LED Headlights, very easy

[Vulcan Grey]

I had kept an eye on the posts about the LED headlight conversions, and I even bought a set of @sanj  conversion kit with plates. But I had always put it off, and hadn't "finished" my research about how to install it.

 

It turns out, it's very easy!

 

1. Raise the headlight buckets by hand (turn knob on back of headlight motors) and unplug the pod motor harness on each side.
2. Remove the trim around each headlight, 6 screws
3. Loosen the 3 screws that hold the chrome bezel, which holds the sealed bulb in place.
4. Be ready to catch the sealed bulb.
5. remove the 4 screws that hold the black bracket to the pod
6. Remove the 1 screw that holds the brass colored ring to the black bracket.
7. Twist the brass ring to snap it off of the 2 adjuster posts (do not screw with the adjusters)
8. Drill out the 4 rivets that hold the plastic adjuster tabs to the black bracket.
9. Use Sanj's kit supplied rivets to attach the plastic adjusters to the aluminum plate he provides.
10. screw the spacer onto the aluminum bracket with the flat head screw and some loctite.
11. Twist to snap the brass ring back onto the adjuster posts
12. Screw in the screw that holds the brass ring onto the spacer post (use loctite)
13. Repeat this for each light assembly you are changing.
     
14. Attach bracket back into pod with the 4 screws.
15. connect LED bulb assembly to the wiring in the car. No modification necessary, they are plug and play!
16. use chrome bezel to hold LED in place and twist to lock. Tighten 3 screws holding the bezel.
17. test pod actuation by lowering motors by hand (turn knob on back of headlight motors)
18. Plug pod motors back into car harnesses.
19. align headlights
20. reattach plastic trim pieces.

 

Removed original black bracket and brass ring next to Sanj's aluminum adapter.

Back side of original black bracket. (drill out 4 rivets)

Remove adjuster from brass ring

Transfer and rivet plastic adjusters to new aluminum adapter

Snap the adjusters back into the brass ring

Screw brass ring to spacer

 

Installed low beam

 

The LED's that I chose were $35 each on Amazon!

[sanj]

Nice write-up!

If there's enough interest, I could be convinced to make another run of these.

[Mysterae]

Nice write up Travis, cheers.

@sanj, I'd be up for a set if you do another run.

[drdoom]

Nice work on the adapter plates Sanj!

I've had several discussions in person with a local chap who has made a name in automotive lighting, wrote a comprehensive paper for our Provincial equivalent of MOT/DOT some years back. Not a fan of LED until now he nonetheless dropped by to test light a Philips H1 replacement in one of the Hella Bi-focals I'd purchased. While the light distribution was remarkably tight, the brightness and colour very crisp, we determined the "bulb" unit too long for use in the flip-up pods native to Esprit. On full LED lamp replacements his advice was to be careful as most automotive LED's have been and continue to be "cheap Chinese trinkets, with fake regulatory markings". Caveat emptor, in other words. We have also discussed the criminal neglect of beam control, or light distribution if one prefers, of even the current OEM's but typical of aftermarket as well. There are better solutions, apparently a Korean manufacturer has 5 3/4 round lamps which are up to par though perhaps not as cheap as those Amazon bits.

FWIW

[sanj]

I used genuine (and very expensive) DOT-legal LED lamp assemblies from JW Speaker, made here in the USA.

[Vulcan Grey]

I agree that the cheap versions on amazon and ebay are of questionable quality. However... they are cheap! I read reviews supposedly written by people who said they had tried the expensive ~$400+ Harley Davidson Daymaker LED headlights and then compared them to the $35 Amazon version. And they thought the amazon version was definitely as good and much more worth the $.

At $35 I can afford to buy these and try them out.

My car had the H4 E-Code non sealed bulb, originally the USA version all came with horrible sealed bulbs that had not changed since sometime in the middle of last century!  The sealed bulbs were useless on a car that can go over 30mph, and the headlights were better but not great (while blinding anyone who might see them in the 0.25s that it took for me to turn them off). SO I ended up only using the brights in the countryside.

If these LED are as much improvement as they appeared to be in my garage, and I can see any better, then I'll be very happy!

The price for the LED units including Sanj's adapter brackets, were much less than the price for the similar kit from PNM. Sanj's bracket is also backwards compatible with the original headlights!

[drdoom]

Wish you nothing but success Travis! I'm getting to be in my cranky years, always lots to say where criticism is called for 😂, and I will remain pissed when blinded by s%^t lamps coming at me. This is the 21st century and there's no excuse for either crap technology or crap governance, FFS!

Cheers

p.s. Sanj - What's your price for the plates? Got a link to JW?

[sanj]

$100 per set of 4, including all hardware and shipping in the US only. Note that these are specifically for US-specification Esprits only, designed to fit the 5.75" headlight mounting bases.

https://www.jwspeaker.com/products/led-headlights-model-8630-evolution/

https://www.amazon.com/JW-Speaker-8630-5-75-Headlight/dp/B015ZBZMOM/

[skiing]

You can also buy just LED bulbs and fit these rather than the whole unit - this preserves the look of the older light units (if you prefer). You can buy the bulbs in either warm white or the more modern blue white. They are much much more powerful and far less current draw. I got mine from Classic Car LEDs. They are more expensive than the units above though. 

[drdoom]

7 hours ago, skiing said:

You can also buy just LED bulbs and fit these rather than the whole unit - this preserves the look of the older light units (if you prefer). You can buy the bulbs in either warm white or the more modern blue white. They are much much more powerful and far less current draw. I got mine from Classic Car LEDs. They are more expensive than the units above though. 

Interesting. I recently had highly regarded LED bulb replacements by Philips brought around and found them too long for the early Esprit pods.

[skiing]

These fitted easily - the power packs / transformers / black box of tricks? fit neatly into the back of the pod and the bulbs just swap over. I have bought a pair for my lancia delta as well as the headlights on that were comically woeful. 

[Barrykearley]

My understanding is as long as they are dot marked then they are fine.

Led lamps in headlights however can be a fail due to pattern.