LED Headlight Bulbs in lieu of Relay

[renjaminfrankln]

The inadequacy of the stock wiring to support the current draw of halogen bulbs was very obvious on my 30 year old truck. Even after replacing my headlight housings and bulbs with new, and replacing the headlight switch in the dash which had some connection problems (and was getting HOT) my lights were pretty dim and sad.

I thought about rigging up relays and keeping the stock halogens, but the time it takes to do this job right is not insignificant, and I am trying to eliminate extra wiring under the hood, not increase it. And we have options now that draw much less power and could be supported by the stock wiring.

HID bulbs draw less than stock, but also come with extra wiring, and mounting a ballast. I have installed a few sets of these before with great results in vehicles with projectors.

I ended up purchasing a set of $40 Hikari LED bulbs from Amazon. 2 year warranty, very good reviews. I put these in the truck last night. While I haven't had a chance to drive with them yet, they look good illuminating my garage wall! The beam pattern looks pretty good as well, with a nice cutoff both above and below the beam. These bulbs can be rotated in the headlight to adjust the beam if needed. They fit just fine and I doubt i'll have any issues with them. High/Low works, with the high beam throwing light off at a higher angle than low. You'll want to rotate them so the wiring pigtail points straight down at the ground.

Someone on Amazon did a pretty thorough review of these and clocked them drawing 1.77 amps per bulb at 13.8v. A 45w low beam halogen should pull about 3.26 amps at 13.8v. So they use roughly half the power of the stock bulbs.

https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-Headl...70&sr=8-3&keywords=hikari+9004+led+headlights

I'll update in a week or three when I get the truck back on the road. Its in my garage with new carpet but no seat and no injectors (waiting on seat upholstery to ship for my new junkyard seat).

Pics to follow

 

[renjaminfrankln]

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[Thewespaul]

Thanks for posting this, the halogen style bulb is definitely old tech, and a lot of people are weary of using led or hid because of the lens not being meant for them. It’s good to see there’s some brands of bulbs that have the clocking feature to eliminate the terrible spread some of these newer bulbs have. I think a lot of the parts you will find on eBay and Amazon have really improved in quality, and you can find some really good products if you do some digging. Years ago you would be caught dead running eBay turbos, now there’s dozens of guys running $200 turbos on drag week with no reliability issues.

For a lot of people the relays are the preferred choice, and for those who aren’t aware Bronco graveyard sells a plug and play kit to upgrade the stock harnesses with relays.

 

[renjaminfrankln]

Did not know of the Bronco Graveyard relays. I might have given those a shot, they're about the same price when you factor in shipping etc...

Side note, I was re-reading the review that stated these draw 1.77 amps and I noticed that he was speaking about the 9005 High Beam. So these will draw significantly less than that on low beam. You're probably only pulling 2.5 amps total low beam, compared to around 6.5 amps for halogens. Definitely don't need a relay.

 

[ttman4]

https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-Headl...70&sr=8-3&keywords=hikari+9004+led+headlights

So this Amazon link for these bulbs should fit my "90 F350 & my '92 F250? When it comes to figuring out this kind of stuff & which one I sometimes feel dummer than a rock!

I recently 4-5 mo ago replaced my complete front headlites (IIRC approx $152 EBay or Amazon) & am so-so happy with my lighting, but much better than before.

Couple nites ago I finally realized my Rt headlite was barely burning & very orange, but haven't had time to pursue the problem. Probably a not good connection.

 

[whiteboyslo]

Beam pattern looks like you'll be making lot of friends on the road. High and scattered.

LMC makes a relay kit thats plug n play, takes no time at all to install, and works fine.

Mike

 

[renjaminfrankln]

The left light was always aimed a bit higher than the right, even with the old halogens. I do plan to adjust these. My housings are new so I have plenty of adjustment available. I bolted them in and never messed with it.

 

[Hagan]

For a lot of people the relays are the preferred choice, and for those who aren’t aware Bronco graveyard sells a plug and play kit to upgrade the stock harnesses with relays.

The relay kit that Bronco graveyard sells is a cheap Chinese kit. The relays are not common and if one goes out you'll have to order it or rewire the plug. I thought it was the way to go after I had a fire on the fuse box last year. It has worked for a year now with no issues.

