Author Topic: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?  (Read 55946 times)

Online bigbikerrick

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H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« on: January 03, 2014, 02:39:20 PM »
Hello Folks, after riding a few times at night on my Sons HD with the "daymaker" all led headlight, its hard to go back to the other bikes with H4's even though I have relays /direct wiring, and Silverstar bulbs in my Aluminum, and Cal IIs headlights, the all LED light in the HD just illuminates the road beautifully from one side to the other, and when you hit high beam its a long reaching projector type of light right down the center of the road where you need it most. I know that optics/reflectors/lenses have alot to do with a great headlight, but that HD 5 3/4" light is $400. thats too much for me to justify, right now. My next door neighbor, a cool 77 year young gentleman who rides wings, and loves new electrical gadgets brought this product to my attention. He states he has bought stuff from electrical connection before, and they sell good quality  products. I have no affiliation with EC. Im just wondering if anyone has tried one of these conversion kits, or maybe I will be the "guinea pig", The kit looks interesting to me. ( I know it wont fit in my eldo's bucket, with the little fan and all)
check it out.... Rick.


http://www.electricalconnection.com/other-lighting/led-hl-h4.htm             
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Offline pbeesley

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2014, 02:44:02 PM »
25W of power into that tiny heatsink? Even with the fan my guess is that sucker will run hot!  :o
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Offline Triple Jim

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2014, 03:06:15 PM »
I've been looking for LED options for my motorcycles for a couple years now.  This may be the best one so far.  I'm sure it gets hot, but not as hot as the incandescent type!  I'm very interested in this.  I'd sure like to know more about the hi/lo part, like how do the patterns compare to what I'm used to.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2014, 03:08:05 PM by Triple Jim »
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Online bigbikerrick

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2014, 03:56:40 PM »
Yes The pattern it shoots out is what I am interested in as well. The heat part may be a concern.. I am thinking of getting a pair for my wifes 99 Camry. That would be a "good test mule" we drive that car about 1000 miles a month, all at night, and I go through about 3 sets of silverstars a year...the high beams burn out on them.
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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2014, 03:56:40 PM »

Offline Wayne Orwig

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2014, 04:37:22 PM »
Garbage.

1) 25 watts onto that small of a heat sink, even with the fan, difficult to imagine trapped in a headlight bucket.
2) High beam only. That is NOT a direct H4 replacement. No high low.
3) The emitter on the die is huge relative to an H4 filament. It is even huge relative to an HID arc. It would send light everywhere.

That said, if you had an auxiliary headlight that was normally off, and you only turned it on for high beam, that might do the trick. But for an actual H4 replacement, that is garbage.


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Offline Triple Jim

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2014, 04:57:59 PM »
The ad says hi/low.  I was assuming one emitter was hi and the other is low, but maybe it's some other scheme.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2014, 04:59:43 PM by Triple Jim »
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Offline Moto Fugazzi

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2014, 05:29:00 PM »
I'd like to try one if they are hi/low.

Here's my review on the Trucklite LED headlight on my V11S. Keep in mind that they don't always fit in the MG bucket, and I had a spare bucket from an old Yamaha that it fit in quite nicely. The Trucklites can be found for about $200.00
http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17838&p=192112
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Offline Wayne Orwig

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2014, 05:55:53 PM »
The ad says hi/low.  I was assuming one emitter was hi and the other is low, but maybe it's some other scheme.

There are companies that do make hi/low units. You can find them for about $50. That photo is a high only.


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Offline pauldaytona

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2014, 06:08:55 PM »
It's the first kit I have seen like this. But some google search gives more of the like.
Unless a normal bulb, led lives not so long what it gets hot. Cooling will be biggest problem. So getting 25 watt cooled away is easier in a car where the back is open, as in a bike.  1800 lumen / 25 watt gives 72 lumen per watt, not so bad for a led.

They exist also as high/low and H7 /H11

Here image with fan:



« Last Edit: January 03, 2014, 06:14:56 PM by pauldaytona »
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Offline Monza-jockey

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2014, 07:11:50 PM »
That's an interesting kit. My money is still on Halogen. ~;

 I'm no expert. From from playing around with air cooling the processors in computers: IMHO that heatsink is nearly non-existant, and using a fan that small would hardly cool anything.  ??? Processor fans fail all the time; on a motorcycle you wouldn't know until your LED fried.

