Lighting Upgrade
Which is better HID or LED?
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When it comes to automotive lighting, nothing is more satisfying than the first time you turn on your lights after an upgrade. It can elevate any car instantly and make your night time driving safer, and much more pleasurable.
There are lots of information on the web from DIY to professionals on how to go about your lighting upgrade. Automotive lighting is a $30 Billion industry and it’s constantly evolving. It has taken big leaps from Halogen to HID, LED, and now Laser Diode, a next gen impressive feat that is as revolutionary as HID and LED were to halogen bulb. If you are reading information on the subject or watching instructional videos, please pay attention to the date it was published and who is publishing it. There are lots of outdated and in times incorrect information out there. For example just a few years ago HIDs were superior to LEDs in many ways. Today LED technology has entered a new chapter with incredible light output, and none of the past fails and overheating that made an unattractive option compare to HID. Each lighting system has its advantages and shortcoming. Some factors to consider during an upgrade is the cooling system, position of the light source, and harmony within the cars onboard computer systems.
With most projector headlights, upgrade may be as simple as replacing the halogen bulb with an LED bulb, but this is not always the case. In reflective headlights, light coming out form the filament of the bulb hits the reflective chrome in a specific area. If this is point is moved though brighter, light may come out scattered. It is important to match the upgrade with the original bulb. Most LEDs are adjustable, make sure the diodes of the LED are sitting 3 and 9 o’clock for best results so any glare goes from side to side and not in your eyes. Â
Remember just because the bulbs are coming on it does not mean the upgrade was done properly.Â
How can I tell if HID or LED is right for my lighting system?
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Proper upgrade doesn’t mean the bulb is coming on. A 12v power source can turn on any automotive lighting system. Headlight is a main function of a car, and proper operation is a must, so before concentrating on which system performs better, or the beam pattern, lets concentrate on the most important aspect, the long term function, reliability and its harmony within your existing lighting system. After all we don’t want an upgrade that doesn’t last and creates headaches down the road. We will concentrate on function here, and will leave the performance discussion for later.
To start take a look at the back of your headlight and see if the bulb is exposed or is it sealed inside the housing with boot aka a dust cap.
If the bulb is exposed you can install either systems, but if the bulb is sealed inside, you can only HID upgrade. It all comes down the bulb’s cooling system. The more powerful LEDs are fan cooled. They require room for airflow. If a fan cooled LED is installed inside the housing and sealed with the dust cap behind it, unable to cool the bulb will eventually overheat, especially on long night time drive. The bulb can burn out prematurely and often either smoke and damaged the clarity of the projector lens or damage the wiring system inside the headlight. Some including professional shops that do not specialize in automotive lighting have come up with an easy solution, remove the dust cap entirely so the LED can cool. This is the most damaging option. Removing the dust cap breaks the headlight seal and create a giant opening where dust and moisture can enter, and damage the headlight entirely.
Here are some of the most common mistakes we see with improper HID upgrade
- HID ballast mounted on fragile parts or other wiring. HID ballast can be quiet heavy. Improper mount will cause damage to wiring.Â
- Improper sealing of the dust cap after ruining wires. This is very common and causes the most significant damage to the headlight housing. allowing dust and moisture to enter.
- Mounting resistors, or decoders near wiring or plastic. Resistors heat up and they must always be installed on metal away from any plastic.
- Choosing the filament on HID to face the correct direction. The H series HIDs that are used for halogen upgrade come with two setting the A and B. For example H7-A or H7-B. On one the filament is on top and the other on the bottom. Filament position must be chosen depending on the shape of the reflector.Â
Weather LED or HID conversion, Vivid Headlight technician will make the best upgrade recommendation depending on your vehicle lighting system. Â Some upgrades may not be legal in California. Vivid Headlight is not responsible for any issues that may arise from lighting upgrade. Please check your local laws to learn more.
Upgrading Break, Reverse, Turn signal
Two studies conducted by Hewlett Packard, and NHTSA Traffic Safety showed switching brake lights from Halogen bulbs to LED bulbs could significantly reduce auto accidents. “…that LED signals provides a braking response time advantage between 170 and 200 ms [milliseconds] under favorable lighting conditions and up to 300 ms under adverse lighting conditions…Note that a 200 ms improvement in braking response is equivalent to a 19.1 feet reduction in stopping distance at a speed of 65 MPH. “LED bulbs illuminate faster, providing the next vehicle more time to safely brake and avoid a rear-end collision.
Upgrading your signaling lights to LED is not always as simple as replacing the bulb. The vehicles onboard computer system sends electrical current to all lights and it measures the resistance it receive to determine if a bulb is out and needs replacement. When the bulb is out you will either get a light out message or in case of turn signal it may flash very fast to indicate bulb is out. (Hyper-flash) Since LEDs consume much less power than halogen bulbs, the electrical signal will come back as a false light out since the computer detects minimal resistance within the electrical system. To remedy this issue a resistor, decoder or a combination of the two is needed to trick the onboard computer to accept the bub as functioning. Since the resistor creates electrical resistance it heats up. Proper mounting of the resistor is important. Placing it next to plastic or other wiring can create safety hazard. Professional installation is recommended. Book an appointment today and get expert lighting upgrade advice and recommendations.
Please study Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard And Department of Transportation Rules and guidelines before any upgrade. Vivid Headlight is not responsible for any issues that may arise from modification to your lighting.
