Clancy209

Purchased LED HEADLIGHTS 2001 base. The package says 400watts, if I install these will I do damage. I noticed some other LED are rated 980 watts. Can the stock system handle this load?

lionelhutz

The current would be around 30A if they really were 400W units. This isn't likely, so the 400W is probably some fairly meaningless "equivalent" rating.

Is there a current draw rating on these bulbs?

Clancy209

No current rating. Don’t want to melt any connections/junctions.



1.Package include: 2x LED Headlight Bulbs
2.Complete Kit: No Other Ballast/Driver Required - Newest Technology
3.Beam Angel: 360 Degrees
4.Color Temperature： 6000K Pure White
5.Smart Efficient Cooling System, Built-In Cooling Fans For Fast Heat Dissipation
6.High quality Aluminum heat dissipation ensures the secure temperature range
7.Low Power Consumption than Halogen bulb, Energy Saving
8.Low Voltage Protection, High Precision Constant Current driver Chip
9.Shakeproof and Long lasting up to 50,000 Hours.
10.Easy installation, Plug and Play, NO modification required
11.Operating Temperature: -40°C ~ +80°C

Automotive LED headlamps advantages:

1. LED lights than traditional halogen energy, more power.
2. Xenon lamp brightness and proximity , but the LED lights light up without delay, to enhance road safety. Instant start no strong currents impact , effectively protecting the car comes with a battery , improving battery life of more than 30%.
3. Fast cooling , the appearance of the most advanced design , thermal structure ingenious and reasonable.Less warranty, power driver with wide voltage constant current mode , the car can respond to a variety of voltage instability , the effective protection of normal use Led efficient and simple structure . Fewer Components damaged, repair the probability is very low , compared with HID ballast repair lower than 80% .
4. Heating temperature is low , protect the car . Xenon working temperature up to 800 ° -1000 ° , the main reason for the car ignition .
5. LED car headlights simple structure, fewer parts than xenon lamps, significantly lower than the xenon lamp failure rates !
6. Automotive LED headlamps color temperature balancing. The Xenon bulbs in the same color to clear , about 600K.

C6_Racer_X

Are these full replacements for the entire headlamp assembly? Or are they LED 'conversion' 'bulbs' that fit in the hole where the 9006 bulbs were?

LED replacement bulbs are all illegal for use on public roads, and they all change the beam pattern to something that is much less safe (dangerous). You'll not only annoy other drivers (oncoming traffic, or anyone you're following), you'll also not be able to see as good yourself. I've seen a few single car accidents with cars with LED 'conversion' bulbs in standard headlights. One of them, I saw it from the passenger seat.

If you want better lighting, first, replace the headlamp assemblies to get new optics (lenses and reflectors). Get good bulbs. If you want brighter headlights with the stock lamp assemblies, use the 9012 and 9011 HIR bulbs. You have to slightly modify the bases of those bulbs, but they are significantly brighter, and the filament geometry is the same, so the beam pattern is unchanged from stock, just brighter.

If your "LED Headlights" completely replace the stock headlamp assemblies, there is a slight chance that they are legal and safe. Look for DOT markings or the Ⓔ mark (with a number next to the E in the circle). If at least one of those markings are not present, you don't have a headlight, you have a dangerous toy.

jdmvette

lionelhutz

If they are meant to replace a halogen bulb then they'll have less current draw.

As noted, many of the HID and LED retrofit kits have a terrible beam pattern and none of these HID or LED retrofit light sources are DOT approved. Don't get pissed off when oncoming traffic flashes their high beams at you due to your glaring headlights, or they just throw their high beams on and leave them on like I do. My rule is that if your lights don't dim then why should I dim mine.

If you're changing light sources from halogen then it has to be a complete lamp assembly to have any chance of being DOT approved.

Clancy209

Thank you very good info, didn’t read that anywhere

C6_Racer_X

People often focus on the annoyance of these glare sources, but that's not the biggest saftey issue.

