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As you can see from that thread, the first set lasted 1 year and 7 days before one of the low beams started flickering. I suspected a bad driver but didn't test to be sure. Warrantied that set out and got another which lasted just 1 month and 6 days before the same problem happened. I considered building my own drivers but decided to eventually try the LMZ Platinum lights from VLEDS instead due to them having an adjustable mounting depth. Since I've decided to fix a few things on this truck and keep it a bit longer, I figured why not lose the halogens lights again considering everything else is LED already.
This is what showed up today.
These come with a threaded collar which uses an allen screw to lock them in to place. An allen wrench is kindly included. Notice the fine threads and the flats machined into the housing. There are 4 flats 90 degrees apart for the allen screw to sit in which prevents the LED module from rotating out of it's 4 possible index positions. The reason for the threads is to allow the depth of the LED to be adjusted. This may or may not let me get a better beam than the old set had... we'll see.
Just like the other set, the headlight retainer ring needs to be cut down to about 3/4" for clearance. These are my existing ones and were already cut to size from my last set of LEDs. If you do this, make sure to cut the side furthest from the headlight and NOT the side that has tabs which lock into the headlight housing. This will not affect your ability to switch to any other 9007-style light source including the original halogen bulbs. Since the retainers will block access to the allen screw when everything is installed in the truck, I drilled a hole to be able to reach it.
Take the retainer and put it over the LED module, then thread the collar on. I screwed mine all the way down and then backed it off til it was lined up with the first flat on the body of the LED module. Notice one of the heat sink fins is shaped like an arrow. That is the topmost flat in the housing, the others are 90 degrees apart from it. You can use that as a reference point when they're installed.
And here is one of the driver modules connected to the LEDs and 9007-style power connector.
At this point I put everything in the truck. No trouble there, everything fits just fine. Now it's time for a few measurements just out of curiousity.
Engine OFF, low beams
Engine off, high beams
Engine running, low beams
Engine running, high beams
Driver module temp after ~15 minutes, high beam with engine off.
LED temperature after ~15 minutes, high beam with engine off. Note: this it towards the front of the LED module, the heatsink area was about 8-10 degrees cooler.
If you look at my third pic in this post you can see two of the emitters, there are two more 180 degrees opposite for a total of 4 per headlight. With low beam selected there is one lit on each side of the module, and for high beams they are all lit. I will probably play with the depth adjustment tonight and get some more pics, maybe a video again like last time.
Okay guys, here's the best I could do with my cell phone camera.
No glare to oncoming traffic
Low beams
High beams
As was my experience with the last set, they don't have quite the range of GOOD halogens (better than cheap ones though) but it's nothing that concerns me because there is plenty of light for me to navigate safely. The high beams don't really give the lights any more range as one might expect from a halogen, but they do make what is already illuminated in the distance brighter unlike my old set from Lifetime LED with which the high beams were practically useless. They also throw more light off to the sides and slightly higher vs. the low beams.
I played with the adjustments last night and found that for my aftermarket housings the lights are best left the way I installed them initially. Backing the depth adjustment out sort of dimmed the hotspot in front of the truck but gave a little more light off to the side which I was concerned would cause glare for oncoming traffic, so I left them where I set them up during the install. I may experiment with this adjustment some more later.
I also tried rotating the lights 90 degrees so the LED emitters were left/right instead of up/down. This gave more light off in the distance but also moved the beam pattern upwards for some reason and negated any difference between high and low beam. Sure enough, as soon as I turned onto the main road (2 lane, no streetlights) I got flashed by 3 out of 5 people headed the other direction despite running only low beams, so I turned them back vertical.
Originally Posted by OkieFromMuskogee
This is very cool. How do you like the results? Worth the switch?
How much did this cost you?
Yeah I'm happy with them. They're an improvement over halogens for sure and I'm glad I switched back to LEDs. The illumination in front of and ahead of the truck is much better, and I prefer the 5K color over halogens 3500 or so. For some reason it also makes signs and stuff stand out more as well.
