DRL/High Beam LED Conversion Kit (Part II)
Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 4:45 am
So I'm at it again. I was prowling the internet for something interesting that would work to resolve the issues I have with the DRL/High Beam. For those wondering why, it's because the high beam bulb is used as a Daytime Running Light whenever the car is driven without the low beams on for the North American Kizashis. The DRLs are activated with a Pulsed Width Modulation of the current so the halogen bulbs are dimmer than when used as high beams.
While the DRLs are a good implementation of automotive safety (they do statistically reduce the likelihood of a head-on collision), they present some aesthetic and practical problems. Not everyone is a fan of the dim yellowy halogen bulb look. Certainly not me given my "pure white" HID low beams and full LED interior. They take away from the modern look of the car, IMO. The more practical issue is that DRLs burn the high beams whenever you drive (without the low beams on) therefore reduce bulb life. Halogen filaments actually wear out with use so even if the bulb isn't completely blown out, it gets dimmer with time and the constant DRL usage simply hastens that. Lastly, halogen bulbs last only in the hundreds of hours and given that bulb replacements are a major pain in the Kizashi, it's something to be avoided.
Hence, I was eager to find an alternative that not only looked better, but lasted a lot longer than halogens. However, I wanted something to function well as DRLs (a safety implementation I seek to keep) but also provide effective high beam usage. LEDs are about the only suitable solution but they aren't without their compromises and problems. As the title implies, I've tried an LED kit before and ended up returning it. More about that here:
http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... =32&t=2900
The lessons learned from that previous kit helped me for this second attempt. Now more about the new kit:
I found the kit on clearance at http://www.theretrofitsource.com which is where I got my Morimoto HID kit in the low beams and my HID fog light bulbs. Not only was the price of $35 very good, the design was something I was actually looking for. The Acme H7 LED bulb is a design with multiple Philips ZES LEDs designed to mimic an H7 halogen bulb's filament and uses only a heat sink instead of a fan. It's rated to consume 25W yet outputs 4000 lumens. The design was also something that would fit inside the headlight with the dust cap on.
Here are some photos of the kit: The kit itself is very impressive. The bulbs have a full metal construction as well as the driver housing. The machining quality is very good and the LEDs are mounted flawlessly onto the bulb. The Lumileds branding indicates these are Philips ZES series LEDs. The bulbs are also waterproof to an IP65 rating which practically means they can get wet without a problem. Many vendors of these LEDs dunk them in water containers to show their waterproof characteristics.
The back has some specs on the bulbs: The bulb has two sides with 4 LEDs on each. The most important characteristic of this LED bulb is that the base can be rotated for adjustment. This is very important in optimizing the output and the major difference between this kit and the old one. The old one could not be adjusted and had the LEDs fire up and down which is actually not how the headlight reflector was designed to reflect the light for optimal throw. This why the light output was a flood with the other kit. While it was bright, it cast a short range flood of light which wasn't very effective as a high beam on dark roads. This bulb's features allows for more possibilities.
The first attempt also gave me the experience to know that capacitors are necessary to prevent the flickering of the bulbs from the PWM DRL system. The issue is that the current isn't constant therefore causes flickering in any bulb other than a halogen. Capacitors resolve the issue by stabilizing the current and releasing it to the bulb as a stable current. However, this causes the DRLs to operate at a higher output than intended. While the result is that the DRLs are bright, they aren't too distracting given the more common use of bright LEDs as OE DRLs and that they are intended for use in daytime.
Pictured below are the inline capacitors I also ordered from http://www.theretrofitsource.com along with the LED kit.
The image below shows how the bulb fits into the headlight. The heat sink is detachable which is imperative for installing the bulb and affixing the retainer clip. It's also necessary for bulb adjustment. The process of adjusting requires you to loosen a small hex screw in the bulb base, rotating the LED bulb to the optimal position, and then tightening the base with the hex screw. I will cover adjustment a little more later.
Once the bulb is in place and the retaining clip positioned, the heat sink can be screwed on to the bulb. The clearance is just enough for it to fit. It does contact the dust cap's retaining tabs a bit, but it does not prevent the heat sink from being properly attached. The bulb's threading also features thermal paste. The dust caps do feel like they contact the heat sink when tightened on, but they do fit.
Having drilled holes in the dust cap from the previous kit, I threaded the new bulb's wires out of the cap to the externally mounted LED driver. I then connected it to the capacitor which I mounted next to the driver. The wiring from the capacitor then runs back into the cap which connects to the headlight's H7 connector inside. I taped up both connections at the harnesses with electrical tape. The driver and capacitor are affixed to the underside of the headlight with 3M mounting tape. Upon installing the headlight to the car, I affixed the capacitor's ground wire to an optimal grounding location which I also used for the HID low beam's capacitors.
As of this writing, I am using the LEDs and they work well. The capacitors indeed have them working much brighter than the halogens with the PWM. I have seen absolutely no flickering at all. The output Kelvin color temperature is similar to OE LEDs from Audi, Nissan, etc.
As high beams, the light output is rather scattered, but still considerably better than the last kit. They do function adequately as high beams, but they don't have that focused "hot spot" like the halogen bulbs. I plan to further experiment with bulb adjustment to optimize the beam pattern. It's something I didn't have the time for before I mounted the headlights back but the LEDs do currently fire directly to the sides.
I'll be uploading photos of the LEDs in the car with some on-the-road images soon, but I wanted to post this initial write-up to get things started. At this point, I must say I'm rather pleased and plan to keep and utilize this kit, even if the light output pattern can't be improved. For the clearance price of $35, it matches the price of some of the highest performance halogens you can buy yet is much brighter and the LEDs will likely last much longer... like the life of the car if nothing goes wrong. LEDs have an operating lifespan in the tens of thousands of hours compared to the mere hundreds of hours with a halogen bulb.
