LED HEADLAMP BULBS. |
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redmunk
Senior Member Joined: 31 Oct 2017 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 112 |
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Posted: 11 Nov 2017 at 22:10 |
Think it's a Sprinter thing, we have them at work too and they go through tail bulbs fast! I "borrow" the odd one from work for my little Honda, and they last for ages in that, despite the buzzy 1cyl vibes. My experience with LED headlight bulbs is that they don't tend to last as long as you expect. There's not much heat sink on most of them, and the enclosure isn't well ventilated so they cook themselves to death. Power on vehicles is notoriously "dirty", which probably doesn't do the cheaper bulbs much good... |
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Brian UK
Moderator Group Joined: 13 May 2014 Location: Surrey Status: Online Points: 17641 |
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Ring bulbs are not known for reliability.
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Brian.
Better 5 minutes late in this world than years early in the next. |
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Ken-Guzzibear
Moderator Group Joined: 13 May 2014 Location: Sileby Leics Status: Offline Points: 9454 |
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Systems with AGM type batteries charge higher .... but on a Guzzi the vibes wipe out cheap bulbs ....the works Sprinters get "ring" bulbs they fail regularly in fact the rate they go thro head and tail bulbs is in believable
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The Older i Get, The Better I Was
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Brian UK
Moderator Group Joined: 13 May 2014 Location: Surrey Status: Online Points: 17641 |
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High output bulbs run at higher temperatures, so the filament is stressed more. They should b designed to run at 14v though, but not much higher. They would definitely suffer at 14.7v, didn't realise some cars charged that high.
Certainly I used the nightbreaker bulbs without suffering too much from short life, but the charging wasn't up as high as 14.7v.
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Brian.
Better 5 minutes late in this world than years early in the next. |
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telegraphroad
Senior Member Joined: 21 May 2014 Location: M11 J8 Status: Offline Points: 204 |
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The only down side I have found with high output lamps is that they
fail sooner than "std" lamps. My guess is that as they are under more
stress they are super sensitive to higher voltages. One of my cars has
an early implementation of a "smart charging" system which peaks about
0.3V higher than most (~14.7V depending on battery state of charge) and high output lamps only last around 12months.
In the end I got fed up with replacing them and fitted long life bulbs
which have been going for a few years now. The only down side of those
is, you guessed it, lower light output. I considered LEDs but having
experienced them in a friend's car (reflector type) the beam pattern
makes them unusable as Brian said. In older vehicles with charging systems operating at ~14.0V the service life penalty of the high output bulbs may well be considerably less significant but I don't have any experience of them in that application.
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V50 Monza
VFR 800FI Herts / Essex border |
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Brian UK
Moderator Group Joined: 13 May 2014 Location: Surrey Status: Online Points: 17641 |
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The one thing which will reduce light output is an connection between the battery and light bulb.
Automotive bulbs, though rated at 12v are designed to work at 14v. Drop that to 12, or 11 volts and you get at least 30% reduction in light output. So before changing anything, with the engine running, check the voltage at the battery, then check again on the back of the bulb or as close to it as you can possibly get. If there is a marked drop, think about fitting a couple of relays for main and dip beams. If the battery volts are low as in under 13v, then the charging circuit needs attention. The best bulb in the world won't help if you don't have enough volts there.
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Brian.
Better 5 minutes late in this world than years early in the next. |
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theone&onlymin
Senior Member Joined: 14 May 2014 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 2072 |
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How much life do you expect ? I ride with my lights on and at a guess I may replace a bulb every 50,000 miles. Some good comparison brightness tests out there on the car reviews. Think I run an Ultraining at the moment. Tailight bulbs last from 1 day upwards. Cheers Min |
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Bushymusic
Senior Member Joined: 25 Jul 2015 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 420 |
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Certainly illuminating, jumping from the standard 40/45w up to the 55w is a bright idea & will probably make a difference in itself but having the sparks at Guzzirider test lab makes it a dam lot easier choosing which bulb to jump too...Night breaker (rubbish name) are in the post so I look forward to carrying the torch of your advice & being a beacon of light next full moon....
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Black and gold Le Mans mk2 1981
when I'm not sitting on my hands we're a work in progress. |
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Mike H
Senior Member Joined: 21 May 2014 Location: East Anglia Status: Offline Points: 8733 |
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The older we get our eyes get less sensitive to light. Natural deterioration of the retina. Eventually we will get to a point when we will have to stop driving at night. Even now I prefer to avoid doing it. I’m nearly 64 now.
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"Chicken nuggets don't dance on a Tuesday."
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Bushymusic
Senior Member Joined: 25 Jul 2015 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 420 |
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Fascinating stuff....as my eyesight is getting worse at night a review of bulb brightness seems a good idea.....
Edited by Bushymusic - 31 Oct 2017 at 19:02 |
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Black and gold Le Mans mk2 1981
when I'm not sitting on my hands we're a work in progress. |
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Brian UK
Moderator Group Joined: 13 May 2014 Location: Surrey Status: Online Points: 17641 |
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They are good for daylight marker lights, they can be seen better than normal bulbs.
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Brian.
Better 5 minutes late in this world than years early in the next. |
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tonti
Senior Member Joined: 06 Oct 2017 Location: uk Status: Offline Points: 347 |
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I improved the head light output by using a Osram nightbreaker bulb AND i replaced the old 7" glass reflector which was perfect with a new 7" one that has a clear glass and has a multi surface reflector also called crystal reflector. I had to buy a pair as there sold as a light upgrade for classic cars.I think they cost about £28 via ebay. I tried the Osram nightbreaker off the bike with both the old and new and there was a noticable impovement with the multi surface one. Just as a matter of my curiosity i also tried 6 other headlamp bulbs new and used all different makes and the same wattage and it was suprising the difference in output and light spread. The brand new nightbreaker won.
As for led's i've tried various combinations of these on another bike and found that non apart from idiot lights have given a better light output than standard bulbs. Edited by tonti - 27 Oct 2017 at 23:02 |
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Brian UK
Moderator Group Joined: 13 May 2014 Location: Surrey Status: Online Points: 17641 |
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In most cases the actual LED runs cool, which is one reason why they are so efficient. But the headlight ones often have some sort of voltage regulator built in, and that can run hot.
By the way, that's the main reason why they maintain their brightness, as once the VR has switched on, the voltage at the LED is constant. If you run a bare LED, the brightness does vary with voltage. I made up an LED rear light and had a problem with it varying in brightness when the indicators were on during the MOT. When I checked it was because the tickover was a bit low, and the indicator bulbs were dropping the battery volts.
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Brian.
Better 5 minutes late in this world than years early in the next. |
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ranton_rambler
Senior Member Joined: 13 Feb 2015 Location: Stafford Status: Offline Points: 1147 |
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I believe they run cooler than filament bulbs. Most LED lamps I've seen have big heatsinks on them to keep the power electronics down at a sensible temperature, not for safety reasons.
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red leader one
Senior Member Joined: 07 Oct 2014 Location: Cullercoats Status: Offline Points: 4466 |
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Are these bulbs/lights hotter and could they cause damage?
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