I am installing my new LED bulbs in the H4 headlight and am not sure about the dust cover that came with the headlight. It sticks up too high to allow the adapter base (heat diffuser) to attach back on
to the bulb. I don’t think I should skip installing the dust boot as I’m sure the headlight will get full of dust. Do I just cut the dust cover back until it fits? Will it interfere with the cooling of the heat sink? Any suggestions?
Thanks
If it were me…I’d cut and dart that dust cover so it would fit somewhat snugly, then wipe with acetone, then use RTV to seal the darts and any gaps.
Let cure for 24 hours, and you should be OK.
First, before you cut up the rubber cover, have you done some driving with the LED bulbs in place? I found that the beam pattern was way wrong in my H4’s when I tried LED bulbs. I ended up going back to the regular bulbs.
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If your bulbs are anything like mine they come with a removable adaptor that replicates the H4 flange that attaches to the lamp housing. I couldn’t figure out a way to adapt the dust covers so I left them off. Instead I applied small amounts of silicone sealant to seal the adaptor to the housing. I then applied small amounts of silicone to seal all of the little gaps and openings on the housing.
Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will install one side and go for a drive and see how I like the pattern. If it looks ok, I’ll do a little trimming of the boot cover. I may have to use some silicone as well. Thanks so much for the guidance! I have a plan going forward!
Cheers
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I got the dust cover trimmed to fit the bulb. Installed headlight in one side and did a little comparison. As everyone knows the LED is a much whiter light than the more yellowish sealed beam. Although I like the softer yellow, I really like the better visibility the LED provides.
The right hand side is the old sealed beam and the left is the LED. I just took a picture of the light against the garage wall.
The other LED goes in the car tomorrow.
Cheers
The right hand side is the old sealed beam and the left is the LED. I just took a picture of the light against the garage wall.
The other LED goes in the car tomorrow.
Cheers
Looks good Phil. I have a few questions, what year/series is your car? Who makes the LED? What reflector are you using? I see a Hella box in one of the photos, is that it?
After you get the second lamp installed will you post a new picture of the light pattern against your garage?
Thanks
Anthony
It looks good Phi and as if the LED is the winner.
When I adjust headlights, I find a dark road and cover up the headlight that I don’t want to adjust to only have the one light pattern to look at. You could do the same in your comparison picture and take a picture of each of the headlamps separately. Maybe even crop them and join them into one picture ?
Nice work thanks … Ole
Anthony… my car is a 1969 Series 2. I actually had the housings kicking around the garage. I originally bought them for a 1985 XJ-12 but never installed them. They are Hella. I will take a picture with the second LED.
I should have added that the light pattern when looking at the headlight itself is not even and you get some shadows from the reflectors in the housing itself. I couldn’t get a decent picture of this. I have to admit am not that concerned with this but more interested in getting better lighting on the road with less power running through the switches.
Thanks for the advice on how you adjust the headlights Ole! I was always told the the best way to adjust the headlights was shining them on a wall like the garage door. I’ll try your method on a dark quiet road. Unfortunately the second LED is installed so there won’t be a comparison picture. I have to admit…splicing the pictures together would have been beyond my capabilities 
.
I will post an after picture with both LEDs.
Looking forward to your pictures.
Adjusting them on the wall is easier if you have done the benchmark setting on the road. Then make markings on the wall and you always have a quick check point and can quickly adjust in the garage if needed.
My driveway slopes way too much to be useful so I use a blank brick wall of a nearby school. The parking lot appears to be level. I drive up at night and turn on the low beams and make my gross adjustments. I leave the trim rings at home for this. Then I drive to a very seldom used, level road I know of and leave the car in the traffic lane with the low beams on. I cover one light at a time to make sure they are projecting to the same height and are pointing down the road. As a final check I walk about 150 in front of the car and see what kind of glare I’m creating for drivers in my lane and in the oncoming lane.
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Say Ole…I went back in the archives and I see that I have you to thank for your research on LEDs that got me heading down this path. You put a lot more investigation into this and it is appreciated. I wanted to do this change but didn’t know where to start until I read your post. Thanks again!!!
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Phil, the left light pattern cast by the LED on your garage door looks quite similar to my Cibe reflectors with H4 Halogen bulbs, only brighter and whiter. Who makes the LED lamp you are testing?
Thanks
Anthony
Not trying to be negative but to my eye the light intensity on the foundation to the left of the door is not significantly different from the light intensity to the right of the door, just a different color. I would love to see photos taken on a dark road with the led on the left and the halogen on the right individually uncovered. This would be a more meaningful test of whether the effort to convert to led’s is worth the trouble. I am considering it but my cars are both series one with the flat back buckets so I wouldhave to see a significant difference to make the changeover worthwhile. Do like the whiter color tho.
C
I installed the same LEDs that Ole was testing. They are Beamtech H4. I bought them on Amazon for $38.99.
I know the picture of the light against the garage wall was not the best quality but during driving the LED was significantly brighter. There was also a sharper line which I believe would result in less glare in the eyes of oncoming traffic (if adjusted correctly). The LEDs are a huge improvement in my opinion (as long as you prefer the much whiter light). If I get a chance I may reinstall the sealed beam and do the comparison.
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I have exactly the same opinion.
The problem for me with the LEDs was that they didn’t have as much ‘down road’ focused light. The whiter light is great, but if there isn’t a down road focused beam, I am not able to see a deer (moose here) or anything else a 100 yards away. I have Hella ‘Eurobeam’ lights. Maybe if I had an LED set that have an LED at the tip, pointing straight out, instead of just side-facing ones, it would help.
A friend of mine installed LED headlights in his S2 a few years ago. One night we set his car and mine side-by-side, pointing the same direction, to compare our lights (mine are standard Halogens). The difference was MUCH more dramatic than I expected. His were MUCH whiter, MUCH brighter, had a MUCH sharper cut-off, and you could see considerably further with his. It was literally night-and-day. I wish I could afford to do the same to mine…
Regards,
Ray L.
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If they will fit you can do the Hella housings and BeamTech conversion for about 100 USD. I think they will fit in Series II and III bonnets. I know they fit in Series 1.5.