LED lights

[wws944]

From a thread from a couple of weeks ago:

...As far as LED retrofits go, gosh - wouldn't it be nice! (As an aside, I have been converting a lot of the bulbs/downlights in my house to LED. Like them way better than CFLs.) A company called Truck-lite makes LED headlights in the round 6024 form factor. They sell a lot of them to the military because of their ruggedness. Cost is around (...googling...) $500/pair. Unfortunately, they don't make them in the rectangular 6054 form factor that our Reattas need.

Following up on this, I found another company called JW Speaker that also makes LED headlights. They make one in the 6054 form factor! Check out the Model 8900: LED Headlights - Other - J.W. Speaker Corporation Found a web site that advertised them... $535/side - and they are backordered two months.

So who is going to try them first? (At that price, not me.)

[Barney Eaton]

$570 for a pair !!!!!

No more than I drive at night I could almost get by with no headlights.

Wait a few months and there will be a far-east knock-off for 1/10 the price.

[Guest 89 Maui]

Barney -

wws944 said it was $570/side that is $570 per side = $1140 per pair !!!!!!!!

Yur right to wait for the aftermarket to be 10% of that price.

Woody

89 Maui

[padgett]

Lessee: $500/side for less light.

8900: Effective Lumen Output: 650 (Low Beam); 850 (High Beam)

H6054 ST 700/1200 (SIlverstar)

May be measuring apples and oranges though since 8900 raw is 1,350 (Low Beam); 1,770 (High Beam) & not sure how SS was measured.

[KDirk]

Well,

That is one way to reduce the current draw (and wear and tear) on 1990 headlight switches. One rather expensive way, for sure. I think LED headlamps are a good idea technically, however they are still not quite "there"; both in the cost and in the level of light output.

The specs given for the 8900 are about comparable to the stock Guide 35 watt halogen lamps that were on the cars from the factory. That level of light output is adequate, but not in line with current standards. Then again, current headlamps on many cars are too bright, to the point of being obnoxious or even dangerous to other drivers. I have encountered several vehicles that nearly gave me flash blindness as they turned in front of me and I caught the HID lamps at just the right viewing angle to hit my eye. And that's not, as the song says, "Amore" with all due respect to Mr. Bennett.

If these get down to $50-60 a piece I might bite. That is going to take a while based on current pricing. Also, I am not enamoured of the appearance of the lens on these, with the three distinct LED light points visible in the reflector and lens. Of course, they would only be up when they are on at night, so the unusual aesthetics are probably a non-issue.

Silverstars are decent, but I actually really like the Wagner Tru Vision lamps, the color rendering on those is more to my liking. Am considering ordering a set for the 88, it still has the factory original Guide lamps, and they are lacking brightness versus my other two cars.

KDirk

[NCReatta]

Just a thought.. Would the LED headlamps change the resistance needed to make the headlight motors function correctly?

I mean, we know that you've got to have the bulbs plugged in for the motor to function at all. So could the reduced resistance of the LEDs do the same thing as having the bulb unplugged?

Edited December 12, 2011 by NCReatta (see edit history)

[wws944]

The Trucklite version, in 6024 form factor only, was developed for the DOD. Guess it is a lot easier for someone to shoot out a filament lamp than a LED one when you are cruising around Afganistan/Pakistan hunting Taliban. When they were first introduced for public consumption, they were also around $500/side. They are now about half that, but the prices don't seem to be dropping much further.

I have no idea how the light output compares with a decent H4 or even a sealed beam light. As with other things, simply looking at 'lumen output' may be misleading. It is 'how you use it'. Remember that LEDs are quite different than filament bulbs, and HIDs. All the light from LED is emitted largely in one direction, then needs to be aimed. Whereas filaments and HIDs emit light in lots of directions, and much of the light is wasted.

But in my mind, LED is truly the future of most lighting. The efficacy (lumens/watt) of LED is amazing. From what I have read, the theoretical max efficacy is around 250-300 lumens/watt. Current state of the art is about half that. And current consumer grade products are about half again. Compare to incandescent which is about 10 lumens/watt, and halogen a bit better.

[jonlabree]

Mark, I belive they would. When I was playing with my lights last year, trying to get the correct setup fo the 4" raise. In order for them to work I needed to install a resister in the light socket on one side to get the motors to run.

[padgett]

I believe that "cool light" is the future. Much of the inefficiency every since Tom E. first lite a carbon filament is due to the heat generated and for most of the year in FL, the less heat the better.

