LED Headlight Install, 2000lm each no external driver

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mdandashly said:
Both the 9006 (lows) and 9005 (highs) were dual LED. I bought the ones linked in this thread. Can provide exact linksnif you'd like. They were $60 a set so $120 for highs and lows. I can hear the fans going and they do get hot. But how hot is too hot? I dunno.
Click to expand...

So did the 9005 (highs) come with a ballast or not. Is there no real difference between the output of the two? I'm about to order another set, trying to be on point this time..

Thanks,

J
 
hamishpotter said:
So did the 9005 (highs) come with a ballast or not. Is there no real difference between the output of the two? I'm about to order another set, trying to be on point this time..

Thanks,

J
Click to expand...
Light output was negligible for me. Not much of a difference, but I am OCD and ordered both, and I would do it again. I'm not sure what a ballast is.
 
Ballast is a component in HID lights, which regulates the current sent to the bulbs. In LED world this is called a driver, and it's responsible for providing the emitter with a stable power source. My two H4 LED kits came with an external driver. I'm not sure how they could fit this driver on the bulb itself.
 
gotcha. my mistake. the single LEDs I had came with drivers

ok so the ones from the links you posted have drivers as well? the photos on Ebay don't show drivers in the package (the way mine were packed).
sorry to flog this guys but after mucking up the first order and now having to send the first set back to Guangdong, would rather not repeat.

thanks mdaa and papercut

James
 
Both my kits came with xternal drivers. In one of the auctions it wasn't mentioned at all, and the other said explicitly that it had one. When my kits showed up, they were identical.
 
The auction this thread links to, as well as its title call out that these bulbs have no external driver. If you look at the back of the "bulbs" you will notice that they have a lot more "base" (or "bass" if you have been infected by Miss Trainor) than the typical external driver LED lamps. The driver is included in the back half and is cooled by an active fan instead of just passively emitting, allowing it to be much smaller.

So the driver is still there, its just attached to the back of the bulb...
 
Scrybe said:
The auction this thread links to, as well as its title call out that these bulbs have no external driver. If you look at the back of the "bulbs" you will notice that they have a lot more "base" (or "bass" if you have been infected by Miss Trainor) than the typical external driver LED lamps. The driver is included in the back half and is cooled by an active fan instead of just passively emitting, allowing it to be much smaller.

So the driver is still there, its just attached to the back of the bulb...
Click to expand...
I was so happy to discuss this topic that I've completely forgot about the "no external driver" part of this thread o_O
They seem to be decent stuff with the XM-L2, but personally I prefer the external driver box. First of all there's some excess weight on the back there, and second - who's got that much room to play with behind their headlight? :)
 
hamishpotter said:
bah - so the links mdaa linked to have external drivers or no? I thought the lamps I ordered had the internal ones as they had fans and large bases, but the base was just for the fan and they connected to external drivers.

so again, do these have external drivers or not?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181590091730?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151301569147?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

still flogging away here : )
Click to expand...
I can't get those links to work, but I grabbed the auction ID and if we're talking about the two auctions below, they both seem to have the driver integrated - "all in one" it says :). No external driver for these.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151301569147
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181590091730
 
Listed as "All-in-one"

"Built in IC Circuit (Current Regulator)-Prevents LED Damage from Voltage Variations & Spikes"

"Package includes:

2x 9005/HB4 High Power genuine CREE-XM-L2Bulbs

2x LED cooling fans(built-in)

2 years warranty service"

Also, look at the pics, they show the entire box so there would have to be a whole second box if there were drivers, AND the seller is lying about their product.

Mine arrive shortly after Christmas, I'll confirm my experience when they get here.
 
hamishpotter said:
bah - so the links mdaa linked to have external drivers or no? I thought the lamps I ordered had the internal ones as they had fans and large bases, but the base was just for the fan and they connected to external drivers.

so again, do these have external drivers or not?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181590091730?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151301569147?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

still flogging away here : )
Click to expand...
Use the links that PaperCut posted. Or the original links in this thread. I used those and received the two LED bulb with no external driver.
 
Another question - would external drivers be preferable? Maybe a hassle to mount but I would think they'd be more robust than what's packed into the lamps. Based on my extensive knowledge of this subject ;)
 
hamishpotter said:
Another question - would external drivers be preferable? Maybe a hassle to mount but I would think they'd be more robust than what's packed into the lamps. Based on my extensive knowledge of this subject ;)
Click to expand...
You can get more powerful LED's with externals, and passively cooled models would not be prone to fan failure. They are however, larger overall and more expensive to make up for it.
 
Scrybe said:
You can get more powerful LED's with externals, and passively cooled models would not be prone to fan failure. They are however, larger overall and more expensive to make up for it.
Click to expand...

Thank you Scrybe. Any links to products you might recommend that are within around $100 of these? Any leads would be much appreciated. I have a lot to learn about the LED marketplace and tech.

Cheers,

James
 
Scrybe said:
You can get more powerful LED's with externals, and passively cooled models would not be prone to fan failure. They are however, larger overall and more expensive to make up for it.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I'm new to the LED game myself to recommend anything, but if you search for "9005 LED Headlight" on Ebay there are a bunch of options from Cree that I would assumer are similar in quality. The cost difference for externals of the same lumens only seems to be $30-50, so it's really not a lot of $ in the choice unless you start looking at higher end manufacturers.

I do have my eyes on a set of golden yellows (3000k), but I need to talk to a couple local LEO's I know and see what the highway patrol think the of a "warm white" headlight...
 
For now, I'll stay with my 6000k HIDs. bright, less watts and half price, two years running strong.
 
Has anyone had a problem with radio reception when switching to LED headlights? I've had a set of Lifetime LED, 9003 configuration bulb which has high beam and low beam integrated. I noticed that when ever I turned my headlights on my radio reception immediately went to sh!t. Nearby stations got some interference, and far away stations went to nothing but static. I e-mailed Southeast Overland, who originally sold me the Lifetime LED headlights, and they had the manufacture send me some kind of interference harness. It plugs in between the driver and the vehicles wiring harness if I remember. It cured my problem right away, no more static.

Anyone else encountered this?
 
I don't listen to the radio and have my radio ant unplugged so have never experienced that!
 
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