LED Headlights

B

bobbersax

Junior Member
I'm currently restoring the headlights on my 31 Model A. I ran across a couple of websites that sell LED replacement bulbs: Logolight.com and LEDlight.com.

Has anyone had experience with these two companies? It appears that Logolight.com just sells a bright version available in a positive ground and negative ground. LEDlight.com sells a non polarized version in the bright version as well as a 'warm white' version that resembles an incandescent bulb which is probably closer to the original.

Needless to say, the brighter version is probably the way to go for better driving at night.
 
Someone on the V8 forum was complaining that he hadn't seen an LED bulb that replicated the correct light pattern. But I have bulbs from a UK supplier in my V8 which look fine to me, I also have LEDs in my VW which are far better than incandescent. Restoring my A right now and it will get LEDs from the same source.
Interestingly, it is actually illegal here to retrofit LEDs in a unit designed for incandescent, don't ask me why.
 
There is a fair amount of discussion here both pro and con for LED headlights (as with many topics). I am also interested in finding a good LED bulb because I would like to enhance the night lighting. I have noticed that most of the Model A suppliers offer the Logo Lites LED bulb however they are all out of stock due to “retooling”. I wonder if anyone knows the back story there.

https://snydersantiqueauto.com/Pro...ED-HEADLAMP-BULB?fromCategory=SearchByKeyword


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You are not going to replicate the beam of incandescents with LED's.They are not the same design.The old lights gather up all the little particles of light with a reflector and throw them through all the flutes and prisms to make the best use of them.LED's are focused with a machine that you stand in front of the car,adjusted to the correct height and positioned correctly side to side.You then adjust the light aim until the right color appears in the window of the machine.They are required at the inspection stations now here.No more preset marks on the wall to aim for.It is comparing apples and oranges.
 
I put Logo LEDs in my headlights about a year ago, 12v neg ground. I had a problem with the low beams flickering. I returned them to Logo (Creative Connections) since they were under warranty.
After several “troubleshooting phone calls”, they replaced both of them and the flickering went away. I haven’t done very much adjusting since I’m satisfied with the light pattern. Honestly though, I don’t see much difference between bright and dim.
 
Bobber, what Keith said is 100% true. Oh, I guess that's why his last name is true!

If you do a search on this site for led lights, and both companies for the lights you will find a ton of info. I have been running logo's for many year's and i am happy with them as long as you understand they produce a different kind of scatter.
 
funny, I got my A a week ago and I just replaced all my bulbs yesterday. ledlight.com was the source. My invoice is attached. I did buy extra bulbs for my Model T.

Everything fit great, although I had to file the bulbs for the cowel lights just slightly so they fit into the holes. Be careful w/ this or you will kill the tiny leds. I can now have all lights on AND use my horn. The 6v LED flasher I ordered was defective, but they shipped a new one, no questions asked, literally within hours of send them an email.

I found the amber LEDs are the best in the stop light position and since I use my cowel lights as blinkers, there to. Using the white bulbs there don't give you a nice red color, but the amber do.

I got the warm white for the headlights and they look great. they are a bit different light pattern from the stock bulbs but I daily drive these cars during the daytime 99% of the time, so who cares? The ammeter barely moves with everything on. I also rewired the whole car w/ a fuse panel and the headlights now turn on/off w/ the key.

here are the part numbers in case you can't see them on the invoice:
1. 69787W - my blinker assy uses a type 51 mini pilot bulb.
2. 78989WW
3. 84787
4. 68574W
5. 68574Y

Jeff
 

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Interesting comments from Keith. Only thing I can say is that the changeover on my VW didn't change the pattern and it passed inspection with the old style beam tester. My V8 is exempt inspection, but again I can see no change in the pattern on my garage wall.
 
I have LED headlights from both LogoLites and LEDlight.com. They operate differently. Each LED headlight has two banks of LED’s - upper and lower. The LogoLites LED turns on one bank (can’t remember which one, but I think the upper bank) on low beam, and both on high beam.

The LED headlight from LEDlight.com lights half of the LEDs on both upper and lower banks on low beam, and all LEDs on high.

