convert to LED headlights

J

James G.

Senior Member
I do a bit of night time driving when on solo touring. For safety I want to convert my original incondecent to LED "bulbs". The word is they are a significant improvement thus safer on the road. What all is involved for this change. I do not want to make modifications to any original features/parts thus, hopefully just a plug in will get the job done. Even so, will the LED system retain the focusing ability to optimize the road illumination for night time driving?
Pix please would be a great help if more than bulb replacement is required. Also, which and where is the best place for the needed quality parts.
Many thanks.
 
Due to design constraints it will be impossible to get proper focus with existing led systems in original reflector---- you will get a lot of bright light all around like a flood light, but you want a beam projected down the road like a spot light to see in the distance
 
Kurt in NJ said:
Due to design constraints it will be impossible to get proper focus with existing led systems in original reflector---- you will get a lot of bright light all around like a flood light, but you want a beam projected down the road like a spot light to see in the distance
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I agree! I converted and my garage is brighter but down the road is no better and possibly worse than before conversion.
 
Kurt in NJ said:
Due to design constraints it will be impossible to get proper focus with existing led systems in original reflector---- you will get a lot of bright light all around like a flood light, but you want a beam projected down the road like a spot light to see in the distance
Click to expand...

Kurt, you are talking two different things. I can tell you from first-hand experience that there is no need to focus. With one incandescent filament, there is a need to position (focus) the single filament wire in the parabolic shape of the reflector to project the light beam as far as possible. In an LED bulb, there are multiple light sources emitting light at a much higher intensity than the incandescent bulb. Therefore you get more lumen output with the LED over the incandescent bulb, you get a further beam travel with the LED bulb, and you have less electrical draw with the LED.

I will tell you straight-up that I had 50-50 candlepower bulbs mounted in Bratton's reflectors, and focused just like in the Service Bulletins. A year or so ago I switched over to the good quality LED direct replacement bulbs, and I have more light in front of the vehicle, I can see further down the road, and my generator has no trouble keeping up. I did re-aim my headlights downward just a tad, not because I was blinding people, but because I wanted a heavier concentration of light to see 25-50 foot in front of the bumper. And, ....to your point, Yes I have lost my ability to focus the LED bulb however I have no reason to want to focus this bulb. Its kinda like saying if you put one of those toolboxes in front of the radiator, you won't be able to hand crank start the engine. My attitude is ... 'So!' simply because I don't need to hand crank my Model-A.

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I recently installed Logolites LED “bulbs” in new reproduction headlights. Honestly I haven’t driven the car at night to see if they need adjusting or how bright they are. But, the low beams blink constantly while the high beam is fine. I was thinking it may be a wiring issue so I swapped the position of the LED on both lights. The low beam still blinks and the bright continues to be fine.
I e-mailed Logo today, no response yet.
 
Dean Lemoine said:
I recently installed Logolites LED “bulbs” in new reproduction headlights. Honestly I haven’t driven the car at night to see if they need adjusting or how bright they are. But, the low beams blink constantly while the high beam is fine. I was thinking it may be a wiring issue so I swapped the position of the LED on both lights. The low beam still blinks and the bright continues to be fine.
I e-mailed Logo today, no response yet.
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I have the same problem with a set of Logo LED lights. One of the bulbs wants to blink on low beams. I switched them in the headlights and the blink went with it, so I am sure it is a defective LED.

I believe they are made in China. All of the suppliers are currently out of stock.

Tom Endy
 
No one has those leds, I tried.

I switched from 50/50's to logo's and I am happy. Ya you use the focus ability but the pluses are much better as Brent mentioned.
 
Every body looks at the conversion to LED lights from behind the steering wheel. Maybe, for the driver of that car, they are OK but by my experience, any oncoming driver is blinded by the dazzle no matter how well the driver thinks they are focused. A blinded driver coming straight at you at a closing speed of maybe 200 kph is not my idea of safety.
 
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With a 12v conversion I used halogen H4 reflectors and installed the H4 based high/low LED bulbs...8k lumens.Nice white light,very bright.I aimed the buckets,dont blind oncoming drivers.Completely different bulbs than the 'A' ones,they have a mini fan in them..

7vW6P5X.jpg


K1jyOp1.jpg
 
I converted headlights on my car - with stock electrical system - to the LogoLites LEDs last fall and have been very happy with them. My experience with them is much like Brent’s in post #4 - lots more light in front of the car at night, and current draw is about 2 amps.

