I happened to see this on Amazon and thought it might be an easy fix for those "electrically challenged": https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...830_em_1p_3_lm
I happened to see this on Amazon and thought it might be an easy fix for those "electrically challenged": https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...830_em_1p_3_lm
Hey Tim,
I am thinking about going with your exact specified set up and have a few questions.
First, I have factory fog lights on my van. Do you think going with your LED setup will affect them? I know some in this thread ran into issues having their fog lights work after going LED.
You also mentioned having to rearrange the pins in the high/low bulb socket for the H4s. Could you tell me exactly where each pin has to be relocated? Also, what special tools do you use for this?
I also wonder why your bright indicator on your cluster no longer functions.....weird.
In the end after reading through this thread,, I may just go with Sylvania SilverStars, keep everything stock. Not as good as some of your guys set up but not terrible. I have used SilverStars for all of the Toyota's I have owned with this headlight setup and there is some improvement. I haven't decided. I'm not sure I want to sacrifice the use (or novelty) of the factory fogs.
Sorry for the late reply, I'm in my busy season and work loads are high. Regarding the pin lay-out, I looked on line and found a couple of nice diagrams showing how to rearrange. The problem was, these diagrams conflicted. Then I remembered I had a set of H4 adapters from another project years ago. I could have used them, but adding them to the mix seemed like an unnecessary mess in the headlight buckets, so just rearranged the pins in my connectors to match what the adapters would have done.
If you're looking at the 3 position socket, from the side that would be against the headlight the pins simply all move 1 position clockwise from their original location. The high beams (center headlights) only have 2 conductors, so if they don't work, simply reverse them (LED bulbs are polarity sensitive, when incandescent bulbs are not).
I don't know if I did it right or not, but all 4 headlights light up on high, and only the 2 outer ones light up on low. The amount of light they put out seems to be right, but I find it odd the high/low bulbs pull more than the highs when turned to low. For that reason I suspect I may have the high/low conductors reversed on those sockets, but the light they put out is very pleasing and I'm not getting flashed by on-coming cars.
for removing pins, I have special pin extracting tools, but a very small precision slot tip, or maybe even a piece of paperclip might work. You just poke it in through the front of the socket into the smaller slots on the side of conductor. There's a little tab inside that deflects and when you get it pushed into the right spot you can pull the wire right out the back of the socket. You don't need to do anything special to put the pins back in, but I will usually re-arch the little tab on the pin so it will more positively lock when the pin is put into it's new slot.
Regarding sealed beams, I've run different brands of those over the years, and nothing I've seen even comes close to my LED's. I spent a bit of $$$ on the parts, but I'm very happy with the results. Tim
PS: There are no fog-lights on my van, so I can't answer that with certainty, but it would seem odd to me if the LED's would interfere with their operation. Tim
So I drove my van through Santa Barbra, Ca in one hell of a rain storm. I was driving 35 mph on the freeway and could barely see with the amount of rain coming down. I ended up hitting a lake on the freeway that I could not see. It was a real white knuckle underpants changing experience. This has prompted me up look for head light upgrades. I found these lights that are marketed as plug and play. Anyone have experience with them?
https://www.headlightexperts.com/low...conversion-kit
Ian
Those look a bit expensive and I'm guessing the lenses are plastic.This was my solution. Keeps the classic look with glass housings and is very bright but amiable.
KOOMTOOM Upgraded 4300K LED Bulb H4 9003 Fog Ligh/Headlight Bulbs with Canbus Error Free,Warm White 4300K Headlights 60W 16000LM 600% Super Brighter IP68 Rated, Pack of 2 https://a.co/d/0AMJZCq
12vMax 4 x 6 inch Glass Lens OEM Style Compatible With H4/9003 Halogen High & Low Beam Headlight Lamp Kit, Heat Resistant Metal Back https://a.co/d/7tZPc4v
I got 4300k for lows and, 5000k for high, though I can't honestly tell the difference between the two. They have a more natural light and aren't as annoying as the 6000k lcey white light every car has these days. I did loose the high beam indicator, but install was pretty straight forward without fittment or wiring issues. Also only cost about $150 for the whole set!
https://youtu.be/kIL6C_xLdUI?si=wu3k4Wlaa7TmG4ba
I ended with the JW speaker headlights, because they seem to be the only ones that are ECE certified, and over here they really check that at the yearly safety inspection. For me they were NOT plug and play. Physically, yes, but the van has on de low beam bulb, one 12v that is on with either thr low or high beam, and two grounds that are switched for use of either low or high. This is fine for incandescent bulbs that do not care about polarity, but it didn’t work for the JW speaker, ik had to rewire with a relay.
Thanks captain! They say the housing is glass, I ask to see if the lens is glass. How long have you been running your setup?
thanks Jan for sharing your setup. There are no in-depth inspections were I live, so ECE is less of a concern. Useless of course there is a risk of electrical fire?
I've been using these a about a year. They work great. Sometimes at start up some of the chips in the leds cut out causing subtle dimming in portions of the lights, but it's very subtle and inconsistent. Not really sure what's going on with that.Originally Posted by Ian R.
No, the ECE specification is for the beam pattern. I think in the US there is the DOT beam pattern.
I wanted to say, that we have special/specific requirements for the beam pattern of the dipped beam light, but that isn't actually true. It is the US that has the different/alternative beam pattern
If you look at the light units of the european Model-F, the australian tarago, or the JDM townace, of the same year, you see that the light units are very different. I think the US required those sealed beam headlights until 1984, right? Other markets used composite headlights.
However, I was looking for a led replacement of the sealed beam units, because I have a US-spec van, in europe. And as the european Model-F was really unloved over here, the chance of finding european headlights is slim. And the australian and jdm won't work either, as they drive on the other side of the road. So for me an ECE version of a 4x6 sealed beam unit was pretty much the only option.
But I shared the video, because they have tested several 4x6 led headlights. Sadly there is much crap on the market, it is easy to make a lousy dipped beam headlight unit, it is hard to make a good one. A high beam headlight is less difficult, that is basically a powerful flashlight. I think if I was in the marked for a us/dot headlight, I wouldn't pick the jw speaker, but rather the morimoto, I think it looks better and is cheaper.
I purchased some headlights (both low beams and hi beams) they seem good quality and their description sells them really good but we all know how that goes. They were pretty pricey so I have high hopes for them. I will post pics and updates once I install them.
On another note. I was checking my fuses because my dash lights weren't working. When i pulled the head light fuse out, they turned back on. Weird thing is that the head lights stay on even without the fuse. Is this normal? I noticed the head light relay was running hot and where it connects on the pins, it was a bit melted. Not too much but noticeable. I ordered a new relay but I still runs hot. Head lights still work without a fuse.
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