I'm thinking of changing to LED headlights...

[Kern Dog]

As part of my overall plan to make this car more fun to drive in all seasons and all conditions, I want brighter headlights. The Wife's 2015 Challenger has HID headlights that just light up the sky compared to the sealed beams in my Charger.
Currently, I have Halogens and the harness was new in 2013 so it isn't as if I am using original style sealed beams and a 50 year old harness.
The prices of these LED setups has come WAAAY down...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-3-4-Proj...-/232525060883?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

I was blown away though looking at some options on the Summit site. Some are $350 EACH! What the heck? Who would spend that kind of money when far cheaper options exist? Many times, you get what you pay for with cheap crap but $700 for a pair of headlights???.

I did a search of this site and did see several other members have made the switch.
The Charger is a 4 bulb system with hidden headlights. I don't care about the LED NON stock appearance since the bulbs will only be visible when they are on.

A FBBO member wrote about these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CDDHHWK/?pldnSite=1

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Ouch! 6000K temp color! If not correctly adjusted will be killer for the oncoming traffic. Even is true that's the daylight temp color, at daylight our eyes get iris adjusted to that with the light all way around. Not the same at nights where our eyes iris are adjusted for darkness.

Personally I'm toward to warmer lights for headlights where the brightness is less agressive. Something like 3500-4500K. And a decent power but not overkiller.

 

[F4R/T]

KD the only thing I can say is some produce a flood type pattern and don’t penetrate the darkness like a halogen, the other thing please make sure they are DOT legal otherwise you’ll blind the other oncoming traffic. Many LED lights on the market are not certified and the box will be marked for off road use only and folks could care less and put them in .... also CREE brand LEDs seem to be a better one to look for.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Personally I will stuck with incandescent lamps on our cars while is posible everywhere around. Quality ( GE, WAGNER ) halogen sealed beams headlights for me. They are twice better than the regular incandescent ones, and honestly quite enough to drive safely on any conditions.

The only cons, they suck load so need to be ready to fill that requirement and they heat a lot. Not a problem on hidden headlight setups, but a "problem" on regular 71/74 grilles being plastic, specially 73/74 due the fillers. Still with that I get stuck with them

But... What can you expect from an old fashion pro stock ammeter guy like me? LOL

I don't get how LED headlights will make the car funnier to drive than with halogens thought LOL

As usual, just personal opinions.

 

[6PKRTSE]

No need. I did crackedbacks plug and play conversion relay kit on my 70' Charger. Factory headlights are twice as bright as they used to be.

 

[69_Coronet]

The only real issue I have seen with good (DOT legal) LED headlights is that many of them won't fit in the stock headlight buckets in our cars. The rear of the LED light is often a fairly large heat sink that interferes with the bucket. I purchased some Oracle LED lights that look pretty good for specs, but I will need to do some headlight bucket modifications to mount them. At this point, I haven't connected them to the car to compare the light output and pattern to the current halogens, but I did test them connected on the workbench to a bench power supply and they each drew about 2 A max, which is quite a bit better than halogens, so no wiring mods needed. If you do switch over, I will be interested in seeing which ones you choose and what your thoughts on them are. Hopefully I will get mine mounted one of these days and can report on my thoughts. Cheers!

 

[ckessel]

Check out headlightrevolution.com. They are out of Minnesota. The lights they sell are the ones they tested for output, function, beam pattern etc. Any manufacture that does not function as advertised does not get carried by them. I'm going to change my car out to LED's also, 4 lamp like your car, but will get the Halo style as I want that feature for my signals as opposed to being in the bumper[currently]. The bumper holes will then get used for brake ducts. I have some of their LED bulbs in my 04 Ram. Work great. They are not the cheapest but they are verified.

 

[Sahara]

What others have said; don’t just get brighter, harsher light or you will needlessly blind oncoming traffic.
I put a set in my Jeep from JW Speaker. Supposedly the best you can get. I believe it. Expensive at around 700 Canadian dollars but if they were double that it would still be money well spent. Building old cars is expensive. Not just bright, but the lenses are tuned to focus the beam on high and low so that they focus beside oncoming traffic. They make many different applications including Harley Davidson. I recommend them completely.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

First the lens is what shapes the light a cheap lens means the light probably won't be well focused

I've used Hella for years, the light bean is sort of Z shaped so further out it lights the whole road and allot of the right edge/shoulder... As oncoming traffic gets closer the majority of the light is focused toward the shoulder...

Low Beams
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...QQju-reL8DcXz3pRuGnWPUixgJ7l1IYkaAkQgEALw_wcB

High Beams
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hla-002425811

Honestly the low beams make a huge difference & I'm not sure I'd spend the money for the high beams again...

