2019 Expedition XLT - Looking to switch out the stock halogens with either LEDs or HIDs but need advice

[dimforest]

This is my wife's vehicle and she constantly complains about the night driving experience. I've driven it several times at night too and the lights are absolutely terrible. My vehicle has HIDs and it's night and day (pun intended) different and whenever she drives my truck, she doesn't have any complaints.

Mine came with HIDs though from the factory. I've replaced normal halogen bulbs plenty of times but I know next to nothing about LEDs or HIDs. I did a quick Youtube search to watch some videos and it made it even more confusing. Apparnetly HIDs require me to cut a hole into the cap/seal to fish the bulb through? It looks like with LEDs I can just buy the bulb and replace it like a normal halogen though? I don't really know...

I really wanted to get some and install them for my wife for Christmas but I need some help figuring out what I need to get and what I should expect in regards to installing them...

Thanks!

 

[apex96]

Check this thread for what to expect when swapping LEDs in place of halogens

LEDs into Halogen Housings

 

[dimforest]

I did see that topic actually but it wasn't super clear on what I should be getting and it doesn't mention anything about HIDs - only LEDs.

Are these the lights everybody is using? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K438ZQ...C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&tag=expeditionforum-20

I'd prefer to not have to do any crazy manual code configurations if needed and I don't even know if I would have the capability to do that unless I bought some additional equipment.

I'm simply looking for some better lights that won't require me to re-invent the headlight assembly to install and will be significantly brighter with more light output than the stock halogens that come with the vehicle.

 

[apex96]

Many do like the Sealight brand; it's sold under several different names actually. I prefer Philips lighting but they're ridiculously expensive and have to be shipped over from a store in the UK. Philips 9005 low beams and Philips H9 high beams from BriScource are my preferred lights. Check out Bulb Facts for more information on quality HID and LED lighting. With LEDs in reflector housings it is very important to make sure the beam pattern closely matches the stock halogen bulbs pattern and cut-off. With projectors it's not as important but you can still have issues with scattering if the light is poorly aimed and to high of an intensity to be properly directed.

 

[dimforest]

Many do like the Sealight brand; it's sold under several different names actually. I prefer Philips lighting but they're ridiculously expensive and have to be shipped over from a store in the UK. Philips 9005 low beams and Philips H9 high beams from BriScource are my preferred lights. Check out Bulb Facts for more information on quality HID and LED lighting. With LEDs in reflector housings it is very important to make sure the beam pattern closely matches the stock halogen bulbs pattern and cut-off. With projectors it's not as important but you can still have issues with scattering if the light is poorly aimed and to high of an intensity to be properly directed.

What are you currently using, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[apex96]

I'm running the Philips Ultinon Pro 9000 9005/HB3 lows, Sealight F2 H11s as fogs and Sealight X1 H9s as my highs. I have a set of Philips Ultinon Pro 9000 H9 bulbs being shipped currently, they were out of stock until this Monday. I'd go completely with Philips bulbs, however the drivers side fog light has a bracket just behind the light that severly limits access to the light. The Sealight fogs just barely fit and the Philips are longer so wouldn't fit. If you install bulbs with active cooling fans, you will need to buy extended dust caps size 83mm. The Sealight bulbs use passive cooling.

The biggest thing with LEDs is the heat management. Most LEDs will heat up and begin to produce less light, some will lose as much as 25% of there initial light output. I believe the Sealight bulbs lose between 10-15% of there initial output in the sealed housing due to heat. The fogs are external so the heat is better dissipated.

 

[chuck s]

Worth the conversion.

Wish I could be more specific but I had my 2017 with reflector headlights converted to HID low/LED high. Everyone told me this would not work and produce horrible light patterns but I was apparently lucky and the lighting is wonderful -- worth the conversion is the point of this post. For those who may not be aware HIDs have a small warm-up period which makes them unsuitable as high beams -- can't "flash" them. LEDs are instant on.

-- Chuck

 

[dnprall]

I'm running the Philips Ultinon Pro 9000 9005/HB3 lows, Sealight F2 H11s as fogs and Sealight X1 H9s as my highs. I have a set of Philips Ultinon Pro 9000 H9 bulbs being shipped currently, they were out of stock until this Monday. I'd go completely with Philips bulbs, however the drivers side fog light has a bracket just behind the light that severly limits access to the light. The Sealight fogs just barely fit and the Philips are longer so wouldn't fit. If you install bulbs with active cooling fans, you will need to buy extended dust caps size 83mm. The Sealight bulbs use passive cooling.

The biggest thing with LEDs is the heat management. Most LEDs will heat up and begin to produce less light, some will lose as much as 25% of there initial light output. I believe the Sealight bulbs lose between 10-15% of there initial output in the sealed housing due to heat. The fogs are external so the heat is better dissipated.

Are you getting any computer errors with these?

I had tried some replacement halogen bulbs with the appropriate bulb number but the connector on the Ford didn’t fit the bulb. Did you have any issues with the Sealights?

