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Hi-Beam LED Upgrade

hkarlh

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City, State
INDEPENDENCE
Year, Model & Trim Level
2017 Explorer Limited
I'm pleased with the $80 that I spend upgrading the halogen hi-beams to LED. The pics don't really do them justice. The beam perhaps cast a bit further. It does make seeing what it lit at the end of the light beam clearer. I think it will help reduce the chances of a bad encounter with a deer.

The pic were taken after I installed just one of the LED bulbs on the passenger side. The middle pic is the original halogen bulb (with the LED covered) and the bottom pic is the LED bulb.

At 80 mph the end of the useable beam is right at 6 seconds ahead of me.

I used these bulbs:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077B7GJ5J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

LED Lights1.jpg
20190812_212716.jpg
20190812_212640.jpg
 



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Looks pretty good to me. How was installation? I'm assuming not plug and play? Does it require ballasts and all that stuff? Last time I installed HID headlights it required a fair amount of wiring.
 






Ford doesn't make replacing those bulbs easy. There is very little room. A lot of twisting and turning of the hand to find the right angles:) About 10 minutes on one side & 20 on the other (driver's) side. The bulbs have an electronic box that fits inside the housing but getting things positioned right to get it along with the connector inside the housing is what took the time. Quite a bit of trial and error and repositioning the hand in a cramped space.

It was all super easy though. Barely an inconvenience.

I find my lights are aimed a tad low. Now to figure out how to raise them a wee bit.
 






........I find my lights are aimed a tad low. Now to figure out how to raise them a wee bit.
It's all in the Manual.:)

Peter
 






It's all in the Manual

I see ours are the same. I did look there. Issue is that the adjustment screw is not a Phillips head. I even asked a shop guy at the dealer. He called someone over and they both looked at each other like "I dunno".

Looks like some special tool is needed. I planned to make a post with a question and include pics.
 






I see ours are the same. I did look there. Issue is that the adjustment screw is not a Phillips head. I even asked a shop guy at the dealer. He called someone over and they both looked at each other like "I dunno".

Looks like some special tool is needed. I planned to make a post with a question and include pics.
There are pics in the Manual. You need a socket wrench to adjust the assembly (page 292).

Peter
 






The last time I looked at it was 2 weeks after I bought the car. Now that I have seen it, I'm like..."duh". Shoot. And I even took time to ask the service guys about it. LOL

ViouBhil.jpg
 






How did you fit everything behind the dust covers? Will the LED overheat with it sealed behind the cover?
 






...........Will the LED overheat with it sealed behind the cover?
I can't say for sure, but one of the attributes of LED bulbs is that they don't give off much heat. It's the drivers that produce heat. That can be an issue if you live in an area where headlights might get covered in ice. There are several articles on the Web about that problem.
While the LED drivers mounted onto vehicle headlamps can produce enough heat that they require cooling fans, little of this energy gets to the lens where it can help to melt snow and ice.
will led headlights melt ice - Google Search

Peter
 






How did you fit everything behind the dust covers? Will the LED overheat with it sealed behind the cover?

It was a squeeze. Took some trial, error, and conorting of my hand to get it in there. But it wasn't too challenging.

I haven't felt any excessive heat coming from them. But the whole compartment is rather warm with it being summer weather still and the engine having been running. Only time will tell if heat is a factor in the units failing or not.
 






SIMILAR: I did LEDs on my 2018 F150, and you need to put the controller in first, only THEN install the bulb (cannot get the controller thru the hole with lightbulb already in there). But it all fit behind the rubber cap. No overheat issues.
 






I can't say for sure, but one of the attributes of LED bulbs is that they don't give off much heat. It's the drivers that produce heat. That can be an issue if you live in an area where headlights might get covered in ice. There are several articles on the Web about that problem.
While the LED drivers mounted onto vehicle headlamps can produce enough heat that they require cooling fans, little of this energy gets to the lens where it can help to melt snow and ice.
will led headlights melt ice - Google Search

Peter

I worked on automotive headlights for several years when white LEDs first hit the market, so I am well aware of the issues. My Fusion Sport has all LED front lighting, so after driving through an ice storm, all of my lenses were covered in ice. We can thank FMVSS/DOT for this because we don't require headlight washers. UNECE requires headlight washers on projector headlights and LED/laser.

LED headlights produce quite a bit of heat which are usually dissipated with heatsinks found on the back of the aftermarket units. Sometimes they use fans as well. But because a lot of modern headlamps put their bulbs inside the housing with a boot/seal to prevent dust/dirt intrusion, I am wondering how these aftermarket LEDs will handle the heat build up. I've used LED headlight conversions on my 2007 Mustang GT with great success because the heatsinks sat out in the open and the VOR H13 reflectors somehow magically worked perfectly with the LEDs complete with the sharp VOR cutoff. On the Cobalt SS with 9007s, it was a PITA finding the right bulb design that would work with the reflectors.
 






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