I saw a post on Facebook about LED headlights for 56 F100s so I thought I would try them on my 56 Fairlane. I installed one today and will install the other one tonight so I can take a picture of the difference in the LED and the halogens I had on the car. The installation consisted of removing the headlight door, unplugging the old head light and plugging in the new light. Just like changing a bulb. This is the eBay listing, $45 each. This is the old halogen bulb. this is the new LED bulb. So much better looking than some. Not much difference during the day, right side of the car is halogen, left is LED. This is the difference inside my garage. I will take a picture of the lights after dark.
Listing says gl*** lens with metal back. While I'm not a fan of the look of modern headlights these actually look pretty decent. I'm might have to get a set. I've already got the turn/parking lights in led.
What kind of amperage do these draw vs a standard halogen or a standard non-halogen sealed beam. Can they be used on a car with a generator?
It's says that they draw 75% less than halogens. 18 watts on low beam and 24 on high. I think a 12 volt generator would be able to handle them.
OK, I took more pictures. It should be obvious which is LED. low beam high beam The Facebook post I read stated that though they look like they glare, he hasn't had anyone flash their lights at him after several days of driving with the new lights. I think I'm going to like them.
How did you get the harness to go through the headlight bucket hole/grommet? Did you have to cut and splice? Or is there enough space to leave full pigtail in the bucket?
I just noticed something. Did you rewire your car so the parking lights stay on when the headlights are on?
We know LED lighting is very directional, so with that in mind, I'll be anxious to hear how they illuminate the side of the road. I'm always paranoid about animals on the side of the road.....three hi speed accidents with elk will do that to ya!
How do you do it? Do you change out the light switch? Sent from my SM-G900R4 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
From the pictures Rich it looks like they are doing a pretty good job of illuminating to the side. I do agree that I would like a report on that.
I pulled the headlight switch and ran a jumper wire on it from the parking lights to the tail lights I think, it's been a while. I can't dim my dash lights but I don't know if that's from the jumper or just a bad switch.
Thanks for the info and advice. I just did the switch on my 56. Wow what a difference. Well worth it upgrade!
I'm using sealed beam halogens from Rock Auto, definitely brighter than regular bulbs and no need for a relay or anything else. They were less than $9 each.
Just looked, they are less than $6 now. I see the ***le of the thread is LED lights, sorry for the possible confusion. http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=319003&cc=1336867&jsn=553
I must have missed those, they didn't come up when i put in halogen bulbs. I though halogens took more power to operate that standard bulbs???
They do take more power we have had guys in the past that converted from 6 to 12 volts and complained of dim headlights with over the counter halogens the relays generally fix that issue. Give this a read: http://www.watsons-streetworks.com/tips Click on "A current topic" I had dim halogens and adding relays made them much brighter.
I have to diagree; halogen lamps do not necessarily consume more power than original incandescent sealed beams. Tungsten-halogen lamps produce a "whiter" light than old seal beams. If the wattage is the same then so is the power. However,finding halogen lamps of the same wattage might be a challenge. You will need to use a relay if the amperage draw exceeds the current rating of the headlight switch's built-in circuit breaker. A typical 7" (PAR56) round, 12V halogen sealed beam may have a rating of 53/63 watts (low/high beam). ***uming 2 lamps per car, total amps through the switch would be 53+63 × 2 = 232 ÷ 12.8v = 18.125 amps.
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