LED H7 headlight bulbs upgrade - impressed (so far)

[Bobby-gg]

Do the bulbs you bought have ballast units? If not you can buy separate ones.

No, they were just standard 501 led replacement - I didn't know that you could get ballasted 501's

 

[Lenny HB]

No, they were just standard 501 led replacement - I didn't know that you could get ballasted 501's

I think you will need a ballast unit then to simulate the load of a standard bulb.

Most of the ones on eBay say CANBUS error free so they must have ballast units.

 

[Bobby-gg]

I think you will need a ballast unit then to simulate the load of a standard bulb.

Most of the ones on eBay say CANBUS error free so they must have ballast units.

I'm sure these were listed as canbus error free!

I'd have to check

 

[Ditcha]

I'm sure these were listed as canbus error free!

I'd have to check

Loads of LED bulbs are quoted as canbus error free but are really only error free if used on a non canbus vehicle it's the Chinese way

 

[Richard n Ann]

I don't know how you can all be arsed with them. Just because the colour of bulbs are slightly yellower doesn't mean they aren't as bright, output is different to colour our halogen bulbs are great

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[Ditcha]

I don't know how you can all be arsed with them. Just because the colour of bulbs are slightly yellower doesn't mean they aren't as bright, output is different to colour our halogen bulbs are great

Come on what does yellow remind you of, would you eat yellow snow!
White is king

 

[TinaLes]

I think I will wait and see what happens when you guys fit your new LED H7/H4 Lamps, error codes or light out codes should not happen with proper ballast units, unlike the cheapy orange resistors that get too hot.
I found these if anyone is interested.
! guess you would need a set for each pair of lamps, ouch! that puts the cost up a bit>
LES
Amazon product ASIN B07C5PN1LH

 

[Lenny HB]

I think I will wait and see what happens when you guys fit your new LED H7/H4 Lamps, error codes or light out codes should not happen with proper ballast units, unlike the cheapy orange resistors that get too hot.
I found these if anyone is interested.
! guess you would need a set for each pair of lamps, ouch! that puts the cost up a bit>
LES
Amazon product ASIN B07C5PN1LH

If the bulbs already have built in ballast and you add an additional unit the load would be greater than a standard bulb so would probably still get a CANBUS error.

 

[Jake vE]

Well I went ahead and replaced the dipped beams on the hymer with LEDs, not as difficult to access as I thought but being 6ft 4 I can reach through the bonnet!
This was when I had only replaced one of the bulbs, pretty good beam pattern and cut off....for when I go off road of course

I might need to replace the side lights as they look a little yellow....

 

[Lenny HB]

Well I went ahead and replaced the dipped beams on the hymer with LEDs, not as difficult to access as I thought but being 6ft 4 I can reach through the bonnet!
This was when I had only replaced one of the bulbs, pretty good beam pattern and cut off....for when I go off road of course View attachment 449132

I might need to replace the side lights as they look a little yellow....

Looks good, no CANBUS errors then.

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[Jake vE]

Looks good, no CANBUS errors then.

My Hymer is too old for CANBUS issues, although the same brand of bulbs are in the pickup and work without throwing up any errors

 

[fat haggis]

My Hymer is too old for CANBUS issues, although the same brand of bulbs are in the pickup and work without throwing up any errors

Was it the ones listed here I have a sprinter 2005 Hymer so no errors on mine. I’ll be getting them. They look great on your Hymer mate

 

[Jake vE]

Was it the ones listed here I have a sprinter 2005 Hymer so no errors on mine. I’ll be getting them. They look great on your Hymer mate

Yeah these are the ones I've just fitted to the Hymer, also a sprinter but a mk1

One thing I did find was that the bulb type stated in the book, wasn't the type fitted so if you haven't already, I'd take one of your bulbs out first to check!

Amazon product ASIN B07QVBYBPX

 

[ManTheVan]

No more canbus errors reported here!

 

[Manic]

Well I went ahead and replaced the dipped beams on the hymer with LEDs, not as difficult to access as I thought but being 6ft 4 I can reach through the bonnet!
This was when I had only replaced one of the bulbs, pretty good beam pattern and cut off....for when I go off road of course View attachment 449132

I might need to replace the side lights as they look a little yellow....

Looks good, are you going to change the main beam as well?

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[Jake vE]

Looks good, are you going to change the main beam as well?

Its definitely an improvement! Yeah I'll upgrade the main beams too and put some whiter bulbs in the front side lights. I'd like to do something with the rear lights as they're pretty rubbish but I don't know what I can do without changing the fittings

 

[ManTheVan]

Katur seem to make all sorts of different bulbs to fit and all are canbus-competent, apparently. I’ve replaced the W5W side-lights and roofline lights without an issue.

 

[Tradetalk]

The only reason that LED bulbs are not E Marked is because there is no E Mark standard for them. LED complete lamps do have an E Mark but not bulbs.
Given that LED bulbs are being made by companies such as Osram (and their Ring subsidiary) and Phillips then they will meet the highest possible standards and give a perfect beam pattern.
So, technically, they're illegal to fit/use but practically there is no problem relating to the effectiveness (or safety) of them.

