Headlight weirdness

[Mike Wolfe]

Manual shows
Front direction indicator. 7444NA

 

[EricExpedition]

Getting dark now. 2013 projectors with halogens for comparison. Highs, lows, front end.

 

[EricExpedition]

IMO, it's the stock bulbs! These look great. Lows, lows w/fogs (which are bright enough to eliminate the "hard" cutoff in the projectors now), highs.

 

[EricExpedition]

Correction on this: The projector on my F150 has the high/low in a single housing. Engaging the highs reveals the rest of the beam. The Expedition is obviously two separate housings - a projector for lows, and a reflector for highs. Just assumed they were the same without really looking so I apologize for that misinformation.

Is this your first vehicle with projector headlights? It sounds like you a referring to the sharp cutoff. The low beams concentrate the emitted light downward. Engaging your bright lights should reveal the other "half" of the beam.

That being said, I am not too impressed with the XLT projector headlights. My 2013 F150's projector headlights are considerably brighter... Go figure!

 

[Mike Wolfe]

Good morning all
First drive in dark since LED install
Installed the Hikari Philips Lumileds 12000 Lumen LED bulbs in low & high beams on our 2018 EXPY XLT with projector lenses for low beams
Huge difference in brightness
So much better than halogens
Cutoff the same for low beams but very happy with the increased brightness
Use the fog lights with the low beams which helps
High beams are amazing
Well worth the $200.00 for the low beams, high beams & fog lights

 

[18-FX4-GUY]

For those with beamtech or ravmix LED bulbs any radio interference. I see they are half the price of the Hikari and wanted to know how they are performing.

 

[Markg2]

I'm sure you've gotten way brighter 'below the line' low beam results. But it doesn't help us in the mountains. The only way a projector type beam works up here (from what I've learned afterward) is for the housing to be automatically adjusting to the incline/decline of the vehicle.

For the next month or so we can't do anything with the factory headlights. However, when that time period is over, we're definitely looking into the bulbs and shocks suggested here.

You guys are really terrific!

Thanks,

Mark

 

[JExpedition07]

Do all the 4th gens come with projectors? LED light generally performs worse than halogen bulbs in reflector setups, the light is more intense but less focused and illuminates less area. Most perceive an improvement but it’s less safe than the halogen bulbs. For those reasons and the light being poorly focused blinds oncoming drivers adding even more risk, lots of science behind lighting and intensity does not equate to quality and safety. I’m not sure how the headlight assemblies are setup on 4th gens. LED is NOT always a better performer nor always safer in automotive application just throwing this general knowledge out there. It is great if you have the proper projector setup but otherwise not so much.

A perfect example of this is LED bulbs in stock 3rd gen housings perform much worse than the halogen bulbs provided stock.

 

[Markg2]

Mark

Maybe the deflector could be modified. Have not looked inside the housing. Has anyone else considered this as an option

Even if you could remove/modify the deflector you would then (I'm fairly certain) not be able to adjust the headlight since the adjustment is up/down not to the right as conventional?

 

[Markg2]

Plan to install these this evening. I will post pics with new bulbs on just the passenger side to see the difference. As stated above, I don't anticipate that these will solve the cutoff issue, but it will make the area up to the cutoff significantly brighter.

Side note: I have Bilstein 5100 shocks on my 2013 F150 with projector headlights. They raise the front end 2" and while I may be use to the cutoff, I never recall it being a problemwith visibility. Installing the ReadyLift 3"F/2"R SST for the Expedition with larger tires in the future. Point being, even a 1.5" leveling kit may help alleviate some of the issue. Just my experience.
View attachment 26179

This is probably a really dumb question, but... if the front end is raised 2" due to the shocks, are you then describing a vehicle that is (from the side view) sitting at an angle with the front 2" higher than the rear?

Mark

 

[EricExpedition]

This is probably a really dumb question, but... if the front end is raised 2" due to the shocks, are you then describing a vehicle that is (from the side view) sitting at an angle with the front 2" higher than the rear?

Mark

From the factory most trucks and SUVs have varying degrees of "rake" meaning that the front of the vehicle is angled slightly downward. By adding a ride adjustable shock like the Bilstein 5100's, the truck is now sitting level or at least closer to it. The same is accomplished with a leveling kit - an extension or spacer that sits on top your stock strut - like the ReadyLift one.

 

[Markg2]

D*mn, then if the truck is pivoted up 1 1/2" - 2", that should raise the lighted area below the hard cutoff by a very significant, vertical distance.

 

[EricExpedition]

For those with beamtech or ravmix LED bulbs any radio interference. I see they are half the price of the Hikari and wanted to know how they are performing.

The Beamtechs look very well built and came in some topnotch packaging. I was very impressed considering the price. The one issue I have come across is with the Auto Start/Stop: they do flicker ever so slightly when the truck comes back on. I usually disable this feature anyway because I'm not a fan of how the truck lurches and I question the ware and tear on the starter. I assume a couple of $10 resistors would fix the problem.

D*mn, then if the truck is pivoted up 1 1/2" - 2", that should raise the lighted area below the hard cutoff by a very significant, vertical distance.

Post #62 has the comparison for my F150 and my Expedition. The F150 is level with 35" tires compared to the 32.5" tires on the Expedition FX4, but the cutoff on the wall is over a foot higher at about 15 feet away.


Someone with a engineering degree can probably figure all this out better than I can. Haha.

 

[Mike Wolfe]

For those with beamtech or ravmix LED bulbs any radio interference. I see they are half the price of the Hikari and wanted to know how they are performing.

Hikari is the only one I found with a special design housing to work with projectors (look closely at the design)
Also have 2 year warranty & Philips LUMILED's led's which produce a claimed 12000 lumens
Others produce anywhere from 8000 to 9600 lumens
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077B7GJ5J/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
No radio noise
They also work ok without extra resisitors
Others may not

 

[Markg2]

Post #62 has the comparison for my F150 and my Expedition. The F150 is level with 35" tires compared to the 32.5" tires on the Expedition FX4, but the cutoff on the wall is over a foot higher at about 15 feet away.

Two considerations I've thought of--

1. Why would a tire increase or front shock change that lifts the cutoff line be any different than just raising the headlight adjustment?

2. If you monkey with the elevation of the headlight (vs. adjustment), aren't you then changing the calibration of the front sensors?

Mark

 

[star-art]

We have an '18 Platinum and live in the mountains. Headlights are great and we have no complaints. With fog lights on, visibility is excellent IMO.

 

[Mike Wolfe]

We have an '18 Platinum and live in the mountains. Headlights are great and we have no complaints. With fog lights on, visibility is excellent IMO.

Ya
Ford you just use the same LED headlights on all models

 

[18-FX4-GUY]

Yes it's only an issue with us XLT owners which I wanted an FX4 and had to go XLT route. I hope aftermarket like Morimoto hooks us Expedition owners up someday.

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[18-FX4-GUY]

Hikari is the only one I found with a special design housing to work with projectors (look closely at the design)
Also have 2 year warranty & Philips LUMILED's led's which produce a claimed 12000 lumens
Others produce anywhere from 8000 to 9600 lumens
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077B7GJ5J/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
No radio noise
They also work ok without extra resisitors
Others may not

Mike did yours fit in tight? My beam tech twisted in tight the hikari not so much u can feel a little looseness when twisted in.

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[18-FX4-GUY]

Low beams new Hikari on passenger side Beamtech on driver side. Positive more focused beam negative doesn't fit in housing as tight as stock or Beamtech it has a little wiggle to it very little but it could be tighter fit . I pulled it out rechecked everything reinstalled still tiny bit wiggle.

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