I'd be really curious how hot the emitters get inside that headlight enclosure. The design seems to rely mainly on conduction/convection for cooling. Certainly a move in the right direction, just not quite there yet.

I'm still waiting for bright cold light, at minimal power consumption. :pop
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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2014, 10:12:20 PM »
I have one of these bulbs installed in my Convert.  Was a little long touching inside my Vetter fairing.  Would have worked but instead I cut a hole in the fairing and used a wheel grease cap to create a space behind the bulb fan.  So far I have not been able to test it on the road but in a dark shop with the lights out to set alignment I discovered it is very bright.  The cutoff is good enough to not bother oncoming but not as sharp as the H4.  Also, the angle line going up on the right side of the H4 bulbs seems to be gone.  Don't stand in front of it and turn it on unless you like being temporarily blind.  Mine is a different source but looks the same.  It was $54 for the single bulb.  It is a high/low.  I hope to test it on the road in the next week.

Offline Triple Jim

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2014, 10:55:04 PM »
Excellent.  I'll be looking forward to your report.
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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #12 on: January 04, 2014, 01:53:40 AM »
I have a 20W fog, daylight LED bulb in an H4 headlight on the 750S.
Got it from Honk Kong on Ebay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Super-Bright-Car-Auto-20W-LED-H4-White-DRL-Day-Driving-Head-Light-Fog-Bulb-Lamp-/300840007877?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item460b7638c5

You have to change the wires around but just make a note of them.
Find it really seems more noticeable to car drivers than the Philips 35W traditional bulb.

Or maybe less inclined to pull out on me at junctions  ;-T
Can run high beam on all day without the worry of the battery going flat using the infamous, Bosch brushed alternator.

 :beat_horse

But I have to change back to the Philips for the MOT because the 20W LED does not have a proper spread of light for night time riding. So it would fail the MOT. Not that I normally use the bike at night.

 :)

Rob

Offline pauldaytona

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« Last Edit: January 04, 2014, 05:25:16 AM by pauldaytona »
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Offline Wayne Orwig

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #14 on: January 04, 2014, 08:31:19 AM »
That's a confusing web page.  They claim 60w, but if you unravel the text it's two 30w bulbs = 60w.
15 watt CREE LEDs. 30W per 'bulb'. Two 'bulbs'.
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Offline pauldaytona

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #15 on: January 04, 2014, 10:49:38 AM »
« Last Edit: January 04, 2014, 10:57:04 AM by pauldaytona »
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Offline Sack

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #16 on: January 04, 2014, 12:39:29 PM »
What's amazing to me is that in very short order LED's are coming alive! The light output is almost unbelievable compared to just a few years ago. We recently remodeled our kitchen installing 4 recessed lights in the main part of the kitchen along with LED under cabinet lighting. All dimmable. Total power draw from all kitchen light sources is no more than 60W. A little more pricey at purchase but should pay for themselves in relatively short order as my wife likes them on most of the day!   :-\

I've bought some cheap LED bulbs from China and have had mixed results. Fairly high failure rate but good that they were cheaper. I think we're almost there with a good mix of cost/reliability/suitability to their intent. Maybe just a little more time? Can't even imagine what we'll see in the years coming.
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Offline rocker59

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #17 on: January 04, 2014, 04:30:58 PM »
What's amazing to me is that in very short order LED's are coming alive! The light output is almost unbelievable compared to just a few years ago. We recently remodeled our kitchen installing 4 recessed lights in the main part of the kitchen along with LED under cabinet lighting. All dimmable. Total power draw from all kitchen light sources is no more than 60W. A little more pricey at purchase but should pay for themselves in relatively short order as my wife likes them on most of the day!   :-\

I've bought some cheap LED bulbs from China and have had mixed results. Fairly high failure rate but good that they were cheaper. I think we're almost there with a good mix of cost/reliability/suitability to their intent. Maybe just a little more time? Can't even imagine what we'll see in the years coming.

I have just the opposite feeling.  After being around LEDs since the 1980s, I wonder why it's taken so long for them to advance!

That being said, a couple years ago, I installed LEDs under the cabinets in my mom's house.  They're great!

