H13 led suitable for temporary hid replacement?

[NewbyMaybe]

A hid bulb quit on my 14 S, replacements are over priced.
I can get a pair of like new h13's very cheap but I'll have to adapt the fitting ring to make it fit where the hid was.
Plan to replace the ballast with an aluminum plate and a grommet for the wires.

Assuming the 12v going to the ballast will light the h13 without anything else required.

Can't find any confirmation on LED's that would be a simpler swap. Also assuming the LEDs will use less power than hid.

Also hoping my mcu1 won't hate it.

 

[krsgio]

Find it funny people drive such expensive cars and wont pay $150-200 for a wear item like bulbs that probably lasted you a decade.

 

[E90alex]

What? You can get cheap D3S HID bulbs for just as much as a cheap pair of LED bulbs if you want and you don’t have to modify the car with a janky DIY plate to seal the headlight. Not to mention the computer might not be happy with that and could give you errors. They also make drop in D3S LED bulbs and you can keep the OE ballast in place.

But I’ve read it’s pretty difficult to get to the headlight to replace the bulb, so better to spend a bit more money for a high quality bulb (eg Osram or Phillips) than to have to do it multiple times when the cheap no name bulbs fail prematurely. I have the Osram Cool Blue Boost bulbs in my BMW.

Headlights are literally what light the road for you so best to do it properly and not cheap out.

 

[NewbyMaybe]

Anybody with actual experience with first gen Tesla LED's recommend a simpler fix?

 

[beatle]

I think replacing them with LEDs is more trouble than it's worth vs. just using a new HID bulb. You're also likely to have a worse beam pattern. The potential cost savings, hassle of fabricating a blockoff plate, and the potential for problems with the MCU and moisture ingress is a pretty unbalanced list of pros and cons. Replacing the bulbs isn't a 5 minute job, but it's doable. Some say you can do it without removing the wheel, but it is much easier with the wheel off. Here is a video:

 

[NewbyMaybe]

What I didn't learn from the many vids and threads is that without removing wheel you can only get 1 finger on the lock ring. Had to put a right angle garden tool on the ear of the ring to move it. Now that it's out I see several metal pressure points on it. If I had pushed in as I tried to turn maybe the tool would be unnecessary.
After seeing the filament is burnt I no longer need to switch the other side to confirm the ballast is good.
2 bulbs with tax would be more than I paid for my first car in the 80's. If I drove regularly at night or didn't have an affordable, more efficient option then I would not be seeking advice from the experienced.

 

[beatle]

How much do you think a bulb costs? Even a pair of Osrams can be had for around $100. A pair of generic bulbs is $30. I don't think you'll find anyone who has replaced HID with LED because there isn't any benefit in doing so.

 

[krsgio]

His next post will be, does anyone know how to use duct tape as tires? I can't justify paying more than my jellopy in 1980 was for one.

 

[E90alex]

What I didn't learn from the many vids and threads is that without removing wheel you can only get 1 finger on the lock ring. Had to put a right angle garden tool on the ear of the ring to move it. Now that it's out I see several metal pressure points on it. If I had pushed in as I tried to turn maybe the tool would be unnecessary.
After seeing the filament is burnt I no longer need to switch the other side to confirm the ballast is good.
2 bulbs with tax would be more than I paid for my first car in the 80's. If I drove regularly at night or didn't have an affordable, more efficient option then I would not be seeking advice from the experienced.

What the hell kind of bulbs are you buying?

 

[NewbyMaybe]

Rabbit hole alert: the LEDs I could buy locally are 20k lumens. What resistors would bring that down to street legal? Would it reduce efficiency?

 

[E90alex]

Just buy D3S HID bulbs and be done with it. Stop with this LED bulb nonsense because you clearly don’t know what you’re even doing. Trying to hack together LED bulbs and blocking plates and resistors??

Lumen ratings of bulbs are also meaningless because the brightness will depend on optics of the housing they will be installed in. LED optics are also very different than HID optics.

Take your pick:

$27 cheap generic D3S bulbs. https://a.co/d/8rMYnd2

$90 quality aftermarket D3S bulbs. https://www.theretrofitsource.com/d3s-xb-hid-B-D3S?quantity=1

$175 OEM quality D3S bulbs. https://www.theretrofitsource.com/d3s-osram-xenarc-66340-cbi-B-66340CBI?quantity=1

 

[NewbyMaybe]

Those are likely all the same but labeled according to sales budget.

 

[E90alex]

Negative. Osram is an OEM supplier and you can expect much higher quality control with better light output and longer bulb life.

But I guess you’re the expert and you know more than me so do whatever the hell you want. Good luck and hope you don’t cause a fire and burn up your car or melt your headlights.

 

[Huachipato]

I'm just want to point out that HID bulbs don't have filaments. It's gas filled tube with an electric arc. The power to light ratio on HID is impressive and hard to match with LEDs - not to mention there is no need for bulky heat sinks either.

You can get them in any color temp too - I'm not sure what you are gaining from the desire to switch to LEDs.

FWIW - I went with cheap Amazon bulb listed above. It's just been in a few days but so far no issues.