LED headlight

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mschmitz57 said:
I'm looking for an H4 headlight lens/reflector for my LED headlight bulb and I've noticed that the glass lens pattern come in 2 styles. RHD (right hand dip) and LHD (left hand dip). I'm trying to determine which is correct lens pattern for US right hand driving. My spider senses tell me to order a LHD to keep from blinding the oncoming traffic in the left lane. Is this correct?
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Regardless of what lens you choose, the beam pattern of the LED bulb will still be problematic as the lenses are designed for halogen bulbs and will necessitate your pointing the headlamp downwards to get the cutoff where it should be. The only way to fix this is to A: purchase a sealed LED unit, or B: purchase an LED bulb with provisions for adjusting the cutoff.
 
mschmitz57 said:
I'm looking for an H4 headlight lens/reflector for my LED headlight bulb and I've noticed that the glass lens pattern come in 2 styles. RHD (right hand dip) and LHD (left hand dip). This is usually done with a triangular pattern on right or left side of the glass lens. I'm trying to determine which is correct lens pattern for US right hand driving. My spider senses tell me to order a LHD to keep from blinding the oncoming traffic in the left lane. Is this correct?
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No.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp
Most low-beam headlamps are specifically designed for use on only one side of the road. Headlamps for use in left-traffic countries have low-beam headlamps that "dip to the left"; the light is distributed with a downward/leftward bias to show the driver the road and signs ahead without blinding oncoming traffic. Headlamps for right-traffic countries have low beams that "dip to the right", with most of their light directed downward/rightward.
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LED headlight
 
acadian said:
mschmitz57 said:
I'm looking for an H4 headlight lens/reflector for my LED headlight bulb and I've noticed that the glass lens pattern come in 2 styles. RHD (right hand dip) and LHD (left hand dip). I'm trying to determine which is correct lens pattern for US right hand driving. My spider senses tell me to order a LHD to keep from blinding the oncoming traffic in the left lane. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Regardless of what lens you choose, the beam pattern of the LED bulb will still be problematic as the lenses are designed for halogen bulbs and will necessitate your pointing the headlamp downwards to get the cutoff where it should be. The only way to fix this is to A: purchase a sealed LED unit, or B: purchase an LED bulb with provisions for adjusting the cutoff.
Click to expand...


This really doesn't address my question. The lens pattern is independent of the light source.
 
acadian said:
mschmitz57 said:
I'm looking for an H4 headlight lens/reflector for my LED headlight bulb and I've noticed that the glass lens pattern come in 2 styles. RHD (right hand dip) and LHD (left hand dip). I'm trying to determine which is correct lens pattern for US right hand driving. My spider senses tell me to order a LHD to keep from blinding the oncoming traffic in the left lane. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Regardless of what lens you choose, the beam pattern of the LED bulb will still be problematic as the lenses are designed for halogen bulbs and will necessitate your pointing the headlamp downwards to get the cutoff where it should be. The only way to fix this is to A: purchase a sealed LED unit, or B: purchase an LED bulb with provisions for adjusting the cutoff.
Click to expand...

permanent-solution-dim-commando-headlight-t20361-45.html?hilit=led%20headlight#p265392

As you can see from these photos I don't know why you need special lens. The patterns aren't that dissimilar. LEDs can't magically throw light in a different direction just because they are LED.
 
swooshdave said:
acadian said:
mschmitz57 said:
I'm looking for an H4 headlight lens/reflector for my LED headlight bulb and I've noticed that the glass lens pattern come in 2 styles. RHD (right hand dip) and LHD (left hand dip). I'm trying to determine which is correct lens pattern for US right hand driving. My spider senses tell me to order a LHD to keep from blinding the oncoming traffic in the left lane. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Regardless of what lens you choose, the beam pattern of the LED bulb will still be problematic as the lenses are designed for halogen bulbs and will necessitate your pointing the headlamp downwards to get the cutoff where it should be. The only way to fix this is to A: purchase a sealed LED unit, or B: purchase an LED bulb with provisions for adjusting the cutoff.
Click to expand...

permanent-solution-dim-commando-headlight-t20361-45.html?hilit=led%20headlight#p265392

As you can see from these photos I don't know why you need special lens. The patterns aren't that dissimilar. LEDs can't magically throw light in a different direction just because they are LED.
Click to expand...

