LED Headlight Conversions | Page 12 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Alright, thanks for the update dead - since they don't completely fit under the cover I ordered some other ones that looks to be pretty compact and all in one. Once installed, and tested, I'll report back on fit, lighting, etc.

I will just note that after testing many LED headlights, I recommend you either leave the dust covers off (but don't do that if you drive a lot on dusty roads or sand etc) or make a modification to it so that the back of the LED light that contains the fan can blow out the air. If the air is blocked by the dust cover, things will get super hot. Those "twist in" LED replacements generate an absolute ton of heat and compared to those installed "factory" they are not designed to be in an enclosed environment without access to getting rid of that hot air. I've seen people complain about warped or melted plastic and other issues caused by putting them in and putting all the "lids" back on. For one idea on how to modify the covers, here's a video. But do note that should the rear of the light get super hot, you risk melting the dust cover.
 



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Went with these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H8VILD6 - as they seemed compact and I wanted to try out a set that was relatively cheap and compact to see if I liked the LED switch.

Very bright and throw slightly better than stock. I'm going back and forth on whether to return and trying out a higher lumen set, but so far I'm quite happy. Everything fits behind the dust cover as it's an all in one unit and the heat sink isn't huge.

I drove around for almost 2 hours yesterday, running errands, etc. with the longest stint over an hour without shutting engine/lights off. When returning home I checked the dust covers and they weren't even warm to the touch. I have a road trip coming up in about a week and half where I'll be driving for about 6 hours - I'll make sure to check out the heat situation and report back.

EDIT - for my own peace of mine I did some quick research on heat from led vs stock/halogen and came across this article with heat tests -

How hot do LED headlight bulbs get? - Better Automotive Lighting

Conclusion from their test -
#1: The original halogen bulbs run REALLY REALLY HOT!
#2: The fan-based heat sink design is still the version that cools the best, but it’s other downfalls outweigh it’s usefulness.
#3: The brightest LED bulbs are proven to create the most heat.
#4: Even on the LED bulbs that create the most heat, they are still not hot enough to damage anything in/on/around the headlight housing.
#5: LED Tech is evolving rapidly and it’s fun to see all the changes in the last year!
 






Tried to install my led lights today...couldnt get my hand in place to remove driver side. Finally gave up. Any suggestions
 






Tried to install my led lights today...couldnt get my hand in place to remove driver side. Finally gave up. Any suggestions
Find someone with smaller hands. Seriously, unless you wish to remove the entire fixture. I tried reaching mine on the driver's side just out of curiosity and also couldn't reach it. Since mine is a lease and I'm perfectly happy with the lights the way they are, I just left it.

Peter
 












OK - no one has addressed the capacitor or resistor that all the LED manufacturers say is needed for canbus vehicles, which is what I have (2015 EX). So, do we need these or not? If so, those will generate a ton of heat in addition to the LED heat, I would think. Any comments would be appreciated!
 












OK - no one has addressed the capacitor or resistor that all the LED manufacturers say is needed for canbus vehicles, which is what I have (2015 EX). So, do we need these or not? If so, those will generate a ton of heat in addition to the LED heat, I would think. Any comments would be appreciated!
I didn't need them for my 2015 sport. I just put in the bulbs and was good to go.

As far as the other guy who had problems getting to the bulbs - I don't recall having any major issues. It was a tight fit for my hands, but I was able to maneuver the bulbs OK.
 






Thanks! Just what I wanted to hear! What bulbs did you get? Forgive me if you answered this already.... did you have to cut the dust cover to make them fit or stay cool?
 






Thanks! Just what I wanted to hear! What bulbs did you get? Forgive me if you answered this already.... did you have to cut the dust cover to make them fit or stay cool?
I have the Opt7 X bulbs. I put the dust covers back on but the bottom portion is not fully sealed so that the wire can come though. I didn't want to cut them in case I go back to stock for some reason. I've had no issues this way for at least a couple k miles now with a few multi hour night drives.
 






Same here - the LEDs I got were plug and play, with everything fitting behind the dust covers.

So far so good and no sign of heat causing any damage, not that I'm worried about it either. Halogens run really hot too and from what I have read there shouldn't be any concern either, but I will keep checking at regular intervals.
 






Thanks! I really appreciate the info. I will definitely join the LED crowd.
 






I recently started looking looking at replacing my headlights with LED headlights.

All the links in this thread seem to be dead except on the page before this one, are those reliable models?

Are there any replacements for the foglights or are those already LED bulbs?

Thanks.
 






I recently started looking looking at replacing my headlights with LED headlights.

All the links in this thread seem to be dead except on the page before this one, are those reliable models?

Are there any replacements for the foglights or are those already LED bulbs?

Thanks.
So far the Opti's have been good for me, and they are a fairly reputable brand from what I understand.

I would not replace your foglights with white LEDs, actually foglights are much more effective when yellower vs white. You can replace them the same way though - just need to figure out which bulb is required which I think is covered in this thread or another thread.
 






I recently started looking looking at replacing my headlights with LED headlights.

All the links in this thread seem to be dead except on the page before this one, are those reliable models?

Are there any replacements for the foglights or are those already LED bulbs?

Thanks.
Fogs are LED.
 






So far the Opti's have been good for me, and they are a fairly reputable brand from what I understand.

I would not replace your foglights with white LEDs, actually foglights are much more effective when yellower vs white. You can replace them the same way though - just need to figure out which bulb is required which I think is covered in this thread or another thread.

Thanks, I don't want to replace the fogs if they are already LED, I would just like the colors of both the headlights and the fogs to match as closely as possible.

Fogs are LED.

That is what I thought I had read previously, thanks!
 





















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Did you purchase the ones with or without the decoder (whatever that is)?
So I had the same question when I called. You only need the decoder if your model of Explorer has canbus. Mine is a 2014 so I got mine without the decoder.
 






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