate. Glad I tried them. The LED options are improving for sure...
Although a popular light meter app actually saw more output with my bargain halogens, as noted, I did see the appeal of these LEDs in some instances, and others not. It just wasn't a slam dunk win for me to merit the change. When it comes to lighting, especially headlights, dependability is a huge factor.
The good news, returning is so easy these days. I didn't even need to print a label. The refund was immediate. Glad I tried them. The LED options are improving for sure...
96RedRunner
Senior Member
Ay Leon did you install the boot when you put them in?
Been running them for 8 days now for about hour each morning without boot.
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
I didn't use the boots for now.
Also, upon further reflection (no pun intended), I need to do some more diagnostics. It is possible that the problem was not that the bulb blew out the fuse, but that some portion of the headlight connector touched a part of the body, shorting it out. If you look closely at that connector, it is far from well insulated. When it's installed in the headlight in the factory setup, it can't touch anything. But with the LED setup, the connector ends up laying on the metal part of the body, and it's possible that one of the wires/terminals was protruding slightly. Unlikely, but possible. I'll check it out when I get back from travel and will report back.
96RedRunner
Senior Member
That was a concern of mine also, zip tied them in a way to eliminate a short
possibilty. Interested in hearing if the bulb blew the fuse and if it still works or not. Thanks
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
I'll definitely report back, I'll get to it on Friday. Maybe that was the issue, in which case zip tie or electrical tape should be more than sufficient. Stay tuned!
BamaDrewski
New member
I am interested in the "light output" apps some folks are using. I do not have one but would be curious to see the output of these bulbs. So far, they are great for me. They are distinctly more illuminating than the SilverStars I had in before these. Perhaps the output is not the same as the yellowish SilverStars but on the light spectrum, they are definitely "whiter". Perhaps that is the reason I interpret them to be brighter.
TonyB66
New member
The one I used is called Light Meter.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lux-light-meter-pro/id1292598866?mt=8
I've kept the app and have used it to test light bulbs in the house, LED and CFLs (in the attic and under the house) to see the range from when first turned-on, to full brightness. One of my little ones used it on my laptop screen, measuring brightness from black, through each increment to full bright. It has produced consistent results.
I too imagine the "white-ness" delta is what we are perceiving.
gamefreakgc
Elite Member
I got my bulbs yesterday, and did a "halogen" to "LED" comparison (left is halogen, right is the LED).
FWIW, the halogen on the left is an Osram Night breaker bulb, which I think is pretty top notch for halogens.
From the looks of it, the LED still maintains mostly the same sharp cutoff that the halogen had, so I can see how it should not blind others. It does not seem to me to be much brighter than the halogen, consistent with what Tony has observed, but I have not taken it out on the road yet. It also looks like the pass side is lower than driver, and I thought they were pretty even with the two halogens, so I wonder if the LED changed the aim? I'll readjust and see how things look. Overall I'm pretty pleased so far, will have to check them out on a dark highway this week.
That confirms what others were saying and my thoughts as well. The blue light seems brighter to the eye but in reality it's about the same as a high-output halogen except the halogen doesn't have reliability issues. Seems like new housings + Nighthawks or XtremeVision bulbs is better.
96RedRunner
Senior Member
[MENTION=115347]gamefreakgc[/MENTION], The reliability is what I'm waiting on, with one failure so far not looking good.
Derkasaurus
New member
wow thats a really good beam pattern!
most of the LED headlight bulbs i see have terrible, scattered patterns. Ill have to look into those!
most of the LED headlight bulbs i see have terrible, scattered patterns. Ill have to look into those!
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news folks. I returned home and plugged the two LED bulbs back in, and turned on the lights.
The RH light lit up instantly and stayed on; the LH light flickered, lit up for a second, and went out, as I smelled something burning. The fuse has again blown.
So the LH bulb is shorted.
I'll contact the vendor and ask for their thoughts, but frankly, even if they send me a replacement, I don't have much patience for stuff like this. I need reliable lighting, and not something that requires the driver to know how to replace a bulb in pitch dark (I can do it, but I am not about to teach my wife how to do that in an emergency).
So sadly, IMO, these bulbs, while nice in terms of output, are a big FAIL in terms of being ready for prime time. Of course YMMV.
The RH light lit up instantly and stayed on; the LH light flickered, lit up for a second, and went out, as I smelled something burning. The fuse has again blown.
So the LH bulb is shorted.
I'll contact the vendor and ask for their thoughts, but frankly, even if they send me a replacement, I don't have much patience for stuff like this. I need reliable lighting, and not something that requires the driver to know how to replace a bulb in pitch dark (I can do it, but I am not about to teach my wife how to do that in an emergency).
So sadly, IMO, these bulbs, while nice in terms of output, are a big FAIL in terms of being ready for prime time. Of course YMMV.
BamaDrewski
New member
That is disturbing news for sure. If you bought them from Amazon, they back up the manufacturer's two year warranty. For what it is worth, I have been running them now since before I started this thread with no issues. (Hoping I do not have any issues.....)
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
True, besides I'm well within 30 day return window from Amazon, so I'm not worried about that aspect. It's the fact that one bulb failed so quickly that's disturbing. If you look at the 1-star reviews for these, most folks talk about one bulb failing either right away or within months. Maybe there's just a high infant mortality rate with these, which would not be the most inspiring feature.
Still, I liked the pattern so much, and must be a glutton for punishment, that I am going to try out a replacement set of these. We'll see how they hold up!
Ive been running mine all day and night while driving for a couple weeks to less than 2 months? now and have seen no issues. I'll report here if it ever fails or run into any issues involving these.
