Hey guys, just bought without much investigation some h7 led lights for my Ford fiesta, they are 100w each but after some reviews some people said that these can melt the wiring and cause a hazard. Any tips/thoughts from anyone who knows if there is a way to use these led lights, maybe with some sort of converter to be fit for 55w socket and not cause any problems? 

 

You need to get them from autobeam they do them for fiesta

They will be 100W equivelent if they are LED, they will daw far less power etc and should have a heat sink on them or fan. The only probl you may encounter is an error on the dash from the CANbus system. 

Do you have a link to the lights you have and we can better advise you.

I had the autobeam ones fitted to mine. Just be careful on the nearside (passenger) one.  Mine burnt out which I found out was the gap between the fuse box and the headlight was too tight with the covers on and the fan could not cool the bulb down.  So either the fan could not operate or not enough air flow.  Luckily no fire 🙃 

Phillips also make one without an additional ballast but not looked in to it again due to the above issue and as they probably won't pass an MOT

1 hour ago, Jonro2009 said:

They will be 100W equivelent if they are LED, they will daw far less power etc and should have a heat sink on them or fan.

 

Many people seem to make that error. Just like a domestic LED bulb which draws 12W but gives out the equivalent light output of a 100W filament bulb. Same as the 'colour' of an LED, in that 6500k is a nice white light, whereas 4700k will be your traditional yellow...

...and above all, LED bulbs put in place of halogens are, of course, not road legal.

18 minutes ago, BlueMike2021 said:

...and above all, LED bulbs put in place of halogens are, of course, not road legal.

Spoilsport! 🤣

16 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Spoilsport! 🤣

There's always one lol

6 hours ago, BlueMike2021 said:

...and above all, LED bulbs put in place of halogens are, of course, not road legal.

Is that true for all headlights?

I am probably wrong but I thought that LED replacement bulbs in reflector headlights were not road legal but same bulbs in projector lense lights were?

I have heard LED light units have levelling devices on them possibly to stop leds dazzling oncoming drivers?

I ask this as i have a 2019 StLx and the Mrs has a 2020 Stlx Mhev. My main beams are the horrible yellow halogen bulbs but hers are the crisp white LED bulbs. Both headlight units in both cars are projector units and look exactly the same other than beam colour when on.

Are they just different bulbs or totally different units with LED levellers in hers? 

 

2 hours ago, Mavroz said:

Is that true for all headlights?

 

I ran a previous car on HID (high intensity discharge) replacements bulbs for 5 years, before progressing onto fabulous LED ones for another 4 years before selling her. She never had one issue passing an MOT and the brightness compared to standard candlelight filaments was amazing. When HID replacements were popular, the main issue was that cars with them fitted as standard, all had headlight wash/wipe. I have always had a healthy disregard from meddling by the state in the safety of my own decision to drive better at night!

The fact they passed an MOT was enough for me in that the only damage I was doing was maybe to some dolphins as the packaging was often plastic 🤣

As of earlier this year any LED/HID lamps fitted to a unit type approved for halogens would fail an MOT. In reality though it's a little different, an MOT tester cannot remove the cap to check a lamp, they can only work with what they see. So an LED in a projector is going to fail, an LED in a projector is not - 99% of the time, providing the beam pattern is correct. 

The LED lamp itself does not have levellers in it, that's part of the headlight unit and is connected to, and run by sensors at specific points on the car. Headlight washers are also very often quoted as being required, that's not true of LEDs emitting less than 2000l which is why you will see 'cheaper' cars with factory fit LEDs and no washers. 

The units will be different in both vehicles, and as above one will be driven by sensors and the other by user input. 

If you have projectors then I wouldn't hesitate in putting a decent pair of LEDs in there, and I wouldn't be put off with comments about MOT etc. Just take the car to your local Indy garage and ask them to check the beam pattern and adjust if required. Will cost you a couple of beer tokens at most. 

13 hours ago, Jonro2009 said:

They will be 100W equivelent if they are LED, they will daw far less power etc and should have a heat sink on them or fan. The only probl you may encounter is an error on the dash from the CANbus system. 

