Originally Posted by dual disc 200 (Post 4467938)

Disclaimer: I do very well understand the LED lamps on stock halogen reflectors is going to startle the oncoming traffic and is highly illegal as per the RTO regulations. This is for experimenting purposes and will revert to stock if the expected results don't show up.


Been thinking over a long time for the need to upgrade the stock lighting in my Fiesta 1.6 S. Although the stock dual barrel headlights were enough for the city, on the highways it was crude. Simply, put it was as if a candle in the wind.

Ideation:

Then came the idea of upgrading the lights with the following and I had to choose one of these;

1.Higher wattage Halogen lamps ( Requires wiring harness mods and I’m not sure the stock reflector would hold up without burning itself out on the longer run)
2.HID’s – Although I’m a big fan of the HID lamp tone and their intensity when fully charged, kept that on a corner of my mind.
3.LED’s – As the trend continues to insist more and more on the high efficient LED’s thought might as well give it a shot.

Procurement & Installation:

The same time around this trauma of headlight upgrade came the AliExpress sale. Picked up a pair each for both the High and Low beam barrels. After a never ending wait the same landed after 28 days to be precise.

Product URL: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/CNSU...27424c4ddIRF0m

Attachment 1802332

The first and foremost thing that I found was that the lights cannot be fixed without removing the headlights, at least the LED ones which comes with a cooling fan. I had removed all the fasteners holding the headlights and the same still wouldn’t come off the car. Finally after a bit of research managed to get both of them out.

Attachment 1802333

The next thing was to install the lamps which when did had an unacceptable play. The same when un-attended would translate into something catastrophic. Thought over for a few minutes and decided to get the surgery done in my bedroom with the help of a hot glue gun.

Attachment 1802338

The Chinese LED’s comes with an adaptor which would seat itself to the headlight entry where the lamp goes in and then the actual LED has to get itself turned clockwise locking them into place onto the adapter.

The hot glue gun did wonders of keeping everything in it’s place and sealing them from dust and grime. The whole process took about 2 hrs with curing time included and finally the same looked ok.

Attachment 1802334

The lights were then taken back to the car and there came a challenge of the difference in the wiring adapters that power the headlights. Made a quick run to the local hardware store and soldered myself a few adapters for the installation.

Attachment 1802331

The installation post the adapters were a breeze and the same was done in about 1 hr.

Verdict:

Stock Lighting
Attachment 1802337

LED Low Beam
Attachment 1802336

LED High Beam
Attachment 1802335

Pro’s

1.Show Stopper
2.Less load on the battery
3.Instant brightness in the flick of a switch
4.Brighter than the conventional halogens in dry conditions at night

Con’s

1. Leaves everyone startled when I use HI beam in the city limits, which I’ve avoided.
2. On a rainy day, I might as well switch off these and use the fog lamp which gives me greater visibility than these that scatter all over.