Has Anyone Tried LED Headlamps?

[Tom Wesenberg]

I see this place has 6 and 12 volt LED headlamps I positive and negative ground. Just wondering if anyone tried them and how they like them?

http://www.classicandvintagebulbs.com/

[DaWizard]

Tom, as I have raved before, I run 12v Neg LED headlight bulbs from www.JDMastar.com and absolutely LOVE them. On the low beam with the late '28/'29 headlight lenses I can see ½ mile. On high beams I can see a mile!

I see that site you linked to has the same "style" LED that I use. It is the black mushroom looking style in the left pic, left side of pic. Now, I don't think I would order from Australia unless I couldn't get the same thing here in the states, but you are welcome to do as you wish, but I definitely LOVE my LEDs.

BTW, the ones I use fit right into the fixture for the halogen bulbs. It only takes a minor tweaking of the bulb mount to get it properly aligned and focused.

[Vin1930]

Dynamoregulatorconversions.com is a shop in the UK selling 6/12V LED bulbs, which work with the regular incandescent ferrules. We had a demo on them at our last club meeting (gwcmodela.com, under the club meetings link). I'm planning to order some at some point, but they're a little pricey. We have a couple of guys running them and they also have nothing but good things to say.

[MikeK]

Ba15 Bayonet 15 mm 6-12 volt These LEDs are suitable for pre war type lamps from the Late 20's to 50's. High and low beam and single 600 ma at 12v +ve or -ve earth and will work from 6v to 12v. (approx 7.2 watts, about 700 lumens for an efficient LED) Single LEDs are not suitable on resistance dip systems. LEDs give a natural white light and produce a softer beam pattern If you look at their description they tell you, in a rather indirect way, that these bulbs WILL NOT FOCUS into a proper beam pattern. "Softer beam pattern" = less driving beam, more glare to oncoming drivers). The same is true for ANY light source (LED, HID, Halogen, Std. Tungsten) contained within a parabolic reflector (Ford A) if the photon emissive surface deviates from the focal point. Moving radially more than 10% of the reflector focal length (Model A reflector F.L. = 1.25", 10% = 1/8") will reduce the driving beam produced by a Ford "H" pattern (28) or Twolite lens (29-31) more than a third and will drive the objectionable glare to oncoming traffic well into the danger zone. By design LED's emit from a planar surface and must be mounted on a heat sink. Thus two or more dies must be present to hit all surfaces of the reflector. The central heat sink of LED replacement lamps moves them away from the focal point. ZERO photons emit from the focal point! Modern reflector geometry compensates for this and also produces the vertical cutoff beam pattern. A Model A reflector does NOT produce a correct beam pattern with ANY LED when used in conjunction with a stock lens. Either internal baffling or a modified reflector would be needed.

[DaWizard]

I sit here wondering just what it is going to take to convince all the Model A'ers out here in the ether that the LED lights I have on my car do what I say they do?

I have posted pictures and even posted a video on Facesmack that shows them working.

I will be the first to admit they were not just a drop in and plug in, I did need to do a wee bit of modification to get the light to come out focused, but after doing that little mods, it WORKS!!

I have absolutely NO affiliation with anyone making or selling these! All I want to do is promote the hobby and make it as safe as possible, and I think the LEDs are worth their weight in gold for making the road ahead view able.

[CarlG]

Wiz, I'm still going to get a set of these one of these days. I just have to work it into my plan of things. (I'm retired now, and all these new things have to be spaced out more so than they use to be.)

[Mitch]

Congrats Carl

[MikeK]

Wiz- I have seen your pix. My issue is not with overall gross lumen output. It is with the lack of a compliant (safe) DOT or European beam pattern. There are strict horizontal beam cutoff points that prevent blinding oncoming drivers. Your mod, although strong in forward luminosity, produces a non-compliant pattern. For those that are into testimonials they LOOK bright from behind the wheel but are inherently dangerous from a traffic collision probability.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I was wondering if there were any LED headlamps that are a simple plug in and go, but with needing mods to install them, I won't be trying them.

[CarlG]

I already have the halogen H4 bulbs, so I would assume that the LED's would be plug & play. But as with anything I seem to do, it just doesn't happen that way. Always one can of worms after another.

[DaWizard]

Tom, the total mod was that the after market reflectors for the halogen bulbs isn't indexed the same, so you need to drill a hole in the light mount to twist the bulb to line up correctly, and unscrew the bulb back in the mount to focus it. You could do it in your sleep, the light is that bright!

[MikeK]

There is some very good reading here: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publication.../15047/003.cfm
If your into mesoptic photometry and iso-candela mapping for beam patterns the above read explains it all.
image037.png

[Jeff/Illinois]

DaWizard says he can see for a mile on high beams............. can you top THIS? By The Who?? 1968, ya had to be there..Pete Townsend had just installed LED headlights in his Model A with a new set of Bratton's refectors......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62ZJn0cTASo

My older brother always said, if you remember Woodstock, you weren't there. In truth neither was he!