[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by himadrimondal

TSK, dedicating this make to you, your thread has given me the inspiration to design and make this. This is a 40w led bar, 10 watt each as suggested by you. The problem with 10w is not much of the parts are available, drivers to the led are not even heard by the local vendors. Took me over a month to fabricate and design. Parts required to make these are:

1. SMD LED 10 Watt each (local market)
2. Heat sinks (local market)
3. Collimator lens (ebay india). These are awesome. Without the lens one can still stare at the led for 5 secs but with these on the lights go crazy. I have removed my Hellas, they give silly pencil beam lights compared to these.
4. Drivers, bought many but used none. Most of them failed in both series and parallel connections. The ones bought from dx.com are yet to arrive, due over a month. Back to my engineering basics, used 7812 IC's on heat sink which is placed inside the bonnet.
5. MS sheet fabrication.

Thanks boss for this fantastic thread, write up and video.

Initial setup
Attachment 1265894

7812 IC for the 4 led's
Attachment 1265893

Attachment 1265891

Attachment 1265892

Excellent effort.
What was the total cost involved?
I also explored this, and the cost of LENS alone(high quality) was around 3000rs for 4 pieces.

A 40W bar rated to IP-68 of very good quality fully waterproof and shockproof if around 6000 retail.

I guess chinese economies of scale are hard to beat.

Are you interested in another project?
I was planning such a project, but due to lack of time, could not take it online.

The basic idea was of using a CREE LED Array
http://www.cree.com/LED-Components-a.../XLamp-CXA1512

MAX power is 24W/array

Put 4 of these with a nice lens, and it will make a killer 100W tube with amazing throw and range.

Price is listed as 11$
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cree-XLamp-C...item43d2eece12

However, if you buy 4, the some sellers give this for 8$/piece that is like 32$ only!
If you use this, make sure you use professional grade thermal paste for heatsinking.

[Dry Ice]

How do you identify an original Cree light bar? Aliexpress is filled with light bars but there is no way to tell if they are genuine. Also the 10w/led ones seem to be rather limited and are often not on free shipping. Sigh!

From your review, it seems even a 60 or 80w should be enough. Anything available locally in the 7-8k range?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

How do you identify an original Cree light bar? Aliexpress is filled with light bars but there is no way to tell if they are genuine. Also the 10w/led ones seem to be rather limited and are often not on free shipping. Sigh!

From your review, it seems even a 60 or 80w should be enough. Anything available locally in the 7-8k range?

Yes, 10W series bars are not cheap, because you cannot make such a bar cheap.
You need
1. Heat dissipation : So you have to use die cast aluminum. Use lower quality stuff and weight penalty is going to be massive
2. Optics : An unfocussed LED is not going to be useful. So you need a good quality lens for a large surface area of a 10W LED. Its not cheap
3. Electronics : You need electronics which can sustain 60 degree+ temperatures. No getting around that.

That is the reason that most aliexpress bars are 3W and the 10W series are expensive.

As for local, due to my commercial involvement(selling bars), I cannot give you the pricing here. You are free to Google and search on various websites. Buy what suits you.

As for your last question, whether its really cree, well, companies with good reputation will have cree because they have to maintain that reputation.
Moreover, the biggest cost is for optics. LED chips as such are not very expensive. So most (90%) companies do not cheat there.

the difference between high quality and low quality are
1. Water sealing : Low end stuff is IP-67(often listed as IP-68). Look for photos of certificates of compliance. When we import, we always ask seller to send us a copy of the certificate of compliance
2. Optics : This is the biggie. Good quality lenses with 97% transmission are expensive. For range you need a good lens
3. Electronics : Often some low quality bars pull around 2A current for 40W(actual 30W). The good quality ones pull 3.5A approx (37-38W).

Then there is also independent testing. For example, good quality bars claiming 5400 lumens are actually 4000 lumens measured. However, poor quality ones are usually 2000-2400 lumens due to poor quality optics.

[shashank.nk]

Got a pair of 60w Oledone Oval lamps installed on my car. I'm attaching a few pics of the beam pattern. Camera settings was kept constant throughout, F6.3,ISO 3200,1/30

Stock low beam-60/55 philips bulbs

Stock High Beam (auto barely visible)

Led Ovals (Auto clearly visible thanks to brilliant spread of these lights)



I'll click better pics on a road sans any streetlights and post them later.

