LED headlight bulbs

[Gold Digger]

I like the brightness of LED headlight bulbs but their pretty pricey. Just wondering what the life expectance is for them. I'm finding that LED 110 volt bulbs don't last as long as the old type of bulbs. Wondering if anyone has ran them for a very long period at night and how long they have lasted.

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by Gold Digger

I like the brightness of LED headlight bulbs but they're pretty pricey. Just wondering what the life expectance is for them. I'm finding that LED 110 volt bulbs don't last as long as the old type of bulbs. Wondering if anyone has ran them for a very long period at night and how long they have lasted.

I find just the opposite on the 110 volt LED bulbs. You must have gotten into some very cheap/low quality bulbs.

Charlie Stephens

[J Franklin]

You can bring back most dead LED household bulbs. Check out some YouTube videos, it looks easy.

[Sunny the Model A]

I bought the 6v leds and i think they are overhyped at the moment. i had both blow out on me within 6 months of regular driving. they would flicker at idle and didn't seem all that bright. yes i focused them the same way as the standard bulbs and the light pattern was the same. i put all stock bulbs back in my A and i'm happier that way. $1.45 a headlight bulb vs $50, i know what i'm buying. in all seriousness i think the 32-50cp headlight bulbs are great and so are all the stock bulbs. i turn the generator up at night and back down during the day, it's a 10 second switch and no tools needed. Now if they make the led's cheaper, add a smoothing capacitor to remove the flicker and a good deal brighter in the future i might try them again, but for now i say they are all bark no bite

[Bob Bidonde]

I would not recommend running pricey LED headlight bulbs with a stock generator because it is not well voltage / current regulated. An alternator should be used for power. Also, LEDs will pulse to the frequency of the power supply. To stop the visible pulsating, a capacitor and current regulator circuit should be in/at the bulbs.
I run Halogen bulbs with a 12V NuRex alternator. These bulbs are as bright as the LEDs, but not as energy efficient as they produce a lot of waste heat energy. The headlight shells get warm to the touch.

[Sunny the Model A]

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i ran the generator on minimum charge which is around 2 amps of charge. i also ran a incandescent bulb in the taillight to prevent an over current situation. i measured the voltage at 2200 engine rpm and i had 6.8 volts with that set up. I am of the firm belief that the closer to stock you get a Ford, the better it is period. alternators put out way too much current and are begging for fires, 12v tears up ring gears and the Bendix. I've just scrapped around a dozen alternators I've pulled off A's that had em. and I'm about to scrap a high compression Brumfeld head i took off an engine i got from a person i swapped a rebuilt engine into his speedster. all that stuff is just asking for trouble

[katy]

Originally Posted by Charlie Stephens

I find just the opposite on the 110 volt LED bulbs. You must have gotten into some very cheap/low quality bulbs.

Charlie Stephens

Ditto

[Gene F]

I am with Katy, and Charlie on this one. $50 each well spent. And my current draw is almost noting (I checked before and after with an amp probe meter).

Some things are just a cost of doing business if you wanna enjoy your A; heavy duty radiator and upgraded fan, cast iron drums, a fuse assembly, a new fan belt every 8 to 10 years, a pencil filter and no leak valve at the bottom of the fuel tank, a good set of tubes and tires, left and right side mirrors, good lights, high-test fuel.

[CarlG]

I went with LED headlights way before LogoLites came out with them. The ones I have are meant to replace H4 Halogens, and have worked great.

[Keith True]

I started using LED lights years ago.Each new version was an improvement over the previous one.I bought this latest version when they first showed up,they work fine.I have driven my A's more at night in the last three years than I drove them at night in the last 30.The only A they flicker in for me is the one I have the idle set too low in.Never going back to oxcart bulbs again.

[AL in NY]

I installed 6-volt halogen bulbs 16 years ago and haven't had one burn out yet. IMHO, LED bulbs are a waste of $100!!!!

[shiver]

5 years running 8000 lumen LEDs, 12v system. LED’s are sensitive to a consistent voltage. Ground path through headlight bucket is susceptible to failure.

[Keith True]

Yes,grounds are very important to LED's.I have two cars with LED's right now,and one running the Little British Car Company bulbs.They should have dedicated grounds to the buckets,but I haven't done it yet.My primary goal is to keep the amp draw down.I have two cars with EVR's,but the third car has a powerhouse generator,and I couldn't get one for it a while back.I really like regulated charging,but with the LED headlights,tail light,and brake light,it's become kind of a moot point.I set that brush to it's lowest setting,and leave it.

[Synchro909]

When I encounter a car with retro fitted LED bulbs, I curse the driver. The glare is ferocious. I won't fit them because I don't want to be driving towards dazzled driver all of the time.

[old31]

Hey Synchro, my driving dazzels the other drivers all the time.

[katy]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

When I encounter a car with retro fitted LED bulbs, I curse the driver. The glare is ferocious. I won't fit them because I don't want to be driving towards dazzled driver all of the time.

One problem is that when people retrofit lights they don't bother to re-align the lights, and/or they put in the super super bright ones which compounds the situation.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by katy

One problem is that when people retrofit lights they don't bother to re-align the lights, and/or they put in the super super bright ones which compounds the situation.

I agree. When I installed the pre-focused LogoLite LED's I found the beam pointed way too high, I think mainly because they don't use the reflector. I have since adjusted them down.

[2speed]

You can find much cheaper 6v LED headlight bulbs on Ebay. They're for the older motorcycle crowd. I haven't installed mine so I don't know how well they focus. I wouldn't run them with a generator as the there could be voltage spikes.


An alternator is one of the best upgrades you can do for your A in my opinion. They may not look right, but for the price of batteries these days, money well spent.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by 2speed

An alternator is one of the best upgrades you can do for your A in my opinion. They may not look right, but for the price of batteries these days, money well spent.

I have had a PowerGen Alternator for ~8 years now, no issues. Looks like a generator.

[Keith True]

2speed,I have some of the lower priced lights.I thought they worked pretty good until I tried the expensive ones.No comparison.Apples and oranges.You aim them,NOT focus them.What they call focus is leveling the beam.You can't aim them using the beams on the wall either.If you aim them like the A originally called for,you WILL blind people.I did mine like I thought they should be,then went to a friends and aimed them with his machine.After that the beams on the wall looked about knee heighth,but they worked correctly,and I was not blinding anybody,not even as much as newer cars do.