Nissan LEAF Light Bulb Mods: LEDs Anyone?

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The Cree are definately the brightest. I have the 7w Cree for back-up lights and they are brighter than OEM.

I bought some Cree H11 with side SMDs, but the LED casing is too big to fit.
 
Leafboy said:
I bought some Cree H11 with side SMDs, but the LED casing is too big to fit.
Click to expand...

I just couldn't stand how yellow the fogs and high beams are.
My decision to change them was based purely on looks.
I knew that if I stuck LED's in the fog housings the reflectors would be useless.
However, as someone said earlier, the "fogs" only come on when the headlights are on, so they are useless as fogs anyway.

So I went for brightness and color.
I installed H-11 LED's with 106 1/4 watt SMD's.
They sure are bright enough, in fact they may be TOO bright. Will have to see. :evil:
But I had a lot of trouble getting them into the housing holes.
It was tight, took some wiggling and force, but they are in.

I have ordered 6000K 55 watt rapid start HIDs for the high beams.
The current incandescents are yellow and useless, so while the reflectors are not designed for the HIDs, it's not like I'm going to make it worse.

Now I'm a little worried about melting the reflector or lens with the 55 watt HID.
I know; a 55 watt halogen is theoretically hotter than a 55 watt HID, but does anybody have any real experience to put my mind at ease?

With the price of these headlight assemblies I can't afford to melt them.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
 
mcochris said:
Leafboy said:
I have the 7w Cree for back-up lights and they are brighter than OEM.
Click to expand...
Where did you get 7W Cree LED's on a 9mm wedge base? The 7W Cree's mentioned earlier are on a H11 base.
Click to expand...


You can get T10 7w cree, but it's advertised as reverse light. It's possible that there is just too much heat to handle this as parking light:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150631662175?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_2923wt_852" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
mcochris said:
Leafboy said:
I have the 7w Cree for back-up lights and they are brighter than OEM.
Click to expand...
Where did you get 7W Cree LED's on a 9mm wedge base? The 7W Cree's mentioned earlier are on a H11 base.
Click to expand...
Go to ebay motors, parts & accessories and search "cree 7w led". It will give you a lot of options. The LED is in a good aluminum heat-sink, so heat should not be a problem. Just be aware of the length of the LED. Some are longer than others and may not fit where you want to use it.
 
IBELEAF said:
...You can get T10 7w cree, but it's advertised as reverse light. It's possible that there is just too much heat to handle this as parking light...
Click to expand...
Seems likely - that heatsink isn't big enough for a semiconductor in continuous duty at 7w.
 
Thanks for the eBay links and info!

FYI, I've determined that the maximum resistance needed to maintain the normal flash rate when replacing an incandescent with an LED is 16 ohms. 15 Ohms is a standard resistor value, so that works out well. I tried this on one of the front turn signal flashers. The side turn signal flashers do not need a load resistor.

This is somewhat better news as the resistor kits I've seen are 8 ohms. So we get to save some current. At 12 volts, a 15 ohm load will pull .8 amp which is about 10 watts. I've purchased these for the load resistors. I prefer these ceramic resistors over the metal chassis mount types in this application as I think they will be less likely to scratch the car's paint and the leads are easier to work with.



I'm currently looking for the best way to tie in the load resistor on the front flashers. It won't be easy.
 
KillaWhat said:
Leafboy said:
I bought some Cree H11 with side SMDs, but the LED casing is too big to fit.
Click to expand...

I just couldn't stand how yellow the fogs and high beams are.
My decision to change them was based purely on looks.
I knew that if I stuck LED's in the fog housings the reflectors would be useless.
However, as someone said earlier, the "fogs" only come on when the headlights are on, so they are useless as fogs anyway.

So I went for brightness and color.
I installed H-11 LED's with 106 1/4 watt SMD's.
They sure are bright enough, in fact they may be TOO bright. Will have to see. :evil:
But I had a lot of trouble getting them into the housing holes.
It was tight, took some wiggling and force, but they are in.

