Doing LED light upgrade right (Front End)

[Nova]

I wanted to share this with everyone because I really like this upgrade. For one, it just looks nice. Second, maybe this is just my personal bias, but I honestly think after having done this upgrade I have less instances of people turning in front of me or pulling out in front of me because they don't see me.

Here is what we are going to do... We are going to replace the stock headlight and turn signals with LED units and add the ability to add additional lights if we so choose. And (here is the important part) we are going to do it without hacking up the existing wiring harness. "Impossible!" you say? Nonsense!

First, search for the following components:

-3PCS 2.8mm molex connector 3 pin
-1PC Motorcycle Bike Cree LED Headlight H4 9003 HB2 Hi & Lo 3600LM 40W 6000K Bulb
-2PCS High Power 5730 1157 Dual Switchback White Amber 20-LED Tail Brake Light Bulb
-1PC CF13 JL-02 Flasher Relay For LED Indicator Blinker 12V 3-Pin
-Clear turn signal lenses

You'll also need some 18G wire, a soldering iron, solder, blade connectors for the flasher relay and some heat shrink tubes.

The headlight is practically self explanatory. You remove the old bulb and install the LED unit. Follow the instructions provided. The only modification I did was I trimmed the rubber boot so as not to block the air intake for the cooling fins on the LED bulb unit. That's it. It doesn't require a special switched circuit to the battery like an HID. It's plug and play. The bulb has a much improved lumens output like an HID but actually uses LESS power than the stock bulb, freeing Amps in our electrical system for other things like accessories.

The next thing we need to do is to add wires to one of the female ends of the Molex 3pin connectors and attach blade connectors to the other end and plug those into the new LED flasher relay. This unit now plugs directly into the wiring harness in place of the OEM flasher unit. Mine did not have a hook to hang it, but some zip ties did the job just fine. The advantage of this unit is it allows us to use LED bulbs without needing to install resistors to prevent "hyperflash". That means we can properly take advantage of the efficiency of the LEDs and free up more Amps in our electrical system instead of wasting that savings on matching the resistance of incandescent bulbs for the sake of the old relay.

I realize not all FJs have the same flasher relay. Some of the older models have a 5 pin I guess? The same principle applies though. Get a new relay designed to work with LEDs, be it a 3 pin, 2 pin, 5 pin, 37 and a half pin... etc. My only regret is not getting a unit I could adjust the flash rate. The switchback lights (see below) tend to come on white for a split second while it is flashing yellow and being able to adjust the flash rate may have solved that problem. On a side note, I now have a perfectly functioning OEM flasher relay that sells for about $25 on ebay.

Now, at this point you could just pop in your LED signal bulbs and be done. But I went a step further. First, the bulbs I installed are a "switchback" style. They have very bright white running light LED (~1000 lumens) and equally bright yellow flashing LEDs. The running light LEDs "switch" off when the yellow flashers are active and come "back" when the flashers are off. Very cool effect. 

Also keep in mind... NOT ALL LEDS ARE THE SAME! Familiarize yourself with the different types before you buy your bulbs. Here is a link that should help: https://www.12vmonster.com/blogs/product-questions/7698543-so-what-the-the-difference-between-a-3528-led-5050-led-and-5630-5730-led To take full advantage of these bulbs I decided to replace the stock signal covers with clear ones. Unfortunately the only supplier I could find is in Germany, so they were a bit expensive (with shipping they cost almost as much as everything else put together) but they were worth the hefty price.

Now here is the thing, if you did not replace the LED flasher relay OR if you want to add some additional LED strips (like the ones I had laying around) as side marker signals like I did, you will need to tap into the harness at some point. Here is how you do that without mutilating your harness. Using two Molex 3 Pin connectors, solder up a short section (3-4 inches) with an additional length of wire extending from it (see the image). This installs in line with your signals and the extra wires are your leads for adding your resistors (if you need them). I used them for my extra side lamps since the LED flasher relay I put in means I don't need the resistors. I also could come back and add additional running lights if I so choose. All without cutting into the existing harness OR cutting into the harness AGAIN every time I change something later. Worst case scenario, I spend another $2 on parts to make a new one. Note: If I were adding fog lights I would do so on a separate switched circuit, but for led marker lights or strips this setup should work fine.

