LED headlights

[BarryP]

Has anyone considered the PIAA LP530 driving lamps? They employ two 3 watt LED bulbs, ...

Good points have been made. And I love LEDs. All my house is LEDs. Last July I probably would have liked LED headlights. But now that winter hit, other issues came up. I like how the factory ‘halogen lights’ keeps the frozen mist from caking up.

And now I see this problem with our city traffic lights. Our city went to LED stop lights. Now the snow packs on them and covers them up so we can’t see the signal. The old ‘hot’ lights kept that snow off.

-Barry
-May everyone see the light

 

[markweatherill]

thanks for the replies! I own a gasoline 'i' and the headlights are the same as the iMiev (if I am wrong, please correct me). Hence asking about the LED lights. Perhaps they aren't offered in the US but UK iMievs can be specified with them.

I've always thought how poor the stock headlights are on low beam, in fact. The light is just about adequate, but it cuts off very sharply so that out of the illuminated patch, which I find isn't very far ahead of the car, it's pitch dark. Is it like that on the iMiev too? Or is it my bulbs? :?

 

[jray3]

Mark, I agree that the cutoff line can be a bit too low and sharp, and two adults up front with an empty rear seat can make it worse. Have you looked at turning the beam aiming adjusters? Even without the automatic headlamp leveling system, the gears are inside our assemblies and IIRC, can be manually turned.

Your gas i wouldn't be AWD, would it?

 

[markweatherill]

That's a relief that it isn't just me, thanks. I'd hesitate to adjust the beams outside the factory setting though; I once had two rear passengers and was happy to see the headlights pointing a little higher up and lighting up more road. But I got a few flashes from oncoming traffic so had to adjust them back down (I have the beam adjust system ).

And no, it isn't AWD!

 

[PV1]

I find my headlights are near perfect, although there are times when I'd like them to be higher.

Mark, would you mind taking a few photos of the headlight adjustment knob and the wiring behind it? I'm hoping that I can source an adjustment knob that'll work in the US i-MiEV, since we don't have one.

You can upload the pictures here, which will go into my Dropbox, unless you have a way to post pictures on this forum.
http://dbinbox.com/PV1

Thanks.

 

[Don]

I believe this is what you're looking for

I think you can turn the hex head in the center of the gear to adjust them up and down, but when I tried it, they didn't want to move - I *think* we have to loosen a lock screw (one of them in the photo?) to make the adjustment and then lock them back down

The gear there is used on the Japanese car to adjust them from inside the car I think

Don

 

[PV1]

I believe this is what you're looking for

Was this for me or someone else? I'm looking for the knob that goes inside to adjust the lights while in the car.

 

[Don]

I'm sorry - I thought you were looking fo the adjustment on the back of the headlight assemblies, so you could raise yours up a little

Don

 

[PV1]

Yeah. I found the adjustments on the headlights, though I couldn't move them without fear of breaking the gears. It's been bothering me that the servos are on the back of the assemblies with the wiring in place, I can't help but think that adding the knob in the car would be all that's needed to activate this feature.

I found a picture of a Canadian RVR (Outlander) that has this adjustment knob, and it would physically fit in the opening beside the ASC button in the i-MiEV.

 

[markweatherill]

Mark, would you mind taking a few photos of the headlight adjustment knob and the wiring behind it?.

One photo so far to your Dropbox, sorry I haven't had a chance to take any more.

 

[PV1]

Thanks. Power folding mirrors, too. Sweet.

 

[thomash85715]

Read all four pages of this and still cannot determine which exact PIAA LED is the closest direct replacement for the incandescent Low beams in my 2012 i-miev. Can someone redirect me to the latest page or newest info? The PIAA page for application is broken. Thank you. --Tom in Tucson AZ

 

[RobZ76]

Hello, I know this is a very old Thread, but in case someone still wants to change to LED lights, make sure you get the ones that are in right angle (similar to the original ones), below are the ones i used, they fit and they work, reasonably priced, I would suggest to change both at the same time, and test before re-installing, the Headlight bulb change is not super-easy since you have to remove part of the front bumper.

Hi-Beam: Bevinsee 9005 HB3 LED Headlight Kit For Mitsubishi Outlander 2005-2018 High Beam

Lo-Beam: Bevinsee H11 H8 LED Headlight Bulbs Kit For Toyota 86 Aurion Land Cruiser Prado

 

[JoeS]

RobZ76, welcome to this forum and thank you for the information.

 

[Don]

I did an LED headlight conversion using quality (expensive) units on my 2014 Ford Transit Connect and I'm just not overwhelmed - I was expecting much better

The reflectors in the lenses of modern cars have a fixed focal point, engineered for the placement of the very thin halogen filaments in the specified OEM halogen lamps. As you can see in the above photos, the LED light source is a pretty good sized rectangle, actually two or more depending on the brand, spaced apart by some distance and the focus of my LED's is not nearly as sharp as it was with the halogen filaments. Plenty of light, but much of it isn't focused where you need it to be - It's scattered all over the place. I don't know for sure that any of it is actually coming from the exact focal point of the lenses in the headlights like it was with my OEM headlights

We've all seen hundreds of cars coming at us at night with the blue/white lights which nearly blind us as oncoming drivers and sadly, I'm afraid my Ford is just one more of them. The light is whiter and bluer and all the kids think it looks cool, but I doubt they can actually see any better, and for sure the rest of us can't either when they're aiming those things at us

Never considered LED's for any of our iMiEV's because we don't drive them at night all that often - In 8+ years, we've still not burned out a single bulb in any of the cars . . . . plus, the OEM Halogen headlights in the cars are EXCELLENT . . . . better than any car I've ever owned

Don

 

[mjg0711]

I second Don's remarks about LED replacement headlights. You must be careful about which brand you buy because of the reflector plate position. The hot spot on many LEDs will not align with the reflector. This causes blinding glare to any oncoming driver.