H4 headlamps with LED bulbs

I would put a fiver on my £19.99 specials above at doing a better job of lighting the width of my side of the road ahead against two LED bicycle lights, it really is a shame that there's so much sales blurb nonsense claimed in adverts for LED lamps in general, it's counter productive as potential buyers simply get confused and put off buying. I see it as a Sparky with household lighting where someone has gone to say B&Q and ended up with an hideous 10 watt 6500K floodlight above their front porch which simultaneously manages to be harsh in colour and feeble at lighting the porch area.
 
That's interesting, you're the only person I've ever heard of get decent light out of those headlights. What bulbs are they?
I have also fitted LED's and the improvement is massive (Day/Night).. Not only the whiter light but the overall field of light is much improved.
I fitted
BEAMTECH H4 LED Headlight Bulbs,9003 HB2 CSP Chips Headlamp 50W 6500K 8000Lumens Car Replacement Lights Dual High Low Beam Conversion Kit Extremely Bright

Bought from Amazon.
Only issue is my bulb warning lamp is now on due to the LED but hoping there is an option to turn the warning off.. otherwise I will put up with the fault lamp for the improved night driving experience.
 
Not trying to troll but that same lamp advertised on Ledkia shows a 6500K 20 watt lamp at 2,000 lumen which is pretty well the standard LED fare, the price typically goes from £23.99 on LEDKIA to £38 on another advert and various prices in between, the same lamp with some absurb claimed performance specs.

Another part of the problem finding the best of the best LED lamp is establishing a common benchmark instead of where we are currently and some happy with their lamp and others still searching for that marked improvement.
 
I ended up watching about 10 different YouTubes on led bulbs after reading this thread the other day! I'm now wondering whether to just slap some 100watters in there and be done with it?! :eek:
 
@RedUn hold your horses as despite telling you not to order some of those £63 H4 LEDs that's exactly what I've done last night.

I'm putting the £19.99 ones in our other H4 car to make that less yellow so I'll report back with pictures from the same location when they turn up and get fitted... talk about suspense but it might save you £63!
 
@RedUn hold your horses as despite telling you not to order some of those £63 H4 LEDs that's exactly what I've done last night.

I'm putting the £19.99 ones in our other H4 car to make that less yellow so I'll report back with pictures from the same location when they turn up and get fitted... talk about suspense but it might save you £63!
Awesome! I'll keep my eyes on this thread then! If they are good I'm doing it!!
 
With the LED type bulbs I’m interested in how close they are to the cover / hatch on the back of the headlight unit.

Photo would be greatly appreciated albeit not much room to change the bulb let alone get a phone in there as well!

Ian
 
No photo but the Evitek ones I have fit inside and allow the cover to be refitted, I used some sticky velcro pads to mount the ballast box inside the headlight shell.
In the Seven, they fit behind the headlight bowl inside the chrome shell, same method of restraint.
 
With the LED type bulbs I’m interested in how close they are to the cover / hatch on the back of the headlight unit.

Photo would be greatly appreciated albeit not much room to change the lamp let alone get a phone in there as well!

Ian

I have taken a picture but typing this on my tablet so picture to follow probably tomorrow when I try and fit these latest monsters which have an even larger fan on the back.

I've got Valeo H4 headlights and the lamp access caps already have a squarish raised section to provide elbow room at the back of the lamp where the plug attaches, I drilled this out with a 38mm hole saw and grafted on the black pvc caps from two aerosol paint cans... looking at this latest lamp and two thoughts, one, I should have drilled a slightly larger hole 42mm ish and two, I should have left a bit more depth to these add on caps to accommodate these "ludicrous mode" fans.

It's worth bearing in mind when worrying about butchering the access caps to the headlights that butchered with care they still function properly and also that these are the headlights that you can't even give away so out with the Dremel and black pu glue!
 
@Paynewright this is what the £19.99 set up looks like as the headlight access caps had to be "eased" somewhat.:eek:

20191108_104110.jpg

Yes, I like the one on the left too and below showing how much the fan motor sticks out from the housing bearing in mind the actual 3 pin plug that normally sticks out of the back of the halogen is now tucked into the back of the headlight enclosure behind the reflector on a flying lead and yes do check to make sure your reflectors can still motor up and down from the dash roller switch.