The end result is this... I have a VERY bright headlight PLUS two remarkably bright running lights... in white... so essentially I have a triple headlight setup.  And maybe this is just my imagination, but I think it really helps in making sure people see me. And I mean ACTUALLY see me. Not just look in my direction and go anyway. Here is my wholly untested hypothesis: It is a known fact that our brain ignores much of what we see. It is looking for relevant points of data. When driving, relevant points are the things we look for that tell us about obstacles like a potholes in the road, pedestrians, and other vehicles. When our eyes see oncoming headlights our brain makes a split second decision on how far away that vehicle is based on things like motion and (here is the important bit) the distance between the two headlamps. The closer together those lights are, the further away the car is (if it is a car). In fact, when the car is very far away those two lights may appear to be just one.

So, driver looks and sees one light not moving fast (because it is coming directly at them). Brain says, "One light. Analyzing... Far away car. Not an obstacle. Ignore data." Driver pulls out in front of motorcycle. Later they say, "I never saw him." But they did. Their eyes saw him, but their brain ignored him because it mistook the motorcycle for something benign it sees all the time (a car far in the distance). Now, lets change one thing. Instead of one light the brain can mistake for a pair of headlights far away, it sees three lights. One bright light and two nearly as bright just to either side. Brain thinks about it a few nanoseconds longer. Brain says, "Three lights. Analyzing... Not car. Identifying... Motorcycle. Not far away. Obstacle detected! Do not go!"

Anyway, that's how I did it and this is the result. If anyone wants to give it a go, it isn't a difficult weekend project.

[Pat Conlon]

Very through write up Nova....I like those clear lenses on the the FJ.

I considered going to the electronic flasher relay for my LED's but I really like the self canceling feature I would lose if I were to remove the oem flasher relay. For the limited amount of time the flashers are actually on, I figured the resistors were no big deal. The real savings came with the LED headlight.
I looked at the China Cree bulbs, but I did not want a cooling fan, so I went with the Phillips Luxeon chipped LED that has the flexable copper mesh heat sink.

Again, nice work!  After discussion in this thread dies down, would you mind if I moved your post over to the Files section? This is a very nice mod and it will be easier for folks to find your info. the Files.

Thanks Nova!

Pat

[Troyskie]

+1 with Pat re the clear lenses.

[a.graham52]

Any seat time at night? How's the led headlamp improve visibility high and low?

[Charlie-brm]

Does anyone want a link to a very lengthy forum thread elsewhere with details on how that exact lamp shown is modified to improve the cutoff pattern, among other things?
It seems to be a bit of experimentation placing a tiny shield around the low beam element.

[Flynt]

Does anyone want a link to a very lengthy forum thread elsewhere with details on how that exact lamp shown is modified to improve the cutoff pattern, among other things?
It seems to be a bit of experimentation placing a tiny shield around the low beam element.

Please send/post the link...

Frank

[Charlie-brm]

Registration for the site will be needed to open the pics to original size.

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?146534-How-to-modify-H4-led-to-reduce-glare-ST1300

[PaulG]

Well my Low Beam blew out on me last night (24 yr old OEM) so I'm going to do this conversion a few months before I wanted to.  I checked locally and nobody sells the headlight, so It's off to eBay.  I'm just wondering about quality of parts.  I'm not averse to ordering stuff from China - don't have much of a choice really.  Just wondering if there are any other name brand manufacturers out there.  They would probably be made in China too, but may have better quality control.  These are some samples I Googled.

eBay - Motorcycle Bike Cree LED Headlight H4 9003 HB2 Hi & Lo 3600LM 40W 6000K Bulb

Amazon - Motorcycle Bike Cree LED Headlight H4 9003 HB2 Hi & Lo 3600LM 40W 6000K Bulb

eBay - 2X High Power 5730 Chip 1157 Dual Color Switchback SMD LED Tail Brake Light Bulb

eBay - CF13 JL-02 Flasher Relay For LED Indicator Blinker 12V 3-Pin.  I should be able to find this locally I would think.

