LED Driving lights

Submitted: Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 14:46
ThreadID: 137143 Views:6676 Replies:7 FollowUps:16
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Can any of you auto electrical people out there help? I'm wanting to upgrade my IPF halogen driving lights to LED type. Not sure which or what type as yet, however, will the same loom do the job? I know it has a relay and 30amp fuse.
cheers.
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Reply By: IvanTheTerrible - Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 15:23

Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 15:23
You can just replace the lights and probably go down in fuse size depending on the rating on the LED's. 30 amps is actually to big for the IPF's anyway
AnswerID: 620769

Follow Up By: RMD - Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 16:34

Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 16:34
A 100w halogen draws around 20 + amps each at startup, 8amps when running, So a 30 amp fuse just doesn’t have time to blow. Not too big at all.
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Follow Up By: IvanTheTerrible - Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 18:03

Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 18:03
We fit 20 to every driving light I have ever fitted over 20 years in the industry and never had an issue with a fuse. EVER! We have actually tested the inrush current on quite a few things and the only items we have found an issue with is motors. On a globe it was negligible and very brief. Now I will also mention that 30amps is to big for inline fuse holders and we have seen numerous fail. I will never fit anything above a 25a
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Follow Up By: RMD - Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 19:15

Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 19:15
I presume he means 2 lights both supplied by the one 30A fuse, ie 15 each lamp. Are you meaning 30A for each one? Who mentioned inline fuse holders. Isn’t the fuse on the relay?
Obviously if you ask too much of an in-line fuse holder it will fry.
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Follow Up By: qldcamper - Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 07:24

Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 07:24
The amount of melted relay mounted fuses i have seen over the years leads me to believe they are cheap nasty pieces of kit.

Even quality blade type fuse holders can cause present as problems when cheap fuses are used in them, many years ago when those fuses were new on the market and the cheap fuses rushed in, we measured the thickness of the blade in a melted holder, cant remember the exact measurement, but it was 2/3 the thickness of the brand we stocked, so the contact tension was less than designed and caused a hot spot.

Im with Ivan saying inline fuse holders have very low restrictions but i dont like to go higher than 20 amp fuse meaning a 10 amp constant load.

I never used fuses in driving light circuits, 4 inches of red fuseable link wire was perfect, no spring contacts. Unfortunately they stopped selling it by the roll because of litigation bs in america. It now has to be terminated with a specified rating as the characteristics of them vary with length. Now, we need to use fuse holders with nut type terminals or circuit breakers.
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Reply By: Member - Mark C (QLD) - Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 15:27

Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 15:27
Wiring loom is fine. I converted mine to HID with a narva kit from Ashdowns for 90 odd dollars.
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Reply By: Gronk - Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 18:16

Sunday, Aug 19, 2018 at 18:16
I purchased a set of 9 inch Kings supercentre leds after seeing a mates set.....best and cheapest lights you will ever get.
And if they only last 3 yrs...buy another set !!
But I've had mine for over a year, and expect to get many years out of them..
AnswerID: 620771

Follow Up By: qldcamper - Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 07:34

Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 07:34
There are other factors that come into cheap lights other than their lighting performance, saw a few vehicles out and about on the corrugations with just one lamp and the other broken off. The problem with companies like kings is that they will buy what ever they can get at the right price and the product your mate gets wont always be the same as the ones you got and are happy with.

Interesting that you feel qualified to state they are the best and cheapest light you will ever get, especially after then stating if they only last 3 years.
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 08:28

Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 08:28
It isn’t only cheapies that snap off on corrugations, I have seen Lightforce, Hella & Narva all broken.
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Follow Up By: qldcamper - Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 08:35

Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 08:35
True, these days just cause they have a reputable brand name on them doesnt necessarily mean they are good quality. A lot of hella products took a nose dive in quality when narva relaesed a parallel product range in Australia, Hella had to reduce prices to compete.

But i do feel in those days (late 70ies) Hella was over priced having no real competition in AU till Narva arrived.
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Follow Up By: Gronk - Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 19:10

Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 19:10
Interesting that you feel qualified to state they are the best and cheapest light you will ever get, especially after then stating if they only last 3 years.




I'm more than qualified......I'm an armchair expert !!

For less than $150 for a pair....with a housing and bracket that seems a straight copy of a well known brand, with no complaints that I'm aware of, I'd like to know of another brand less than $800/pr that outperforms them ??

And as I said, IF they didn't last 3 yrs, you buy another set......