Do you have a link to the lights you have and we can better advise you.

here's the link to the ones that I currently have fitted on my Fiesta: https://www.amazon.de/Philips-12972WVUSM-WhiteVision-effect-headlight/dp/B07H4NYVCD/ref=sr_1_7_sspa?crid=CSRZDZ6O7QBR&keywords=h7+55w&qid=1640159207&sprefix=h7+55%2Caps%2C177&sr=8-7-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyNUUyUDQxRlRBNlg0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUExMDAzODI1Mk80M0tZMTgwVElOQyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjA2NTEzOExRWFRBRUFOOEpBJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfbXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

And here's the ones that I stupidly bought before thinking properly: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143811129707?fits=Car+Make%3AFord&hash=item217bcfb16b:g:-H8AAOSwx49hXW7Q 

Also thanks for the help guys explaining this to me! That is very helpful!

The only comment I would add is that on my last car, I went through a few sets of LEDs before getting a good one! The initial ones I got, the light output/spread were atrocious and I was better off with my 'Victorian' filament bulbs. LEDs vary greatly in quality, though nowadays ( i was an early adopter LOL), major brands have all jumped in so the quality should be a bit more assured.

10 hours ago, Jonro2009 said:

There's always one lol

I'm not wrong though! But as many say, the reality of what happens at the MoT station is another matter.

16 hours ago, Mavroz said:

Is that true for all headlights?

I am probably wrong but I thought that LED replacement bulbs in reflector headlights were not road legal but same bulbs in projector lense lights were?

I have heard LED light units have levelling devices on them possibly to stop leds dazzling oncoming drivers?

I ask this as i have a 2019 StLx and the Mrs has a 2020 Stlx Mhev. My main beams are the horrible yellow halogen bulbs but hers are the crisp white LED bulbs. Both headlight units in both cars are projector units and look exactly the same other than beam colour when on.

Are they just different bulbs or totally different units with LED levellers in hers? 

 

 

They will Fail an MOT if converted.

4.1.4 Headlamps - Compliance with requirements -  'Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp.'

There is now a slight change to that regarding age of vehicle. Cars with converted halogen headlamp units first used on or after 1 April 1986 will continue to be failed. Cars before that date may pass. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-notice-01-21-headlamp-conversions/mot-special-notice-01-21-headlamp-conversions

As for levelling devices, yes I believe it is requirement for them to be fitted and working. I also understand headlight washers had to be fitted to HID headlights, I don't think they are needed for LEDs.

13 hours ago, Harry5 said:

here's the link to the ones that I currently have fitted on my Fiesta: https://www.amazon.de/Philips-12972WVUSM-WhiteVision-effect-headlight/dp/B07H4NYVCD/ref=sr_1_7_sspa?crid=CSRZDZ6O7QBR&keywords=h7+55w&qid=1640159207&sprefix=h7+55%2Caps%2C177&sr=8-7-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyNUUyUDQxRlRBNlg0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUExMDAzODI1Mk80M0tZMTgwVElOQyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjA2NTEzOExRWFRBRUFOOEpBJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfbXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

And here's the ones that I stupidly bought before thinking properly: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143811129707?fits=Car+Make%3AFord&hash=item217bcfb16b:g:-H8AAOSwx49hXW7Q 

Those halogen bulbs will be perfect if you want a white (LED/HID) look and still be legal. Philips are well known make so should be reliable. You can buy brighter bulbs (+150 to 200+ ) however I'm not sure if they are as white as those "White Vision" bulbs.

50 minutes ago, Jim H said:

 

They will Fail an MOT if converted.

.......

As for levelling devices, yes I believe it is requirement for them to be fitted and working. I also understand headlight washers had to be fitted to HID headlights, I don't think they are needed for LEDs.

I would bet they will not be failed, as long as the beam pattern is correct. You are correct with your quote, they 'should' be failed  it in reality that doesn't happen in similar setups as the OP has. As I've already said, the tester will not know they are retrofitted if they are behind a projector lens, and the beam pattern is correct with a defined cut off and no 'scatter'. The tester is not allowed to remove the cap from the rear of the headlight unit so if all appears well the tester has to pass it. I admin a Ford Mondeo FB page and it is something we regularly discuss and I consider myself to be pretty clued up on the subject. 

Levellers and washers are not always required, however if they are present then they must be working. If you look at some of the 'cheaper' Audi's and BMWs etc you will see that they do not have washers but they do have either HID or LEDs. This is because any light source emitting less than 2000lumens does not require to have these things fitted. 

Thanks for the explanations.

The wife's car has the LED protectors and the light output again in my opinion is way better than that of my car with Halogens.

Strange thing is we have twice been told not to bother with full LED headlights when getting the cars factory built. Both times the dealership salesman and then the manager told us the full LED headlight units were awful.

They may well be right as I don't think you could ask for much better than the factory fitted LED projectors for no additional charge.