Because of this, I prefer those from LEDlight.com. Also bought the warm white version, and as pointed out in post #7, they look like incandescent bulbs. I keep the warm whites as spares, as I think the bright white LED headlights put out more light.

I’m very happy with them, and run a stock electrical system.

JIm
 
My take on this is that the LED headlamp makers have tried to put the LED array in the same position in the bulb as the filaments of the incandescent bulb. It just didn't work very well. The reflector behind the bulb is a parabolic reflector that needs the light source to be in exactly the right place and oriented horizontally to be able to focus the beam. Precise aiming is dependent on focus, so focusing has to be done before aiming. You can still aim an unfocused beam, but it will be rather general, not precise.

LED's have two distinct advantages. They are much, much brighter, and they take up one heck of a lot less power. One can easily run bright LED's using the standard original generator.

If you do go with LED's, you will notice that everything in front of you is lit up brighter. Even stuff off to the side of the road on both sides, like fences, traffic signs, etc. In order to not blind the oncoming traffic, try to point the headlight buckets generally downward. Otherwise, you might get people flicking you the brights to get you to dim them down.

This was from my experience with LOGO lights. I went back to standard 32/50's because I can aim them a lot better. This summer, however, I intend to do some more tinkering with the LED's. I am nearing 70 and my eyesight is not what it used to be. While I would like to have headlights that do as well as my 2019 Honda, I am also continually being blinded by the new LED headlights coming at me.
 
I have replaced bulbs with LED's and everything that people have said is true. The LED's by their nature are not point sources. However the lenses are designed to spread the focused beam so whether that matters much is a question.



My current sedan has halogen bulbs which are point source and they are bright. Only drawback is the amount of current needed. The dim filament is placed further forward and pointing up so that the reflected beam is spread out and facing down.
 
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[mention]Jazzmonger [/mention] thanks for the detailed parts list, this is very helpful !


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duke36 said:
Did you all need to use load equalizers or resistors for each bulb?
Click to expand...

Nope. just replace and drive the car! load resistors are only required if you use a 6v non-led flasher on blinkers. then load resistors are used in parallel w/ the bulbs to trigger the flasher. I can expand on this if necessary including how to get a pilot bulb working in the blinker assy. I just put a whole system together yesterday. works great.

Jeff
 
I got these a while ago for my daughter's '74 VW Beetle.

https://vintagecarleds.com/shop/7-in...0-classic-kit/

They are amazing. They were easy to wire up, draw little power, and are incredibly bright.

They are direct replacement for regular sealed beam headlights, so I couldn't help but wonder if these would fit in a Model A that had already been converted to sealed beam. There is a module that sticks out of the back, so there may be clearance issues, but I can't say for sure. I have original style headlights so I couldn't try them. They are now available in 6 volt as well.

I just thought that I would share. Like I said, they are spectacular in the Beetle. Tremendous improvement over stock.

Ken
 
Do you guys know which part number to use for headlamps from LEDLIGHT? 6v Positive Ground generator system.

I have tried to keep this car original, But I like the idea of using the horn and lights at the same time.

I believe JAZZMONGER says he used the 78989WW. Can anyone else confirm?
 
Jazzmonger said:
here are the part numbers in case you can't see them on the invoice:
1. 69787W - my blinker assy uses a type 51 mini pilot bulb.
2. 78989WW
3. 84787
4. 68574W
5. 68574Y

Jeff
Click to expand...

I'm glad that worked for you. I ordered 84787 for my car a while back, and it didn't work for me. The flasher worked fine with the engine off, but it didn't work with the engine running. The vendor graciously accepted my return though.
 
I ordered the same lights as jazzmonger, well just a stock system-no turn signals. I installed them and this is what I got for head lights (not focused, angled correctly just installed). The left is the warm white light (3000k) and right is the white (6000k). I will back her out tomorrow night and see what she looks like at night. I will also post taillight pics as well.


Ok, how do I rotate the pics? My phone does t seem to want to let me.

Mike
 

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Here are the photos turned right side up. I downloaded and flipped them. Appreciate the comparison, mine will be in tomorrow and I look forward to trying the same experiment.
a9430419c29152857329d3ecb58839ea.jpg

b8b63395c5ad1eb484c7dfba2b1b1c62.jpg



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