Xenon HID upgrade

[hanknum]

OK - update Lights #3 = Fail. These immediate error =

H11 LED Headlight Bulbs Mini Sized 80W 16,000LM Per Pair, AUXITO H11/H8/H9 Headlight LED Bulb with Cooling Fan, 6500K White, Pack of 2

9005 LED Headlight Bulbs Mini Sized CanBus Ready 80W 16,000LM/Pair, AUXITO 9005 (HB3) Headlight LED Bulb Conversion Kit, 6500K Xenon White, Pack of 2

So far best are these as they have no errors for 15 mins:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V47VVL4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

H11 LED Headlight Bulb, Aukee H8 H9 110W High Power 18,000LM Extremely Bright 6000K Cool White CSP Chips Conversion Kit Adjustable Beam

9005 LED Headlight Bulbs, Aukee HB3 110W High Power 18,000LM Extremely Bright 6000K Cool White CSP Chips Conversion Kit Adjustable Beam

I was trying them again and when the dust cover is off they DO NOT ERROR!

Woot!!!!!!!!!!

The dust cover was right against the fan and I think the lack of air flow was causing heat and eventually it would error.

I tried without the cover and no errors.

I will install the covers on the high beems (not planning to run highs for more then 15 mins at a time) and no cover on lows (just the larger cover of course.

If this works I am very happy as they were the brightest and if you adjust the beam pattern for the projectors - by far the best.

I'll report back as I learn more.

That totally makes sense. Everything is good until the "bulbs" start to overheat. Please let us know if all remains good.

Thanks.

 

[Matteni]

Thanks @hanknum

I left them on in the garage running for over 2 hours.

I am confident that these lights are the ultimate in brightness, color, adjustability and will definitely work without errors. Without the low beam cover touching and blocking the fan they do not overheat.

The only thing I need to watch for is any negative effects of not having that cover on.

I know many people cut the cover for HIDs so I don't think it will be an issue but that is the only risk I can think of.

 

[hanknum]

Thanks @hanknum

I left them on in the garage running for over 2 hours.

I am confident that these lights are the ultimate in brightness, color, adjustability and will definitely work without errors. Without the low beam cover touching and blocking the fan they do not overheat.

The only thing I need to watch for is any negative effects of not having that cover on.

I know many people cut the cover for HIDs so I don't think it will be an issue but that is the only risk I can think of.

Fantastic!

Glad to hear it. I'll have to give those a try. I'd much rather have a "bulb" that uses all of its current to provide a bright illumination, than to have a lesser bulb and add a resistor to increase the load. That resistor just creates wasted heat.

Steve - what did you end up doing?

 

[Steve in SLO]

Still mucking around with it. Just bought a set of resistors which I have not had a chance to hook up. Been busy at the hospital, as one might imagine. Should be next week when I get to it.

 

[hanknum]

OK, I guess the hospital thing takes priority...

Be safe and lmk when you do.

 

[MarkDave]

Not that I want to muddy the waters anymore than they already are, but after getting check low beam alerts and car defaulting to high beams on two previous bulb sets (see above), I installed the SEALIGHT X3 9005 low beams and got the same error and high beam default. I guess I need to decide which of the three bulbs I want as low beams and install a resistor external to the light bucket cap to prevent overheating. That, or find some better halogen bulbs.
On the plus side, I was able to install both LEDs, then uninstall them and reinstall the halogen bulbs. Start to finish in 30 minutes without lifting up the car. I wish I wasn’t getting so good at this.

Sealight isn't a reputable brand with good products.

The best upgrade for 9005 halogen is 9011 halogen. This upgrade comes with 0 downsides.

HIR 9011 and 9012 bulbs are exactly identical in all dimensions to 9005 and 9006 bulbs, except for two areas, the second of wh

 

[Steve in SLO]

Well, I am a quitter. After trying four sets of Sealight bulbs, all triggering highbeam only default mode, and being leary of the heat the resistors put off, I took MarkDave’s advice and went to a 9011 bulbs. I bought ACDelcos, which are rebadged Vosla bulbs. The good news is they are about 25-30% brighter than the Sylvania 9005s of indeterminate age which I replaced. The bad news is that with the right angle connector ( common to all 9011s it seems) they are a b!tch to install. As I found out, there isn’t a whole lot of room to rotate the bulb/connector behind the lock ring until you line it up perfectly and the bulbs sinks into the lock ring. Once engaged, it is fine. It pays to do a trial seating of the new bulb in the lockring before hooking up the connector, so you can see exactly what clock hour you need to start and where you need to finish. Once hooked up, it is important is to push the wires of the connector forward in the bucket before you seat the bulbs. It may be easier to do with the car in the air for or the wheel off. I did mine on the ground with the wheel turned. Also, be aware that the tab directly across from the angled connector needs to be trimmed slightly to sit in a 9005 base. Directions for this are easily found on the webbernet. The new bulbs have a more pronounced upper cut off line than the old ones, so I need to realign them up a bit. Seems like they will work well. I just don’t look forward to replacing them when they go out…

 

[Matteni]

I can still confirm 2 weeks later that these work amazingly with no resistors so long as you align them correctly (must be vertical) and you remove the dust cover on the low beams only.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V47VVL4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

H11 LED Headlight Bulb, Aukee H8 H9 110W High Power 18,000LM Extremely Bright 6000K Cool White CSP Chips Conversion Kit Adjustable Beam

9005 LED Headlight Bulbs, Aukee HB3 110W High Power 18,000LM Extremely Bright 6000K Cool White CSP Chips Conversion Kit Adjustable Beam

No errors, no warnings, no nothing negative.

