LED Head lights

DSDP Don wrote:
There is a very simple reason why LED's don't work well. They're designed to work with headlights designed to use LED's! If you look at a lot of new cars, you'll see a round lens about 2" in diameter that looks like a magnifying lens. Those are projection lenses and are designed to use LED's.

When you stick an LED inside a standard lens, it throws light in all directions, giving you a bright look, but lousy lighting. The same goes with HID. You just can't install them in any headlight.

If you want LED or HID, you have to change your lens to fit those bulbs, which is not an option on most motorhomes. Brighter Silverstar and Phillips halogen bulbs will give you some improvement in a standard lens.

If you have the 9006 style low beam bulbs (like picture below) I found a trick that helped. In the photo, you can see the coating on the tip. That tells you, it's a low beam bulb and is 35 watts. A high beam doesn't have that coating and is 55 watts. The difference between the two, is how they're "clocked". If you look at the base of the bulb below, there are three tabs. Two of the tabs are the same size and one is different. On the low beam bulb that different tab is in a different position than the high beam bulb. Consequently, the high beam won't fit in the low beam socket. I took a dremel and cut down the one of the larger tabs on the high beam bulb so that it matched the low beam configuration. I was then able to put the more powerful high beam in the low beam socket. On my Monaco, where I made this change, they also put a suspended tip in front of the low beam bulb, built into the lens, to prevent blinding oncoming traffic.

Very good point Don,
Over in a Jeep forum, there's miles and miles of headlight discussion on how bad the Jeep JK headlights are and, what folks are attempting to do about them. As I stated before, anybody with a couple of bucks can get into marketing "LED" headlights. About 98% of them are junk. A very, VERY few aftermarket versions, actually do quite well. But, per your statement about headlight housings, reflectors, and bezels being designed for LEDs, is quite true. The pictures below show the headlights that Jeep is installing, from the factory, in the 2017 and above, Rubicon, Sahara and Hardrock editions.

If you're ordering anything other than those three models, you can opt for the LED headlight option. Anyway, as you see in the pictures, there are specific projection points for the LED components.

Now, because there are so many different and older design of headlights in motor homes, including all those that were "stolen" from existing vehicles in auto/truck manufacturing, it would be impossible to re-design a headlight/housing/bezel etc. for each and every one of the older motorhomes or, even the newer ones that would accept an LED bulb. Things like Sylvania Silver Stars are only mildly brighter, if that. So much of it depends on how well a headlight is aimed and, what kind of voltage is actually AT the headlight connections.
Scott

P.S. Sorry for the dumb-a$$ picture "addresses" below but, since I cannot use Photobucket anymore, I'm linking them the only way I know how, at present.
Scott

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