FLICKERING LED HEADLIGHT AT IDLE (fixed)

[KBLFJ1200]

I put in a H4 LED Hi/Lo Beam 360" 3-side COB Head DRL Fog Replacement Conversion Light Retrofit Kit Headlamp Bulb, 32W 3000LM 12V White 6000K in place of my Headlight in my 89 FJ1200.  The problem is that it flickers at idle.  When I Rev motor it goes away and this occurs on low and High Beam.  Can anyone advise if they have had this problem and the remedy or if am I using the wrong LED and what would be the correct one?  Also I am using the stock retainer ring against the base of the fan/heat sink not sure which this one is, and it is somewhat holding the LED in.  Also per the instructions the rubber boot is not necessary.  Would appreciate anyones help, would prefer you email me direct, much easier to find responses.  

Here is the link to the unit I purchased https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5JE3OV/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you,
Karl
KBLFJ1200@AOL.COM

[Pat Conlon]

Hi Karl, sorry for the late reply.

I can tell you that LED bulbs flicker when the voltage drops too low...as you found out.
If you put a multi tester on your headlight plug and checked the voltage, I bet you would find your voltage to be around 10 volts. It might read 12.8 volts at the battery, but drops down to ~10 volts at the headlight plug. This voltage drop thru the 30 year old wiring harness and all the switches and connections is to be expected and is common.

Here's 3 things to consider:

1) What's your idle speed? Set your idle to at least 1,000 rpm...1,100 rpm is also ok, but not lower than 1,000.
If your idle speed is set at 1k rpm and you're still getting flickering, then....

2) Consider the headlight relay mod. (See the Modification Files)  That will get you plenty of voltage to the LED bulb, guaranteed. Back in the old days before the LED bulbs, the headlight relay was the best way to brighten up a halogen bulb, especially if you are using a higher wattage halogen than the oem 55/65 watt halogen. The headlight relay is not normally needed on the new LED bulbs because they pull less than half the wattage of the oem 55/65 watt halogen....but you may benefit from the headlight relay mod to get the correct voltage for your LED bulb. If you don't want to dick around with the headlight relay mod....then....

3) Consider changing the LED bulb. Some LED bulbs are more voltage sensitive than others. I use the H4 LED from Xenon Depot on my stock wiring harness and it works just fine..I used to have a high wattage 65/95 halogen with the relay mod, but no longer....my Xenon Depot H4 LED works bitchen on my stock harness.

This is important, so listen:
Do not run a headlight bulb, any headlight bulb, in your FJ without the rubber boot.
I don't care what bullshit the bulb vendor spews. They don't know what they are talking about.
Without the rubber boot, your headlight will fill up with dust and moisture. Absolutely guaranteed.

Cheers.

Pat

[red]

I put in a H4 LED Hi/Lo Beam 360" 3-side COB Head DRL Fog Replacement Conversion Light Retrofit Kit Headlamp Bulb, 32W 3000LM 12V White 6000K in place of my Headlight in my 89 FJ1200.  The problem is that it flickers at idle.  When I Rev motor it goes away and this occurs on low and High Beam.  Thank you,
Karl

Karl,

I agree with Pat, above.  One other possibility is dirty battery connections.  The battery should take up the slack in voltage when the idle is low, but it can't do that very well through dirty terminals.  A weak battery would show the same symptoms.  First thing, get the battery electrolyte levels right, and wire-brush all metal connections at the battery wiring and the terminals, back to shiny metal faces.  Then give the battery a full charge.  If the problem does not improve and the idle is set to 1000~1100 rpm, then either try a new battery (if yours is too old), or make the headlight relay mod.  A headlight relay is always a great mod, for any older bike that does not have one.

Anytime you are feeling a little rich, buy yourself a state-of-the-art Battery Tender or equivalent.  They trickle-charge a battery, sure, but they also "clean" the battery plates.  These new gadgets have an automatic de-sulfating cycle, which can keep a lead-acid battery healthy for long and hard service.  Most lead-acid batteries actually fail due to the internal plates becoming contaminated by sulfates.

[Bezmozek]

Flickering LED lights is caused by pulsating current too.
IMHO is worth try to google DIY antiflicker capacitor 

[Russfjr1]

Voltage regulator fault combined with low battery power or it could just be tickover is just to low as already said. Try it all simple cheap stuff first and let us know what helped.    Russ

[KBLFJ1200]

This is the LED Bulb I ended up using and did not get any flicker at idle!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Power-H4-9003-HB2-CREE-LED-Bulb-High-Low-Beam-Headlight-Motorcycle/142416365318?hash=item2128ad4706:g:rpUAAOSwgQ9V5ADZ&vxp=mtr

[Pat Conlon]

Karl, let us know how that LED bulb works out for you. You should have no problem fitting the rubber boot with that bulb.

Most of the LED bulbs I've seen have some sort of passive or active heat management, either a heat sink or fan to cool the chips.

Cheers

Pat

[edit]: Looking at the e-mail you sent me, it looks like there are heat sinks on this bulb:



Any specs on the lumen output?