Autobeam Upgrades

[DG97]

Hi all,

Has anybody fitted any autobeam led's to their vehicle? I'm looking at maybe fitting some myself and would be interested in any fitting advice / general opinions specifically for the following:

Reverse lights

Front and rear indicators

Front fogs 

It's unlikely I will fit the LED dipped beam due to the legality/blinding others issue (though saying that I'm not sure if there are any legal concerns about the fitment of other LED lights to a non-LED lamp) but for anyone who has fitted the LED dipped beams, I assume the light is obviously going to be whiter but is the vision much better and how is it in terms of blinding other cars, is that just a bit of a myth or is it just a case with the lower-end led upgrades?

[nashdm2]

There are a couple of vids on youtube where blokes have done this.

[nathanphillips]

This is from my YouTube channel:

 

 

[jbell]

9 hours ago, DG97 said:

 It's unlikely I will fit the LED dipped beam due to the legality/blinding others issue (though saying that I'm not sure if there are any legal concerns about the fitment of other LED lights to a non-LED lamp) but for anyone who has fitted the LED dipped beams, I assume the light is obviously going to be whiter but is the vision much better and how is it in terms of blinding other cars, is that just a bit of a myth or is it just a case with the lower-end led upgrades?

I had them in temporarily over winter. Nice white light, seems a bit brighter than halogens and never got flashed. 

Took them out for MOT though as although the current mot guidance doesn't specify LEDs in a halogen lamp is a fail (it does specify hid as a fail) -- technically it doesn't conform to regs and should fail. 

[soshi89]

11 minutes ago, jbell said:

I had them in temporarily over winter. Nice white light, seems a bit brighter than halogens and never got flashed. 

Took them out for MOT though as although the current mot guidance doesn't specify LEDs in a halogen lamp is a fail (it does specify hid as a fail) -- technically it doesn't conform to regs and should fail. 

If you have a projector then you should be fine with LED as they're not as overwhelming as reflectors.

 

I currently use the Indicators, Reverse, number plate and boot light from autobeam. They're a fantastic upgrade if you have the money to spend. Using a different brand LED I bought on amazon as I didn't hear about autobeam until quite a while after.

 

The installation can be tricky on the rear lights and wing mirrors (if you plan on getting them as well). The rear lights has a plastic bolt screw that is removed by hand but is hard to get to if you have big hands and stiff to unscrew the very first time. A good advise is to put on some work gloves as it'll give you a better grip and reduce the pain in your fingers slightly. With the mirror bulbs it is best to remove the mirror to access the clips to push it out. Just be gentle though and not rashly pull out the mirror or it can break if you apply to much force.

 

For fog lights they're back pain to install because the passenger side has the windscreen tank in the way. If you want to stay with halogen to go for osram nightbreaker 150% brightness. If you want LED then get autobeam h11 bulb as they have an external power cable for ease of installing.

 

For guides search up Ash Holder on YT as he did a lot of nice installation videos for his mk7.5 fiesta and they helped me out when I changed my bulbs.

[DG97]

Thank you for all your advice. I think i'll slowly start buying some LEDs in and making some replacements! I have heard the rear lights can be a bit of a pain and I actually found a video of a spanish bloke fitting them (can't tell what he's saying but can see what he's doing) and it definitely looked like a bit of a pain. 

[soshi89]

19 minutes ago, DG97 said:

Thank you for all your advice. I think i'll slowly start buying some LEDs in and making some replacements! I have heard the rear lights can be a bit of a pain and I actually found a video of a spanish bloke fitting them (can't tell what he's saying but can see what he's doing) and it definitely looked like a bit of a pain. 

When doing the rear lights unbolting by hand the first time just be patient and don't expect it to be easy and done in seconds. Take your time and come back later if you get tired and it should eventually unscrew. I eventually got there in the end and it was worth the struggle and wait when the lights were replaced.

[ElliotReid]

2 hours ago, DG97 said:

......video of a spanish bloke fitting them (can't tell what he's saying but can see what he's doing).......

That reminds me of the old days before the internet and seeing an advert somewhere for some German videos, ahem, where the ad said "you can't understand what they're saying but you can sure as hell see what they're doing" 😁

[zain611]

Front and rear lights are easy to remove by just removing screws and it pops off. I've fitted their performance LED reverse and indicators and few other stuff and I do recommend going for the top performance range. 

[garage_dweller]

How do fit the LED indicator bulbs without them double flashing? Did you fit a relay of some sort?


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[DG97]

40 minutes ago, garage_dweller said:

How do fit the LED indicator bulbs without them double flashing? Did you fit a relay of some sort?


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Whilst I haven't fitted any myself yet, I would have been under the assumption that it is a simple plug and play installation without any relays or modifications required. What bulb do you use?

[zain611]

10 hours ago, garage_dweller said:

How do fit the LED indicator bulbs without them double flashing? Did you fit a relay of some sort?


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Which indicators did you get? The performance indicators I believe have built in resistors so no need to mess around wiring in resistors and they flash at the normal rate. 

[garage_dweller]

I tried to fit Osram bulbs, bought from ADB. Just went for Osram silver bulbs after the issue with the LED ones.
If they have resistors built in then they should be fine.


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[Cameron583]

I bought some Autobeam Performance stuff the other day - the H15 for main beam + DRL. They're pretty decent, but they're just OEM stuff you can get on Aliexpress for half the price.

 

For dipped headlights, make sure they have a projected pattern - it should step up diagonally to the left to avoid blinding oncoming drivers.

[TRAXXAS58]

I've put in LED's for my fogs & reverse lights. 

The bulbs I bought for the fogs were a simple plug and play swap. I used Novsight 10000LM 6000K from amazon (I also bought the same brand for my dip beam & main beam but in different sizes) for about £25 per pair. 

If you look on YouTube you'll find a video explaining how to access the fog light housing through the wheel well instead of taking the bumper off or going in through the bonnet, simple to do but you'll have to lay on the floor with a torch if you're up for that. 

It hasn't been particularly foggy since I put them in and I don't use them otherwise because they disperse light EVERYWHERE, I mean up on trees at the side of the road and therefore I assume other drivers eyes. (For reference of anyone thinking it, my dip beam has a correct beam pattern, was described as "perfect" by the guy doing a service on my car & has passed an MOT with them so the beam must be fine!) 

 

Reversing lights were Safego 1000LM from amazon again, easy to install when you know what to do & they are much brighter than standard, although because of the design of LED, they seem to disperse the light out sideways more than backwards so you can decide for yourself if that's a good thing or not, but they definitely are brighter and I've not had any visibility issues with them. 

 

As for main and dip beam if you do decide to do them, my car is a 2013 1.0 Ecoboost Titanium, the dip beam was all good & again was plug and play. However the main beam (which I love and is so bright and white) was a bit more hassle. The way the light secures in place was different for the light fitting and the bulb, I needed to buy a little plastic adapter to make it fit properly and botch the electrics, sealing it up with electrical tape afterwards. 

 

Also, this will be dependent on brand, but my dip beams stuck out backwards too far & blocked the dust cap 6 from fitting correctly, I bought some extended rubber caps from Autobeam made specifically for a Fiesta that will solve that problem. 

 

Hope this helps.