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Alright well it finally quit raining here so I took some pictures and a video. ALL of these are low beam lights since there is almost no difference between high/low anyway.
Aftermarket clear housings from eBay
Camera makes it seem like there's an awful lot of glare, but in reality there's really not.
Awesome man! Thank you for taking the time to post the pictures and video!
I'm planning some major work on my truck over the winter, and lighting is going to be on the list. I haven't worked out details yet, but I'm planning on LED for most of it, simply for the fact that they're low amp draw.
The LED's do use the reflective portion of the housings, as without them they would just shine up and down relative to vertical, and not project forward at all. I'll try and get some pictures.
Rats, the reflectors inside my truck are bad and I had to use the silver duct tape as a reflector. It works better than nothing and has lasted almost 2 years though... Guess I am going to figure out how to mount some sealed beams in place like the Australia F-series trucks have.
One of my low beams is failing. When first turned on it will flash and flicker for a bit. This started a couple nights ago and was barely noticeable but it's been getting worse. I went on Lifetime's site to contact them and all they provide is a general email form. I sent them an email requesting an RMA number, they sent me an auto-generated reply saying they'll contact me back within 24 hours. I also found that there is a Lifetime LED dealer near me, so I called him and he says that Lifetime is actually pretty hard to get a hold of but was willing to look at mine and see what he could do. Pretty generous considering I bought them straight from Lifetime instead of thru him!
We'll see what happens and if the company honors their lifetime warranty... I'll keep this thread updated.
You're welcome Bob. I know you and maybe others were interested in the lights so I wanted to keep everyone updated on the ownership experience.
I sent my initial email to them using the form on their website just before i posted the update to this thread.
About 2:45 or so this afternoon they replied back to ask for my order number, which I was unable to provide because I can't seem to log in to their website. I replied back telling them this, and could they please help me log in or look up my order using my shipping address.
Within ten minutes I got another reply, asking me to ship the lights back and with an RMA number to write on the package. I thanked them and mentioned that so far this is the kind of customer service that some companies fall short on these days. Happy with them so far... I'll keep y'all updated.
Awesome! And you can swap in halogen 9007s while you're waiting for replacement LEDs right?
Yes, the factory plugs are still there so going back to stock is as easy as disconnecting them from the LED driver modules and reconnecting to the halogen bulbs.
Okay well I got a package from Lifetime LED yesterday:
Same lamp assemblies, but different drivers and different package. The driver module is now hardwired into the lamp where with my first setup there was a threaded connection which has a name but I can't think of it at the moment.
Hopefully the drivers are different due to an updated and less failure prone design. I didn't test my last set to try and isolate the problem before sending it back. Otherwise they look and perform the same as my originals, same color temperature, same fitment, everything. I put them in last night... this time I saved the box and we'll see how long this set lasts.
UPDATE: One of the low beams on the replacement set started flickering last night. Not impressed with Lifetime's product. I doubt it's the LED itself, most likely the driver module and I might say screw it and open it up to see what the dang problem is. I mean come on it ain't hard to make reliable electronics these days... not worth the price in my opinion.
Not sure if I will send these back. Lifetime has an exchange program right now where you can send in your older model (the style I have) and they will give you an $80 credit towards the purchase of the next generation of these with a little more output, BUT... the new ones are $250. With the trade-in that would still be $170 and I am not paying that for a product from a company that updated their driver design and still didn't get it right. (Note: I don't know if they actually updated the driver circuitry or just changed the housing that it's installed in, but the housings are different between the 2 sets I had.)
So, back to crappy yellow halogens for now (I know I can make them brighter with heavier wiring and relays) and we'll see what I feel like doing. I will probably crack the drivers open and see what cheap junk component or crap solder job failed, and if I don't get them fixed I'll probably just look for replacements from another company that have good reviews and pictures of the output. Looking on the net I am not the only one to have these specific lights fail... apparently it's common with this company's lights.
That sux.. Hope fully once you get it apart, it may be just a bad solder connection.
I just got a 2005 Mercury Montego for my daughter, had the LED tail lights and the pass side one was dead, Ford wanted $400 give or take for it! I got it apart(sealed unit) and found the LED's are good, but the driver board was bad. I built up another driver circut with parts from my electronics junk box. Works good.
Rats, the reflectors inside my truck are bad and I had to use the silver duct tape as a reflector. It works better than nothing and has lasted almost 2 years though... Guess I am going to figure out how to mount some sealed beams in place like the Australia F-series trucks have.
Do you have any pics of the Aussie F-Series with sealed beams?
That sux.. Hope fully once you get it apart, it may be just a bad solder connection.
I just got a 2005 Mercury Montego for my daughter, had the LED tail lights and the pass side one was dead, Ford wanted $400 give or take for it! I got it apart(sealed unit) and found the LED's are good, but the driver board was bad. I built up another driver circut with parts from my electronics junk box. Works good.
Yeah that was my other option, build my own drivers. I have to stop by the electronics store for an SMD pushbutton that I broke on my rework station so I might just figure out what I need and pick it up while I'm there. And since it's in Sarasota I'll probably go down the street to Alro Metals and get some metal to start my custom center console build as well.
Unless you know of a good electronics store (good as in not Radio Shack) in town somewhere?