The beam pattern that most of these "retrofits" generate is most dangerous to the driver (and passengers) in the car with the retrofit LED (or HID) lights. Usually, these "bulbs" generate a pattern that floods the foreground with very intense light. The pattern is much closer to the car than the standard halogen bulbs, and it's much brighter. That gives you the impression that the lights are brighter, making you more likely to drive with low beams when high beams are more appropriate. It also constricts the driver's pupils, making distance vision much worse. The combination makes it very unsafe. I was in an accident in one of these vehicles (in the passenger seat). We were traveling along a rural 2 lane late at night, and encountered a fallen tree across the road. By the time the driver noticed the tree, we were almost in it, and way too close to stop. The car was totaled, and I narrowly escaped serious injury. I ducked. Actually, I slid as low as I could into the passenger footwell when I realized we were going to hit the tree, and a broken branch, about 4 inches in diameter went through the windshield and through the passenger seat, just below the top of the seat below the headrest. I'll never ride in a vehicle with LED or HID 'retrofit' headlights again.
There are usually 3 areas where you can restore/improve the performance of older headlights.

• Optics (lenses and reflectors)
• Electrical connections/wiring
• Bulbs

If you want to restore/improve your headlights, the first step is to take a hard, critical look at the optics in your headlamp assemblies. The lenses and the reflectors. Lenses get cloudy/hazy after 10 years or more. The lenses on the C5's get a lot less UV damage than most, but they also get a bit more heat than most when they are retracted. Cloudy lenses can be polished and cleared up, but it's rarely worth doing because usually when the lens is cloudy, the reflector is very dull as well. For a quick visual inspection, park your car next to a new (or nearly new) car on a sunny day. pop your headlights up, but don't turn them on (or turn off the car with the headlights up), Compare how shiny the reflector is on a new headlamp with the reflector in yours. I'm going to guess that yours will look like the dull side of aluminum foil. A dull reflector will make any bulb you put in the thing perform badly.

The best way to resolve dull reflector + cloudy lens is to replace the entire assembly. I'm pretty sure OE replacement headlamp assemblies are still available for the C5's, although they are pricey. If you plan to keep the vehicle for years, it's really worth investing in another set of new, genuine GM headlamp assemblies while you can still get them. You'll get another 10 to 20 years out of new headlamps. If the OEM parts are no longer available, then restoration of both the lenses and reflectors is your only option, but getting that done properly is also pricey, and there aren't many places that do quality work.

For the electrics, the first step is to get a volt meter. With the engine running, measure the voltage at the battery, and, backprobe the headlight bulbs at the connector. DO NOT DISCONNECT THE BULBS for the voltage test. You should have 13.x volts at the battery with the engine running. With the lights on, you should have close to that at the headlight connectors with the bulbs installed. I always shoot for over 13 volts, although 12.8+ isn't bad. If the voltage is low, cleaning/restoring all the connectors in the circuit can help. I generally punt and install a good relay harness (I make the harness myself usually). Getting full voltage to the bulbs is critical to getting the most light out of the bulbs.

Once you have good optics and good voltage, selecting the best bulb is the final step. For 9006/9005 setups, the HIR bulbs are the best upgrade. They use slightly less power (giving slightly less voltage drop from the wiring) and they produce about double the light of the standard 9006/9005 bulbs. The bulbs to get for this are the GM/AC Delco bulbs. For the 9006 (low beam) socket, use GM part # 23342527 (HIR2/9012 bulb made by Vosla, excellent quality). I accept no substitutes on that one. For the high beam socket, AC-Delco HIR1 or AC-Delco 9011's are usually good. The best is the Vosla bulb, which is usually marked 9011 in the AC Delco boxes. The HIR1's in the AC-Delco boxes are usually Toshiba bulbs, and generally are easily identified by the big "balloon" in the glass part. Those have had some quality issues over the years, but the ones I got earlier this year looked to be excellent quality. All three are available online from Amazon or RockAuto.com. They are also available from GM dealerships if you want a local source. The bulbs must be slightly modified to fit in the 9006/9005 sockets. The mods are detailed at http://dastern.torque.net/Mods/HIRmod.html

Tsumi

The stock C5 US halogen light pattern isn't all that great to begin with, a proper retrofit with any Radioflyer headlight package will be better. The Euro headlights would be a good choice as well, though almost as expensive as a Radioflyer ACA package.

Clancy209

Thank again you seem to be pretty well informed

Clancy209

After reading. C6 racer explanation I am thinking about the HIR2/9012 bulbs seem to be the best of both worlds fits in the socket and keeps the wattage normal without any other hardware included. Probably not as bright as LED but more then adequate for my usage

Thanks every for your response and knowledge

sirdano

I am thinking we need a sticky on LED headlights as this ois the 10 subject on this matter.

Also would put a big warning in the subject

Clancy209

Don’t know how to sticker a thread.

I can close later when I install.

How do I sticky.

feeder82

You need to contact one of the forum moderators