[dual disc 200]

Disclaimer: I do very well understand the LED lamps on stock halogen reflectors is going to startle the oncoming traffic and is highly illegal as per the RTO regulations. This is for experimenting purposes and will revert to stock if the expected results don't show up.


Been thinking over a long time for the need to upgrade the stock lighting in my Fiesta 1.6 S. Although the stock dual barrel headlights were enough for the city, on the highways it was crude. Simply, put it was as if a candle in the wind.

Ideation:

Then came the idea of upgrading the lights with the following and I had to choose one of these;

1.Higher wattage Halogen lamps ( Requires wiring harness mods and I’m not sure the stock reflector would hold up without burning itself out on the longer run)
2.HID’s – Although I’m a big fan of the HID lamp tone and their intensity when fully charged, kept that on a corner of my mind.
3.LED’s – As the trend continues to insist more and more on the high efficient LED’s thought might as well give it a shot.

Procurement & Installation:

The same time around this trauma of headlight upgrade came the AliExpress sale. Picked up a pair each for both the High and Low beam barrels. After a never ending wait the same landed after 28 days to be precise.

Product URL: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/CNSU...27424c4ddIRF0m



The first and foremost thing that I found was that the lights cannot be fixed without removing the headlights, at least the LED ones which comes with a cooling fan. I had removed all the fasteners holding the headlights and the same still wouldn’t come off the car. Finally after a bit of research managed to get both of them out.



The next thing was to install the lamps which when did had an unacceptable play. The same when un-attended would translate into something catastrophic. Thought over for a few minutes and decided to get the surgery done in my bedroom with the help of a hot glue gun.



The Chinese LED’s comes with an adaptor which would seat itself to the headlight entry where the lamp goes in and then the actual LED has to get itself turned clockwise locking them into place onto the adapter.

The hot glue gun did wonders of keeping everything in it’s place and sealing them from dust and grime. The whole process took about 2 hrs with curing time included and finally the same looked ok.



The lights were then taken back to the car and there came a challenge of the difference in the wiring adapters that power the headlights. Made a quick run to the local hardware store and soldered myself a few adapters for the installation.



The installation post the adapters were a breeze and the same was done in about 1 hr.

Verdict:

Stock Lighting


LED Low Beam


LED High Beam


Pro’s

1.Show Stopper
2.Less load on the battery
3.Instant brightness in the flick of a switch
4.Brighter than the conventional halogens in dry conditions at night

Con’s

1. Leaves everyone startled when I use HI beam in the city limits, which I’ve avoided.
2. On a rainy day, I might as well switch off these and use the fog lamp which gives me greater visibility than these that scatter all over.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by dual disc 200

The hot glue gun did wonders of keeping everything in it’s place and sealing them from dust and grime. The whole process took about 2 hrs with curing time included and finally the same looked ok.

I hope you accounted for taking the bulbs out sometime in the
future for maintenance. Also, keep an eye out for LED fans failure.

Pro’s
4.Brighter than the conventional halogens in dry conditions at night

Con’s
2. On a rainy day, I might as well switch off these and use the fog lamp which gives me greater visibility than these that scatter all over.

Thanks for sharing this! The pros and cons seems at par from those that I have expected. Just one question - how is the performance of this LED at night where there are street lights?

[hserus]

I have the very same CNSUNNYLIGHT in my Fiesta (1.5 TDCI) and Scorpio.

I didn't have any issue with connectors etc - because what you should have done is to mail or whatsapp the shop owner Sunny (+86 189 9806 1368), with pictures of your disassembled headlamp.

Sunny will then provide you aliexpress links for the appropriate lamps and adapters so that it is all plug and play at your end.

[dual disc 200]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

I hope you accounted for taking the bulbs out sometime in the
future for maintenance. Also, keep an eye out for LED fans failure.


Thanks for sharing this! The pros and cons seems at par from those that I have expected. Just one question - how is the performance of this LED at night where there are street lights?

Thanks blackwasp, Hot Glue can be easily peeled off just like a face mask if required until which it would sit tight. Regarding the fans, I've got a similar set-up in my KTM RC which has seen quite some heavy showers and still working great. This being covered and not subjected to water much should self sustain.

Again regarding the performance, the headlights are no match against Sodium vapour lamps. But for the rest, it works fine.

Originally Posted by hserus

I have the very same CNSUNNYLIGHT in my Fiesta (1.5 TDCI) and Scorpio.

I didn't have any issue with connectors etc - because what you should have done is to mail or whatsapp the shop owner Sunny (+86 189 9806 1368), with pictures of your disassembled headlamp.

Sunny will then provide you aliexpress links for the appropriate lamps and adapters so that it is all plug and play at your end.

As I'm more of a DIY guy and like to face challenges, this was much simpler than ordering connectors and waiting it out again.

[avingodb]

Is this legal?
To me even the low beam seems high enough to distract a sedan driver.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by dual disc 200

Verdict:

Stock Lighting
Attachment 1802337

LED Low Beam
Attachment 1802336

LED High Beam
Attachment 1802335

IT's impossible to make out if your lights are good or not with these pictures.

For LED's you have to park in front of a wall and look at beam cut off and hot spot.

LED's are obviously brighter than halogen but if they are glaring means they are scattering light.