This kit is normally $160 direct from VLEDS but I got 15% off by waiting for their Cyber Monday sale.
I didn't even know FireWire existed really. VLEDS seemed to be popular among name brand stuff along with Lifetime. I had a lousy experience with Lifetime's product and didn't want to go with generic stuff from eBay that had no support. Additionally, I wasn't sure what effect the adjustable depth would have on beam patterns and this products was the only one I saw that offered such a thing.
Just an update to report no issues as of yet and still ain't been flashed by oncoming traffic. Have not experimented any further with the depth adjustment. So far I think these were a good purchase and I'm happier with them than I was with the old set.
I know that your headlight assemblies are different than mine but in your opinion, Do you think that these LED lights would be suitable in the '91 and older headlight assemblies?
I'm looking to replace my HIDs and want to avoid the glare that they produce. And I really don't want to go back to the stock bulb setup. Times like this I wish that I had the newer front end and headlights.
I've gone the HID route before and got nothing but flashes from oncoming cars. The reason is, after doing research on the conversion, the reflector in the stock head light bucket is not compatible with that sort of bulb. The reflectors are a different shape for HID. The low beam was always a high beam and high beam would be lost in the trees and not be as bright. To do an HID headlight system the whole bucket needs to be changed out to work correctly and pass inspection.
I'm wondering if the same thing holds true with the LED set-up if rotating the bulbs made a difference in getting flashed. I'm also curious about the state inspection, do they pass? They resemble the HID kits that's why I'm asking.
They do look good and bright!
I know that your headlight assemblies are different than mine but in your opinion, Do you think that these LED lights would be suitable in the '91 and older headlight assemblies?
I'm looking to replace my HIDs and want to avoid the glare that they produce. And I really don't want to go back to the stock bulb setup. Times like this I wish that I had the newer front end and headlights.
They should work fine in your stock housings. Your truck (and mine when equipped with factory housings) use headlights having a smooth reflector and a diffuser lens. This lens spreads the lights out and creates the beam pattern.
Aftermarket housings which use a clear lens have a textured reflector which does the job of shaping the beam instead of relying on the lens to do it.
When I first got my original set of LEDs I put them in my factory housings and it still made an improvement, and I did not get flashed running them like this.
The biggest improvement came when I switched to aftermarket housings AND the LED lights.
Oh and you know you can swap the front clip from a newer truck onto your truck, right?
Have you ever tried just the led headlights? See a few bulbs on ebay that are same price as the silverstars.
Just the LED lights in stock housings? Yeah, see my reply above. It's an improvement and I didn't get flashed either.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND any lights that look like this:
This is the type that failed me twice. Actually the lamp assembly was probably fine, the drivers appeared to be the failure point although I didn't test to confirm. However I have seen ones that look like my current set (see pics above) on eBay although they didn't have the same branding. I bought from VLEDS because I wanted a reliable point of contact in case of warranty claims. Not some Chinese seller on eBay.
I've gone the HID route before and got nothing but flashes from oncoming cars. The reason is, after doing research on the conversion, the reflector in the stock head light bucket is not compatible with that sort of bulb. The reflectors are a different shape for HID. The low beam was always a high beam and high beam would be lost in the trees and not be as bright. To do an HID headlight system the whole bucket needs to be changed out to work correctly and pass inspection.
I'm wondering if the same thing holds true with the LED set-up if rotating the bulbs made a difference in getting flashed. I'm also curious about the state inspection, do they pass? They resemble the HID kits that's why I'm asking.
They do look good and bright!
No state inspections here bud! Thankfully (and rightfully) so!
With these you can just remove them and plug stock bulbs back in if you wanted to. So if you're worried about it then just put some cheapie halogen bulbs in and go get your inspection, then swap the LEDs back in.
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