55W H3 Spotlight Bulb. LED Version?

[Tom H]

I'm looking for a LED H3 style bulb for my spotlights. I do not want a flood style bulb like a fog light. I want one that shows way down the road with a fairly narrow beam. I'm very happy with the light the stock puts out, but a LED would draw less power. If I understand the math correctly, two 12V bulbs at 55W each draw about 9 amps total.




I went in search on Amazon, found so may choices that my brain exploded and I gave up. Lumens, color temperature.....AAR RGH!!

So how do I pick a LED bulb that is a match for my 55W halogens? The base and bulb length is fairly easy. But what lumens, color temp, and ??? should I be looking for? I don't want to have to buy a dozen of them to pick the right one. Any way to narrow this down?

Thank you,
Tom

[Bert Remington]

Tom -- you are correct in being confused and cautious in LED selection.

For my 2012 Norge I ended up with an Clear White 5,000K HID H3 low beam for nighttime illumination and a Golden Yellow 3,000K LED H1 high beam for daytime visibility.  But I didn't get there in a straight line.  Some lessons-learned about LED replacements:

* color temperature (K): for illumination stay with 5,000K or cooler because higher temperatures reduce contrast making it more difficult to see debris, ruts, etc in the roadway.

* light output (lumen): even though LEDs are more efficient than halogens, they still generate heat.  At some level of light output, the bulb design switches from internal to external cooling.  External cooling might just be a heat sink or may also include a fan, both of which will cause fitment and weather-sealing problems.  Consider the tradeoffs especially since your H3s are supplemental lighting.

* bulb size (reflector opening): some reflectors have large openings to fit the bulb through and some (like the Norge) have the bare minimum.  You have to look closely because the end of the bulb might match your rectangular H3 but the remainder is round which won't fit through the opening.

My SNGL LED H1 (https://www.amazon.com/SNGL-Yellow-Bright-without-lights/dp/B07JVQHQR6/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=sngl+golden+yellow+h1+led&qid=1557118978&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr0) is internally cooled and is the highest quality bulb I could find that would fit through the Norge's narrow opening.  The weatherboots sealed perfectly.  Good luck finding something similar in an H3.

To reduce brain fatigue I suggest you start at SuperBrightLeds.  They have a smaller selection and you might not find what you want but they are very good at providing information and answering questions.  They're always my first choice.

[Tom H]

Thanks for the reply!!

Maybe I should have also asked this: Is it the reflector or the bulb or a combination of the two that makes a SPOT light verses FOG type light??

Tom

[Bert Remington]

For your spotlights, I'd say it's about 80% reflector and 20% lens design that provides the spotlight pattern.

I'm going to suggest you explore an alternative path.  As you have discovered from your research, replicating the halogen's mono-source filament with the LED's multi-source emitters while matching bulb dimensions ain't easy nor is it cheap.  But a decent pair of LED spotlights as an integrated design complete with mounts is about the same price as a pair of LED H3s and will probably provide better performance.  So go back to SBL and see what they offer in off-road spotlights.  Look carefully at the prices; some are "each" and some are "pair".

I've noticed some forum members are, shall we say, price sensitive.  Judging by the number of MGs you have, price (and wrench time) just might be a consideration.  So have I got a deal for you:

My Norge came with these lights (https://www.ebay.com/itm/2Pcs-CREE-U7-Angel-Eyes-Light-125W-Motorcycle-Headlight-LED-Fog-Spotlight-Switch-/332386476834) which are one of the first things I removed*.  I see you are in SoCal so if you ride to San Diego, not only will I give them to you but I will help you mount and wire them (Molex watertight connectors, etc).  I'll mail them to you if you make a donation to this forum -- you choose the amount after receiving them.

* I hadn't intended to buy another motorcycle but I saw the picture on Cycle Trader and had my deposit on its way to Windsor the next day.  It's gorgeous but the LEDs, radar detector, heated vest control, and luggage ruined its lines.  I've been meaning to put up everything but the luggage (which is only used for long trips) for donation sale.  You can help me get started by taking the LEDs.  Which reminds me -- I have to update my avatar after I install my Cerakoted exhaust tomorrow.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I'm going to suggest you explore an alternative path.  As you have discovered from your research, replicating the halogen's mono-source filament with the LED's multi-source emitters while matching bulb dimensions ain't easy nor is it cheap.  But a decent pair of LED spotlights as an integrated design complete with mounts is about the same price as a pair of LED H3s and will probably provide better performance. 

