LED Headlights ... and troubleshooting problems after install

[LateralTech]

I purchased some 4x6 LED Headlights from Amazon and installed a set today.

The ones I bought are called "AOSI 4PCS 4x6 LED Headlight 15 Cree Chip Sealed Beam" I got them for $92 open box, but at $120 normal price, its a good deal.

Though I think all the brands of this light are mostly the same ones.

Easy enough to install, just like any other headlights.

For the Low Beam only 6 of the LEDs light up and at 3 watts a bulb, thats only using 18 watts.

For High Beam, all of them =45 watts.

I had to switch two of the pins on the low beam light to get only 6 to light up, otherwise they were all lit up and that is so overly bright.



Honestly, the low beam with 6 LEDs are so bright, I had to angle the light almost as far down as it would go. The high beam is beyond crazy bright and its just one hooked up right now.

I will try them out over the next week and I will report back if I get flashed from other drivers / how they feel on longer night rides.

In the mean time, they look AWESOME!

[Carbonized]

Any news? Can you explain the pin switch? They sure look great, I would do the mod if they improve night vision.

[whatvan]

I'm ISO new headlights. Been thinking of an upgrade like this. How have they worked out over the last few weeks?

[zak99b5]

I'd like to see pattern and throw/distance shots of these lights compared to the halogens you already have installed.

Apparent brightness isn't a good indication of headlight performance. You want the light projected down the road. A lot of light close to the vehicle may make you think you can see better, but your vision down the road, where it needs to be, will be worse.

[Carbonized]

Took a quick look-see on Amazon and boy I'm all and . For what is apparently the same stuff, prices are all over the place! From $ 70.00 to almost $ 200.00 What's up with that?

[terrence]

Those look sick.

[spacecruisers]

how are these working out for you? and how did you wire them exactly? I'd like to swap out my sealed beams with these on my '87.

[spacecruisers]

PO mentioned they had done something to run low beams with the switch in high beam position because they were having issues and that was the only way they could get the headlights working for daily driving, so I dont know what exactly is going on, and im very unexperienced with electrical diagrams and issues (looked through the service manual a bit but can't quite figure out what im looking for) I will say a lot of the PO's "work" is very shoddy and the van was overall very neglected. Basically though, the outer lights only came on with high beam engaged, the inner lights (which i believe are supposed to be the brights) never came on at all. in fact, they were unplugged.

Anyway, installed these new LED headlights I got off amazon, when i turn the switch to the headlight position the low beams dont come on, but when i turn it to high beam all 4 lights will turn on and the blue high beam dash indicator turns on and off properly. everything seems to be working perfectly except the absence of low beams. I took some photos of the harness and will attach those below. there are 3 pins, "drive", "pass", and "ground", see the pictures for which wires are running into which.

The pins on both sides of the connector below the steering column aren't burnt out as some other threads have mentioned. the pins are in the proper position on the connector according to the service manual. not sure if the pins on the harness are wired properly or not, couldn't find it in the manual. see photos.

[JDM VANMAN]

Not to sound rude but the connectors look in pretty bad shape, maybe that's one of the issues with the lights I don't know any electrical work, I'm just making comment.

[spacecruisers]

Not to sound rude but the connectors look in pretty bad shape, maybe that's one of the issues with the lights I don't know any electrical work, I'm just making comment.

i tested with a multimeter and get a steady voltage around 11.5, i think the connectors are ok TBH, just a little dirty.... that desert southwest dust has coated every surface in this van, ha ha.