 

[SIFTA SAM]

Its definitely an improvement! Yeah I'll upgrade the main beams too and put some whiter bulbs in the front side lights. I'd like to do something with the rear lights as they're pretty rubbish but I don't know what I can do without changing the fittings

Did you refit the large rubber caps after fitting the LEDs?
Have noticed what appears to be a very small fan
at the base of the LED light and they needed some cooling?

 

[Jake vE]

Did you refit the large rubber caps after fitting the LEDs?
Have noticed what appears to be a very small fan
at the base of the LED light and they needed some cooling?

No I didn't/couldn't due to the length of the fittings. The wing area is fairly sealed and water tight so no real concern leaving it off. I did make a little adapter wire for the ground as the spade connector is different to the orginal so that i could swap back to OEM bulbs if needed. There is a heat sink and fan at the back to draw heat away from the fitting. I have similar bulbs fitted in another vehicle where the covers did fit back on and there have been no issues with overheating so far

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[DrewE127]

I don't know how you can all be arsed with them. Just because the colour of bulbs are slightly yellower doesn't mean they aren't as bright, output is different to colour our halogen bulbs are great

I did a google for you

edit: (the bulb type makes no difference)

 

[Richard n Ann]

I did a google for you

edit: (the bulb type makes no difference)
View attachment 450390

Filters on headlights? Not seen them for years, ours are slightly yellow because they're halogen. They get warm inside the light fitting too, which drives out any moisture, forgot to mention that

 

[DrewE127]

Filters on headlights? Not seen them for years, ours are slightly yellow because they're halogen. They get warm inside the light fitting too, which drives out any moisture, forgot to mention that

Was just pointing out the colour thing really - the reason 99% of new cars now have white/blueish headlights is because it simulates daylight and is safer.

I had Osram Nightbreaker Laser Plus bulbs in the van before fitting these LEDs, and the difference is unbelievable. The Nightbreakers to me now are like candles.

FYI all, still not had time to correct the main beam but I’ve driven quite a bit in the dark and have received no angry flashing

 

[Lenny HB]

Had a look a few days ago and was a bit stumped on how to fit them or even if I could. Had another look today and got it sussed a bit of a bodge modification needed.

My headlamps are Hella Projector units using a single H7 bulb for Dip & Main with an electrically operated shield to give the dip pattern. The problem was the way the bulbs were retained, a metal pressing clipped onto the electrical socket and the pressing fitted to the rear of the lamp housing with a bayonet fitting.

At first it looked like there was no way of fitting the LED's. Simple in the end, the mod was to bend the bayonet lugs over the back of the LED flange, there was a 1 - 2 mm gap which I made some lead wedges to pack them out.

Very impressed with the beam pattern looks as good if not better than the H7 bulbs.

Comparrison Halogen & LED in LHD Dip position (daylight at the time)

Comparrison Halogen & LED in LHD Main Beam

Adjusted for Flat dipping, LED beam pattern is slightly better.

And the final result

 

[DrewE127]

Looks good that Lenny HB have you tried the full beam out on the road? Looks exactly like my beam pattern, those 2 spikes will shine down the road but not quite cover much, and I’ve not been able to get out to work out the best position yet. The van is in storage at the mo but hoping to get to it in the next few days

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[Lenny HB]

Only fitted them yesterday afternoon not had a chance to try them on the road, beam does look good.
My drive has a slight slope and the suspension was on the lowest setting so so the van was a bit low to the ground and slightly nose down. So beam should be better with the van at ride height and level.

 

[DrewE127]

Only fitted them yesterday afternoon not had a chance to try them on the road, beam does look good.
My drive has a slight slope and the suspension was on the lowest setting so so the van was a bit low to the ground and slightly nose down. So beam should be better with the van at ride height and level.

Sounds good! Let us know the results when you manage to get out

 

[Ditcha]

These are the lamp holders I have printed for my Hella projectors so I can fit the h1 bulbs picture 1 shows original bulb holder's then the revised holders for the led bulbs

 

[Lenny HB]

These are the lamp holders I have printed for my Hella projectors so I can fit the h1 bulbs picture 1 shows original bulb holder's then the revised holders for the led bulbsView attachment 452150View attachment 452151View attachment 452152View attachment 452153View attachment 452154View attachment 452155View attachment 452156

They look good, what material did you use? As I can't see PLA lasting very long.

 

[DrewE127]

These are the lamp holders I have printed for my Hella projectors so I can fit the h1 bulbs picture 1 shows original bulb holder's then the revised holders for the led bulbsView attachment 452150View attachment 452151View attachment 452152View attachment 452153View attachment 452154View attachment 452155View attachment 452156

This is great, nice work. I’ve never used 3D printing before, did you have to design this yourself or was there a blueprint for it online somewhere?

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