LED car lights are preferred over any other now. Choosing one is hard here. You get more light from HID for the same amount of money. However, you get more light from LED for the same amount of energy. LEDs are efficient at producing light from low voltage. LED has superior start-up time, lower power, more energy-saving, and longer service life. The LED headlights are like a partial student. They have relatively high performance in terms of start-up time, power consumption, especially service life, and they are demanding in terms of heat dissipation performance, which is a shortboard.
LED Car Lights
I opted for a 20W, 12V DC LED H4 Headlamp from Nao brand based on good reviews. As Jupiter comes with the AC Headlight setup, I had to rewire a bit. I cut the supply wire from the alternator that went to the light switch and tapped on the 12V (+) orange wire that goes to the pass switch. Further, I supplied the light switch with this drawn line. The result was beautiful. That will remain as my permanent setup for Jupiter. I have been using this for 3 months, and there is no battery drain issue. Unlike HIDs, the beam pattern rendered by LED is good and does not glare the approaching vehicle provided that the LED is on Low beam mode. The high beam illuminates the dark road up to very long distances, providing ample confidence.
If you installed them, you might want to check and make sure they aim correctly. If yours is like mine, you cannot mess this up. It was “plug_and_play” with no adjustment to the fixture at all.
Of course, it could be the factory goof up. But, a drunken Friday worker or a hungover Monday worker might mess it up. Or, they might be a little out of aim due to transportation bumps or something.
So, it could be that people do not understand they are LED lights. They do tend to be brighter. Usually, the whiter the light, the more likely it is to be an LED. I have problems with them, but I am light sensitive. While most people have trouble, even at dusk, I am fine. That is because I do not belong to a city where there is light all the time.
How To Dim LED
If you have your lights checked, and they aim correctly, forget about it. It’s probably us old-timers not catching up to the times. Some of us wouldn’t mind having someone running in front of us with a lamp. I am replacing the halogen lights in my car with LEDs and designing a circuit to dim them using the car’s OEM DRL circuit like the halogens they return. The most challenging part is reproducing the “shade” of the halogens, so they don’t glare into oncoming traffic. A simple drop-in install for the standard bulb is enough. I have no standard bulbs left on my bike. I put LED lights on it instead. And the LEDs draw less power than the incandescent bulbs they replaced.
H4 replacement LEDs can outperform HIDs, which require extra wiring and controllers and a place to put said, controller. Not to mention pricing: LED; $30–70, depending on light output versus HID at $200–400.