I guess it is possible in the middle of summer on a long night drive and very hot evening it "might" come back but I don't think so (but I would post back here if so).

On the high beem I did make a cross cut on the dust cover and pulled external the "module" that gets hot but not resistor surface of the sun hot. YMMV.

 

[hanknum]

I'm going to try Matteni's solution. I'll post results once I've done the conversion.

Steve - glad you got yours figured out.

 

[Matteni]

I'm going to try Matteni's solution. I'll post results once I've done the conversion.

Steve - glad you got yours figured out.

Too bad you don't live closer. I have done it so many times I could do it blindfolded now! GL and let me know if you get stuck or anything.

 

[hanknum]

Too bad you don't live closer. I have done it so many times I could do it blindfolded now! GL and let me know if you get stuck or anything.

Thanks for the offer... I'll let you know when I get around to this.

 

[IslandRoadster]

OK - update Lights #3 = Fail. These immediate error =

If this works I am very happy as they were the brightest and if you adjust the beam pattern for the projectors - by far the best.

I'll report back as I learn more.

All this discussion about error codes has got me worried about what I'm looking at. These lights come with a custom resistor in a housing that shouldn't heat up too much. They indicate in their copy that they are canbus compatible lights. They also make this model. The app color changing one could be fun!

 

[IslandRoadster]

I just sprung for some lights by Lifetime LED. You can see the lights here and here, depending upon where you buy. The company doesn't think they will throw error codes without resistors, but bought a set of their resistor harnesses just in case. I'll report back whether or not they were needed. I am concerned with the size of the rear fan assembly not fitting, so would appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Matteni]

The housing looks interesting and like a good innovation. Can't tell if they have the set screw that allows you to rotate the light so when it is locked in it is in the perfect position (north and south).

I can't warn you enough about the resisters. When I say that get hot - we are talking about IMO 350-400 degF min. It will melt anything near them. I wouldn't trust them near plastic, carbon fiber, etc. Only metal attached and nothing near that might melt/burn. Trust me on this one.

I was lucky I tested and noticed all the smoke coming out of both sides from melting / burning. It would have been bad if I just put everything back and was driving.

 

[IslandRoadster]

The housing looks interesting and like a good innovation. Can't tell if they have the set screw that allows you to rotate the light so when it is locked in it is in the perfect position (north and south).

I can't warn you enough about the resisters. When I say that get hot - we are talking about IMO 350-400 degF min. It will melt anything near them. I wouldn't trust them near plastic, carbon fiber, etc. Only metal attached and nothing near that might melt/burn. Trust me on this one.

I was lucky I tested and noticed all the smoke coming out of both sides from melting / burning. It would have been bad if I just put everything back and was driving.

If a resistor is throwing off that much heat, it's wasting a ton of energy. I'm wondering if those were just defective. If we need to install them, I'll make sure we do it in a way that prevents the melting problem.

 

[slcasner]

What's the point of switching to LED bulbs if you have to dissipate the same amount of energy in the bulb + resistor as the original bulbs did?

 

[IslandRoadster]

What's the point of switching to LED bulbs if you have to dissipate the same amount of energy in the bulb + resistor as the original bulbs did?

From an energy management standpoint, I completely agree. Doesn't seem to make much sense. But for me, the upgrade is more about (1) getting more light than my stock, super-dim lights and (2) having better longevity of LEDs.

 

[slcasner]

From an energy management standpoint, I completely agree. Doesn't seem to make much sense. But for me, the upgrade is more about (1) getting more light than my stock, super-dim lights and (2) having better longevity of LEDs.

I readily grant (1); I have the OEM HID upgrade. My question was really about the tradeoff between HID and LED considering the difficulties with the latter. How does the longevity compare? LEDs are not forever, either, because they still get hot and the drivers fail.

 

[drewski]

I readily grant (1); I have the OEM HID upgrade. My question was really about the tradeoff between HID and LED considering the difficulties with the latter. How does the longevity compare? LEDs are not forever, either, because they still get hot and the drivers fail.

I could be wrong, but I think most of these are upgrading halogens. I have the HID upgrade, and upgraded the high beam halogens to LED. Didn't touch the Bi-xenon part

 

[hanknum]

I could be wrong, but I think most of these are upgrading halogens. I have the HID upgrade, and upgraded the high beam halogens to LED. Didn't touch the Bi-xenon part

Yep, that's me... looking to upgrade from the weak & dim halogens.