20191115_112713.jpg

That's the left side in front of the battery tray and below with the modded cap back in place.

20191115_112557.jpg
 
@RedUn keep that £63 where it belongs as what a ballache these not so super LEDs have proved to be... basically a good chunk of the day wasted as well as £63.

What's wrong with the Novsight H4 lamp?... well the fan is a big old lump so more butchery to the access caps, then you have the problem that these things have a driver about the same size as an HID lamp driver/matchbox... that's not goping to tuck into the back of the headlight shell so now you've got to have an exit through the access cap for the flex from the lamp and the flex to the driver both of which are about 40mm long as suppliedo_O so will need extending and some then sort of stuffing gland to waterproof the exit from the butchered access cap to these external components.

There's more, the pattern from the headlight was quite distinct with a reasonable hot spot and horizontal lines either side so promising for daylight however while the Canbus wasn't tripped by low or high beam it did latch on the dash display if you tried flashing the main beam and then stayed on until the ignition was reset, now the best bit and something I would reccommend trying before pretty well any further thud and blunder and that's starting the engine then turning on the lights, engine off I couldn't wait to see what these monsters were going to look like later in the dark, start the engine though and the bloddy things flicker like a poorly regulated Chinese moped headlight, utter shite.

I'm not sure if the problem is to do with VWs smart charging system but I'll take a lamp out warning from a pair of £19.99 LED lamps over £63 strobe lights any day, did I mention I'm a bit underwhelmed, going to try them in the Daihatsu as that's got a more conventional old school electrical system, if it's the same nonsense I'll try and get my money back and obviously keep singing their praises.
 
@RedUn keep that £63 where it belongs as what a ballache these not so super LEDs have proved to be... basically a good chunk of the day wasted as well as £63.

What's wrong with the Novsight H4 lamp?... well the fan is a big old lump so more butchery to the access caps, then you have the problem that these things have a driver about the same size as an HID lamp driver/matchbox... that's not goping to tuck into the back of the headlight shell so now you've got to have an exit through the access cap for the flex from the lamp and the flex to the driver both of which are about 40mm long as suppliedo_O so will need extending and some then sort of stuffing gland to waterproof the exit from the butchered access cap to these external components.

There's more, the pattern from the headlight was quite distinct with a reasonable hot spot and horizontal lines either side so promising for daylight however while the Canbus wasn't tripped by low or high beam it did latch on the dash display if you tried flashing the main beam and then stayed on until the ignition was reset, now the best bit and something I would reccommend trying before pretty well any further thud and blunder and that's starting the engine then turning on the lights, engine off I couldn't wait to see what these monsters were going to look like later in the dark, start the engine though and the bloddy things flicker like a poorly regulated Chinese moped headlight, utter shite.

I'm not sure if the problem is to do with VWs smart charging system but I'll take a lamp out warning from a pair of £19.99 LED lamps over £63 strobe lights any day, did I mention I'm a bit underwhelmed, going to try them in the Daihatsu as that's got a more conventional old school electrical system, if it's the same nonsense I'll try and get my money back and obviously keep singing their praises.
Thanks for the huge technical response! I must admit that's pretty disappointing!!

I'm just wondering if it's worth starting a new thread purely on led bulb reviews with a picture of the dipped beam, main beam etc?

I'm happy to try some others out and see if they are any good...sure others on here will have input too?
 
@RedUn the problem is that we don't have a benchmark to rate one lamp against another as most photos taken of the LED lamps are quite flattering simply because what light is produced is in the daylight portion of the spectrum rather than the softer yellowy Halogen part.

Forum comments on the performance of the LED lamps can be a bit anecdotal too with one guy perfectly happy with his 20 watt LED and this 60 yr old hoping for a bit more light output from an higher wattage LED lamp.

The problem with buying LED lamps until you find a decent one is that there are so many different makes out there all claiming to be the best and claiming ludicrous lumen output/won't upset Canbus/won't wipe out your DAB signal/won't strobe etc!