As Bert writes above, maybe complete new LED lights might be better. I run these on both my Convert and V700 and am very pleased with them:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X19TGND/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, they look "modern", but for the $$, they're pretty well made. Very bright, wide, flat beam, so won't blind oncoming traffic if aimed correctly.

[Bert Remington]

Those are classic-look LEDs with useful output at a great price.  6,000K is on high side for contrast but unlike spotlights their sharp cutoff "fog" beam pattern allows full-time use.  An excellent choice except no Angel Eyes!

[Tom H]

Bert,
Thanks for your offer on the lights. If I had a space ship, they would be perfect

Charlie,
Those lights look nice. As Bert suggested I went to SuperBrightLeds and looked at the bulbs and lights. I found lights that would do, except for the style. Could live with them if I had to, but I really like the 3.5" smooth chrome look. I did have some that were black ABS, but the mount would crack and ABS glue didn't seem to work to fix them.

All the choices in complete lights can get confusing. Many are called FOG which leads me to say they are wide angle short range lights that can be used all day. The little lights that I have are what I would call SPOT. Yes, they do light a bit to the sides, but they light up things quite a ways away. I treat them like you would high beams in a car, turn them off for oncoming traffic.

Bert got me in the right direction, so I searched more last night. I would find a bulb that looked like it would work, sounded good, then read the reviews. It seems that all that I looked at had half the people say they are great and the other half sat they suck compared to the original halogen. Makes it hard to know the correct answer.

In this quest to find bulbs, I tried to find a light meter for my phone so I know how bright my lights are. I found may apps that were LUX meters, they tell you how much light is in a room, not really what I was looking for.

I did find a chart that listed lumens and how they equate to LED and incandescent watt ratings. This seemed the most helpful of all my research. If the charts were correct, 55W bulb is about equal to a 800 lumen light. This would be about a 10W LED. So armed with both of your info, I've narrowed my search. I just need to measure to see if the bulb will fit since they are all longer than the halogen that I have.

Thanks again!
Tom

[Wayne Orwig]

IMHO, it will be difficult to get anything that works well.

Yes, the reflector, bulb, and lens, make it fog versus spot.

Yes, two 55 watt bulbs are going to pull close to 10 amps. Outputs about 1400 lumens each.

To get comparable light output, the LED will need to be well over 10 watt. 10 watts for LEDs would need GOOD heat sinks. An H3 bulb emits light nearly in a sphere. LED, not so, so you will need a 'globe' configuration of a bunch of smaller LEDs. You are going to have trouble focusing the larger area that the LEDs use, so a spot light may become more a fog light. And a lot of trouble getting the heat away from those hot LEDs.

Then one of my pet peeves, most LEDs are a 6000k or bluer color. I hate that. I prefer a warmer color, closer to 4500k.

I did design and run a fix for incandescent lighting for years. It let me operate my driving lights and not worry about having enough 'juice'. http://hogmountain.asuscomm.com/utils.html#lightcontrol

In the end,  LED lights got better, so I opted for a set of LED lights, and pulled the H3 units off the bike. The 6000k color is an issue, but a purpose made housing works well.
 

[Tom H]

For the time being I have given up on finding the LED I want. Found a few, but too big for my housing. I'll stick with my H3 on my loops, they run the alternator conversion. For my EV I think I'll just look for a complete LED light. I'll look again at the ones mentioned.

Thanks again,
Tom

[Tom H]

I'm still on the hunt for a bulb replacement for my loops. I did get these for the EVT, they sit out of the way below the fairing:





https://www.amazon.com/WEISIJI-Light-Headlight-Motorcycle-Offroad/dp/B01NAJ2TJD/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_12?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DJ1TP16DTQ2W1T04NJFC

They look OK on the EVT and seems to put out a decent amount of light. Still need to get out to a street with no street lights to see how they do,
'
'Thanks again!!
Tom