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I think Headlight Revolution does their fitment check on the workbench and doesn't see the problems experienced doing it from the wheel well.
If it fits, it fits regardless of on the bench or not. There are members here that use the bulbs that you had problems with. Sorry, but this is on the installer. Just my .02.
Doing it from the wheel well works if you remove the front wheel. With my ham hands, I found that method too difficult to accomplish. I did make a "tool" of sorts by cutting a notch out of (1-1/4" PVC IIRC). That allowed me to wrap my hand around the short section of PVC and rotate the bulb in (it also helped removing the old bulb).
That said, even though removing the headlight assembly (maybe) took a little more time, the whole process was much easier to either remove or insert a bulb. Many of the appropriate bulbs also have an adjustment to rotate the bulb so that the LEDs are oriented in the correct direction. If you don't take care of this little detail, the light output is majorly SNAFU.
So I did the driver's side through the wheel well, and the passenger side by R&R the headlight assembly. I think I spent about the same time for each (but was close; I did not time it either way). I just think the R&R method worked better for me.
I have Hikari LEDs in my F350. Stock housings. Adjusted. Never get flashed by oncoming traffic. Excellent low beams. Excellent hi beams. Nice product overall. I have a set of JDMstar 9145 LEDs for my fogs. No issues. I tend to only use them on darker roads and no traffic or when I am running the park lights like at a camp ground. No issues.
I generally don't peruse the F150 pages but I happened to see this thread on headlights.
***edit*** My father liked the bulbs and how well they worked, we got a set of the same brand of bulbs for Christmas 2 years ago. Same thing. The bulbs were installed and then housings were adjusted. They were installed into a 2008 Explorer. The lens were in good shape which he performed a minor buffing with a coat of wax for protection. He absolutely loves them when driving at night. No issues with getting flashed either. So it is definitely how you set them up.
I recently changed my low and high beams on my 2017 F150 XLT. I installed the diode dynamics replacements. I had problems twisting the new bulbs in. I found that the sealing o-rings used on the dd units were slightly different. Although the I.D. was the same, the cross-section was slightly larger on the dd units. I swapped out the o-rings, using the original ones from the halogen bulbs. They installed a lot easier and l felt they gave just as good a seal. This was true on all four bulbs installed.
I recently changed my low and high beams on my 2017 F150 XLT. I installed the diode dynamics replacements. I had problems twisting the new bulbs in. I found that the sealing o-rings used on the dd units were slightly different. Although the I.D. was the same, the cross-section was slightly larger on the dd units. I swapped out the o-rings, using the original ones from the halogen bulbs. They installed a lot easier and l felt they gave just as good a seal. This was true on all four bulbs installed.
What are your thoughts on the light output from the DD bulbs?
I am very pleased with the DD bulbs performance. Happy I made the change. Attached are pics. Very focused DD low beams. With factory fog lights below. Will probably change out fogs at some point.
Last edited by Retired 2014; Apr 17, 2020 at 08:45 PM.
Reason: Add comments
Here's a video doing a comparison of some of the more popular bulbs. Comparisons like these seem very helpful. I'm a fan of diode dynamics, but their F150 bulb just doesn't seem up to par with the competition.
The Diode Dynamics SL1 is designed to provide a significant increase in output, without causing too much glare.
In our testing, some bulbs on the market that shine much brighter also exceed glare requirements, which can be unsafe for other drivers on the road.
While we could increase output of the SL1, we have limited the output intentionally to a level where it does not cause glare for other drivers.
Thanks!
Paul
It wasn't just the brightness. Here I clipped the S-V.4 and the SL1. The S-V.4 appears to have a much more well defined cut-off line. In other articles, I've seen it mentioned that the SL 1 in general performs great, but for some reason in the latest F150 halogen Headlamp housings, it scatters more than in other enclosures. This image seems to back that up. Unless that is intentional?
It wasn't just the brightness. Here I clipped the S-V.4 and the SL1. The S-V.4 appears to have a much more well defined cut-off line. In other articles, I've seen it mentioned that the SL 1 in general performs great, but for some reason in the latest F150 halogen Headlamp housings, it scatters more than in other enclosures. This image seems to back that up. Unless that is intentional?
It honestly does not appear that the SL1 here is properly installed, as you should not see that double-banded cutoff line. It is not present in the testing we've done on the 2015 or the 2018. That is really the only thing I can think of.
It honestly does not appear that the SL1 here is properly installed, as you should not see that double-banded cutoff line. It is not present in the testing we've done on the 2015 or the 2018. That is really the only thing I can think of.
Thanks,
Paul
Maybe this is the issue with the SL1 in the latest Ford Headlight Housings - There is a diffuser built into them. This could be causing the poor performance and double banding?
That's a good idea, but I don't believe so. If that was the case, you would be able to see it on the competitor's bulb too. There is no specific reason why our bulbs would vary in terms of exact beam pattern, as they use extremely similar chips with similar designs and overall geometry with the placement of the LED. The main difference is in the power level and overall construction and circuit design in the bulbs at this point when it comes to high-grade LED replacements. I'd have to do some more digging to see why they had the misalignment happening in their test.
I had difficulty installing the Driver side low beam with a CSP mini. I ended up having to file a slight angle on the feed side of the locking tab on the csp bulb to allow it to catch and feed into the tabs on the housing. After that, it was a smooth install and they have an impressive beam pattern and light output.
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