LED bulbs - specifically H7 dipped beam

[Tyre Smoke]

What's the received wisdom on LED bulbs?

Are they the new retina burners for oncoming chavs, or are there some decent ones out there?

[jkp2505]

In the UK they are not road legal which means you may not pass the MOT and theoretically you could be fined if a police officer spots you driving with them. Otherwise I would have definitely tried them myself as the headlights on my car aren’t great

With the brighter ones I believe you would generally need to ensure you have projector headlights and not reflectors to avoid blinding other drivers

Based on reviews on Amazon it seems many of the cheaper ones also tend to have problems like not fitting correctly, causing CAN bus errors, flickering etc.

I noticed Philips do a range of LED’s that replace halogens including H7 for around £100 which are presumably reasonable quality. Again they are not ‘E’ marked for road use though.

Edited by jkp2505 on Thursday 27th February 18:50

[buggalugs]

I got the Phillips ones for my W204 Merc as the halogens were like candles in a jam jar. They were the original ones about 1500 lumens I think which isn’t super high but they were noticeably better than the halogens. In my car they needed rotating to give a nice even bright beam.

Got them summer 2018 and they’re still OK.

Now most decent cars have really bright LED’s I kinda wish I’d got something with a bit more oomph but they’re basically still acceptable.

[Kenny6868]

I got 2 sets of these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TZPLQM7/ref...

1 for the dipped projector lamps and the other for full beam. So far they've been reliable and give excellent output. The cut off is exactly as per the halogen bulbs as long as the LED bulbs are rotated correctly. Full beam is brilliant. Good distance and a nice clear white light.

[Tyre Smoke]

Excellent! Thanks.

[David Beer]

It’s not a mot issue, it’s an insurance issue. Dazzle someone and not CE marked, if something goes wrong, not for me !

[Saleen836]

Kenny6868 said:

I got 2 sets of these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TZPLQM7/ref...

1 for the dipped projector lamps and the other for full beam. So far they've been reliable and give excellent output. The cut off is exactly as per the halogen bulbs as long as the LED bulbs are rotated correctly. Full beam is brilliant. Good distance and a nice clear white light.

Are these a direct replacement? I can't work out how they are connected as thinking of getting some for my Astravan

[Dog Star]

Saleen836 said:

Kenny6868 said:

I got 2 sets of these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TZPLQM7/ref...

1 for the dipped projector lamps and the other for full beam. So far they've been reliable and give excellent output. The cut off is exactly as per the halogen bulbs as long as the LED bulbs are rotated correctly. Full beam is brilliant. Good distance and a nice clear white light.

Are these a direct replacement? I can't work out how they are connected as thinking of getting some for my Astravan

How do you manage with the plastic covers that usually go on the back of the headlamp assembly to cover the connections?