IslandRoadster
Former Owner of #609
I ordered through DDM since I thought I might need the decoders and it took a while to get to me from China.
What purpose is the decoder supposed to serve and why don’t you think you needed them?
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I ordered through DDM since I thought I might need the decoders and it took a while to get to me from China.
Choose the 9005/HB3 for regular and the H11/H9 for the high beams. As you can see, they fit, and I can confirm that they work well. The light output is similar to the very best 55W Xenons on day-one at 5,000 lumens each and the power consumption is back down to 35Wish. .
Any concern about those fans getting fouled up with road crud over time?As for the fans on the back, I think I can hear them if I stand close up.
I wish! Actually, being serious, the lights in the Roadster are separate low beam and high beam on the original lights - these aren't the shuttered Xenon upgrades from Tesla - and the design on the lens produces a pretty sharp cutoff. The lights are only a few feet above the ground and come from the factory pointing downwards! When I originally installed the Xenon bulbs, I took the car to a large level parking lot and adjusted the height of the beams to be about level... so basically I'm illuminating everyones shins!worried that the lights will shine up into driver’s eyes too much
When I opened the covers on the back of the headlights, after 9 years I guess, I was pleased to find the interior was spotless and, that was with my running wires out under the cap to the inverter. I don't anticipate any problems going forwards however, I did select bulbs (can you call them that?) that automatically dim if they heat up. I expect that the end-of-life for these lamps (better?) might be when the small fan bearings cease up but, the manufacture (importer probably) is quoting 30,000 hrs. Let's watch...Any concern about those fans getting fouled up with road crud over time?
I wish! Actually, being serious, the lights in the Roadster are separate low beam and high beam on the original lights - these aren't the shuttered Xenon upgrades from Tesla - and the design on the lens produces a pretty sharp cutoff. The lights are only a few feet above the ground and come from the factory pointing downwards! When I originally installed the Xenon bulbs, I took the car to a large level parking lot and adjusted the height of the beams to be about level... so basically I'm illuminating everyones shins!
I've had a MINI, an 05' original and '08 MINI E who's headlights were stellar. I think at that time, the sharp cutoff - high contrast between the viewer being above the beam and below the beam, the bouncy suspension and the high power at a time when people were used to halogen did trigger the same for me. I'd almost be pleased if I got the same reception for the Roadster!
Part 2 - Ripping out the Xenons
So which LEDs did I choose and why?
After looking through dozens and even purchasing a few I found these to be a good solution:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PR1NTWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Choose the 9005/HB3 for regular and the H11/H9 for the high beams. As you can see, they fit, and I can confirm that they work well. The light output is similar to the very best 55W Xenons on day-one at 5,000 lumens each and the power consumption is back down to 35Wish. The color temperature is regular daylight 6500K. There's a slight dark patch as you look directly down at the bulbs as the light is only emitted from the left and right sides of the bulb but, it's in exactly the same place as an old halogen filament. As for the fans on the back, I think I can hear them if I stand close up. I was going to say 'crickets' but I don't know, the crickets here at night are pretty noisy, far more than these lights.
Happy days - I love flashing the highs!
Check back in another 8 years where I'll be trying out after market laser headlight bulbs... maybe.
Any gotchas?
I cover the whole process at the beginning of this whole thread including opening the access panel in the liner but, If you find that inserting the new bulb is difficult, you can loosen the screws around the build but only a couple of turns otherwise the insides of the lamp fall in! When you re-tighten them, use as little force as you need - it's all flimsy plastic in there!
Part 2 - Ripping out the Xenons
View attachment 444821
Time to upgrade the XENON's to LED technology. The Xenon solution has worked well for the last, 8, 9, years but in the last few I've noticed that the output seems to have been falling... or my eyes are getting older. Whilst LEDs have been around for a while, even cheap ones I've just not gotten around to upgrading until this week. Same drill as before, jack the car up, install the bulbs but this time, the process is even easier. Remember having to find somewhere to fit the controllers? Well, that's all gone, the tiny controller fits into the lighting enclosure allowing you to close up the back without any wires hanging out... Just make sure not to leave the wires where they might impede the spinning fan on the back.
View attachment 444819
The regular bulb is plug-and-play, the H9's in the high beams are still fiddly with wiring but nothing a bit of tape can't handle. Oh and the whole debate about whether to switch the high-beams to Xenon - hi-brightness/slow warmup - moot. The LEDs in the high beams are instantaneous and a no-brainer.
So, goodbye to my faithful old Xenons, you served be well
View attachment 444820
So which LEDs did I choose and why?
After looking through dozens and even purchasing a few I found these to be a good solution:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PR1NTWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Choose the 9005/HB3 for regular and the H11/H9 for the high beams. As you can see, they fit, and I can confirm that they work well. The light output is similar to the very best 55W Xenons on day-one at 5,000 lumens each and the power consumption is back down to 35Wish. The color temperature is regular daylight 6500K. There's a slight dark patch as you look directly down at the bulbs as the light is only emitted from the left and right sides of the bulb but, it's in exactly the same place as an old halogen filament. As for the fans on the back, I think I can hear them if I stand close up. I was going to say 'crickets' but I don't know, the crickets here at night are pretty noisy, far more than these lights.
Happy days - I love flashing the highs!
Check back in another 8 years where I'll be trying out after market laser headlight bulbs... maybe.
The final result for my 1.5 was:
Low beams: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PR1NTWM
And a resistor: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BMZG1XM
The seller, Senlite, apologized for the decoder mishap, but returning those was easy enough.
Probably unrelated... But the FM reception went to crap. Could it be interference? I doubt it, the reception isn't any better with the headlights off. Could I have bumped the antenna somewhere? Could it have finally come unplugged from the back of the stereo?