Headlights: tired of HID issues

What problems are you having? I have the occasional flickering/dying of 1 side, but a quick on/off solves it. Happens maybe once every few weeks.

Halogen lighting is really bad, especially after coming from a vehicle with HID.

 

Fingas: That will get more frequent until you have to replace that unit. HID's don't "burn out" all at once like filament bulbs. Maybe that's what the OP is tired of (not to mention the expense of replacement).

Me: I'm looking forward to the day (not too distant I hope) when automotive headlights are arrays of LEDs. Those should last the life of the car.

 

But a set of new bulbs. That will be cheaper and easier than swapping out the assemblies, and you will still have the advantages of HID lighting.

Tom

 

Yes, that's a sign of it going dead. Replace both bulbs.

They wont. LEDs in the car for headlights are subjected to extreme temperature's (both very cold and very hot) and they are run in very high currents to produce lots of light. To make lots of light concentrated, they are put very close together. This reduces airflow, and increases heat. Heat kills LEDs, they will not last much longer than HID bulbs with current tech.

 

HID kits are now less expensive than a pair of high quality halogen bulbs. I would look into just buying a new 55w HID kit from DDM Tuning.

HID Kits, BMW Aftermarket Bumpers & Lighting, DEPO - DDM Tuning

 

There was a class action lawsuit that is making Toyota replace our HID bulbs for free if our car is <5 years old and <50,000 mil-OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH never mind.

 

*SIGH* You're no doubt right. I was thinking a bit about the difficulty of getting an array of LEDs with enough light close to the focal point of the reflector, and realizing that this might be difficult. Unless someone figures out something very clever, I suppose this will never happen. I believe LED arrays are being used for taillights on some cars, and that may be the only automotive use we'll ever see.

 

LEDs are currently (today, right now) being used in car headlights (Lexus LS600h was the first, and I think the GenIII Prius even has it as an option on a high # package). They are also used all over the place in tail lights.

But the problems exist, and they will burn out in about the same time as a D2 or D4 HID bulb. Also, their light output is weak in comparison, and no good projector bowl design has been made to rival that of a good HID projector bowl. That's why the $100,000USD LS600h with it's LED lights has worse output than the $40,000 RX450h using HIDs.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . and watch how fast it can be done, if you know what you're doing ~