Recomendations for lighting set up.

[WesBrooks]

Morning all,

I'll be trawling the internet for guides and such over the next few days but I'd like some first hand feedback on what set ups people like and what changes/tweaks they'd make if they had a chance.

Headlights are most likely going to be Trucklite LEDs with a hefty wash. What are peoples thoughts on the auxilary lighting? As the main/dipped beam is so high I do intend to fit some fog pattern lights as low on the front as I can, perhaps below the bumper but inboard a bit, trying to find some place where they won't become a plough! I understand high spots give good lighting on things that could be hidden by shadows thrown from grill level spots or main/dipped beam. Are low spots also a benefit or will the LED main lights (and good condition wiring) negate the need for them?

Wiring wise my new body is in place now so I'll be planning the cable runs and earth points soon. Once I know this I will plan to size cabling so there would not be a significant voltage drop due to the wiring at full load for traditional halogen lights. I'll be sizing the circuits in the same way, so roof spots would be 4*60W, low spots 2*60W, low fogs 2*60W. I'll be sizing the fusing and wiring to cope with double current inrush to cope with startup peak currents. This think this should be far in excess of what LEDs or HIDs will consume and give the option of falling back to Halogen or HID if I don't get along with the middle of the road LED sets.

I have a preference for LED, but will not dead set against halogen. I'll be avoiding HID for dipped main due to high bulb costs and shorter life than LED.

Cheers for any input!

[Aragorn]

Our local TPS (VAG group trade place) sells D2S HID bulbs for about £20, so dont discount HID's on bulb costs alone.

Personally i quite like HID's. They're much more established than LED's, and theres loads of bits available for them. They're also more efficient than LED, a 35w D2S puts out 3200 lumens, for circa 90 lumens per watt. You wont match that with LED's, and a lot of LED stuff is still in its infacy, and comes from china with rubbish made up power ratings on them, as well as poor cooling so they overheat and die in a couple months time. The trucklights are only drawing 1.8A at 12v, so circa 22w. Nowhere near the same output your getting from a HID dip/main.

As for life, HID lamps last for yonks. My Audis original HID's failed at 14 years old. The BMW's are 9 years old and still going strong. Cheap chinese tat lasts about 5 minutes, but that holds true for all technologies.

I dont think you need low spots tbh. Bright foreground illumination constricts your eyes pupil and reduces your ability to see into the distance where its darker.

[reb78]

Dont we get into all kinds of legal technicalities with HIDs though unless the suspension is self levelling and headlight washers are in place? (not sure what vehicle we are talking about here - presume its the disco in the sig?)

Theres a discussion about the Trucklites here: http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=95530&page=1 - My mind is far from made up on them.

[WesBrooks]

Are HIDs and Xenons one and the same? Had to replace both dipped beams on my daily driver at £150 a pop when it was about 5 years old! Granted this had 160,000 on the clock. Now has over 200,000.

I will look closer at the efficiencies, although if the difference is small better life will win one over the other. Thanks for the heads up.

I will not consider HID for dipped or main beam without self leveling suspension or self leveling units.

[WesBrooks]

reb78 - you beat me to it regarding the legailties. Yes to be on a vehicle as far as I'm aware the lights need to be self levelling or the vehicles suspension needs to do that and you need headlight washers - although I am planning for them. I don't think it's specific to HIDs, I think a few LED lights fall into the same catagory. I believe it requirement comes in with a certain intensity of the light.

Often see cheap Xenon/HID light kits on cars which dazzle in the rear view due to poor pattern, dirty lenses, or too high a beam.

Edit: Many with these kits will get through an MOT but that does not mean it would pass a roadside vehicle check. As my truck will look like a kit it is more likely that I'll attract their attention.

Edit2: Yes, fort he Discovery that is in the process of a body conversion to a Sahara. Will look more like a Pickup with a hood frame style cage whan done.

[=jon=]

I think with HIDs if a european supplied car comes from the factory with them, they need to have self levelling and headlight washers in order to be UK legal.

Fitting aftermarket ones to something like a defender is a bit of a grey area - if the beam pattern and adjustment is OK then I think you are alright, but because the light reflectors aren't designed for them the beam ends up all over the place and you dazzle other road users. Nearly all factory HIDs use projector assemblies which have a much more defined beam cut off...

[task]

I currently have Truck Lite LED headlamps and a pair of spotlamps in the grill converted to run HID (as I had a pair of HID bulbs/ballast laying about). Works well for my mostly road use.

[Aragorn]

Neither are legal in effect.

The UK construction and use regs only allows standard filment lamps.

To fit HID's and LED's to production cars, manufacturers acquire EU type approval for their particular model, and that type approval overrides the C&U limitations. That type approval is also what requires self levelling and washing systems to be used. I would imagine that type approval also requires the same things for LED lights, for the same reason. Washers and levelling is required due to the fact that HID and LED's are much more intense than the old halogen lamps, dirt on the lenses causes the light to get scattered around dazzling other people, as does loading 20 bags of cement into the boot and having them pointing at the sky.

So retrofitting LED's is the same grey area as retrofitting HID's.

To do HID's properly you need to retrofit the proper HID projector assembly, much like the trucklites come as an assembly rather than just a replacement bulb. Clagging a replacement bulb into a standard headlamp is awful.

Heres an example of a 7" round lamp unit with the HID gubbins:

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/full-headlights/morimoto-sealed7-headlights.html

Alternatively you can buy the projectors, and cut your headlamp open and install the bits yourself, if you like tinkering.

And yes, HID's and Xenons are the same thing, and many places overcharge for the bulbs (especially main dealers) because they're a bit rarer than your typical H7 or whatever. Dont assume that because they ripped you off thats the proper going rate for them.

If the LED module fails in your trucklite or LED spots, the unit essentially becomes scrap. And yes, LED's do have a very good life, in theory... but the quality issues mean the reality is somewhat different.

[honitonhobbit]

Relay feed, Ozram Night Blasters - now worries - all legal and cheap

[WesBrooks]

LED light units are legal for use in the UK if they are bought as an e-marked unit. You can pass an IVA with marked LED light units quite easily. LED bulbs in units designed for filaments is far more difficult and you could essentially open yourself up for a world of hurt from being forced to prove their function. Essentially that is not allowed.

While this has been useful information (thanks for the links, will read through them) I tried to say in my original post that I was wiring for Halogen, so should be able to retrofit LED, HID (ok, hiding balast somewhere), or Halogen quite easily. I'm really interested in what grill level spot lights give you over headlights (that aren't power starved/candle like), if grill spots are recommended in addition to high spot lights, and if low as possible/survivable is recomended for front fogs.

I presume people mostly wire their spots so you can choose between either, both, or none to come on with the high beam? What situations would you decide to have grill only, which high only?

[WesBrooks]

I think this post has shone a little light on the question.... [groan]

http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=68901

So high lights are nice for flexibility. Two can be shone to the sides two for distance. They give better illumination of the road and holes due to the angle, where as grill spots will hide more detail in shadows. High spots however become tricky in rain or adverse conditions. Grill spots are best when set as driving lights for distance view. Sound about right?

So switching would be on with full beam and selectable enabling of grill or high? Flash be set to burn all?

Edit: and carefully check that alternator is man enough to keep battery charged with all on!