I'm glad to see them coming along, but it has been a long road getting them brighter and cheaper.
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Offline Sack

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #18 on: January 04, 2014, 07:16:37 PM »
It has been a long road but don't you feel that at least in part it was LED's relative expense compared to other technologies, let alone the standard incandescent bulb, which kept advances at bay? As I recall years ago, attempts to bring high powered LED's to market were thwarted by poor reliability. The 6" "can lights we installed have giant heat sinks with lots of cooling fins. Hot enough do these get that in some models ceiling insulation cannot touch the cans.
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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #19 on: January 04, 2014, 08:32:05 PM »
It has been a long road but don't you feel that at least in part it was LED's relative expense compared to other technologies, let alone the standard incandescent bulb, which kept advances at bay? As I recall years ago, attempts to bring high powered LED's to market were thwarted by poor reliability. The 6" "can lights we installed have giant heat sinks with lots of cooling fins. Hot enough do these get that in some models ceiling insulation cannot touch the cans.

Yes, but when compared to the rise of personal computers during the same time, LEDs did not develop as quickly, or drop in price as quickly as computers.  I've always been curious as to why.

Anyway, I"m glad they are about ready for primetime. 

I'm tempted to try one of these LED H4 replacements in my fairing-mounted Sport 1100 headlight.  It's always kind of sucked.
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Offline Wayne Orwig

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #20 on: January 04, 2014, 11:35:09 PM »
Yes, but when compared to the rise of personal computers during the same time, LEDs did not develop as quickly, or drop in price as quickly as computers.  I've always been curious as to why.

Low power LEDs have been around for 50 years or so.
Getting the material formulas right for higher wattage is fairly recent. And high powered blue / white is relatively new.
Plus it wasn't until recently that they were used much. It looks like my wife's car only has incandescent in the fog lights. Everything else is LED or HID. Those volumes will get the engineers working on new products.
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Offline pauldaytona

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #21 on: January 05, 2014, 02:43:59 AM »
and those who remember, leds were easy in red green blue, but getting the color of a lightbulb with a good color index is very hard. The >100 year old bulb is still reference for colorindex, 100 is the same as bulb, the lower the number the uglier it gets. This for home lighting of course.

 And for power the problem is with higher powers to get away the heat
« Last Edit: January 05, 2014, 02:44:56 AM by pauldaytona »
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Offline lc4dakar

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #22 on: January 05, 2014, 08:46:43 AM »
If you want the hi-reliability Cree's you have to pay the big bucks.

http://www.bajadesigns.com/products/

Cree sells their LEDs at several quality levels, cheap to expensive.

Skene makes the best dimmers.

http://www.lights.skenedesign.com/IQ_175.shtml
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Offline Wayne Orwig

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #23 on: January 05, 2014, 08:57:50 AM »
Skene makes the best dimmers.

I prefer the one I designed.


 ~;

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Offline lc4dakar

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #24 on: January 05, 2014, 10:07:38 AM »
I prefer the one I designed.


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Offline Spuddy

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #25 on: January 13, 2014, 01:05:06 PM »
As I understand the discussion: Unless I want to experiment with various LED applications, my most reliable option for my converted [Yamaha bucket] 2000 Quota is a 'standard' incandescent bulb.

Next question: As compared to the Sylvania SilverStar Ultras or GE NightHawk Platinums, are Piaas better and worth the cost?
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Offline Wayne Orwig

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #26 on: January 13, 2014, 01:10:30 PM »
As I understand the discussion: Unless I want to experiment with various LED applications, my most reliable option for my converted [Yamaha bucket] 2000 Quota is a 'standard' incandescent bulb.

Next question: As compared to the Sylvania SilverStar Ultras or GE NightHawk Platinums, are Piaas better and worth the cost?

I tried a set of PIAA xtreme super white, or whatever they were called. they were OK, but they also burned out like flash cubes. And they aren't cheap.
Crap.
I switched to the Silverstars and got a year or two from those. Cheaper and better then the PIAAs IMHO, but still not good enough.
I eventually switched to a good set of HID bulbs, and will not switch back. I can now see the road ahead AND the alternator doesn't struggle. Best so far.
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Offline jas67

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Offline Triple Jim

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Re: H4 type LED headlight bulb...Anyone try one of these?
« Reply #29 on: March 05, 2014, 11:37:08 AM »
Here's my review on the Trucklite LED headlight on my V11S.  http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17838&p=192112

Do you have the photos posted somewhere else?  That forum won't let me see them unless I register.
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