[spacecruisers]

heres a photo from the listing on amazon. I've got the outer lights wired according to the second diagram (on the right) and the inner lights wired according to the first diagram (on the left) -

side note: on these new bulbs the high beam is a red wire, low beam is white, ground is black. how the low/hi beam works on these is 6 LED's are on for lo-beam and all 15 are on for hi-beam. i think I've got them wired correctly.... i could be wrong however, ha ha

[spacecruisers]

ok im sorry, i guess typing that out and visualizing it i see that im an idiot now! i had the inner lights wired differently than the outer lights (see previous post). having the PO tell me they changed something i guess ended up being my scapegoat for my own personal error, lol. i will say there appears to be something going on with the switch, sometimes when im switching back to low beam it will flicker and go dim and i have to jiggle the handle a tiny bit and it will flicker back to full brightness. do i need a new switch?

should rename this thread "LED headlight upgrade" now! Once again, here is the set I ordered if anyone else wants to try this upgrade!

i also switched the white (lo) and red (hi) on the outers so it only lights up 6 of the led's because they're waaay to bright otherwise. so heres how it works now. with low beams activated, the outers turn on in low beam mode with only 6 of the 15 leds illuminated. when i change to high beams, the outers turn off and the inners turn on in high beam mode with all 15 leds illuminated.

It would be nice to have both inner and outer lights on in high beam mode - is that possible or will i have to do some re-wiring? any electrical wizards that could think that through?

Heres how i have it wired now:

[spacecruisers]

Decided to do this myself and was able to figure it out if anyone else on this thread has questions, let me know! I'd love to help others do this "upgrade"

I bought these lights (set of 4) on amazon. i actually watched them for a while to see if a warehouse deal open box item came up and it did! $90 for a set of 4 is a great deal but i actually got them open box like new condition for $68!! figured its worth a shot for that price. the stock sealed beams were unbearably dim. driving back highways at night with those was terrifying.

As OP mentioned, the bulbs themselves have 2 settings. A high beam mode where all 15 LEDs light up (insanely bright) and a low beam mode where only 6 LED's light up. I have them working now. When I turn on low beam the outers turn on in low beam 6 LED mode. When I switch to brights, the outers turn off and the inners come on in high beam mode with all 15 LEDs lit up. it would be nice to have the outers stay on when i flick the switch into high beam mode but im not sure how to accomplish that, probably have to rewire the whole headlight situation I'd imagine.

Switching the tabs is super easy. theres a little tab on the side of the pin you can push flat and the pin slides right out. switch and slide into its new spot and use your knife or whatever to bend the tab back outward to keep the pin from sliding out when you plug it in.

Here are photos of how I wired them up:




Here it is with everything set up! Oogles of light!
Once i get my LEDs in the mail for the dash, i'll be running 100% LEDs all throughout! Light bar and bumper LEDs in the last photo as a bonus. If i could get all 4 headlights going on high beam i'd add a little bit more to an absolutely blinding amount of light

[bikerjosh]

Nice job. Any pics of the light pattern on a wall/garage door or outside to show illuminated distance?
thanks

[Carbonized]

I'm I wrong? but I count 15 LEDs per light. I am not an electrician by any standard, but if you bridge the "high" of both (outer and inner) wouldn't you get 24 (30) LEDs to lit when you turn on the high beam?

[spacecruisers]

I'm I wrong? but I count 15 LEDs per light. I am not an electrician by any standard, but if you bridge the "high" of both (outer and inner) wouldn't you get 24 (30) LEDs to lit when you turn on the high beam?

It is 15, lol. I must have been tired last night. 15 for high beam and 6 for low.

not sure about bridging...im no electrician myself. guess i could try it? anyone can chime in on the thought!

bikerjosh , ill try and get those photos tonight.

[Jbbishop2]

Thanks for posting your installation pictures, mistershmi. I think I'm going to try your setup. Have you noticed whether oncoming drivers object to the brighter lights?

[bikerjosh]

Anyway to wire it up to have all 4 lights on low beam, and then all 4 on high beam when switched to high beam?
thanks Josh

[Santa Cruzer]

Yes! My headlight SUCK! This is a great idea, have you got pulled over, flashed?
Heading to Amazon right now!

[Ace MM]

Anyway to wire it up to have all 4 lights on low beam, and then all 4 on high beam when switched to high beam?

Seems a waste to not have all 4 blazing.
Can you get only the outer with low and high? Swapping the R \ W in the connecter???

In ca., you can't have 4 low beams as headlights...