 

[Thewespaul]

The relay kit that Bronco graveyard sells is a cheap Chinese kit. The relays are not common and if one goes out you'll have to order it or rewire the plug. I thought it was the way to go after I had a fire on the fuse box last year. It has worked for a year now with no issues.

I’ve installed over a dozen of them with no issues either, haven’t had issues finding relays for them. Parts stores might not have them on a shelf but they can order what you need if they know what they’re doing. Electronics stores will have them in stock

 

[renjaminfrankln]

So this Amazon link for these bulbs should fit my "90 F350 & my '92 F250? When it comes to figuring out this kind of stuff & which one I sometimes feel dummer than a rock!

I recently 4-5 mo ago replaced my complete front headlites (IIRC approx $152 EBay or Amazon) & am so-so happy with my lighting, but much better than before.

Couple nites ago I finally realized my Rt headlite was barely burning & very orange, but haven't had time to pursue the problem. Probably a not good connection.

Yes, the 9004 is what I used.

In the instructions for the light you’ll note the adapter ring (pictured on the light, the thing with the o-ring) needs to come off and be inserted to the headlight housing. Turn the adapter ring until it unlocks from the light and pull it off.

The adapter ring goes into the headlight housing a certain way, there are tabs on the inside of your headlight housing that have to line up with notches on the inside of the plastic. I coated the o-ring with silicone grease so I could easily rotate the adapter while gently pressing on it. When the tabs line up it will slide right into place.

Next, put the OEM lock collar on the headlight to lock your adapter into place. Then slide the bulb into the adapter (again this has different size tabs that need to line up). Rotate the bulb to lock it in place, you want the pigtail facing straight down. Then plug the bulb in.

Took about 15 minutes to do the first one and about 2 minutes to do the second one.


Also check your headlight switch. Its about $15 and maybe 15 minutes to replace it. Easy to do. After the lights have been on awhile (with halogens) grab the metal shaft that comes out of the headlight switch. If its warm or hot, you need a new switch.

 

[nelstomlinson]

I have different LED 9004 bulbs, and they stink. They're quite obviously brighter than stock, but the light isn't focused right. I have people flashing their high beams at me when mine are on low. The 9004 bulb has the two filaments running side to side, and there is just no way that an LED replacement can emit all its light from the same spot. So far I haven't heard of an LED bulb that is going to work right in a fixture designed for a 9004 - there is just no way to make the light output match what the reflector was designed for.

Unfortunately, with the stock bulbs, Bronco Graveyard relay kit and original, hazy headlight housings, people don't flash their high beams at me when mine are on high.

 

[BrianX128]

I'm.. 99% sure that we can take our lenses off, sand them so they are no longer "fluted" lenses [not straight clear like a window and have all the little squares on them], and put an old bullnose style headlight inside it so you can use whatever led you'd like from ebay.

I just need to take one of the assemblies off my parts truck if I can remember how and mess with this.

 

[nelstomlinson]

Brian, I'd like to see that. Please take pictures as you do it.

 

[chillman88]

@BrianX128 so you're basically saying take this:

https://www.amazon.com/ModifyStreet...t=&hvlocphy=9005622&hvtargid=pla-570994936278

And stuff it inside this:
https://www.amazon.com/Bronco-Picku...--8-2-1171-468-4-0&sr=1-2&ymm=1991:ford:f-350

Right?

 

[BrianX128]

Yes, but take the lenses off the 5x7 entirely so you don't have two lenses, have that doner set of 5x7's already be LEDs so you get a perfect spread pattern like what I put in my 6.9 like these:

https://www.amazon.com/Rectangular-...for+trucks&dpPl=1&dpID=610AnF-vaCL&ref=plSrch

Which look 100% like new oem stuff, and then sand the factory brick lenses flat and polish them so the lenses are totally clear. Then you get the way better lighting, no relay mods needed, less draw anyways, and still can keep the brick clip up front.

I have the extra lights and stuff to do this, just gotta find time. I think the depth of the lights is the only issue to this. I've used a heat gun and took the lenses off the brick lights and it's totally possible. May be easier to just remove the reflector housing all together from the brick light and mount it in there somehow.. but how to get it to sit level in there is the only problem.

But, its do able. I'll at least post pics of what I'm trying at some point between now and new years.