Looks like the following lights would fit:
https://sealight-led.com/x1-9005-hb3-led-bulbs.html

https://sealight-led.com/lf1-h8-h11-h16-led-fog-light-bulb.html

https://sealight-led.com/x1-h11-h8-h9-led-bulbs.html

Thanks for the information in your post.

 

[apex96]

I'm not getting any error messages with the high. low or fogs currently. I did have to change some of the coding in the body control module to eliminate the intermittent flickering that was occurring the with the low beams. Ford has a bulb out monitor and every so often it pulses the current to the bulb that results in a spit second flickering of the light. The thread I linked above has the lines of code that need altered to eliminate the flicker.

The links you pasted will fit in the light housings. With those you will not need to purchase domed dust caps to accommodate the bulb, the factory dust caps will work.

I will say that you unfortunately do get what you pay for on amazon. The Sealight bulbs have a brighter intensity but throw the light a shorter distance vs the stock halogen bulbs... I'm actually experiencing an intermittent flickering of one of the fogs meaning it's already starting to fail and its less than one month old... I picked up a set of Philips X-treme Vision LED Fog Lamps today, to replace the Sealight units I'm currently running. The Philips fogs can be sourced from your local Pep Boys store.

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[TexasRed]

https://youtube.com/c/HeadlightRevolution I buy from these guys and find it a great source for information

 

[MrItchy]

Are these the lights everybody is using? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K438ZQ...C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&tag=expeditionforum-20

I bought this high/low bulb set as an upgrade for my 2016 Expedition XLT. The low beams installed just fine, and showed a definite improvement over the output of the stock bulbs (although I do occasionally get flashed by oncoming drivers). The high beams, however, would not fit without modification. The problem is that the heat sink is too wide, and it hits the side of the light housing when you try to rotate the bulb to lock it into the socket. I broke one of the cooling fins while trying, and decided to grind down the restt of that side of the heat sink rather than attempt to grind out space in the much more expensive light housing. This modification allowed the bulb to fit and rotate into locked position, and hopefully the lifespan won't be too greatly shortened by the reduced cooling area. The lesson I learned: don't buy a LED high beam bulb for this specific application unless the heat sink has a SMALLER diameter than the tabs that fit into the bulb holder. For example, this manufacturer has a right-angle HB3 bulb design that would be a much better fit in this vehicle (assuming the connector faces the right direction when the bulb is locked in place...).

 

[apex96]

I bought this high/low bulb set as an upgrade for my 2016 Expedition XLT. The low beams installed just fine, and showed a definite improvement over the output of the stock bulbs (although I do occasionally get flashed by oncoming drivers). The high beams, however, would not fit without modification. The problem is that the heat sink is too wide, and it hits the side of the light housing when you try to rotate the bulb to lock it into the socket. I broke one of the cooling fins while trying, and decided to grind down the restt of that side of the heat sink rather than attempt to grind out space in the much more expensive light housing. This modification allowed the bulb to fit and rotate into locked position, and hopefully the lifespan won't be too greatly shortened by the reduced cooling area. The lesson I learned: don't buy a LED high beam bulb for this specific application unless the heat sink has a SMALLER diameter than the tabs that fit into the bulb holder. For example, this manufacturer has a right-angle HB3 bulb design that would be a much better fit in this vehicle (assuming the connector faces the right direction when the bulb is locked in place...).

Your 16 has a different headlight housing than the 18+ models. The bulbs he chose will fit 18+ models with no modifications needed to the bulb or housing.

 

[ROBERT BONNER]

I went with 55 watt HID's to replace the high and low beams on my 2020 XLT. I'm very pleased with them. I went with HID's instead of LED's because of the parabolic low beam XLT lens. Parabolic lenses work well with spherical bulbs like halogens and HID's. Most LED's don't imitate spherical bulbs well. That's why OEM's don't pair LED's with parabolic lenses. The downside with HID's is that there is a finite warm up period, they aren't "instant on". But, once they're on, they really work well.

 

[zak99b5]

I went with 55 watt HID's to replace the high and low beams on my 2020 XLT. I'm very pleased with them. I went with HID's instead of LED's because of the parabolic low beam XLT lens. Parabolic lenses work well with spherical bulbs like halogens and HID's. Most LED's don't imitate spherical bulbs well. That's why OEM's don't pair LED's with parabolic lenses. The downside with HID's is that there is a finite warm up period, they aren't "instant on". But, once they're on, they really work well.

Where did you mount the ballasts?

 

[chuck s]

HIDs need to warm up which makes them poor high beams and they don't respond to flashing like Halogens do. HID low. LED or halogen high.

-- Chuck

 

[ROBERT BONNER]

Where did you mount the ballasts?

Sorry for the late return. I've been on vacation. There is an Aluminum Fender bracket on both sides just above and behind the fog lamps. It has a hole in it. I bolted the electronics with a 1/4-20 SS bolt and nyloc nut, and, I used 3M foam two sided tape as well. I was just under the truck changing the oil today and they are all still secure after about 2 years. They are well protected from road splash.