LED headlights???

[Craig]

Just wondering if anyone knows of any companies who make LED headlights that'll be a straight replacement of the lights on my YJ? When I was up camping last summer some guys up there had LED headlights on their ATV's which made it look like daylight. They said they were very expensive...something like $1000. per light. I'm not willing to pay that kind of money for headlights but just wondering if they're on the market yet.

[Bounty__Hunter]

Never seen them. They'll be very expensive if they do make it to market. Be cheaper to do a full HID conversion, with just as good or better light than LED's can provide.

[Craig]

Ok, this may sound stupid but what's an HID conversion? I know absolutely nothing about LED's. I already have the H-4 conversion on my jeep with the blue tinted bulbs and don't find them to be all that much brighter and not even close to what these guys had on their ATV's.

[Bounty__Hunter]

The blue tinted bulbs are worse than standard headlights, as blue light is almost the worst tinted light to see with. They are halogens tinted blue to LOOK like expensive HID lights. The HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights use a ballast to produce a pure white light that looks bluish green from an angle. Best possible light to see with. It's what's available on many highend cars like Lincoln, BMW, Audi, etc. It's even available now as an option on more mainstream cars like Nissan.

The HID look-a-likes are illegal in this state, as the vehicle code says the lights must be white or of a yellow tint (old sealed beams) and HID are approved. Tinted halogens are not. I find that many owners of tinted halogens run with their brights more often as lighting is significantly diminished over stock.

[Craig]

Does anyone know if there's any companies out there that make HID lights that'll fit a YJ?

[Snitty]

people see blue tinted bulbs, and they automatically think "wow, that is bright"... which is not true.... the main reason for people thinking it is brigher, is because it attracts more attention... I had blue tinted bulbs in my H4 conversion, and when i would switch between them and my old, warn out, dirty lens, white plow lights... the plow lights would shine much brighter.... the blue only attracts the attention, and people NOTICE it more, but there is certainly not more there... blue has a short wavelength

[ecor]

If you already have the H4 conversion then switch the bulbs to a PIAA Hyper white bulb. They run about $75 for the 2 lights but there is nothing like them. Bounty is right about the blue bulbs, they are not very bright and they are more of a distraction then anything. I switched to the hyper whites in mine after a customer came in with some in his and I saw the difference. That was the first time that I saw an H4 conversion show more light.

[NormanW]

I switched to E-code lights and found it to bee the best upgrade I have ever made to a car for night time driving. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
This site has more info on E-code lights then you will ever need.
I also bought my lights from here and have nothing but praise for the service he provided.

[XJNick]

Hi,

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) certainly have become useful in many applications to day. However, it seems as though they are not yet very practical for applications such as headlamps, because that would require the use of White LEDs. White LEDs are still the most expensive to produce, so the price would be high. That's probably why you don't see many people making LED headlamp modules.

-Nick

[Craig]

Ok, so here's the deal. I searched around and asked on a forum dedicated to LED's. They are in the process of making LED headlights and they do have them on some concept vehicles. Apparantely the Cadillac will be the first production vehicle to use LED's as headlights. LED's as headlights will be very expensive because to produce a clear (white) light, they have to combine a few different colors (I think red, green and blue) to produce the clear light. I'm sure that in a couple of years they will be very common and will come down in price but for now, I guess it's not an option.

[Bounty__Hunter]

Those look-a-like HID's that are tinted halogens are a huge distraction, very annoying.

[Snitty]

why are white LED's so hard to make

[Craig]

Originally Posted by Snitty

why are white LED's so hard to make

Because for some reason LED's cannot produce white light (I don't know why) so they have to combine different colors to produce the white light. It was explained to me that it works sort of like a projection television which uses the three color guns to produce different colors.

[Snitty]

autozone sells LED flashlights.... they are white

[Craig]

Most LED flashlights I've seen use a blue led inside them. If it produces a white light then it probably has a couple of different colored LED's inside it to produce the white light. Even this Christmas when I bought my LED Christmas lights I had to pay more for the white ones as opposed to the blue or multi colored strands. The guy told me the same thing...the white ones cost more because there's three different colors combined to produce the white light.

[XJNick]

Hi,

Actually Most White LEDs are actually Blue LEDs with a certain altreration so that they appear white. They are expensive because blue LEDs are expensive because of the type of dye used. The type of dye is what creates the color.

So, although you can create white light by using Red green and blue LEDs simultaneosly, most do not go to this trouble.

-Nick

[Snitty]

other than the color of the LED's "shell"... what factors affect the color of the light produced... i realize it is a diode, and lights simply when electricity passes through it in one direction... and is not like a normal lamp with filaments... what is it that creates the color

[Craig]

Originally Posted by Snitty

other than the color of the LED's "shell"... what factors affect the color of the light produced... i realize it is a diode, and lights simply when electricity passes through it in one direction... and is not like a normal lamp with filaments... what is it that creates the color

I'd like to know the answer to that as well. You'd think that if it's just a die or something, then it wouldn't be that hard to produce a white light. I'll try and find that automotive lighting forum I was on before. I'm sure someone there will have an answer.

[skyjeeper]

actually i believe it has more to do with what the diode is doped with. its nothing to do with dyeing the case of the led. if it was there would have been diffrent colors long ago.

the blue led's are fairly new. it was a big deal when someone finally made them. that's why they are becoming so popular on all kinds of electronics now. with the blue they can now make any color. they have led's that have 4 leads. they have 3 diffrent diodes in there. blue red and green. depending on the current applied to each portion they can vary the color.

i was trying to find something that said how it is done, but was haveing difficulty finding anything. i did find that the manufacturers of the blue led's make you sign all kinds of paperwork to prevent reverse engineering of them.

[XJNick]

Shell color really has nothing to do with the final output color. This is why Many LEDs are clear until powered, then they glow red, green, amber, etc..

The actual color of the light emitted is caused by the use of different materials or dyes between the LED's cathode (-) and anode (+).

A quote from the LEDmuseum.org:

The color of light depends on a number of factors, including the type of material they make the LED with and the material's quantum bandgap (how much energy each electron needs to pack in order to cross the barrier).
A smaller bandgap that fairly weak electrons can cross gives you infrared or red light, while a large bandgap that needs really strong electrons gives you light that has a blue or violet color to it.

-Nick