LED High Beam Install - GEN IV Post F/L - a few pics
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 5:40 pmHere's how to replace the standard halogen high beam globes with LEDS. I'm using 6000K 20W LEDs with passive cooling, your model may differ. The main reason to use LEDs rather than HIDs in the high beam is because they come on at full power and don't have a warm-up period. By the time HIDs have come up to full brightnes, it's time to dip them again.
You'll need a pair of H9 LEDs and a pair of mark 1 hands to do the change on a post facelift Gen IV.
Total time: about 20 minutes, including unwrapping the parcel when it arrived.
I got these off eBay, stick to reputable brands like Cree or Philips if you want to get long life from them. They should have a regulator attached that smooths out voltage spikes and keeps the current limited to what the LED can handle.
The H9 globe has a seal to keep water out of the headlight.
Twist the globe to remove and unplug the cable.
Put the LED assembly into the headlight and twist the other way to install. Connect the wiring. There's a small collar that slides down over the connection between the regulator and the LED assembly. Tighten it up to keep water out.
Tidy the wiring and fan out the cooling coils. Heat kills LEDs pretty quickly, the better the head dissipation, the longer they'll last at maximum brightness. I've tucked the regulator out of sight behind the washer bottle.
Rinse and repeat. You'll need to remove the air intake to get to the light on the driver's side.
On the driver's side, I've cable-tied the regulator and cables to the existing loom.
Passenger side done, drivers side still all ugly and yellow.
LED high beam and parker, HID headlight doing what they do best - warming up.
Next job will be 3000K LEDs in the fogs.
Wayne
You'll need a pair of H9 LEDs and a pair of mark 1 hands to do the change on a post facelift Gen IV.
Total time: about 20 minutes, including unwrapping the parcel when it arrived.
I got these off eBay, stick to reputable brands like Cree or Philips if you want to get long life from them. They should have a regulator attached that smooths out voltage spikes and keeps the current limited to what the LED can handle.
The H9 globe has a seal to keep water out of the headlight.
Twist the globe to remove and unplug the cable.
Put the LED assembly into the headlight and twist the other way to install. Connect the wiring. There's a small collar that slides down over the connection between the regulator and the LED assembly. Tighten it up to keep water out.
Tidy the wiring and fan out the cooling coils. Heat kills LEDs pretty quickly, the better the head dissipation, the longer they'll last at maximum brightness. I've tucked the regulator out of sight behind the washer bottle.
Rinse and repeat. You'll need to remove the air intake to get to the light on the driver's side.
On the driver's side, I've cable-tied the regulator and cables to the existing loom.
Passenger side done, drivers side still all ugly and yellow.
LED high beam and parker, HID headlight doing what they do best - warming up.
Next job will be 3000K LEDs in the fogs.
Wayne