will LEDs work in 1989 stock headlight

Old Goat

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Did you read the above running thread? I think your 89 and the 93 uses the same Head Lights, or can be converted.


I have an 86, so the old Seal Beams, not up on the newer stuff.




Goat.
 

TNBrett

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The brick nose (87-91)uses the same bulb but a different housing than the OBS (92-97). So LED’s should work fine. I will say that the clarity of the lens is still important, so if you headlights are cloudy or hazy, you should replace them or “restore “ them.
 

papadiesel

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The reason that I ask is not with the bulbs them selves would work but I had heard in the past that’s the way the LEDs lit up the original lights did not work very well, My headlight housings mine are brand new two years ago and perfectly clear as far as the housing goes
 

TNBrett

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I’d say give them a shot. If you aren’t happy with them, it’s Amazon, send them back and get a refund.
 

TNBrett

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The brick nose (87-91)uses the same bulb but a different housing than the OBS (92-97). So LED’s should work fine. I will say that the clarity of the lens is still important, so if you headlights are cloudy or hazy, you should replace them or “restore “ them.
Correction

Brick nose 9004
OBS 9007

Both are available in LED’s
 

nelstomlinson

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Yes, the 9004 LEDs kind of work: they physically fit, and they are brighter. They don't put the light source where the incandescent bulb puts it, so the beam pattern is NOT right, and you will probably have people flashing their high beams at you when you have your low beams on. They make terrible glare for oncoming traffic. They illuminate the foreground, without illuminating the distance enough, so I find it's actually harder to see moose in the distance. For off-roading they might be fine, but they are not fine on the highway or around town.

What does make a big difference is putting in new, clear headlights for the bulbs to go in. If that's not enough light, put some moose lights on the front bumper.
 

TNBrett

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Not all led replacements are the same. I now have the Easy Eagle brand in 5 different vehicles and have been very happy with all of them. The LED chips are designed to be in the same place as the filament of a halogen bulb. I’ve not had any issues with them blinding oncoming traffic or in other driver’s rear view mirrors.
 

nelstomlinson

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I took a look at that amazon link for the easy eagle lights, and they look as if they come a lot closer to matching the 9004 incandescents. I'm tempted to buy a pair to try them. Brett, your '92 uses the 9007 bulbs, right?
 

The_Josh_Bear

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Thanks for this thread guys, I've been lurking on it and pulled the trigger on some easy eagle bulbs for my 89. They will be here Sunday, so I'll see how they do then. I got some for my Volvo today and the beam isn't perfect but it's not bad either. The halogens don't have the best pattern for my taste in the XC90 so I can't expect any better with these. That reminds me, it's time for a test drive!

For reference I have relatively new lenses and the headlight relay kit. Those are great upgrades in the first place. I just realized-- do the LED's retain the high beam function? I don't use it a ton but they sure light up the world when you need them to.
 

nelstomlinson

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The_Josh_Bear, I'm very interested to hear how they work in your '89. Let us know if you can drive with low beams on and not get flashed by oncoming traffic. If the low beams are OK for use in traffic, I'll want a pair for sure!
 

TNBrett

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The 9007 bulb is different enough from the 9004 that it might work great in your machine and not so great in mine. I'm still tempted to try it for my '89.
Like I said I have them in 5 different vehicles. That’s H1, H11, 9004, 9005, 9006, and 9007 so far that I’ve used. My oldest has a 91 Geo Prizm that runs the 9004, and he was amazed with the difference.
 

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