I have ordered 6000K 55 watt rapid start HIDs for the high beams.
The current incandescents are yellow and useless, so while the reflectors are not designed for the HIDs, it's not like I'm going to make it worse.

Now I'm a little worried about melting the reflector or lens with the 55 watt HID.
I know; a 55 watt halogen is theoretically hotter than a 55 watt HID, but does anybody have any real experience to put my mind at ease?

With the price of these headlight assemblies I can't afford to melt them.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Click to expand...

OK, the 55 watt rapid start HIDs are installed!
They are 6000k, and have a hint of blue.
I would probably have preferred 5300 k, but the 6000's look OEM.

Glad I went 55 watt.
As expected, the reflectors are useless.
The high beams throw a lot of light everywhere, but most is useless also.

Still, I sure like them better than stock.
 
I just tried out 7W Cree bulbs for reverse light, they turned out to be highly disappointing. Basically, they are dimmer then stock. So I fitted them in the front parking light and they are ok there for now:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150631662175?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_2971wt_852" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


These are still brighter and at 2 watts way more efficient:
http://www.v-leds.com/Interior-LED-Bulbs/Dome-Map-LED/White-LED/6K-WHITE-4-LED-2W-HIGH-p8187987.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Leafboy said:
Did the Cree lamps you used have the magnifying lens? Mine are much brighter than OEM.
Click to expand...

Yes they do, exactly as pictured in the ebay link. Where did you get yours?

EDIT: Searching on ebay for T10 cree, there are appears to be 3 different versions of the same looking bulb 3W, 5W & 7W. So I am starting to think that while the guy listed as 7W bulb it's actually a 3W. I don't know how to check though, but it is certainly dimmer then similar 5W cree that use in fog light housing.

EDIT2: I finally noticed the difference between my bulb and true 7W bulb. If you look at the pictures the 3W has 3 grooves while the 7W has 5 and price difference is $10. These Chinese sellers are really tricky, not the first time got "burned" by their bulbs.

3W
M024T10210802_des2.jpg


7W
$(KGrHqFHJFIE92ITLz10BPoK!CM3-w~~60_3.JPG
 
Anyone have tried Blinglights as a replacement for Leaf's fog light?
One of my fog lights caught a stone, dealer quote was about $300 for a replacement of a single light!
These are selling for $100 a pair and they are LED and designed for Leaf... sounds like a no brainer, but it should be a catch somewhere...
http://www.blinglights.org/products...hts-foglamps-foglights-drivinglights-kit.html
If no one tried it yet, I'll be the guinea pig...
BTW, anyone knows the light color of our main LED lamps?
I want to match fog lights closer to it. These folks have it in 10000K and 4300K, which will be the best match?
 
IBELEAF said:
do you replace the entire fog light housing? Looks like a pain to install.
Click to expand...

Yes, I think it is more pain to get to it than to actually replace...
I actually have no choice, mine is broken, so I can either replace it with $200+ OEM, or with $99 LED on both sides...
 
UkrainianKozak said:
Anyone have tried Blinglights as a replacement for Leaf's fog light?
One of my fog lights caught a stone, dealer quote was about $300 for a replacement of a single light!
These are selling for $100 a pair and they are LED and designed for Leaf... sounds like a no brainer, but it should be a catch somewhere...
http://www.blinglights.org/products...hts-foglamps-foglights-drivinglights-kit.html
If no one tried it yet, I'll be the guinea pig...
BTW, anyone knows the light color of our main LED lamps?
I want to match fog lights closer to it. These folks have it in 10000K and 4300K, which will be the best match?
Click to expand...

Bummer with Bling Lights :(
Got them yesterday, they are way bigger than the leafs (100+mm vs 75mm opening in leaf's bumper) and they are designed to install INTO the opening, and their crystals on the rim does not permit for flush mounting...

Now I'm contemplating just returning them and finding something that will fit or pry out crystals and make some transition bracket to mount it behind the opening (all LEDs do fit into the hole, it's just the rim). Anyone have a picture of behind the bumper space? Will it be enough to fit 4" light in place of the stock ones?
Any other recommendations to replace broken Leaf's fog light?
Anyone have some old ones left over from mods?
 

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