n805aquaholic
Member
- Joined
- January 28, 2012
- Messages
- 44
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Sequoia NP, CA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2014 Explorer Sport
UPDATE: after a few years of use, here's what I've learned:
The CFL halos are ****e. One burned out within a year. I replaced them with these LED halos from SuperBrightLEDs
These things are fracking BRIGHT! They are also a new product since the date of my original installation, there are more LEDs on it than the amber LED halos which I have facing aft.
I chose the 80mm "cool white" halos. They are slightly larger than the mini H1 projector housings and have stayed in place with a dab of superglue. I also decided to wire them such that they flash with the blinker instead of always being on with the DRL. They are on, then turn off when the amber DRL brightens up for turn signals or hazard flash then cycle through until flashing stops. Here is a short video showing that.
I am still very happy with the original projector retrofit, the only problem has been some corrosion on a pin in the TRS controller unit, causing one headlight not to ignite. This was solved with a bit or dielectric grease on the connector for the controller.
NOTE: I purchased a new flasher relay which accounts for the lower resistance of LED taillights... the flashing is now at a normal pace instead of the "hyper-flash" which normally results from installing LED bulbs in a flashing position. Pull your relay (under the driver's kick panel and find the corresponding flasher unit on SuperBrightLEDs... The new relay was larger and would not allow me to replace the plastic piece which snaps over the relay array... the main kick panel still bolted on fine.
The CFL halos are ****e. One burned out within a year. I replaced them with these LED halos from SuperBrightLEDs
These things are fracking BRIGHT! They are also a new product since the date of my original installation, there are more LEDs on it than the amber LED halos which I have facing aft.
I chose the 80mm "cool white" halos. They are slightly larger than the mini H1 projector housings and have stayed in place with a dab of superglue. I also decided to wire them such that they flash with the blinker instead of always being on with the DRL. They are on, then turn off when the amber DRL brightens up for turn signals or hazard flash then cycle through until flashing stops. Here is a short video showing that.
I am still very happy with the original projector retrofit, the only problem has been some corrosion on a pin in the TRS controller unit, causing one headlight not to ignite. This was solved with a bit or dielectric grease on the connector for the controller.
NOTE: I purchased a new flasher relay which accounts for the lower resistance of LED taillights... the flashing is now at a normal pace instead of the "hyper-flash" which normally results from installing LED bulbs in a flashing position. Pull your relay (under the driver's kick panel and find the corresponding flasher unit on SuperBrightLEDs... The new relay was larger and would not allow me to replace the plastic piece which snaps over the relay array... the main kick panel still bolted on fine.
