4WD Spotlights

[Ridge Runner]

There were 2 pros and 1 con with the HID upgrade I did.

The only con was the cost but the best price I got was from Autoelecau and well worth it.

Pro 1 - The brightness and distance improvements were very noticeable and no regrets.

Pro 2 - The amperage load was halved. So when night driving and towing the caravan drawing 13-14 amps for its fridge, plus the external van lighting plus the Auxilliary being charged from a BCDC, it was good to reduce the alternator load.

I looked at those ARB ones with loads of LED's in them but at about $800 bucks each, when they told me the price I think I said at leased one swear word for every Dollar they quoted, holy Dooley, no way will I pay that much for a set of lights, The older styles have served people well for decades there is just no need to spend that amount on lights, and in mist or rain they are all but useless with how they reflect back,

Thing is lights that have a slight yellow tinge to them work better anyway, I watched a heap of Videos on YT and it seems that LED's are so bright they blow out making every thing white and in some cases you can't see a thing.

 

[Ded Driver]

RR one thing to keep in mind, high powered HID & LED are near useless in fog & heavy rain ... they create a 'white wall in front of you.\hence why I have traditional halogens down low, the slightly more yellowish light penetrates better & can light the road up underneath the fog

 

[Ridge Runner]

RR one thing to keep in mind, high powered HID & LED are near useless in fog & heavy rain ... they create a 'white wall in front of you.\hence why I have traditional halogens down low, the slightly more yellowish light penetrates better & can light the road up underneath the fog

Yeah I think your right, I thought it was just me, Heavy rain with bright lights just made me blink all the way home, It was like white blobs coming at me the whole trip, 3 hours of that was not a fun trip, and I prefer old halogen lights when it's foggy even more so when it has rained on a hot night, :Y:

 

[ChrisD]

Fyrlyt are a great option too, if you didnt want to go the LED or HID path.

https://www.fyrlyt.com/

 

[Ridge Runner]

I was just grubbing around in my lockup on Saturday and I found a genuine pair of Land Rover Safari STC 5000 Spot Lights like this, I kept them from when I had my Mk 1 Discovery V8 2 door, Also have a brand new pair of Cibie Super Oscar Driving lights that are the Original Rally Lights That I bought back around 1998 never been used still in the boxes they came in, These were made in Belgium Not shure where the later ones are made,

 

[Ridge Runner]

RR one thing to keep in mind, high powered HID & LED are near useless in fog & heavy rain ... they create a 'white wall in front of you.\hence why I have traditional halogens down low, the slightly more yellowish light penetrates better & can light the road up underneath the fog

I have been checking out a pair of the IPF 900's with the clear Lens which are a pure Spot lamp not a long distance Driving Light and I have a set coming tomorrow, I found this video by Fyrlyt and he talks about what you and I both found about Halogen Light, I am glad it wasn't just me who noticed that halogen lights are better, YES they chew more power but the quality of light and how Animals stand out better is very true,

J.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUZiwzdgvIs

 

[Ded Driver]

actually the best spotlights I have for winter are old sealed beam halogen 15V 150W 'aircraft landing lights' so called because they were used on light aircraft.
Problem with them tho is the high current draw, & that you shouldnt ever run them with the engine off as they will only be receiving 12-12.5V & that makes them draw more current (rated 150W = 12.5A @12V)& the globes dont last long on low voltage. With the engine running & 13-13.5V they last resonably well, & they double as hand warmers at 6ft layful:
Ive retired them (a few years ago now) in favour of HID for the lower load on the alternator & whiter light is better all-round in summer/warmer months, but Ive been trying to track down a pair of decent amber/yellow ~15" LED light bars to use as fog/rain lights with no real success so far.
Does anybody know of any good amber/yellow LED light bars?

 

[Ridge Runner]

actually the best spotlights I have for winter are old sealed beam halogen 15V 150W 'aircraft landing lights' so called because they were used on light aircraft.
Problem with them tho is the high current draw, & that you shouldnt ever run them with the engine off as they will only be receiving 12-12.5V & that makes them draw more current (rated 150W = 12.5A @12V)& the globes dont last long on low voltage. With the engine running & 13-13.5V they last resonably well, & they double as hand warmers at 6ft layful:
Ive retired them (a few years ago now) in favour of HID for the lower load on the alternator & whiter light is better all-round in summer/warmer months, but Ive been trying to track down a pair of decent amber/yellow ~15" LED light bars to use as fog/rain lights with no real success so far.
Does anybody know of any good amber/yellow LED light bars?

hope that helps.

Here's a better Pair

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-5-Inc...264226552787?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10

Here is a Pair

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Amber...153323416172?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

Single One

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-36W-1...163460659012?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

 

[Ded Driver]

cheers RR. I hadn't thought of looking on the UK eBay site.
1st one is a maybe .. too short at 5" (that's what she said :lol: ) , although could use 4 of them, & it says "LED Color Temperature: Yellow" so maybe they are actually yellow LEDs
2nd one is still a bit short at 8" & I notice the colour temp is 6000K which is bright white, so obviously using yellow lens to get the colour (I want yellow LED emitter)
3rd one is good size, still 6000K, supposedly with yellow lens
.
.
after looking at these I did another search on the AU eBay site (haven't searched it since early last Dec), & hey presto, now they're here!
so time to buy yellow LED light bars .. will be delivered & mounted up before winter arrives :Y:

