LED Headlights

[alpina]

I Have been thinking about switching the standard euro headlight bulbs to LED.
I have seen these on sale from a number of companies
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Latest-LED-Headlights-P45T-9200-Lumen-Hi-Lo-Beam-Conversion-12V-16-x-Z-ES-Chips-/182376687784?hash=item2a767f68a8:g:~gsAAOSwCfdXocpT
has anyone else gone down this route ? would the additional driver / wiring fit behind the headlight unit.
I would be interested in anyone’s experience with LED headlights

Thanks

DM

[alpina]

Well as no one seems to have gone for LED head lights. I thought I would buy a pair and give the ago.
After a small adjustment the fit just fine. I have kept the original bulb shields in place. I know some people say these can be removed, however the overwhelming information is that you should keep them in.
Very please with the result. So much better than the old bilux bulbs. I changed the side lights the LED as well.
The difference is night and day.  I would highly recommend the upgrade.

[DaveB]

Thanks for posting. Have you changed any other bulbs in the car to LED?

[Paul & Dolly]

They look to give a great improvement in brightness, do yiu know what they are equivalent to ?

Thanks

paul

[alpina]

Dave, I replaced the rear tail lights with LED's a while ago. show here:-
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=22863.msg166620#msg166620

Paul, the brightness improvement is great. The original bulbs were the golf ball style Bilux bulbs, these were very poor.
I don't know what they are equivalent too, however they are way better than the Halogen H4 bulbs with the P45t base.
I would say they are similar to HID / xenon lights.
I looked at many LED headlight bulbs, ones with fans, ones with braided wire heatsinks etc. etc., there are many out there.
I chose the ones above because they are designed to the replicate the layout of a standard halogen bulb. which made sense to me.

[Steve.k]

I just replaced the headlight lamps on my ‘71 Pagoda today.  I have the European headlights and used the bulbs recommended by others ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/Latest-LED-Headlights-P45T-9200-Lumen-Hi-Lo-Beam-Conversion-12V-16-x-Z-ES-Chips/182376687784?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649. 

I’d been putting it off and finally got the courage to give it a go.   It’s way easier than I expected.  The trim and housing came off easily and the bulb replacement was straightforward.  The kit comes with good instructions for installing the replacement LED’s - the only modification I had to do to keep the existing shroud was to loosen the Allen screws on the LED and slide it back a bit to fit. 

The difference in brightness is stunning.  Much much brighter and whiter.  I also replaced the amber turn signal lamp and the lower running lights with LEDs from Superbright LEDs https://www.superbrightleds.com/vehicle/1971-mercedes-benz-280sl-vehicle-led-lights?make=49&model=88&year=1971. While I was at it I changed the rear tail lights, blinkers, and side markers.  Again, the difference is obvious.  Brighter, cooler, less draw, longer lasting.   
It’s really an easy job that took less than 2hours for everything. I haven’t been able to find a replacement for the fog lamp. Its an odd bulb base. 

When I have more experience, and courage I’ll tackle the dash lights.   

[Pawel66]

Steve, did you have the halogen European headlights, or the regular ones?

As for the foglights (these would be legal in Europe to replace) I tried a couple of LED ones, but the bulbs I had from SLS give better light, surprisingly.

The odd base is BA20. What I was able to find was LED BA20D, usually 35W/35W - this is the bulb used by a lot of motorbikes and scooters. But I stayed with the regular bulbes from SLS. I am not sure if the weaker light was caused by wrong geometry of the double beam motorbike bulb or something else. As I could not find BA20 LED, I dropped the effort for now.

[mazmonza]

I am using bulbs from Classic Car Leds  ( www.classiccarleds.co.uk )  0800 246 5678

Headlights, sidelights,  brakelights  and indicators, they are all a great improvement.

I have a set for the dash but have yet to fit them. 
 
Maurice

[mazmonza]

Fog lights are being developed and are due soon.

Maurice

[JamesL]

I've done all but the indicators and headlights. HUGE improvement

Interesting that there seems to be a plug and play relay available (but not in our round can)

[Steve.k]

Pawel,  the old bulbs were the incandescent, not halogen.  The fog light lamp is a BA20S base, which is similar to the BA20D, but the pins are slightly different.  There are LED BA20S shown on some of the Chinese sites like Alibaba, but minimum quantity is 200.  I'm not THAT into it

[Steve.k]

James, two questions on the plug n play relay: where can I get one and; where is it on the vehicle?