Also if there is no hot spot, it means there is too much foreground light which means the lights are absolutely useless in the rain as you described.

[dual disc 200]

Originally Posted by avingodb

Is this legal?
To me even the low beam seems high enough to distract a sedan driver.

This isn't legal and I've mentioned in the Disclaimer as well. But say what, we do live in a country which also states the following things are illegal as well;

1. Bull Bars or Crash Bars on Cars & SUV's
2. Any sort of modifications in the vehicle that is not attested with the RTO
3. Driving under the age of 18 for geared vehicle and cars

How man of them still follow mate?

The low beam isn't a distraction as I've levelled the beam on the road.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

IT's impossible to make out if your lights are good or not with these pictures.

For LED's you have to park in front of a wall and look at beam cut off and hot spot.

LED's are obviously brighter than halogen but if they are glaring means they are scattering light.

Also if there is no hot spot, it means there is too much foreground light which means the lights are absolutely useless in the rain as you described.

Hi Vid6639, I purposefully didn't take the cut off pictures as the same was horrible. If you know what I mean.

[bharatbits]

Nice work. I'd have done it if it was simple remove and replace with new LEDs.

OT: Is that your homekey in one of the pictures? With your car number public and that picture a clone to that key can be made easily to gain access.

[dual disc 200]

Originally Posted by bharatbits

Nice work. I'd have done it if it was simple remove and replace with new LEDs.

OT: Is that your homekey in one of the pictures? With your car number public and that picture a clone to that key can be made easily to gain access.

Thanks Bharatbits, Yeah that's my home key and the car regn. number is public. worry not as I've shifted 6 places since the original registration location from where the car was registered which would be from Coimbatore to Cochin and again back in a new locality

Regarding the installation, I too assumed that this would be a simple plug and play which extended beyond those simple words. But not something that's impossible.

[drsnt]

I have been using LED for 3 yrs now in my cars in different versions and discarding few pairs due to very strong glare in low beam.
Since my both car uses H4 getting a good beam pattern is very difficult.
In your case low beam needs to have more linear cut else it will be a problem for oncoming traffic.
The lights you have ordered have 4 Lumileds LED which have illuminated area size bigger than filament and the reason for more scatter. I would suggest that you find a LED with 3 CSP or Lumileds (though I doubt that they are original Lumileds at this price) for better beam pattern.

[venkyhere]

Neat.

For the benefit of members/guests who are new to LED lighting, I am taking the liberty to cross post from another thread why do we see LED headlamps having fans/fins but halogen headlamps dont, even though the LEDs generate lesser heat than halogens (HID & LED headlamps - Are they really as good as claimed?). Hope you don't mind.

[supertinu]

Very nice update. As suggested look at the throw on a wall to get a sense of cut offs and focus areas.

Also since you have kept the fans outside the dust cap it will help keep the lights cooler but expose the fans to more dust. Check it once every 3 months to see if dust is accumulating. You can use compressed air to clean it. If the fan fails the LEDs will eventually burn out.

[shreevishnu]

Can someone please provide any reliability comparisons between actively cooled (fan cooled) and passively cooled (only a heat sink)? I believe the that fan cooled led can have higher brightness due to better thermal performance but a passive cooled one can last longer at lower temperatures.

[dual disc 200]

Originally Posted by supertinu

Very nice update. As suggested look at the throw on a wall to get a sense of cut offs and focus areas.

Also since you have kept the fans outside the dust cap it will help keep the lights cooler but expose the fans to more dust. Check it once every 3 months to see if dust is accumulating. You can use compressed air to clean it. If the fan fails the LEDs will eventually burn out.

Thanks Supertinu, there is literally nothing like a cut-off mark afaik with the LED's. It's scattered all over. Again on that, let me get the car back from garage which has gone for ABS ring replacement and I'll take a few pictures and share.

With regards to the dust on the fan blades, Thanks. I shall keep an eye on that.

Originally Posted by shreevishnu

Can someone please provide any reliability comparisons between actively cooled (fan cooled) and passively cooled (only a heat sink)? I believe the that fan cooled led can have higher brightness due to better thermal performance but a passive cooled one can last longer at lower temperatures.

Sorry man, I'm new into this whole LED thing. Might be some experienced member could pitch in.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by shreevishnu

Can someone please provide any reliability comparisons between actively cooled (fan cooled) and passively cooled (only a heat sink)? I believe the that fan cooled led can have higher brightness due to better thermal performance but a passive cooled one can last longer at lower temperatures.

(1) Heat generated by the semiconductor (proportional to current, hence proportional to brightness)
=
(2) Heat soaked by the semiconductor and metal parts (which maintains constant temperature)
+
(3) Heat radiated away by heat sink fins (and fans where present)

----------------------------------------------

(1) depends on wattage of the LED lamp, the quality of semiconductor used
(2) depends on quality of semiconductor, the geometry of the lamp stalk design, the thermal conductivity of the metal used to make the lamp stalk
(3) depends on efficiency of heat sink, the ambient into which the heat has to be thrown away (how hot the day is, how near to the engine the rear end of the lamp is), what is the efficiency of operation of the fans (the fan motor will also generate heat), the fan is expected to radiate the heat from the lamp as well as from the motor

As you can see, there are so many variables and its impossible to make a judgement call simply by using the presence of fan as the pivotal point.