Team-BHP - Auto Lighting thread : Post all queries about automobile lighting here

After waiting for FCA for a year to come up with a solution for the weak headlights on the Jeep Compass, I finally got frustrated enough to upgrade to HIDs. During my research for the upgrade I considered all the top brands for HID & LED including Morimoto. I also bought 2 pairs of Philips HIR 9011 halogens as advised by Behemoth in the forum. Thanks for your advice Behemoth, the light output from the 9011 are better than the stock headlamps. Not your fault that I was still not satisfied with the throw and lumen output. I got a couple of scares owing to the low throw distance of the halogen lamps.

I came across a hobbyist by the name of Abhishek (+919818952900). This guy has invested a lot of time to understand the different kits and components used in the making of a HID/LED lamp. He started out to get upgrades for his own cars and then ended up getting lamps made to specification and delivered for friends and then friends of friend’s cars. I was convinced by his in-depth knowledge on the subject and went for an HID imported by him under the brand name UGlare. The said set emits 3200 Lumens at 4500Kelvin, so it is not white but whiter than the stock halogens. The stock headlamps were ~1650 Lumens so increased brightness is immediately visible, and the throw distance is marginally longer, they being limited by the shutter-like mechanism that regulates the low & high beams. I believe if the headlamp housings/projector housings can be tilted a trifle upwards the throw distance for low beam will be satisfactorily increased. Abhishek/UGlare has provided 2year warranty for the HIDs.

Below are the specifications of the HIDs for the benefit of others in the forum if they’d like to upgrade:

ASIC, highly integrated, more efficient and stable.
Copper + PET material package for input and output wires, high level quality, strong electromagnetic interference shielding function.
Precisely constant power output reaches ±0.5W, no matter the voltage from 8V-16V, the output power is always maintained at 35W to protect the car electronic system.
Smart Canbus system – approved by 99% vehicle, like BMW series F10/F20, Dodge Ram Truck series, Mercedes Benz Series, Jeep series, etc… No error message & No extra Canbus cable request.
24 months warranty

Canbus Ability Fit 99% Cars

Input Voltage 9-16V
Maximum starting current 5.5A 13.5V
Steady current 13.5V 3.1A 24V 1.7A
Output power 35W / 55W±1W
Operation frequency 200Hz
Operation temperature -40℃～+105℃
Rush starting voltage 23000V±3000V
Radiated EMI susceptibility S95/54/EC；

I’m happy with the upgrade and would readily recommend the same to fellow jeep owners.

Auto Lighting thread : Post all queries about automobile lighting here-t4_05.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhoumick (Post 4466177)

Great to know that you finally upgraded to HID.. I too have been sitting on the fence for a long time. The 9011 bulbs while being a 50% improvement over stock still are lacking the levels put out by HID. HID lamps at 35W put out around 3500 lumens which is much higher than the 2500 of 9011 bulbs. When driven at 42w (some ballasts) or 50W (Morimoto) they can out upto 4200 lumens.
In fact I also have a pair of HID Asic ballasts from Dmex and HB3 4300K 35W HID bulbs sitting with me since the past 6 months but I just did not want to risk the warranty yet. Maybe I will put them in after some time.
In your HID bulbs do you get any shadow from the Bulb rod ? Some users have reported a shadow from the bulb rod with HID. I will also most likely take the HID path soon as the headlights of the Jeep Compass in the Limited version are absolutely pathetic!

This is what I got:
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/327967...st.32796715744

To adjust the headlight angle manually this is the hex key that you need. With this you can raise or lower the reflector.
JCB-2 WAY T HANDLE HEX KEY, 6MM https://www.amazon.in/dp/B071GRDQY3/..._illQBbKXZBKQW

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhoumick (Post 4467042)

Hi Behemoth. I have a full set of keys, I'm the DIY kind of guy, but not getting the time to get at it :)
Wanted to let you know that I talked to the GM of Jeep workshop Gurugram (Anil), before taking this step. He gave me a green signal. Reason being that we are not damaging any of the OEM wiring.

Thats great. I hope you do get the perfect lighting setup with this. Do share your lighting beam pattern and light level details with a pic if possible. This upgrade is possibly the most needed for the Compass. I hope Jeep also offers an upgrade kit themselves too. Incidentally when the Compass was launched I saw a 55W hid kit in the landmark Mumbai official accessory list but they later on refused it on instructions from Jeep.