[john doe]

When I saw the 3rd picture, I was amazed. But then I noticed how even the top of the trees are also illuminated brightly and started to wonder "what if I was on the other side of these lights?"

Perhaps some way of cutting off the upward spreading light would be in order.

[AlokSriva]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

.. Buy what suits you.

As for your last question, whether its really cree, well, companies with good reputation will have cree because they have to maintain that reputation.
Moreover, the biggest cost is for optics. LED chips as such are not very expensive. So most (90%) companies do not cheat there.

the difference between high quality and low quality are
1. Water sealing : Low end stuff is IP-67(often listed as IP-68). Look for photos of certificates of compliance. When we import, we always ask seller to send us a copy of the certificate of compliance
2. Optics : This is the biggie. Good quality lenses with 97% transmission are expensive. For range you need a good lens
3. Electronics : Often some low quality bars pull around 2A current for 40W(actual 30W). The good quality ones pull 3.5A approx (37-38W).

Then there is also independent testing. For example, good quality bars claiming 5400 lumens are actually 4000 lumens measured. However, poor quality ones are usually 2000-2400 lumens due to poor quality optics.

Hi Tanvir, Is there a dual beam (high & low) solution available in LEDs in local market? The only companies that I came across were Hella (http://www.myhellalights.com/index.p...bi-led-module/) or clearwaterlights.com

My requirement is way too unique and people have found it to be dumb (though they were polite enough not to say it on my face ) - I intend to put aux lamps on my bike with dual beams while leaving the stock lamps AS IS.
TIA!

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by AlokSriva

Hi Tanvir, Is there a dual beam (high & low) solution available in LEDs in local market? The only companies that I came across were Hella (http://www.myhellalights.com/index.p...bi-led-module/) or clearwaterlights.com

My requirement is way too unique and people have found it to be dumb (though they were polite enough not to say it on my face ) - I intend to put aux lamps on my bike with dual beams while leaving the stock lamps AS IS.
TIA!

Hi Alok
Aurora makes a high low beam 7" light for jeeps, and it fits enfields too. But we do not import it as the astronomical price of 25000/pair means its too expensive for the Indian market, so I do not import it at all, even though it should be a bolt on on vehicles with a 7" round light(Thar? Enfield?)

You can try local market and see if you find something.

Typically, most people install LEDs via a separate switch.
In my case, when switch is on for the 200W bar, the bar does not come on unless I am in high beam.
I have this configuration because then I can easily switch to low beam and bar goes off whenever there is oncoming traffic.

If you are planning to install bright LEDs on your vehicle, you can have a series connection between high beam and the LED. So when switch is on, the bar does not come on unless you have high beams also on. You will need to use a RELAY to do this, and the circuit just extracts barely 500mA from your high beam wiring, so will not blow any fuses.

[AlokSriva]

Thanks mate! 7" for aux lamps on a bike which has stock 5" dual headlamps might not be feasible owing to weight and aesthetic reasons therefore, the aux can't be more than 5" for sure.

Since I am electrically handicapped, and also so as not to void the warranty, I am more than content to utilize a plug and play solution. I understand that a proper LED setup ought to come with a dimmer in order to adjust the intensity of light depending on the riding/traffic condition. I am willing to cough up within reasonable limits for 'the' solution

[swiftdiesel]

Can this LED bar replace auxillary Hella/Lightforce lamps? I had Hellas on my Ertiga and the problem I faced was constant bulb fuses and darkening of bulb casing. In fact I remember every 5th outstation trip will involve replacing those 100w bulbs. I'm totally new to this and would like to know if LEDs last the distance. What would be the base price for a good set up? I know I can look it up on Google but I want to make sure I'm looking at the right stuff. Looking to accessorise my Lodgy.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by AlokSriva

Thanks mate! 7" for aux lamps on a bike which has stock 5" dual headlamps might not be feasible owing to weight and aesthetic reasons therefore, the aux can't be more than 5" for sure.

