XLT LED Headlight and Tail light retrofit

[Molaf]

Hi all. New user here. I just traded in my '16 XLT F-150 for a '19 XLT Expedition. Anyways, just like with the F-150, I chose the XLT because I couldn't justify the large cost to get full front and rear LED lights.

That being said, I did a full retrofit with my F-150 - headlight and tail light housings, harnesses, and reprogramming. All in, I was able to accomplish this for under $1500 because I didn't source my housings from the dealer, but used form private sellers. I believe the same can be accomplished with the Expedition. Before I shell out $130 for the deluxe repair manual, I was hoping maybe one of you would have access to one in PDF form? I will post my progress in here. Here are some pics of my F-150's retrofit...

 

[Lukewang01]

Tried something on the rear, didn't get very far because the part I got was broken to start with, would be interested as well. I'll try again if I can get another module.
https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/xlt-tail-lamp-led-upgrade.40409/#post-356824

 

[scottdm]

Hi all. New user here. I just traded in my '16 XLT F-150 for a '19 XLT Expedition. Anyways, just like with the F-150, I chose the XLT because I couldn't justify the large cost to get full front and rear LED lights.

That being said, I did a full retrofit with my F-150 - headlight and tail light housings, harnesses, and reprogramming. All in, I was able to accomplish this for under $1500 because I didn't source my housings from the dealer, but used form private sellers. I believe the same can be accomplished with the Expedition. Before I shell out $130 for the deluxe repair manual, I was hoping maybe one of you would have access to one in PDF form? I will post my progress in here. Here are some pics of my F-150's retrofit...

Looking forward to your write up on the process. I think you’ll be the first to do a full retrofit with OEM parts on this forum. I wish Ford would offer LED headlights as a stand alone option on the XLT like they do on the Limited. That’s one of the major reasons I bumped to the Limited and I wasn’t as ambitious as you with the LED retrofit.

 

[Deadman]

FIRST off, the factory LED's aren't very impressive in my opinion, so I would not waste money adding them. If you want functional light there are MUCH MUCH better ways that can be done for a 1/4 the cost. If you just want the look then have at it.....

 

[scottdm]

FIRST off, the factory LED's aren't very impressive in my opinion, so I would not waste money adding them. If you want functional light there are MUCH MUCH better ways that can be done for a 1/4 the cost. If you just want the look then have at it.....

What are you recommending? Seems like most have retained the stock projector housing and changed to LED bulbs.

 

[Deadman]

What are you recommending? Seems like most have retained the stock projector housing and changed to LED bulbs.

Its all personal preference. I'm sure LED bulbs alone in the factory Projectors are better, but I would really like to see how a HID bulb did in there. You can buy HID kits that have much much higher output than the LED's output. I would personally try that first myself.
I went with a 30" LED light bar myself and when the lighter is on, you can't even tell that the factory LED lights are on.

 

[scottdm]

Its all personal preference. I'm sure LED bulbs alone in the factory Projectors are better, but I would really like to see how a HID bulb did in there. You can buy HID kits that have much much higher output than the LED's output. I would personally try that first myself.
I went with a 30" LED light bar myself and when the lighter is on, you can't even tell that the factory LED lights are on.

LED light bars are a nice option in rural areas where high beam lights can be used frequently, but aren’t very helpful where low beam lights are needed for busy interstate highways or city driving, etc.

 

[Deadman]

LED light bars are a nice option in rural areas where high beam lights can be used frequently, but aren’t very helpful where low beam lights are needed for busy interstate highways or city driving, etc.

Exactly, thats why I would put HID kits in the low and hi beams.

I live in the middle of nowhere, so I can run the blistering bright lightbar often. obviously I dim it for cars.

 

[Molaf]

FIRST off, the factory LED's aren't very impressive in my opinion, so I would not waste money adding them. If you want functional light there are MUCH MUCH better ways that can be done for a 1/4 the cost. If you just want the look then have at it.....

I just popped in the Hikari Ultra's in over the weekend. So far I am pretty impressed especially considering the cost and ease of installation.... however I did notice that my left one has a barely noticeable flicker. I still want to do the LED project because it's just a hobby for me to make vehicles what I call "OEM+". The tail lights will definitely be getting done.

 

[Deadman]

I just popped in the Hikari Ultra's in over the weekend. So far I am pretty impressed especially considering the cost and ease of installation.... however I did notice that my left one has a barely noticeable flicker. I still want to do the LED project because it's just a hobby for me to make vehicles what I call "OEM+". The tail lights will definitely be getting done.

I'd really like to seee the light output of some 55W HID bulbs in your projector housings. I bet it would make the factory LED's look like candles.