[specracer]

For those considering this, be SURE to address the relay. The issue is the electrical load is reduced, with LED vs incandescent. Therefore if the relay is not replaced, your likely to get "hyper flash" in the directionals, where the "blink" happens very rapidly (or even not at all).

Interesting that there seems to be a plug and play relay available (but not in our round can)

[Steve.k]

What I found after replacing all the lamps (blinkers, flashers, directionals or whatever else they're called) is that I tested them one by one as I was installing them and everything was going tickety-boo until I installed the very last bulb in the rear turn indicator.  Up to that point the flashers worked exactly right.  After the last LED went in, the flashers didn't work at all.  If I leave one incandescent bulb in, then the flashers work right.  So at this point, I have new LED's everywhere except the left rear turn signal.  The flashers work normally if I leave one old bulb in.  That's why I'm looking to resolve the relay issue.  Does anyone know if the Kaehler 3.101.200 would resolve this?

[mazmonza]

I used the relay supplied by Classic Car Leds, a simple replacement of the original.

Maurice

[Steve.k]

Maurice,  is this https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/12v-electronic-indicator-flasher-relay-for-classic-cars-with-oe-clicking-sound the one you're referring to?

[mazmonza]

Yes if they are only showing one that is it.

You can speak to Duncan on 0800 246 5678 he is very helpful

Maurice

[Pawel66]

Yes, there are two pins in BA20D (double), for motorbike headlights. When you insert the BA20D into foglight slot - just one pin touches the contact. But the light is disappointing. Could be because of wrong geometry of th foglight reflector, I do not know.Net net - I stayed with the SLS bulbs of regular type.

If the led for foglights is being developed, I will definitely try.

[Steve.k]

Maurice, regarding the relay, since the pin / prong layout is different from the OEM, how did you make the connection?  Did you solder wire jumpers or replace the female plug?

[mazmonza]

I used 2" pieces of wire with one spade connector to relay and one bullet connector to original socket.
Easy connection

[Steve.k]

Ok, so I got a relay from SuperbrightLED’s which came with a pin adapter.   I’ve pulled the plug off the old relay and identified the power feed (top left pin in second photo).  I’ve tried all the permutations of the wire to pin combinations and it still doesn’t blink.   Am i missing something or could the new relay be a dud, or did I fry it by trying the different combinations. 
Any advice for a newbie?

^^UPDATE^^.  I re-read the article https://www.sl113.org/wiki/Electrical/FlasherRelay and labelled the wires on my adapter and temporarily connected everything.  Now the turn signals blink correctly, but the 4 way flashers still don’t work.   Ideas?

I apologize for taking this thread in a tangent.  I probably should’ve started a new one.

 Anyway, I now have LEDs in the headlights, running lights, turn signals, side markers and reverse lights.  Basically everything except the fog lamp within the Lichtenheit Euro headlight assembly.  They all look much brighter than the originals. If anyone wants any info, just ask. 

Would still like to resolve the emergency flashers though

[Cees Klumper]

Recapping, it seems the most important led upgrade would be the headlights, safety-wise. It's also very easy compared to the turn signals, which require a finicky new flasher. I have never worried about lack of visibility of the indicator, brake, rear etc lights, so not convinced of the value of changing all of those. Plus it may detract from the overall 'classic' appearance of the car. But would like to try the headlight leds.

[mazmonza]

Steve, pleased you got it sorted I didn't have an adaptor with mine.

Sorry I can't help with the 4 way flashers I don't have them on my 250

Maurice

[Steve.k]

Cees,

You point is well taken, but you can’t tell the other markers are LED, and don’t detract from the classic look.  I agree that the headlight upgrade makes a huge difference for night driving visibility, huge. 
Here is Canada all vehicles have had DRL (daytime running lights) since the early 1990’s, so not having them is a safety concern.  Since I have the European headlights, I found that simply turning the switch one click turns on the LED front running lamp and it is as if I have DRL.   Very pleased with the outcome.   

[nirmal]

Hi Maz

Do I need an adapter to fit the LED headlight conversion bulb with my Pagoda or an extension wire.

Nirmal
white 1969 280sl