Since I am electrically handicapped, and also so as not to void the warranty, I am more than content to utilize a plug and play solution. I understand that a proper LED setup ought to come with a dimmer in order to adjust the intensity of light depending on the riding/traffic condition. I am willing to cough up within reasonable limits for 'the' solution

In case of bikes, the most popular setup is a single 8" or smaller bar mounted below headlight. No dimmer option. Just a switch connected to battery. With just 40W of power consumption, there is no excess load

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

Can this LED bar replace auxillary Hella/Lightforce lamps? I had Hellas on my Ertiga and the problem I faced was constant bulb fuses and darkening of bulb casing. In fact I remember every 5th outstation trip will involve replacing those 100w bulbs. I'm totally new to this and would like to know if LEDs last the distance. What would be the base price for a good set up? I know I can look it up on Google but I want to make sure I'm looking at the right stuff. Looking to accessorise my Lodgy.

Yes, good quality branded bars last a few years without issue and are fully submersible.
Base price for a pair is around 11000-12000 INR (40Ws) or thereabouts. If you go for no-name brand cheap stuff, then base price can be as low as 7000-8000rs, but usually they are not very good.

Good quality stuff comes with atleast a 1 year warranty.
That said, 30000 hours of life is common, and they run for years.
Also make sure they are IP-68(not IP67).

[swiftdiesel]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Yes, good quality branded bars last a few years without issue and are fully submersible.
Base price for a pair is around 11000-12000 INR (40Ws) or thereabouts. If you go for no-name brand cheap stuff, then base price can be as low as 7000-8000rs, but usually they are not very good.

Good quality stuff comes with atleast a 1 year warranty.
That said, 30000 hours of life is common, and they run for years.
Also make sure they are IP-68(not IP67).

Thanks tsk1979! What brands are reputed like Hella or LForce for aux lamps? Is Cree good?

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Got a pair of 60w Oledone Oval lamps installed on my car.

Very impressive light output .
Could you post some pictures of the LEDs itself and where did you source them from ? .

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

Thanks tsk1979! What brands are reputed like Hella or LForce for aux lamps? Is Cree good?

Cree does not make light bars.
Cree is a LED maker.
For high output LEDs, you have two major players
Cree and Olson
For 3W LEDs you also have Epistar. They also make SMD and 1W LEDs which are great for brake lights or interior lighting.

However, LED chip is just one component. The bigger difference is made with optics. Just like a powerful HID in a normal halogen setup is not going to give you any benefit, a good LED chip in poor optics is just going to give you scatter.
Due to the size of the LED emitter, to achieve long range, you need very good optics.

That is the key.
The brands I am aware of which make good stuff are
RIGID : Frightfully expensive though
OLEDONE : Good presence in EUROPEAN market
AURORA : Claim to be as good as rigid, and their primary competition in USA. The rumor is that aurora used to make components for RIGID, but later started marketing their own products too. They were also apparently sued by RIGID. Aurora's tagline is better than RIGID, but I am not aware of the current status of the lawsuit.

However, that is what I am aware of. There may be other manufacturers which are as good. I cannot comment on that.

That said, if an light bar is rated IP69K or IP68 with certification, you can be sure that the manufacturer is good. Sellers who import know the certification as the manufacturer gives us certification details.
For example
Oledone makes IP-68 and IP-69K certified bars. There is a certificate of compliance which they share.
Same with Aurora.

Moreover, big selling brands do not lie about certifications.
However, there is a huge market of unbranded stuff, with no brand name at all. You find these on ebay.com(HK china sellers) and aliexpress.com. Most of these are IP67(though some claim to be IP68).
IP67 is good enough for rain etc., but if you are offroading, or you are driving with the bar submerged, there can be moisture ingress.

I am sure there will be a lot of sellers in the UK. If you are worried about importing from China, you can contact a local seller.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Very impressive light output .
Could you post some pictures of the LEDs itself and where did you source them from ? .

Yes the light output is excellent,only problem is I have to be very careful with usage,so I've wired it exactly as tanveer explained earlier. The led's light up only of i'm on highbeam,else they're off.

Here are a few pics of the lights mounted:

[Pankaj_Ahlawat]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Yes the light output is excellent,only problem is I have to be very careful with usage,so I've wired it exactly as tanveer explained earlier. The led's light up only of i'm on highbeam,else they're off

Dude you still didn't tell the price and where you got it from