The Great Quest for Headlights

[TheStig]

Think anyone

 

[TheStig]

Really cares

 

[Etyrnus]

Hasn't bothered me, it's been relevant to your experience with XD.

 

[TheStig]

Hopefully i have a good experience with this like most people, afew had not so good experiences.

 

[Etyrnus]

Hopefully.

 

[Chris G]

So.... Users of the LED headlight kit. Am I supposed to shove ALL of these wires and this small box behind this rubber cap? I made it work but damn, it's a tight fit

 

[Chris G]

Mine are in now - it's still light out here in SoCal so it'll be a bit before I head out and see how they work. I notice there are a few really bright spots if you stare at the bulb from a certain angle, but I'm not too worried about it yet

 

[Etyrnus]

So.... Users of the LED headlight kit. Am I supposed to shove ALL of these wires and this small box behind this rubber cap? I made it work but damn, it's a tight fit

The wires and stuff should fit into the open space at the bottom of the light, with enough room to spread the heat sink as shown in the instructions.

 

[Chris G]

The wires and stuff should fit into the open space at the bottom of the light, with enough room to spread the heat sink as shown in the instructions.

Yeah I fit it all. Just wanted to make sure everyone was stuffing it all in there. [emoji2]

 

[TheStig]

Yeah I fit it all. Just wanted to make sure everyone was stuffing it all in there. [emoji2]

Any pictures yet? Did you remove the headlight to install? Im assuming you dont have to remove the bumper to remove the headlights.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Any pictures yet? Did you remove the headlight to install? Im assuming you dont have to remove the bumper to remove the headlights.

take a peek at your owners manual page 188. Super easy to remove the headlight assembly. 2 screws and pull up. After you disconnect the harness. There is a clip also holding it so you need to be firm to pull the assembly out.

 

[Chris G]

I took out the whole assemblies. Couldn't imagine trying it any other way...

 

[Evotech8]

Is the rubber cap suppose to go back on after installation?

Won't that overheat the LED's since the heatsinks are totally sealed inside the housing.

 

[Etyrnus]

Never had an issue with that. It doesn't get any noticeably hotter than it already gets from the engine. Plus, it has space in the casing to dissipate.

 

[Chris G]

I couldn't imagine not putting the cap back on there. That would allow all kinds of garbage into the headlights.

 

[TheStig]

Chris not sure if you got much seat time in with yours yet, i got around 1.5 hours of driving after the install, seemed good at first.

But once i found a suitable place to adjust them, they were pretty high according to the owners manual and also appear to be adjusted to the left. No way to mess with horizontal, just vertical, so I just aimed them a bit further down. There are some nasty hot spots almost directly next to each light on the sides, you really see them when you pass cars. It illuminates the entire car as you go by.

They are FAR superior in light output, 2-3x as bright as factory but they seem to scatter and not really have any pattern to speak of. Im hoping to adjust them a bit further to get it better but as of right now im not all that happy with the money spent.

 

[jproy12]

They are FAR superior in light output, 2-3x as bright as factory but they seem to scatter and not really have any pattern to speak of. Im hoping to adjust them a bit further to get it better but as of right now im not all that happy with the money spent.

This was my problem as well, so it may not be my headlights after all, I found that they scattered the light way too much. I had adjusted them much lower than factory, but after the adjustments, my OEM halogen seemed to have better light output since they were aimed further/for more distance.

IMHO, these are good, but not meant for our headlights, if you need to readjust your headlights lower, means that you are loosing light output in the distance, the reason I switched back to Halogen bulbs, maybe not as bright and "white" but light output was were it needed to be and not scattered all over the place.

 

[TheStig]

Im gonna drive with them a bit and see what i think moving forward. The additional light is undeniable, but the scattering effect seems very present and disconcerting.

Can this be an install issue? The lights only go in one way, the tabs determine that. Are they R and L and i was unaware of this?

Them focused to the left seems to be the opposite of traditional wisdom to aim them right and off the roadway at least. Oh well, going to look into perhaps starting my own Projector retrofit project if I can. Perhaps set out a path for others if I actually follow through.

 

[Chris G]

I haven't driven mine at night yet but I know exactly what you guys are talking about regarding that bright spot from a certain angle on the side.

I will head out tonight to see what my beam pattern looks like against a wall.

 

[Chris G]

I held on to my Philips Diamond Vision bulbs just in case... So we will see