I'm a bit gutted but definitely getting quicker at changing headlight lamps!:thumbsup:
 
@RedUn the problem is that we don't have a benchmark to rate one lamp against another as most photos taken of the LED lamps are quite flattering simply because what light is produced is in the daylight portion of the spectrum rather than the softer yellowy Halogen part.

Forum comments on the performance of the LED lamps can be a bit anecdotal too with one guy perfectly happy with his 20 watt LED and this 60 yr old hoping for a bit more light output from an higher wattage LED lamp.

The problem with buying LED lamps until you find a decent one is that there are so many different makes out there all claiming to be the best and claiming ludicrous lumen output/won't upset Canbus/won't wipe out your DAB signal/won't strobe etc!

I'm a bit gutted but definitely getting quicker at changing headlight lamps!:thumbsup:
Your only up the road from me, I'm more than happy to pop up then we can do some comparisons?

I've got my dad's shuttle to hand tomorrow so I'll do an oem h4 vs h7 picture if anyone's interested...
 
What we really need is a van with factory LED headlights just to see if they deliver this mythical white searchlight we're trying to achieve.

Just spotted you're from Beds @RedUn I think @Sabre is down your way, I've still not met anyone apart from @BiTurbo from the forum and he was on his mates stand at Busfest, either way if there was a nocturnal meet to compare headlights I can't help thinking all the local.meeting areas were already taken!:eek:

Back on topic and a comparison between H4 and H7 with I'm guessing stock Halogen lamps and just the dip beams on would be great as a benchmark if you get a chance, cheers.
 
I shouldn't keep replying to my own posts but a bit of a follow up on my £63 LED Novsight lamps now that I've put them in our Daihatsu... incredible!

If only they were doing the same thing in our camper, hand on heart they're like Hid lamps.

The Daihatsu is on a 58 plate so I'm guessing a more basic or no version of canbus, either way no lamp out warning and better no flickering LEDs, I've taken a few piccies at the same spot and the headlights are a large single reflector with the complete housing pretty well the same size as the T6s.

Anyway, dipped beam...

20191116_171323.jpg

Followed by main beam...

20191116_171331.jpg

Same again further up the road, dipped...

20191116_171924.jpg

Main beam...

20191116_171931.jpg

These lamps are producing enough Lumens at a good colour, the Japanese Daihatsu headlight might well be a better design than VWs H4 offerring but they're pretty well the same size. At this point I'm now looking for a 50 watt lamp, which is what these Novsights claim to be but one that's VW smart charging proof, I'm guessing that's the issue, DAB interference and impossible to locate driver boxes can be worked around if the lamp doesn't flicker, this is an H4 lamp, just one per side.:thumbsup:
 
Ok, here we go, H4s vs H7s, same road, 2 minutes apart, exact same camera settings on manual mode.

The road is going up hill slightly but you get the point...

20191117_000120.jpg 20191117_000251.jpg
 
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I shouldn't keep replying to my own posts but a bit of a follow up on my £63 LED Novsight lamps now that I've put them in our Daihatsu... incredible!

If only they were doing the same thing in our camper, hand on heart they're like Hid lamps.

The Daihatsu is on a 58 plate so I'm guessing a more basic or no version of canbus, either way no lamp out warning and better no flickering LEDs, I've taken a few piccies at the same spot and the headlights are a large single reflector with the complete housing pretty well the same size as the T6s.

Anyway, dipped beam...

View attachment 54647

Followed by main beam...

View attachment 54649

Same again further up the road, dipped...

View attachment 54650

Main beam...

View attachment 54651

These lamps are producing enough Lumens at a good colour, the Japanese Daihatsu headlight might well be a better design than VWs H4 offerring but they're pretty well the same size. At this point I'm now looking for a 50 watt lamp, which is what these Novsights claim to be but one that's VW smart charging proof, I'm guessing that's the issue, DAB interference and impossible to locate driver boxes can be worked around if the lamp doesn't flicker, this is an H4 lamp, just one per side.:thumbsup:
I'm glad they worked out in the other car! They do look bloody good!! So the plan is to find something like that for the crappy T6 H4s!
 
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