Headlight bulbs
Discussion
I bought a 64 plate Galaxy a year ago. It has daytime running lights that can't be turned off. Rather than fitting LED unitd, Ford have done it on the cheap by just wiring the dip beam to come on with the ignition.
The car has normal H7 halogen lamps, and the factory ones are pretty weak. I fitted Osram Nightbreakers. One blew after 6 months, so I replaced both at the same time. Another one blew today as I drove over a speed bump at 20mph.
Any recommendations for H7 lamps that have a decent light output, but last longer than 6 months?
The car has normal H7 halogen lamps, and the factory ones are pretty weak. I fitted Osram Nightbreakers. One blew after 6 months, so I replaced both at the same time. Another one blew today as I drove over a speed bump at 20mph.
Any recommendations for H7 lamps that have a decent light output, but last longer than 6 months?
*Al* said:
Looks like that could be the answer. I wonder what the beam pattern would be like?I've just read somewhere that hight output halogens have an expected life of 300 hours, which seems ridiculously short.
My car's computer says that my average speed has been 32mph over the past year, and I've done 11000 miles. That's about 350 hours of driving, and the lights are always on, so two bulb failures is to be expected.
Do I switch to long life halogens, and suffer reduced visibility at night, or invest £100 on a pair of quality branded LEDs?
My car's computer says that my average speed has been 32mph over the past year, and I've done 11000 miles. That's about 350 hours of driving, and the lights are always on, so two bulb failures is to be expected.
Do I switch to long life halogens, and suffer reduced visibility at night, or invest £100 on a pair of quality branded LEDs?
Mr2Mike said:
If you have H7's then there are separate bulbs for main and dip, in which case it's a no-brainer; fit standard or long life bulbs for dip/DRL and higher performance ones for main beam.
Unfortunately it's the dip beams that need improving. Most of my driving is on country B roads, with worn out road markings and poorly defined edges. It can be a struggle to see the road properly with the glare from oncoming headlights.300bhp/ton said:
How about a rewire? I suspect it wouldn't be that difficult to wire the DLR circuit into the side light, or even a separate DLR light (even if it's just a bulb). And return the headlights to normal use?
But it might be harder than it sounds on a modern car.
There are some ok LED bulbs and/or HIDs, but you need to know what to look for. And then test it out and assess if it's suitable or not.
Did you try the link I posted?
I had a read through the post that you linked to, and the units being discussed there looked fine, so decent LEDs are out there at a reasonable price. The Amazon supplier link throws up a warning on my tablet, so I'll look again later on my computer.But it might be harder than it sounds on a modern car.
There are some ok LED bulbs and/or HIDs, but you need to know what to look for. And then test it out and assess if it's suitable or not.
Did you try the link I posted?
My initial thoughts were that it would be best to disable the DRLs, but I couldn't find a way to do it. As well as reducing bulb life, it's annoying that the dip beams come on as soon as I press the start button to turn on the hands free or satnav (keyless start).
There doesn't appear to be a specific DRL fuse or relay, so I guess the body control module or whatever is programmed to turn the lights on with the ignition? I can't find any info on reprogramming.
Strangely, I can turn off the DRLs if I switch to sidelights when driving.
I'm not sure it would be possible to rewire without some drastic modifications
No, it's one of the last of the old shape.
Since the Galaxy is mostly a Mondeo, I've tried searching for info on Mondeo DRLs. It seems like the DRLs are controlled by the Generic Electronics Module, and are PWM switched 90%, so about 11.5v. I wonder if LED lamps would work properly on PWM?
Since the Galaxy is mostly a Mondeo, I've tried searching for info on Mondeo DRLs. It seems like the DRLs are controlled by the Generic Electronics Module, and are PWM switched 90%, so about 11.5v. I wonder if LED lamps would work properly on PWM?
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