501 Led Sidelight Bulbs

[rigga955]

Anyone any info on the following

I purchased some Hb4 Xenon 80w dipped beam bulbs and some LED sidelight bulbs, now the dipped lights are much better, brighter whiter light, so impressed with those, but the 501 LED sidelights that came with them do not work at all .... contacted the selker who stated some cars need different led's to work, they supplied T10 versions according to the advert, are these the right ones for the Lexus? Anyone fitted LED sidelights and can confirm what type of 501 bulb they fitted snd worked.

[petayV8]

I bought some CREE Q5 7 watt 501 LED side lights for mine and work perfectly. try switching the bulbs round, the polarity's have to be right with LED type bulbs.....

[jomo]

Did you try turning them 180 as leds only work in one direction.

[rigga955]

yes I tried them both ways on both sides as I'm aware of the polarity issue with LED bulbs, still no joy ... seller mentioned some resisters might be needed on some cars to allow T10 bulbs to work, this is the main point I need to clear up, has anyone fitted this type of 501 LED bulb without any issue to a is200 ? if so then I can go back to the seller with a kind of deffinate " your bulbs are **** " statement

[jomo]

i have this type of T10 fitter with out probs.

Is this the same or one of these?

[TigerFish]

As far as I know, the resistor requirement is to fool bulb failure circuitry as most leds show a higher resistance than standard filement bulbs. This difference makes bulb failure circuits think the bulb has gone open circuit and puts the light on. The resistor sits in parallel with the LED and reduces the overall resistance presented to the circuit. I'm not aware of a resistor being needed to make the bulb work in the first place, but I could be wrong.

[TigerFish]

I use these Philips Vision 4000k LED's. Expensive, but bang on white colour to match the factory hids.

[jomo]

Jezz Tiger they look ££££££££££££3

[TigerFish]

Jezz Tiger they look ££££££££££££3

Yeah, they are (well £20'ish quid). But they are a perfect match. No other leds that I have tried come close. I have tried dozens of typres and they are always bluer than the headlights.

[rigga955]

This is the listing for the bulbs to see which bulbs they are

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/270927326071?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

[TigerFish]

I've used that type before, and they worked fine in my GS.

[rigga955]

Ok thanks for that, now I know that type should work ill get back to the seller to see what they will do.

[matt-c]

Would those HB4's be any good for full beam? I've put 5000k HID's in the dipped (and LED's in the sidelights, just for a better colour match) but of course the fogs, and full beam, are still yellow. So looking for an inexpensive set of regular (ie, not xenon) bulbs for those to match the colour better, and perform as good, if not better, than the stock bulbs

[rigga955]

well they are much better than the standard HB4 units that were in there before, my main beams are HB3 ... yours different then ?

[rigga955]

These are Xenon HB4 by the way

[matt-c]

You're quite correct - main beam are HB3 (fogs are HB4, twas me getting confused)

Those bulbs are halogen bulbs though, not Xenon (someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Xenon bulbs are the HID ones, whereas "xenon-gas filled halogen" bulbs are not..?)

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

You're quite correct - main beam are HB3 (fogs are HB4, twas me getting confused)

Those bulbs are halogen bulbs though, not Xenon (someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Xenon bulbs are the HID ones, whereas "xenon-gas filled halogen" bulbs are not..?)

Yeah I think your right. Proper Xenon are HID. But you can by HB3 and HB4 bulbs labelled "xenon" but are gas filled halogen as you say. They are marketed as "xenon" and "no need for HID kit but the same result" etc...

In my opinion these are nowhere near as good as a HID kit but are an improvement on standard bulbs. :)

[matt-c]

I'm not really up on my chemistry, but as I understand it halogen, Xenon, krypton, argon, etc, are all gases that work inside filament bulbs. A filament bulb can have any, or all, of these gases. But a filament bulb is an "instantly on" bulb (ie, you flick the switch and it's on, at full brightness) whereas a HID, or "true xenon" flickers and has to warm up when switched on.

But yeah, you'll not get a halogen as good as a HID bulb, but HID's really aren't that good to use in main beam, unless you have the switchable high/low bulbs, as HID's don't respond well to flashing and sporadic on/off as you'd normally use with main beams. So I'm just after a whiter/better colour match, but always looking for a little improvement too, if poss!

[TigerFish]

The "Xenon" halogen bulbs are a better colour than standard halogens, and look 10x better than standards. But when run side by side proper hid lights (in main beams/fogs etc), they will still look yellow compared to the hids.

[matt-c]

I get that, but just wondering if they'll be stronger/brighter than "regular" halogen bulbs (depending on like-for-like wattage of course)

[TigerFish]

Never noticed a significant change on the cheaper brands. The colour makes things look different, even if not significantly brighter. You are better looking at the higher performing bulbs for better light output for the same wattage. I use Osram Nightbreakers in my Corrado VR6, they are an excellent OEM type upgrade IMO (and have a nicer output colour too).

[rigga955]

well I didn't want a HID kit, just better lighting from a bulb replacement, these have done that by being brighter and a crisper white, so I'm happy with that, and my drive to work tonight was so much better, no flashing from oncoming cars too even though they are higher wattage than standard.

[matt-c]

I shall give those a look, thanks!

(While on the subject, kinda, of power/wattage - what's the advises limit to go to? Ie, can the cars electrical system handle 80/100w?)

[rigga955]

Always thought going to 100w was a no no from days gone by where it caused issues with overheating wiring, and I think they are not exactly legal either, hence going for the 80w .... bit of an increase but hopefully without issues .

[TigerFish]

From a legal perspective, 55 watt is the max as far as I know for dipped beams. Anything over is not legal. Never had problems with 100 watt main beams on any car I've owned, even on old capri's and such like.