Anyone using LED H4 headlight bulb(s)?

mikerust

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Nov 5, 2003
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I'm using a 60/55 H4 and am fitting an extra cooling fan for BKK traffic. I though using an LED H4 bulb would save on charging system load.

Is anyone using LED headlight bulbs?
 
Aug 29, 2011
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The LED bulbs are just not quite there yet but I recon within the next year they will be easily available, perfected & affordable. I've watched a lot of youtube videos on LED bulbs, as I wanted to upgrade myself but most people we're pretty disappointed with them.

I personally would go for a HID Xenon kit, they are usually half the wattage & give double the light of a stock halogen bulb!

Motorcycle Specific Xenon HID Light Conversion Kit
  • H4 Hi/Lo HID Bi-Xenon 6000K Bulb
  • HID Slimline Digital Ballast
  • 12V, 35W, 450Hz
  • E13 & CE certification
 
Oct 17, 2006
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i use Philips or osram nightbreakers but have experimented with HID and LED on 2 of my ducatis and some cars ,,I still think that HID give best results but are unreliable due to all the ancillary ballasts ,, and although aftermarket HIDs are cheap now its not roadside fixable ,,, and even more of a problem in cars or bike using canbus systems often have problems

LEDs often put out intense light but beam definition is often illegal and again reliablity of the bulbs is still poor even for tail lights and sidelights,,
also LEDS often require resistors to work in unison with other parts of a bikes series circuits .. that conflict with the LEDs characteristics

So for now i find conventional bulbs a better practical answer ,, for beam defintion and ease of repair and reliablity

I recently converted a friends Mercedes car from HID to H4 due to continuing unreliablity and high repair costs he was having with original factory HID system ,, he is very happy ...
 
Oct 17, 2006
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The merc problem was ballasts,valeo,stupid design , very unreliable and £420 each from mercedes he has had 3 sets so far on a 6 year old car

i replaced them with chinese ebay ones for £70 a pair but it needed some rewiring he is very happy now ,,
 
Mar 26, 2014
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The new LED replacement headlight bulbs that are coming out now also have ballast and miniature cooling fans on them. I'm not sure they would be a good alternative yet for an exposed motorcycle. But they are getting much cheaper now. You can get a pair of them for around $100. So its definitely getting more affordable to give them a try. And the lights on most ducatis are purely for show and next to useless on the road so it wouldn't be hard to make an improvement. The new Ducatis are also now using LED headlights like the new generation Diavel.
 

mikerust

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Probably a lot smaller but if I have to use a cooling fan as well I wonder how much current draw I will actually save?