As I also said, best and cheapest....which means for the money, they are the best you will ever get.....comprehend ??
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Follow Up By: qldcamper - Tuesday, Aug 21, 2018 at 09:00

Tuesday, Aug 21, 2018 at 09:00
Oh I see, you mean the best of the worst, Personally i havent seen any cheap sets that id be happy with on my car and i have fitted many, bolt holes stripping out before the spring washer is even compressed, mounts snapping off in your hand when trying to align them exposing cast air bubbles with a coat of paint, pins pushing out of the sockets when the plug is fitted, wiring looms getting to hot to hold, it just goes on and on. Im paid to fit them and im paid to take them off again.

There are so many out there on the net all claiming they are the best, ive seen and been disappointed with many and im not silly enough to make a statement like that, I might say that a particular set is less shitty than most, but i wouldnt ever say their the best.............unless i was importing them lol.

Better off just not driving at night.
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Follow Up By: Gronk - Tuesday, Aug 21, 2018 at 18:41

Tuesday, Aug 21, 2018 at 18:41
Can only comment on the ones I installed. Been going strong for over a year.

The last set of HID's that I bought off e bay lasted for 7+ yrs and only took them off for the nicer light output of the LED's.

If someone is happy to pay $500 or more for driving lights, good luck to them. I'd rather spend it on beer !! lol
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Follow Up By: qldcamper - Wednesday, Aug 22, 2018 at 07:38

Wednesday, Aug 22, 2018 at 07:38
Exactly, thats why my car doesnt have driving lights, but it does have a fridge.

Other than around town, i do not drive at night, like to be sitting in camp with a beer by 4 pm at the latest.
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Follow Up By: Member - McLaren3030 - Wednesday, Aug 22, 2018 at 12:27

Wednesday, Aug 22, 2018 at 12:27
We don't do a lot of night highway driving either, but if we do it is most likely because of an emergency or urgent need, so I like to have a good set of quality driving lights, just in case. I want to be able to see as much of the road & surrounding area as possible.



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Follow Up By: Member - David M (SA) - Wednesday, Aug 22, 2018 at 16:45

Wednesday, Aug 22, 2018 at 16:45
Good to see you've got a drink ready for the next roo you hit. Very considerate. :)
Dave.
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Follow Up By: Member - McLaren3030 - Thursday, Aug 23, 2018 at 09:46

Thursday, Aug 23, 2018 at 09:46
Hi David,

Good one :-), this was a photo for a recent insurance policy quote. The bottle was to give it some scale.

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Follow Up By: nickb - Friday, Aug 24, 2018 at 18:44

Friday, Aug 24, 2018 at 18:44
I do work for a transport company that runs trucks all over WA. The supervisor there got sick of spending heaps on quality driving lights that either broke, were stolen or damaged by Roos etc. About 18 months ago he trialled the Kings led spotlights. Some have broken or been damaged but no more than the expensive ones but most importantly none have been stolen!! He currently has 12 sets in use and is very happy with them.

Not sure on long term performance or warranty (none have failed yet) though.
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Reply By: Member - Bigfish - Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 07:14

Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 07:14
Put one of these on and all your problems will be over...Your wiring will be ok and these will drastically improve your lighting.

https://www.stedi.com.au/st3303-21-5-inch-32-led-double-row-ultra-high-output-led-bar.html
AnswerID: 620774

Reply By: Bob Y. - Qld - Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 08:19

Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 08:19
If you want good performance, Brendan, check out Peak Explorers. Compact LEDs, about 150mm dia, that punch well above their weight. But you pay for quality.

Bob

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Reply By: Malcom M - Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 09:11

Monday, Aug 20, 2018 at 09:11
The loom size depends on what current the proposed lights will draw..
The fuse is there to protect the cable and not an accurate indicator of what you can push through the cabling.

185w LEDs at 14 volts will draw 13.2 amps (each)
370w LEDs at 14 volts will draw 26.4 amps each

These are quite common wattage units now so you need to figure out what you are going to buy before sizing the cabling.
Don't forget your alternator size as well. 53 amps is a fair hit on a lot of alternators.
AnswerID: 620778

Reply By: Livid L - Friday, Sep 14, 2018 at 18:11

Friday, Sep 14, 2018 at 18:11
Checkout the the most efficient and reliable LED Driving Lights at https://www.lividlighting.com/
AnswerID: 621218

Follow Up By: Shaker - Friday, Sep 14, 2018 at 20:19

Friday, Sep 14, 2018 at 20:19
I think you have to be a Business Member to advertise on the forum, or is your user name just a coincidence?

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