Hi guys, First off Thank you for everything you guys have helped me out on. 2nd Do led lights get hot?, today i went on a 300km round trip and it was about 25 degC(nice day with a bit of heat),I had to put my lights on because i was on a notorious road just so other cars/trucks could see me just in case. anyway when i got back i noticed the chrome area around the led looked like it got hot. 3rd has anyone taken off the headlight lens cover?
I had a chat to my parts supplier, he reckons the burn marks are from the bulb lights. LED's shouldn't get hot, they get warm but not hot.
Anything that uses power, generates heat, efficiency is the key! It all depends on the LED in question, I have a hi power Cree module that runs about 250° F, I have a large heatsink and fan on it, but boy that sucker is bright!! The car LEDs are much smaller, but some of the newer Cree based systems will get warm to hot. Several of the LED sellers have certain types they do not recommend enclosing the LED in a small space due to heat related issues!
I know it's a bit of an old thread, but hopefully it'll help someone thinking about swapping out bulbs. I also swapped out the bulb on the top corner of the headlamps for LEDs. I initially swapped for something very bright and rather large in size. Little did I know, this created a good amount of heat and there's a small bit of discoloration on the chrome now. I have since swapped to a smaller LED that should produce significantly less heat.
LED bulbs get hot. We got some Surefires and Streamlights and such and they can get hot. Accidently turned on small Surefire in my pocket once - after a few minutes felt like my pants were starting to burn. Some LED bulbs will actually melt plastic lens in inexpensive flashlights and some of the the older models of $$ lights cannot take hi-powered LEDs. As always: YMMV
Anything that consumes electricity, generates heat! Heat is the enemy of electronics! Heat causes premature failure! Catch22? Always make sure you can dissipate the heat you are going to generate. Simple rule, the more amps, more watts, the hotter it will get! Always allow for cooling!
Some LEDs are made with built in heatsinks, so they get less hot. There is not rating on this, unfortunately, so you don't know until you buy.