 

[Ridge Runner]

cheers RR. I hadn't thought of looking on the UK eBay site.
1st one is a maybe .. too short at 5" (that's what she said :lol: ) , although could use 4 of them, & it says "LED Color Temperature: Yellow" so maybe they are actually yellow LEDs
2nd one is still a bit short at 8" & I notice the colour temp is 6000K which is bright white, so obviously using yellow lens to get the colour (I want yellow LED emitter)
3rd one is good size, still 6000K, supposedly with yellow lens
.
.
after looking at these I did another search on the AU eBay site (haven't searched it since early last Dec), & hey presto, now they're here!
so time to buy yellow LED light bars .. will be delivered & mounted up before winter arrives :Y:

I just Googled it and they came up, The 2" X 5" 96w ones came up in Aussie Dollars so maybe they could be local although it says Hong Kong, ? Just a thought Ay,

 

[Ded Driver]

found these locally on eBay

genuine CREE LED's 3000K
2280 Lumens
seal IP68 ... to note, the cheaper 'copies' available are only IP67

by the way RR, forgot to mention, I also have a set of yellow 65/55W halogen globes for the Pajero headlights. They are actually brighter than the std 65/55 white globes, but people seem to hate them in their eyes & I get flashed with highbeam a lot when I have them in.

4x yellow LED Light Bars on their way

 

[Ridge Runner]

found these locally on eBay
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...ges/12692/1553690835_yellow_led_light_bar.jpg
genuine CREE LED's 3000K
2280 Lumens
seal IP68 ... to note, the cheaper 'copies' available are only IP67

by the way RR, forgot to mention, I also have a set of yellow 65/55W halogen globes for the Pajero headlights. They are actually brighter than the std 65/55 white globes, but people seem to hate them in their eyes & I get flashed with highbeam a lot when I have them in.

4x yellow LED Light Bars on their way

Well done, They do work well as long as they are not too powerful, they are way better than a white light in fog and mist as along as they are pointed at a slight downward angle,, :Y:

let us know how you get on, yeah

 

[Ridge Runner]

RR one thing to keep in mind, high powered HID & LED are near useless in fog & heavy rain ... they create a 'white wall in front of you.\hence why I have traditional halogens down low, the slightly more yellowish light penetrates better & can light the road up underneath the fog

Hey DD the IPF 900's turned up today with 130w globes, they are the straight Spot Lamp not the Driving Lights and they have the most perfect Beams and both are exactly the same just like I remember them so I might order a set of the Driving Light versions like I had before,

They were able to light up Gum Trees up to a mile away on a Dark night So they are next on my list next week, So These Spot Versions must be able to go a bit further than the Driving version, But One thing for sure with these 130 globes you can feel the heat from over 4ft away and then some, Incredible set of lamps, Ay. :Y: :inlove: erfect:

 

[Jaros]

Took my 4x4 to the Auto elecs this am and got the 9" spotties fixed. :8 :8 Turns out the person that replaced the battery a month ago not only forgot to reconnect the 9" lights but "he" also left the winch cable off as well.
BLOODY IDIOT!! --Didn't cost me anything$$

 

[Ridge Runner]

Took my 4x4 to the Auto elecs this am and got the 9" spotties fixed. :8 :8 Turns out the person that replaced the battery a month ago not only forgot to reconnect the 9" lights but "he" also left the winch cable off as well.
BLOODY IDIOT!! --Didn't cost me anything$$

Sorry to hear that, lucky you weren't stuck out in the Bush when you found out Ay, :Y:

 

[Ded Driver]

Took my 4x4 to the Auto elecs this am and got the 9" spotties fixed. :8 :8 Turns out the person that replaced the battery a month ago not only forgot to reconnect the 9" lights but "he" also left the winch cable off as well.
BLOODY IDIOT!! --Didn't cost me anything$$

there are some tools in this world, that should never touch a tool :awful:

 

[Jaros]

There should be a better design made to the Positive battery lug/connector to accept more leads in a simpler fashion. Either that or have a +ve busbar separate to the battery terminal. erfect:

 

[Ridge Runner]

There should be a better design made to the Positive battery lug/connector to accept more leads in a simpler fashion. Either that or have a +ve busbar separate to the battery terminal. erfect:

I'm running 3 of these batteries plus a 85amp version as my starter battery, all of them have the secondary post/bolts on them, makes life a bit easier to connect stuff up,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUPER-HE...12v-5yr-Warranty-115-ah-1000cca-/171709215880

 

[Ded Driver]

There should be a better design made to the Positive battery lug/connector to accept more leads in a simpler fashion. Either that or have a +ve busbar separate to the battery terminal. erfect:

haha guess what I have Jaros .... both
I have a solid brass terminal with 3 screw fix ports side by side (1 large for the battery cable, 2 mid-size for other), but I never used it as its too chunky.
Currently I have a piece of copper pipe hammered flat & attached to the screw fixing on a regular terminal as an experiment. It bends down a little so its just below battery level in an S bend This is working very well so I intend to do a better neater version soon. I will post pics when i get around to it ... too many projects on the go at once layful:
DED

 

[thefitter]

Dont be scrared of the cheap kings light bars and 9 inch round lights , run them on my landcruiser dualcab and do a lot of night driving around central qld the place is full of Roos and pigs , they throw a great light.
Ian