Just finished upgrading my Laura with a 42W Dmex Hid kit with 4500K HId bulbs (CNlight original). I had the kit with me since a long time but I had been dilly dallying on it as I was worried it may give me CanBus errors. I had ordered this kit with the hope of putting it myself on the Jeep Compass , but the HID kit installation on the Compass would require drilling a hole in the dust cover and also would affect warranty. I had ordered the kit with H7 bulbs (Laura) and had also ordered HB3 bulbs (Compass) separately so I could take a call on whether to put in the Laura or the Compass.
Today I decided to put it in the Laura because the installation in the Laura is extremely simple. The whole headlights can be removed from the car withon 10 seconds! Also the entire HID kit fits within the headlight unit (there is tons on space inside!) And no cutting of the dust cover is required. The whole process of the HID kit installation took me less than 30 min for both sides.
This is the kit from Aliexpress which I installed.
DMEX 12V AC 42W Fast Bright Fast Start Error Free Canbus HID Xenon Kit H1 H3 H7 H8 H9 H11 9005 9006 with Canbus HID Ballast
http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bVTfX2U0
This is a Canbus Asic kit 42W with CNlight 4500K bulbs. The light output is quite good though there is a minor shadow from the bulb rods. The light spread, beam cutoff and intensity are quite good.

For my Compass I am planning to install the same kit if it works fine on the Laura for 1-2 months. I will also order spare headlight dust covers (Hella 147352) so that the installation is reversible!
HID lighting is a huge improvement over the stock halogens in the Laura and badly needed for my Compass too!

I wanted to upgrade my Honda Activa's headlight bulb to LED as the output from stock halogen is just not good enough. I saw some videos on YouTube and noticed that whoever does this, they splice the battery wires to the LED bulb supply and say that LED bulbs need 12v DC.

But, don't our normal halogens also operate on 12v DC supply that is generated from the scooter's dynamo?

Do we really need to send power to LED bulbs via battery?

Can't I just replace the halogen with LED call it a plug and play upgrade?

This is because unlike 4 wheelers having alternators (which produce alternating current) to charge the battery, 2 wheelers use dynamos which produce direct current.

Plus normal halogens are rated at 12v 35w DC .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rshrey22 (Post 4472088)

But, don't our normal halogens also operate on 12v DC supply that is generated from the scooter's dynamo?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rshrey22 (Post 4472088)

Do we really need to send power to LED bulbs via battery?

Yes

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rshrey22 (Post 4472088)

Can't I just replace the halogen with LED call it a plug and play upgrade?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rshrey22 (Post 4472088)

This is because unlike 4 wheelers having alternators (which produce alternating current) to charge the battery, 2 wheelers use dynamos which produce direct current.

Alternator / dynamo both produce only AC current. Rectifier circuit converts AC to DC. In most of the 2 wheelers head lamp circuit is powered by AC (after passing through the regulator) supply only.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rshrey22 (Post 4472088)

Plus normal halogens are rated at 12v 35w DC .

Where did you see the word "DC"?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639 (Post 4472166)

All automotive bulbs are DC 12V and not AC.

All cars have DC but not all two wheelers. Headlamps and tail lamps of some entry-level scooters and bikes use AC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rshrey22 (Post 4472088)

But, don't our normal halogens also operate on 12v DC supply that is generated from the scooter's dynamo?

If you're sure that the stock bulb is DC, switching to LED is plug and play upgrade. Otherwise, you need to feed DC current to the LED driver through a relay or something.

If your headlight bulb can be powered on without the engine running, then it's DC. If it powers on only with the engine running and light from the bulb fluctuates at idle RPM, then it's AC. If light intensity remains constant irrespective of RPM, it is DC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by self_driven (Post 4472232)

That would be a bad decision. 55W will drain out your Activa's battery in no time. LEDs in comparison consume way less power than halogens for the same output.

Go for a 35W LED. You will get a lot more output than 35W halogen without straining the battery. Get a relay to feed power from the battery. Use the bulb only when required and you'll be fine.

EDIT - I hope you are not confusing DC with all-time headlamp on. The battery gets charged when the engine is running even when you have a DC setup.

No I am not confusing anything :) .
I'll use the 55w h4 bulb directly, and not by wiring it to the battery. The activa's dynamo is rated for 140 watts, I think it can take 55w bulb without any problems.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rshrey22 (Post 4472252)

Most of the scooter headlights are so powerful like a search light for the on comers but for the rider it's just a show piece because of their poor optic designing. Most of the light is being scattered all over, you can see the light rays are generously lighting up the front top portion of the HL (just switch on the HL in low roof area you will understand what I meant) I used to wonder why these OE guys are not addressing this issue till date?

Forget about the 140W alternator it's being divided into AC/DC usages and a major chunk is being used for DC section. If you plonk a 55W halogen in place of 35W you won't get full brightness at any point of time and every time you cut the throttle, the bulb will struggle to light up and making it useless which is dangerous. If you think this setup is giving you more lumens, that is just like a placebo effect and that short time happiness will be at the expense of your headlight reflector - Courtsey: Own experiencelol:

This is what I did and its working fine till date since last 3 years, bought a Osram Rallye HS1 Halogen Headlight Bulb (12V, 45/40W) Roads are much visible than the stock Osram 35/35W. Being it's slightly higher the wattage of OE it's not going to harm neither the reflector nor over loading the dynamo.

This is what I use on my Aviator.
https://www.amazon.in/Osram-Halogen-...8645979&sr=8-4