Thread: Lighting Upgrade Questions

[QUOTE=filcar;2658313] An additional wire from the LHS or ...?

/QUOTE]

Exactly

I also second Disco Mick. A few weeks ago I upgraded my globes to the Philips Extreme 130. What a difference.

Originally Posted by EastFreo

I also second Disco Mick. A few weeks ago I upgraded my globes to the Philips Extreme 130. What a difference.

Yes, for just $89 it made a huge difference. Of course, the original globes had faded, but it was still a big improvement for little cost.

Originally Posted by Vern

Curious as to whats the point of doing the wiring upgrade then fitting led globes? Am assuming they have a much lower current draw

The point in doing the loom upgrade is to get 12.4V to the lights,without it the best you get is 11.6 on one side and 11.4 on the other,LEDs will be below their best at that voltage.I have also been stuck without headlights because the switch failed,the switch will fail regardless of what lights you run,having your headlights go without warning is a major PITA. Pat

East Freo and Mick,your lights will fail,fit the loom. Pat

Originally Posted by PAT303

The point in doing the loom upgrade is to get 12.4V to the lights,without it the best you get is 11.6 on one side and 11.4 on the other,LEDs will be below their best at that voltage.I have also been stuck without headlights because the switch failed,the switch will fail regardless of what lights you run,having your headlights go without warning is a major PITA. Pat

Pat, i was of the assumption that the led headlights would have used 1/3 -1/5 of the current draw than the halogens, just like the ones i use for work (sparky), thats why i said that the relays would be a waste. But they don't i have just found out, they have a very similar current draw!
So led have the same current draw for lumen output, but a horrible kelvin output!
Another reason i am not really a fan of them just yet.

Originally Posted by PAT303

East Freo and Mick,your lights will fail,fit the loom. Pat

Thanks Pat. I had a relay put in at Rovertech. Would that be sufficient? To be honest I got charged quite a lot for what seemed not a lot and with the benefit of hindsight should have had the loom put in.

Originally Posted by PAT303

The point in doing the loom upgrade is to get 12.4V to the lights,without it the best you get is 11.6 on one side and 11.4 on the other,LEDs will be below their best at that voltage ......

You should get more than 12.4v through the wires to the headlight globes, noting that the car will be running too!
Where the old wires fall into a heap(and why a new loom is such a good upgrade) is current to the load(load in this case is the headlight globe).
The small piddly wires, being old probably can't push the ~4amps of current that the globe needs to work efficiently. 55/60w at 13v is about 4amps.
if your wires can only allow 2amps of current then obviously the load(ie. globe) only works 'half as well' .. therefore the yellowy crappy output is displays.

A good set of LED headlights(eg. H4's) will(or should!) have a separate driver controller box, and usually they have one for each LED globe.
This is how the the Philips Ultinon kit comes. Boxes are small and simple, three way plug plugs into the driver box, and a small round 3 core plug then connects driver box to LED globe lead wire.
Sounds convoluted and is a bit for install, but plenty of room behind a discovery(1 and 2) for the box, and if room was scarce in a defender, there's plenty of wire to place the driver boxes anywhere else.

What can affect an LED is not so much just the voltage, but the power supply to the driver(if a well sorted driver is used in the system). So I reckon I'd be getting my 13v through the wire(obviously the car is running!), but I haven't taken the time to measure the current through the wires .. ie. total power at the driver.
The driver should run fine with only 9 volts to it, as long as there is a decent current through the wires too.

Either way, without any wiring touched on my D1 .. and the wiring does look fragile and frail too .. I reckon I've doubled my headlight output on both low beam(more obvious) and on high beam.

It seems I've also converted my dad to LED too, he loves the (white)colour and reckons they're about twice the brightness too.
Just ordered a pair of cheapo LEDs for his old Explorer too. More as a test to see if they any good or not compared to the expensive Philips.

I don't have my variable power supply with me(it's being used to power a UHF radio for the time being) to show it, but you should be able to use 12v and still get good light output from a H4, as long as the current is there(about 5amps or so).

I once pushed 30v and 6amps through my spare LED light bar and it had a noticeable brightness difference than at 13v and 5amps(where I think it runs on the car mounted one).
The driver for that light bar must be internal to the light assembly and makes it hard to see what it is, and find wires to test(it's all sealed up), but I'd hate to think how quickly the light bar would blow up/out if it ran at those power levels all the time.
it is supposed to be a 180w capable LED setup(12 units at 15w each), and that's why I tried it out.