I think this is the Amazon - Philips Luxeon LED headlight which Pat mentions.  It says it has a cooling fan and is also plug-n-play.  Can this be confirmed?  I want to keep the hacksawing to a minimum also.

Delivery for this stuff is 1-2 weeks, so it's high beam until then.  The only place I'm going is this w/e to a an annual drunkfest with some firends, but all my riding will be in the day.

[Pat Conlon]

Hi Paul, I wanted to stay away from cooling fans. The less moving parts the better.

Here's where I got mine: http://www.xenondepot.com/H4-LED-motorcycle-headlight-kit-p/h4-led-mhl.htm

Plug and play with less than half the watt draw as a 55/65 Halogen

[rktmanfj]

Hi Paul, I wanted to stay away from cooling fans. The less moving parts the better.

Here's where I got mine: http://www.xenondepot.com/H4-LED-motorcycle-headlight-kit-p/h4-led-mhl.htm

Plug and play with less than half the watt draw as a 55/65 Halogen

Not sure if Pat is running this with the relay kit as well, but I can testify that it's a retina burner, as I was comparing it and Monkey's HID at the WCR.  Both are quite bright, even in the daylight.

[PaulG]

Excellent.  Thanks for the clarifications.  Time to order before the wife hets home.... 

[Nova]

Hi Paul, I wanted to stay away from cooling fans. The less moving parts the better.

Here's where I got mine: http://www.xenondepot.com/H4-LED-motorcycle-headlight-kit-p/h4-led-mhl.htm

Plug and play with less than half the watt draw as a 55/65 Halogen

I was thinking about this one too at the time. I just wasn't too sure how well those loops would dissipate heat.

The biggest thing to remember when buying LED lights (and yeah, the pretty much all come from China no matter where the seller is located) is what SMDs is in the bulb and how many are on it.

http://www.saving-star.com/smd-led-comparison/

A bulb with 20 3528 SMD will put out 180 lumens. The same bulb with 20 5730 SMDs will put out a blinding 1260 lumens.

[PaulG]

So I ordered these from Xenon Depot but I think I f'd up on the brake lights.

Headlight
H4 LED Motorcycle Headlight Kit

Brake
1157 BA15d LED 360 Putco Bulb

I realized just after I clicked "pay" that the brake light may not be the right type 

Their site says the order can be changed - so less than a minute after I pay I go to change it - and it says "NOTE: This order has already shipped or has reached the final stages of processing. Therefore this order is no longer editable."   

I was going to order a set of lights for the signals - but the total was over $350 CAN    That was kaiboshed.  I only ordered the brakelights so I could get the free shipping.  At least they were on sale and had a further 15% off that ended today.

At worst I'll get an some fantastic Xmas tree lights out of it. 

So we'll see what happens when they show up

[FJmonkey]

I think 1157 is correct.

[Nova]

1157 is correct (dual contacts on the bottom) but don't be surprised if the results are uninspiring. It doesn't say so, but those look like 5050 SMD LEDs which give off approximately 16-22 lumens. 5630s would be much better at 45-50 lumens. If they are 3528s they will be dim as hell. More importantly is going to be the difference in output between the tail light brightness and stop light brightness. Bright stop lights are kind of important. You don't want your tail light to be so bright it's hard to tell if you're braking.

Put one in, leave a stock 1157 in the other side and see how it looks. If they aren't any brighter than the incandescent bulbs.... well... have a Merry Christmas.  

EDIT: I just thought of something. If the stop light is plenty bright but the tail light is too close in brightness, you might try adding a 12v 1 watt 500-600 Ohm resistor to the tail circuit only. That would drop the brightness a bit. Something similar to the way they used it here to make a tail/stop combo with an LED strip as a custom light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yrvmEUMFGo