Okay, that gives you quality lenses but halogen, halogen works pretty well but draws more power and creates allot more heat... If you want LED all you need to do is swap out the bulbs... Personally I'm still running Halogens H4's with relays, I don't need more than that...

https://www.amazon.com/Fahren-H4-90...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[Turboomni]

I did crackedbacks plug and play conversion relay kit on my 70' Charger. Factory headlights are twice as bright as they used to be.

Any link and info on this setup?
Thanks

 

[Nacho-RT74]

I've used Hella for years, the light bean is sort of Z shaped so further out it lights the whole road and allot of the right edge/shoulder... As oncoming traffic gets closer the majority of the light is focused toward the shoulder...

Being HELLA an European brand where by regulations the ligh beam must be focused more to the right road shoulder I find logical you got that. That's for LHD cars. RHD cars ( UK ) gets the opposite beam shape.

 

[signalsparks]

Seriously, can't someone make LED headlights that:

1. Euro-spec and/or DOT rated as required by the customer
2. Fit the existing buckets without modification (Identical form factor to incandescent/halogen sealed beam)
3. Work with existing wiring with anything from a significant decrease to a minimal increase in current draw
4. Emit a warm white/incandescent-esque hue/color temp (you lighting nerds are going to crucify me on the butchered terminology... you know what I mean!)
5. Don't require you to refinance your house in order to purchase them.

IF such an animal DOES exist, kindly post a link. I will likely purchase them forthwith.

 

[toolmanmike]

I hope @Slantsixdan stops by. He's the lighting expert here.

 

[Kern Dog]

In the 90s, I had a Camaro with Hella H4s. They came with 55/60 watt bulbs but I stepped it up to 80/100. That setup was great.
Maybe I'll look into getting the CrackedBack relay kit and the Hella lights. The Hellas are a known and proven product and many FABO and FBBO members have reported that the "Crackedback" relay kits are top notch.
We all have experienced the frustration with a product that turns out to be junk. This may be a better way .

 

[Sahara]

BTW after spending the big coin on my JW Speaker lights I cheaped out and got some inexpensive greedbay marker lights. They broke installing them. I plugged in the connector and they broke off where the connector, umm, connects.

 

[64fury74charger]

I will try to post some pictures when time and my technology shortcomings align. I have finally done a complete LED changeover on my Charger. Even found led flashers that actually work. OMG...

I had to change the headlight mounts anyway due to rust and the springs were solid rust. I will post more about this later.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Crackedback offers a great option for those who wants a plug and play job, but honestly the relay job is really easy to make by anybody with minor skills, comon sense and basic tools.

 

[Master Gunner]

I'm in the automotive parts business, and our company checked into this. This is from Philips lighting on why they don't make LED headlight capsules and for those using other may want to reconsider.

The US Federal Motor Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108 specifically states for forward lighting (headlamps) that "You cannot replace your filament type light source (bulb) with anything else other than another light source"

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has concluded that it is impossible to produce a conversion kit (converting a halogen system to LED) that would be compliant with the federal lighting standard, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) no. 108. These noncompliant kits frequently include LED modules, control boxes, relays, and wiring harness adaptors. The NHTSA believes this equipment presents a safety risk to the public since these kits can typically produce excessive glare to oncoming motorists. In one investigation, NHTSA found that a converted headlamp exceeded the maximum allowable candlepower by over 800 percent.

We are able to produce the LED Sealed Beams (which replace Halogen Sealed Beams) because the sealed beam unit in itself is a headlamp (contains a lens, reflector, and light source). When it is replaced, all these components are replaced with something new. When the integral beam was tested and passed to DOT/SAE requirements for beam the entire unit is passed, not just the light source.

This is the same thing the OEM does to validate headlight assembly on a new vehicle, and why they can sell vehicles with LED headlamps.

Long story short, (I know its already to long) it is illegal to replace a filament bulb (light source only) with a nonfilament bulb in the United States.

Again, this is our suppliers reply, so if you want to use LED conversion headlight kits in you rigs, remember, this is at your own risk.

Mark

 

[Crackedback]

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/plug-and-play-headlight-relay-kits.186716/

@Turboomni

 

[Kern Dog]

Crackedback offers a great option for those who wants a plug and play job, but honestly the relay job is really easy to make by anybody with minor skills, comon sense and basic tools.

You may be right. I have improved my skills with soldering over the past few years.
In 2013, a car club member tried to help me put relays in my Charger. His efforts resulted in some really weird problems with the headlight doors and dimmer switch. It may have had to do with grounding of the headlight door relay? Who knows. I got frustrated and just replaced the headlight harness.
Regarding adding relays without cutting into the harness.... I don't have all the terminals that I would need and am not sure what they even look like. I could do the research and find out but for now, I'm taking a simpler way out.
I did order a kit from Crackedback. I like knowing that I helped a FBBO member. Who knows, I may use the harness as a pattern to make them for my other cars.