When you think about it, almost all of our prime movers are heat engines of some sort, think of what it would be like if we could go places without generating so much heat we need to cool things: an engine the size of a toaster and no radiator ? SciFi 4 sure.

[wws944]

Looks like Trucklite is updating their LED headlights into a reflector design, rather than their previous attempts which directly projected the light. And ... they are also coming out with a 6054 form factor version:

Truck-Lite - Catalog Product : 5'' x 7'' Rectangular LED Headlamp, Complex Reflector Optics

One thing of interest for us Reatta owners: There is a pigtail with a connector on the end for the electrical connection. This is a Good Thing because it should avoid any clearance issues in our headlight buckets. (The reason our Reattas use right-angle connectors...)

Pricing looks like right at $500/pair. (Considering how often my Reatta sees night driving, my E-code Hellas will have to suffice for now.)

Edited March 4, 2012 by wws944
Pricing update (see edit history)

[SeanR]

TLG Auto sells retrofit HID kits for Fiero. Should work here too.

HID Lights

[waltmail]

Well,

That is one way to reduce the current draw (and wear and tear) on 1990 headlight switches. One rather expensive way, for sure.

KDirk

and

Just a thought.. Would the LED headlamps change the resistance needed to make the headlight motors function correctly?

I mean, we know that you've got to have the bulbs plugged in for the motor to function at all. So could the reduced resistance of the LEDs do the same thing as having the bulb unplugged?

Interesting thoughts. I mfr and market a relay setup for headlight control for the classic car and hot rod/restomod field. Wonder if these would work with the Reattas. I never thought of this application. The headlight switch only provides the signal to the relays, while the headlights (bright and dim) are directly wired to the battery source.

Hmmmm. :confused:

[Rawja]

Interesting thoughts. I mfr and market a relay setup for headlight control for the classic car and hot rod/restomod field. Wonder if these would work with the Reattas. I never thought of this application. The headlight switch only provides the signal to the relays, while the headlights (bright and dim) are directly wired to the battery source.

Dunno if you could do it for less than $ 12.99.

Race Sport Accessories RELAY-HARNESS 12V Relay Harness

I'm running Sylvania Xenarc's with the factory harness only tripping relays, power to the lights are provided directly from the battery. I've had no problems with the operation of the headlight retract mechanisms as a result.

[wws944]

... I mfr and market a relay setup for headlight control for the classic car and hot rod/restomod field. Wonder if these would work with the Reattas. I never thought of this application. The headlight switch only provides the signal to the relays, while the headlights...

If you were to market to Reattas, you would want to have a right angle connector (e.g., the Dorman #84790) at the headlight side. This due to clearance issues when the headlights swivel. That is the big problem with current commercially available harnesses.

Do you have a link to a web site describing your harness? How does it compare to the Painless #30815?

[wws944]

Dunno if you could do it for less than $ 12.99.

Race Sport Accessories RELAY-HARNESS 12V Relay Harness

That appears to be for a 9006 style light. For our Reattas, we would need a lo/hi beam version.

I'm running Sylvania Xenarc's with the factory harness only tripping relays, power to the lights are provided directly from the battery. I've had no problems with the operation of the headlight retract mechanisms as a result.

I think new, they cost about what these new TruckLite LED lights cost, didn't they?

[Guest Mc_Reatta]

I expect that if a HID of LED headlight replacement were installed into a 90s Reatta (early or late) that there is a high probability that the headlights would not retract due to the power supplies not allowing the module to ground thru pin C. This should not be an issue with an 80s due to its ability to ground pin C thru the BCM, however, the extra current draw especially for HID lights would be too much for the headlight to stomach for long.

Believe both situations would be corrected by installing an additional (in the 90s case) relay harness to power the lamps directly off the battery, where the addition of a low beam relay installation would allow pin C of the module to ground thru the relay coil and work properly.

Since Kingsley has a bench setup already, he might be the one to test the theory in practice. Would have to have module wiring setups for both an 80s and 90s to be sure, but the 90s setup would be the more important one to test.

[waltmail]

If you were to market to Reattas, you would want to have a right angle connector (e.g., the Dorman #84790) at the headlight side. This due to clearance issues when the headlights swivel. That is the big problem with current commercially available harnesses.

Do you have a link to a web site describing your harness? How does it compare to the Painless #30815?

With mine you would need to splice into the headlight harness.