It seems that cars remain the last bastion of classic incandescent lamps. Halogen bulbs are still used in the headlights of many cars, although LEDs have long since entered all areas of our lives. Therefore, it is easy to understand the desire of drivers to put modern LED bulbs in their old headlights.
Many LED bulbs for car headlights can be found on free sale in Bulgaria today. But the assortment in the windows and on the market stands does not please, but rather scares. A technically literate user may be shocked by the appearance of products that unknown manufacturers offer for installation in car headlights.
Where do low quality LED car lights come from?
Automotive LED lighting in the eyes of the average driver is divided into two large groups: installed in the car factory and installed in the car by the owner himself. And frankly, the second group of lamps, despite their availability, has a very dubious reputation. We all get annoyed by cars with lights that dazzle oncoming traffic.
And the users themselves, having once tried similar LED technologies in their standard halogen headlights, are far from enthusiastic: “There is nothing good about diodes! They do not illuminate the road well, after a month they darken, and after two they start flashing. After three – completely burn.“
In a word, a picture emerges, known ten years ago with the notorious "xenon-mente". The situation is repeated, with the difference that today on the Internet you can buy a low-quality diode bulb for ridiculous money. And unfortunately, most drivers consider them modern LED technologies, evaluate them and try to compare them with other lighting options. But in general, these cheap products cannot be considered as LEDs.
But what are the real benefits of real LED headlight bulbs?
They provide a higher brightness of the lighting;
They have several times longer service life;
They consume 5-8 times less electricity;
They change the appearance of the car to a more modern and stylish one.
With the above advantages in mind, it is clear why car manufacturers are increasingly using diode bulbs in production cars. But not all diodes are the same. But why can a factory LED lamp on a car be effective and safe, and a cheap and unknown product - not? The answer is simple: automotive headlights based on LED technology, firstly, are specially designed for this type of bulbs, and secondly, high-quality LEDs are used. Is it possible to convert an old headlight intended for a regular halogen lamp into a normal LED device? You can and it's quite simple. But under the following conditions:
The LED lamp must be properly designed. This is the most important point - the light source, the LED chip, should be as close as possible to the size and location of the halogen lamp spiral in terms of shape and location. Otherwise, the bulb will not form the correct light beam. The bulb must be of high quality. Creating a long-lasting LED chip and reliable bulb design in general is not easy. Therefore, the cheap "no name" fail quickly.
The bulb must receive the necessary cooling. If allowed to overheat, even a high-quality LED bulb will quickly fail. But real quality LED retrofit bulbs are available from a few companies that have long been proven in the automotive lighting industry. Choose such, although they are quite more expensive.
Only these LED bulbs shine well and are safe for oncoming traffic. They can be used for low and high beams, in fog lights and in auxiliary lights. According to precise measurements, old headlights with these LED lamps illuminate the road much better than with standard halogen lamps. The most important thing is that in this case the headlights, having a high light output, retain their factory characteristics - that is, they have the standard shape of the beam and do not dazzle other drivers. It's worth paying more for them.
The car headlight is an optical system that forms a beam to illuminate the road from a point light source - a lamp spiral. And the geometry of this beam is carefully calculated. The light from the incandescent tungsten filament is divided into several segments by means of a reflector and a diffuser and distributed along the path. The beam creates uniform illumination in front of the car with a distinct light-shadow border that protects the oncoming traffic from dazzling.
What will happen if you install a cheap LED bulb? Will you be moving, zooming or rotating the light source? Thus, all calculations will be changed, the reflector or adjustable lens with special curtains will stop working. The headlight will shine everywhere, but not on the road. As a result, the owner gets problems with the lighting of the road, and oncoming drivers - blinding and the threat of losing control over the situation.
If you look at a quality LED bulb, you can see that their light source - an LED chip - has miniature dimensions that repeat the geometry of a tungsten spiral of a standard halogen lamp. This is their main secret: the manufacturers of the filament for the halogen lamp and the LED chip are the same, having the necessary technical data for these products. Manufacturers of cheap such products cannot repeat them.