LED headlights H7

[Domas]

Hello,

has anyone fitted H7 LED bulbs to their their SEL headlights (those with DRL LEDS and lenses). Is it necessary to remove the headlights to change the bulbs? Or is it possible to insert them via the holes in the wheel arches? Also, will it give an error on a dashboard, even though the LEDS are can-bus? 

https://wirer.sk/f3_led7_vymena/  Seems like a lot of hassle

[FabiaGonzales]

14 minutes ago, Domas said:

Hello,

has anyone fitted H7 LED bulbs to their their SEL headlights (those with DRL LEDS and lenses). Is it necessary to remove the headlights to change the bulbs? Or is it possible to insert them via the holes in the wheel arches? Also, will it give an error on a dashboard, even though the LEDS are can-bus? 

https://wirer.sk/f3_led7_vymena/  Seems like a lot of hassle

 

It's possible to change without removing the headlight unit (if we're talking halogen bulbs at least).

To fit those LEDs the fitting must be modified (the bulb is held in by the clip & power connector which goes on the back, this won't fit on an LED one), it's a whole lot easier to pull the headlight unit to modify it.

 

HIDs & LEDs fitted in a vehicle which didn't have them as standard, are not road legal, they *should* fail the MOT (if they happen to check).

You'll find anywhere which sells them lists them as "not legal for road use", or "for off-road use only".

 

Legality cast asside, there is someone who sells H9 burners (the actual bulb) with H7 fitting, they run 65w and put out about 2100 lumens, they put out a LOT more light than standard bulbs, are a bit more expensive than high quality standard H7's but are well worth the money.

Unless someone takes a lumen meter (noone) or actually takes the bulb out to compare vs a standard H7, they won't notice it's not standard. LEDs & HIDs are obviously non-standard and easier to recognise.

 

Don't bother with "+150% brighter" premium expensive as heck halogen bulbs, they have significantly lowered lifespan for higher colour temperature (they do it by increasing the temperature the fillament runs at, which obviously burns it out faster), they offer no actual increased light output (they'll all be somewhere around 1500 lumens)

LED bulbs are a very mixed bag, with every man and his dog trying to make money by producing them. The positioning of the fillament is critical for a proper light-pattern - LEDs often really mess this up and result in a pattern which blinds oncoming drivers.

 

As an additional thought, if you can get hold of someone with VCDS (vag-com), it is possible to increase the voltage given to the bulbs, at stock they're run usually around 12.2-12.4, the bulbs are actually designed to run at 13.2v nominal, so you can increase it to that (or higher if you want i think the max is 13.6 or 13.8, at the expense of a little bulb lifespan).

You can even disable the regulation completely, but beware when engine-braking (overrun) the voltage will spike up to 15v+ which certainly won't be healthy for the bulbs. It does give a noticable difference even with standard H7 bulbs.

 

Honestly, if you really want more light output, look for those H9-in-H7 bulbs, i'll provide this link https://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html, but i'll warn you that it is not road legal (retrofitted HIDs or LEDs aren't either for that matter).

They are by far the cheapest and easiest thing to do to get more actual light output (as i said, LEDs are a mixed bag, many make false claims about their lumen output, HIDs are brighter still but they have the added hassle of further modification to the headlight unit and all the cabling involved).

You'll find the light colour is more suited for driving in wet/foggy conditions too.

[Domas]

thank you for comprehensive answer. It ain't worth it to disassemble so much for questionable leds. The VCDS part sounds interesting. I have OBD11. Is it good for the job? If so, where can I get more information on that? Increased voltage and Osram 64217 is the way to go, I suppose. 

[FabiaGonzales]

8 minutes ago, Domas said:

thank you for comprehensive answer. It ain't worth it to disassemble so much for questionable leds. The VCDS part sounds interesting. I have OBD11. Is it good for the job? If so, where can I get more information on that? Increased voltage and Osram 64217 is the way to go, I suppose. 

 

Osram 64217 is discontinued, that guy managed to get some custom built ones from a well known bulb maker Vosla, kinda cool.

 

Edit: Here's a guide from another site, also has guides for other things which may or may not exist on our fabias (i enabled needle-sweep on mine amongst a couple of other things)

https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6019602-HOW-TO-VagCom-VCDS-Mods-(w-pics)

 

Edited 27 May, 2020 by FabiaGonzales

[Domas]

Thank you

[J40STA]

i’ve put in a HID converter i didn’t need to remove the whole light it. it fits onto the original wires and can be changed back at any time and they are perfect 

[AGFalco]

 

9 hours ago, J40STA said:

HID converter

 

Did you fit the self leveling headlamp system and the headlamp wash system as well?

 

Thanks AG Falco

[J40STA]

nope i didn’t fit anything extra it was a straight converter from H7 to HID, i will try to get u a pic 

[dynamoleddisplays]

Yee,It's possible to change without having to remove the  headlight unit 

 

To fit those LEDs, the fitting must be modified (the bulb is held in by the clip & power connector which goes on the back, this won't fit on an LED one), it's a whole lot easier to pull the headlight unit to modify it.

[AGFalco]

On 08/06/2020 at 18:46, J40STA said:

nope i didn’t fit anything extra it was a straight converter from H7 to HID

 

'once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling'

 

'In summary: it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs'

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/aftermarket-hid-headlamps/aftermarket-hid-headlamps

 

 

Thanks AG Falco

 

 

Edited 9 June, 2020 by AGFalco
added extra detail.