LED Bulb replacement

[Eddie Padilla]

Hello,

I have a 2018 XLT FX4 and recently replaced my halogen bulbs with LED bulbs for low and high beams. They light up better than the halogen bulbs but there is a gap in the middle of the road that doesn't receive much light. I talked to the dealer about it but they did not try to help. They say the headlight assembly is made for halogen. I don't understand how a halogen bulb doesn't have that gap in the middle. If anyone can shed some light on my brain or advise on how to fix that I will greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[stewartsoda]

The filaments in halogen bulbs have different radiation patterns than an LED. The filament is essentially a cylinder that radiates evenly in all directions (well, really it's a coil but let's simplify a bit). LEDs are more directional and only radiate in a small area, typically two or three areas (wherever in the "bulb" there is an LED). Unless your reflector is designed to account for that, your light output is going to be sub-par.

 

[nate6966]

The LED headlights from auto manufacturers include special and engineered projectors/ reflectors. As Stewartsoda said above, LEDs are inherently different from halogens. When you try the aftermarket option of inserting LED bulbs into halogen reflectors/ housings, the light projection isn't optimum for that type of bulb.
Most commonly, you'll experience "hot spots" and "empty spots" where the light is either too focused and glaring, or it leaves sections dark.
The worst situations result in frequently blinding oncoming traffic when hot spots are higher in your field of view. This result is bad enough with the engineered products we see in some manufacturer's LED headlights. Aftermarket greatly increases the likelihood.
All that stated, your only options in my opinion, are to: test other brands or designs of LED replacement bulbs to find one that balances the best from your existing reflector housings / swap back to a very high quality Halogen bulb option that will increase lumens / or swap (or modify) your entire reflector housings to be more engineered towards LED bulbs (think "Daymaker" options for motorcycles and Jeeps).
Whatever you choose to do, PLEASE be considerate of oncoming drivers and check your headlights for high hot spots that can blind them.

 

[Deadman]

There's actually a REASON why true LED headlights cost a lot more! The reflectors and such are nothing like a halogen reflector.

 

[sjwhiteley]

Bottom line, try a different manufacturer/design of LED bulbs. Generally, you get what you pay for - it costs money to design a high output LED to fit a halogen reflector. Not only that, reflectors are different from vehicle to vehicle, so an LED in one may not be ideal for another.

Personally, as noted above, going for a better quality halogen may be the best way to go.

 

[Magaliasram]

I replaced the headlight bucket and turn signal housing on mine and used LED bulbs works great. Also was able to hook up the now available DRLs. 2000 year model EB