More observations and photos to come soon.
While the DRLs are a good implementation of automotive safety (they do statistically reduce the likelihood of a head-on collision), they present some aesthetic and practical problems. Not everyone is a fan of the dim yellowy halogen bulb look. Certainly not me given my "pure white" HID low beams and full LED interior. They take away from the modern look of the car, IMO. The more practical issue is that DRLs burn the high beams whenever you drive (without the low beams on) therefore reduce bulb life. Halogen filaments actually wear out with use so even if the bulb isn't completely blown out, it gets dimmer with time and the constant DRL usage simply hastens that. Lastly, halogen bulbs last only in the hundreds of hours and given that bulb replacements are a major pain in the Kizashi, it's something to be avoided.
Hence, I was eager to find an alternative that not only looked better, but lasted a lot longer than halogens. However, I wanted something to function well as DRLs (a safety implementation I seek to keep) but also provide effective high beam usage. LEDs are about the only suitable solution but they aren't without their compromises and problems. As the title implies, I've tried an LED kit before and ended up returning it. More about that here:
http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... =32&t=2900
The lessons learned from that previous kit helped me for this second attempt. Now more about the new kit:
I found the kit on clearance at http://www.theretrofitsource.com which is where I got my Morimoto HID kit in the low beams and my HID fog light bulbs. Not only was the price of $35 very good, the design was something I was actually looking for. The Acme H7 LED bulb is a design with multiple Philips ZES LEDs designed to mimic an H7 halogen bulb's filament and uses only a heat sink instead of a fan. It's rated to consume 25W yet outputs 4000 lumens. The design was also something that would fit inside the headlight with the dust cap on.
Here are some photos of the kit: The kit itself is very impressive. The bulbs have a full metal construction as well as the driver housing. The machining quality is very good and the LEDs are mounted flawlessly onto the bulb. The Lumileds branding indicates these are Philips ZES series LEDs. The bulbs are also waterproof to an IP65 rating which practically means they can get wet without a problem. Many vendors of these LEDs dunk them in water containers to show their waterproof characteristics.
The back has some specs on the bulbs: The bulb has two sides with 4 LEDs on each. The most important characteristic of this LED bulb is that the base can be rotated for adjustment. This is very important in optimizing the output and the major difference between this kit and the old one. The old one could not be adjusted and had the LEDs fire up and down which is actually not how the headlight reflector was designed to reflect the light for optimal throw. This why the light output was a flood with the other kit. While it was bright, it cast a short range flood of light which wasn't very effective as a high beam on dark roads. This bulb's features allows for more possibilities.
The first attempt also gave me the experience to know that capacitors are necessary to prevent the flickering of the bulbs from the PWM DRL system. The issue is that the current isn't constant therefore causes flickering in any bulb other than a halogen. Capacitors resolve the issue by stabilizing the current and releasing it to the bulb as a stable current. However, this causes the DRLs to operate at a higher output than intended. While the result is that the DRLs are bright, they aren't too distracting given the more common use of bright LEDs as OE DRLs and that they are intended for use in daytime.
Pictured below are the inline capacitors I also ordered from http://www.theretrofitsource.com along with the LED kit.
The image below shows how the bulb fits into the headlight. The heat sink is detachable which is imperative for installing the bulb and affixing the retainer clip. It's also necessary for bulb adjustment. The process of adjusting requires you to loosen a small hex screw in the bulb base, rotating the LED bulb to the optimal position, and then tightening the base with the hex screw. I will cover adjustment a little more later.
Once the bulb is in place and the retaining clip positioned, the heat sink can be screwed on to the bulb. The clearance is just enough for it to fit. It does contact the dust cap's retaining tabs a bit, but it does not prevent the heat sink from being properly attached. The bulb's threading also features thermal paste. The dust caps do feel like they contact the heat sink when tightened on, but they do fit.
Having drilled holes in the dust cap from the previous kit, I threaded the new bulb's wires out of the cap to the externally mounted LED driver. I then connected it to the capacitor which I mounted next to the driver. The wiring from the capacitor then runs back into the cap which connects to the headlight's H7 connector inside. I taped up both connections at the harnesses with electrical tape. The driver and capacitor are affixed to the underside of the headlight with 3M mounting tape. Upon installing the headlight to the car, I affixed the capacitor's ground wire to an optimal grounding location which I also used for the HID low beam's capacitors.
As of this writing, I am using the LEDs and they work well. The capacitors indeed have them working much brighter than the halogens with the PWM. I have seen absolutely no flickering at all. The output Kelvin color temperature is similar to OE LEDs from Audi, Nissan, etc.
As high beams, the light output is rather scattered, but still considerably better than the last kit. They do function adequately as high beams, but they don't have that focused "hot spot" like the halogen bulbs. I plan to further experiment with bulb adjustment to optimize the beam pattern. It's something I didn't have the time for before I mounted the headlights back but the LEDs do currently fire directly to the sides.
I'll be uploading photos of the LEDs in the car with some on-the-road images soon, but I wanted to post this initial write-up to get things started. At this point, I must say I'm rather pleased and plan to keep and utilize this kit, even if the light output pattern can't be improved. For the clearance price of $35, it matches the price of some of the highest performance halogens you can buy yet is much brighter and the LEDs will likely last much longer... like the life of the car if nothing goes wrong. LEDs have an operating lifespan in the tens of thousands of hours compared to the mere hundreds of hours with a halogen bulb.
More observations and photos to come soon.