[Shawn Gibbons]

So I'm looking at getting some led lighting for the headlights and the fogs in the truck .

I'm looking for some help here . I have found an led bulb that just replaces the bulb . They are really cheap . I know you get what you pay for But I also see led kits with ballasts . I have looked at wattage consumsion on the one without the ballast and it's 4.6 watts and 7000 kelvin . So what's the Need for the one with the ballast . I want something that will last just don't understand why some are just bulbs and others have ballasts .

Thanks for the help

 

[dtexan]

The halogen housings are not designed for LED bulbs I would not recommend using them. You will have way too much glare, And blind oncoming traffic.

 

[S.T.U.V]

The kits with ballasts require alot more power and steady current. And idk if led headlights have the depth of light as a hid or halogen. But like he^said. The stock housings wont project the light correctly. But if you must get them this set is what you need..

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...led-headlight-bulbs-conversion-kit/2170/4868/

 

[Ziggio]

I replaced my day time running lights to LED. They look pretty sick! Haven't done the fogs or headlights yet, may do the fogs sometime this year.
For the headlights I'm running PIA super plasmas and they look great, but I wish I could compare them to LEDS to see the difference.

Here's the thread for my DIY LED lights: http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79001

Hopefully it can help you with the fogs and headlights too.

 

[mcfoss1]

It is not a ballast. The box you are seeing is called a driver and it has resisters inside to keep the power constant to the LED. Normal vehicle headlights do not send a constant source of power to the headlights. It is much more in a pulsing sensation. This being said a halogen light does not react as quickly therefor you will not see a flicker or flash without constant power. However, with LEDs they react quicker and without a resistor your will get a flicker due to the lack of constant power. Also, without sending the correct amount of power to an LED it can ruin or burn up an LED. I have LED's in my ridge line and the factory housing projects the light just fine. It is not blinding to oncoming drivers. I have had to friends drive at me to test it.

 

[WOODY92]

Here's how mime turned out.. cree led headlights

 

[jimmy 2 times]

i though you had to modify (not to the extent of HID) the stock housing to run LED headlight bulbs?

 

[IanRTL]

Not gonna lie - the look of those LED bulbs is awesome. $80 for a full set? I'm curious as to the longevity of them, but for that little of money, it may be worth a shot. Next time I have a bulb burn out, I might give them a shot.

 

[captainh00k]

@ woody92 - Do you have any install pictures? Or pictures from the engine compartment?

 

[Reclipse]

OK Im a lil consfused about why a the housing wont work.. are you trying to tell me that LED's reflect light differently than halogen?? Don't think so.. As long as its the same bulb size it will fit in the housing, and the housing will still reflect light the same way.. Last I checked mirrors work the same no matter what your reflecting. If your blinding ppl then you need to re-aim your headlight Only real problems you need to watch for replacing headlights with high output systems is using 55W or greater HID's kits cause you can melt the housing. LED's use less power and create less heat so not a problem. Next, the "little box" can be the driver, but the true high output headlight kits have ballasts. The LED's do seem to have less intensity at further distances than HID's but still very bright. Only other difference is you cannot pick colors with LED's, they are all white @ around the 55ooK.

 

[dtexan]

Just do a retrofit and be done with it.

 

[zroger73]

OK Im a lil consfused about why a the housing wont work.. are you trying to tell me that LED's reflect light differently than halogen?? Don't think so.. As long as its the same bulb size it will fit in the housing, and the housing will still reflect light the same way.. Last I checked mirrors work the same no matter what your reflecting. If your blinding ppl then you need to re-aim your headlight Only real problems you need to watch for replacing headlights with high output systems is using 55W or greater HID's kits cause you can melt the housing. LED's use less power and create less heat so not a problem. Next, the "little box" can be the driver, but the true high output headlight kits have ballasts. The LED's do seem to have less intensity at further distances than HID's but still very bright. Only other difference is you cannot pick colors with LED's, they are all white @ around the 55ooK.

Read this.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46637

First off, LEDs don't reflect light, they emit it. Incandescent ("halogen"), high-intensity discharge (HID), light emitting diode (LED), oil, and acetylene all have different light output characteristics and thus require reflectors (and lenses if they are "projector" style) that are specifically tuned to the type of light source being used. You can't simply interchange light sources without also changing the reflector/lens/housing to one made specifically for that type of light source without affecting the beam pattern (almost always for the worse).

 

[WOODY92]

i though you had to modify (not to the extent of HID) the stock housing to run LED headlight bulbs?

No these are plug and play.

Not gonna lie - the look of those LED bulbs is awesome. $80 for a full set? I'm curious as to the longevity of them, but for that little of money, it may be worth a shot. Next time I have a bulb burn out, I might give them a shot.

As far as longevity. My job is a contractor for Duke Energy Progress and operate there residential lighting products and I must say I really trust Cree. I work a lot with the household Cree light bulbs and all the research I have done backs that Cree has great LED chips. Now as far as longevity, I believe these Cree chips will live up the high and long lasting life they claim. As far as the structure of this product, the heat sink seems really effecient and durable. It is by no means a cheap bulb and the weight and quality of it is really durable for an "eBay" item.

@ woody92 - Do you have any install pictures? Or pictures from the engine compartment?

The only install difficulty is getting the metal holster around the large heat sink but other than that it's plug and play. I know the zip tie is cheap as a holder. I was just too excited to put them in at night before properly attaching the black piece.

 

[jimmy 2 times]

i had a cree led flashlight for some time now, great and bright. I think i am going to give them a try. where did you buy them from?

 

[WOODY92]

Check out this item I found on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?nav=item.view&id=281404883868&alt=web


Make sure in the comments when you purchase it you CLARIFY the correct LED bulb for the Ridgeline but this link is the actual one I bought.

 

[dcates]

No these are plug and play.






As far as longevity. My job is a contractor for Duke Energy Progress and operate there residential lighting products and I must say I really trust Cree. I work a lot with the household Cree light bulbs and all the research I have done backs that Cree has great LED chips. Now as far as longevity, I believe these Cree chips will live up the high and long lasting life they claim. As far as the structure of this product, the heat sink seems really effecient and durable. It is by no means a cheap bulb and the weight and quality of it is really durable for an "eBay" item.






The only install difficulty is getting the metal holster around the large heat sink but other than that it's plug and play. I know the zip tie is cheaper as a holder. I was just too excited to put them in at night before properly attaching the black piece.

Did you reinstall the rubber boot with the led headlights?

 

[feelmuhpino]

I am thoroughly enjoying my leds. And dcates, the kit that I got comes with a rubber boot to seal off the bulb, however I was still able to make the oem rubber bulb boot workand opted for that instead.

It was very tricky getting the metal bulb clasp around the large heat sinks of the bulb. This may be an issue years from now as the plastic that supports the clasp may become brittle over time And eventually snap. It happened to my sisters TL. I'll cross that bridge when and if I get there.