LED bulbs

[ulycyc]

I also had the ZXE bulbs and one burnt out after a few months. They were brighter then other halogens but not even close to the LED's I have now. I have Firehawk brand LED's 12500LM's each bulb. In about 2 yrs now and no problems. They do have a larger base for the cooling fans. I used a dremel tool to remove whatever was in the way to sit correctly. No big deal. It took some trial and error to get the perfect alignment to my likening. I do not blind oncoming traffic since I don't get flashed. The DOT certs mentioned applies for factory aiming specs and nothing else. I also removed the label off my mattress

 

[RD_Atlanta]

The mattress label, gosh that's funny.

 

[JGBuick]

Perhaps it will help if members could share their experiences with specific LEDs they've tried. This way collectively we can learn what works well. I've got a set of LED bulbs scheduled to arrive on Monday for one of my LeSabre's. They are 4,000 Lumens (vs 1000-1500 for the stock Halogens) and 35 watt (vs 51 w for the stock halogens). I'll post on how well these work.

Great suggestion! I'll see if I have a few pics of mine. Mind you, I've only tried two different sets of LED's. The first try didn't even fit the enclosure housings (Sent back immediately as the vendor claimed they were a direct fit.

 

[JGBuick]

These are the LED's I currently have installed. I feel they are an improvement to the previous halogen bulbs. The only reason I tried these was because of the ratings and physical size and 1:1 appearance etc. My drivers-side halogen went kaput and I figured it was worth the $50 to replace all four units at one time.

I'm fairly sure there are "better" LED equivalents out there. Hopefully, others will post their examples. From an engineering perspective, I would hope these LED companies would offer a "multi-sided" LED which would better mimic the halogen light disbursement. I think that's where the reflector housing comes into play - It's multi-directional. Hope this helps!

 

[DrivenDaily]

I just received mine. 🙂

 

[JPolito]

I bought these for my 98 LeSabre in 2020 and haven't had any issues with them at all:

"SEALIGHT 9005/HB3 High Beam 9006/HB4 Low Beam LED 14000LM Headlight Bulbs Combo Package CSP Chips 6000K Cool White"

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1LZKFLD

They are definitely white in color (not blue or yellow) and are much brighter than the old standard bulb headlights. It also helps if you have new headlamp housing that doesn't have extremely fogged up plastic:



The only problem that I noticed is that the high beams were pretty much the same brightness as the low beams when I toggled them on and off, which is weird because the LeSabre headlamp housing has a physical obstruction (it looks like a piece of plastic with holes in it) to make the low-beams less bright, and the high-beams don't have anything blocking them. Unsure if this happens with other headlamp LEDs.

To improve the high-beams, I purchased a pair of LED spotlights from Harbor Freight:

"ROADSHOCK 3 in. LED Spot with Sidelight, Pair"

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-led-spot-with-sidelight-pair-57538.html

Here they are mounted to the plastic panel under the bumper:



I think it was in the open-box section when I bought them so it was much cheaper. They have other light bars and spotlights that are probably a better deal.

I spliced them onto the wires leading to the high-beams so that they turn on when I turn the brights on. Works much better now.

 

[DrivenDaily]

I tried to add an image but the red band of death prevented me until now...

but I continue to get a message that 477 kb is "too large". What a laugh!

I also realized that the package doesn't say "Terminator", but "Termitor", which is not a word in any major language as far as I can find.

Either way, I opted for the 4-pack for high and low beams.

 

[02LTD2.0]

....or maybe something just got lost in the translation. 😳

 

[JGBuick]

I tried to add an image but the red band of death prevented me until now...

but I continue to get a message that 477 kb is "too large". What a laugh!

I also realized that the package doesn't say "Terminator", but "Termitor", which is not a word in any major language as far as I can find.

Either way, I opted for the 4-pack for high and low beams.

View attachment 49148

Cool! What do you think so far???

 

[DrivenDaily]

Cool! What do you think so far???

In a word, impressed.

I have been out shooting the shooting stars and have had the opportunity to drive at night with nearly no traffic.

Sunday night (or 2 nights ago for future readers), they were terrible, with the same voids (aka shadows) in the low beams where I needed light, disappearing when I added the high beams. But because my 2005 turns off the low beams when the highs turn on, I was holding the FTP so I could have both at the same time. Huge difference!

Before getting onto the newly-repaved back road to my place, I stopped to adjust them a little higher. Those voids were still there, and there wasn't enough light to see all that well, so I had to add the high beams. There are no lines on the road yet, and before they paved it, the lines were only a double-yellow down the middle with no fog lines. That should tell ya that it's a narrow road, and the new blacktop has a sharp drop-off that I've fallen off of once already. Not fun!

Monday night (last night) I stopped while still inside the State Forest and raised them some more. What a HUGE difference!!! The voids are farther down the road and less obvious. I also noticed that I was getting a lot less blow-back since a lot of the light had been directly in front of me, which had made it harder to see down the road. Now I can see well enough on low beams alone. Then, after adding the high beams, I thought there were more shooting stars! (Hyperbole, of course. 😉)

So, now that they've been adjusted to be more useable, I like them better.

Between the Forest and my place, about 5 miles, there were no oncoming cars so I am not sure if I will get flashed or not, but they seem to be adjusted about the same as my buddy's newer Taco. He recently upgraded to LEDs and hasn't been flashed.

Eventually I will take my tape measure and find a flat wall where I can mark off 25' to more accurately adjust them. For now, they seem to be serving me well.

The only issue I find odd is that the 9005 high beams are not able to be rotated so that the PC board is vertical. They are tipped about 30°, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. The 9006 low beams are vertical.

 

[JGBuick]

In a word, impressed.

I have been out shooting the shooting stars and have had the opportunity to drive at night with nearly no traffic.

Sunday night (or 2 nights ago for future readers), they were terrible, with the same voids (aka shadows) in the low beams where I needed light, disappearing when I added the high beams. But because my 2005 turns off the low beams when the highs turn on, I was holding the FTP so I could have both at the same time. Huge difference!

Before getting onto the newly-repaved back road to my place, I stopped to adjust them a little higher. Those voids were still there, and there wasn't enough light to see all that well, so I had to add the high beams. There are no lines on the road yet, and before they paved it, the lines were only a double-yellow down the middle with no fog lines. That should tell ya that it's a narrow road, and the new blacktop has a sharp drop-off that I've fallen off of once already. Not fun!

Monday night (last night) I stopped while still inside the State Forest and raised them some more. What a HUGE difference!!! The voids are farther down the road and less obvious. I also noticed that I was getting a lot less blow-back since a lot of the light had been directly in front of me, which had made it harder to see down the road. Now I can see well enough on low beams alone. Then, after adding the high beams, I thought there were more shooting stars! (Hyperbole, of course. 😉)

So, now that they've been adjusted to be more useable, I like them better.

Between the Forest and my place, about 5 miles, there were no oncoming cars so I am not sure if I will get flashed or not, but they seem to be adjusted about the same as my buddy's newer Taco. He recently upgraded to LEDs and hasn't been flashed.

Eventually I will take my tape measure and find a flat wall where I can mark off 25' to more accurately adjust them. For now, they seem to be serving me well.

The only issue I find odd is that the 9005 high beams are not able to be rotated so that the PC board is vertical. They are tipped about 30°, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. The 9006 low beams are vertical.

Good to know!! Yes, I've noticed the orientation of the LED "board" along with how this aligns with the bulb housing affects the light pattern. It would be great if I could find an LED that emitted light 360 degrees from all sides. LED companies are missing the boat on this one. I'm pretty sure it can be done.

Good to hear you like them!