Check Smith and Jones Model A parts in Columbia, SC - they may still have some.

Jim
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
Kurt, you are talking two different things. I can tell you from first-hand experience that there is no need to focus. With one incandescent filament, there is a need to position (focus) the single filament wire in the parabolic shape of the reflector to project the light beam as far as possible. In an LED bulb, there are multiple light sources emitting light at a much higher intensity than the incandescent bulb. Therefore you get more lumen output with the LED over the incandescent bulb, you get a further beam travel with the LED bulb, and you have less electrical draw with the LED.

I will tell you straight-up that I had 50-50 candlepower bulbs mounted in Bratton's reflectors, and focused just like in the Service Bulletins. A year or so ago I switched over to the good quality LED direct replacement bulbs, and I have more light in front of the vehicle, I can see further down the road, and my generator has no trouble keeping up. I did re-aim my headlights downward just a tad, not because I was blinding people, but because I wanted a heavier concentration of light to see 25-50 foot in front of the bumper. And, ....to your point, Yes I have lost my ability to focus the LED bulb however I have no reason to want to focus this bulb. Its kinda like saying if you put one of those toolboxes in front of the radiator, you won't be able to hand crank start the engine. My attitude is ... 'So!' simply because I don't need to hand crank my Model-A.

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Thank you Brent. I have commented several times with the results you experienced. Every time the focus issue is brought up. The bottom line is I can see much better and am more comfortable driving at night.
 
12.57 lumens for each candle power..so 50cp is roughly 625 lumens..my LED's put out 8000 lumens..focus the beam? nah,turn the night into day
 
KGBnut said:
Brent, whose LED bulbs are you using?
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I am not really sure. I did not get them from a normal Model-A vendor. As I recall, someone here mentioned the direct replacement type from a vendor either in England or maybe Australia. Then someone mentioned they had a US distributor, and that is who I purchased them from. Again, this has probably been a couple years ago now.



Mine do not blink that I know of Tom. The only thing mine did was they weren't very bright the first time I turned them on. I was kinda disappointed at first and stepped away. When I came back a few minutes later, they were much brighter. I don't know if the blinking will be something similar, where it corrects itself over time??
 
Synchro909 said:
Every body looks at the conversion to LED lights from behind the steering wheel. Maybe, for the driver of that car, they are OK but by my experience, any oncoming driver is blinded by the dazzle no matter how well the driver thinks they are focused. A blinded driver coming straight at you at a closing speed of maybe 200 kph is not my idea of safety.
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Quite frankly, I have not experienced this. I have two sets of these in Model-T headlights where an adjustment is difficult at best since you must bend the headlight stand to adjust, and I don't see oncoming vehicles flash their lights at me. Maybe that is because we are driving on the correct side of the road! :p :D
 
Jack Shaft said:
With a 12v conversion I used halogen H4 reflectors and installed the H4 based high/low LED bulbs...8k lumens.Nice white light,very bright.I aimed the buckets,dont blind oncoming drivers.Completely different bulbs than the 'A' ones,they have a mini fan in them..

7vW6P5X.jpg


K1jyOp1.jpg
Click to expand...

That's a LED light you show and the ones with a fan are typically LED's
I have a set in my modern truck and love them. the 31 truck has H4 Halogen and they work very well also.
I do wonder about how well the cooling fan works enclosed in the headlight bucket ?
One side note; a blinking of flashing LED IS an defective light :( Not a wiring problem
The car looks nice got any more pics, would love to see
 
What is not brought out is where the light goes. It gets glossed over.

The point to focusing the lamp is to put the light where it needs to go and not into the trees or the eyes of the oncoming cars.

A while ago someone did tests with a light measuring device and found the halogen solution did put almost the same amount of light where you need it to drive. But it also put a lot of light all over the place.

Pretty sure blinding oncoming traffic or be in the mirror of the car in front is a good thing.

So a real test would be measuring the light in multiple places. I am pretty sure there are standards for light amounts in areas in front of the car.

Do these LED lamps meet these requirements when used in the A headlamps?

We do not know and likely will never know. If you are going to ask the questions you need to ask the right questions.

As I recall the original type bulb with a good reflector and properly focused did a decent job lighting the road. A direct fit halogen did better. Both work fine with factory electrics.
 
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