That's a pretty good looking pattern to my eye. I guess LED's are magic after all huh?

Not really a "special" lens, just not the wrong lens for right hand drive. Most H4 lens/reflector kits have a lens pattern that is asymmetric (a triangle pattern) and I didn't want to buy one on the wrong side which may focus more light into the oncoming lane. Some vendors seem to mix "right hand dip" and "right hand drive". Seems to me if your in a right hand drive country you'd want left hand dip to keep from dazzling the oncoming traffic. The vendors also use stock pictures as well to further muddy the waters.

Nevermind gents. I'll sort it out.
 
The earlier LED arrays with multiple led's would not give you the correct pattern as there were too many of the leds out of the same point as the filament on a halogen bulb but the new ones with 2 or 3 leds positioned in the correct spot will give the same pattern.
 
kommando said:
The earlier LED arrays with multiple led's would not give you the correct pattern as there were too many of the leds out of the same point as the filament on a halogen bulb but the new ones with 2 or 3 leds positioned in the correct spot will give the same pattern.
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Good info!
 
mschmitz57 said:
acadian said:
mschmitz57 said:
I'm looking for an H4 headlight lens/reflector for my LED headlight bulb and I've noticed that the glass lens pattern come in 2 styles. RHD (right hand dip) and LHD (left hand dip). I'm trying to determine which is correct lens pattern for US right hand driving. My spider senses tell me to order a LHD to keep from blinding the oncoming traffic in the left lane. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Regardless of what lens you choose, the beam pattern of the LED bulb will still be problematic as the lenses are designed for halogen bulbs and will necessitate your pointing the headlamp downwards to get the cutoff where it should be. The only way to fix this is to A: purchase a sealed LED unit, or B: purchase an LED bulb with provisions for adjusting the cutoff.
Click to expand...


This really doesn't address my question. The lens pattern is independent of the light source.
Click to expand...

It does answer your question, as you asked about how to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. An LED bulb in a lens designed for a halogen bulb will not provide the same cutoff. This is well documented, Google is your friend.

swooshdave said:
As you can see from these photos I don't know why you need special lens. The patterns aren't that dissimilar. LEDs can't magically throw light in a different direction just because they are LED.
Click to expand...

Once again, the light source combined with the lens pattern is what determines scatter and cutoff. It's not magic. The discussion is about dropping an LED bulb into a lens designed for a halogen bulb. There's a reason why the only legal LED headlights are the complete, sealed units, not the replacement bulbs.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... s-legality

LED headlight


The only point I made was to consider that you will have to adjust your headlamp angle as the LED bulb in the standard reflector will scatter more light than the halogen and be problematic for oncoming drivers.
 
Let's be clear that "illegal" for you might not be "illegal" for everyone around the world. :mrgreen:

With any headlight you should always aim it correctly so as not to blind the other drivers.
 
swooshdave said:
Let's be clear that "illegal" for you might not be "illegal" for everyone around the world. :mrgreen:

With any headlight you should always aim it correctly so as not to blind the other drivers.
Click to expand...

In "your" part of the world it certainly is illegal. That's not the point though. The point is that the "legality" is a result of the incompatibility between LED bulbs and halogen reflectors. Run whatever bulb you want in your bike, I'm running them as well. But I dont try to shoot down the valid and proven implications of doing so. Others who may not be aware, and just take the word of some guy on an internet forum, could be putting themselves in harms way as a result.
 
mschmitz57 said:
That's a pretty good looking pattern to my eye. I guess LED's are magic after all huh?
Click to expand...
Not magic. Just something else to try. As for the patterns, the images I supplied in permanent-solution-dim-commando-headlight-t20361-45.html were from a Cibie lens with a standard halogen H4 for comparison. Out on the road, the pattern is very crisp, and I've never had anyone flash their high beams at me. And, no, it's not adjusted too low, as proven by the nighttime riding experiences.

I'm thinking of getting another so my goldfish has a night light...
LED headlight

http://www.ebay.com/itm/H4-HB2-9003-CRE ... 8e&vxp=mtr

acadian said:
While the lower amperage of LED components is attractive, I'd be interested to know the effect this will have on our stators, especially for those of us running SHUNT style regulator/rectifier boxes (podtronics, sparx, boyer etc...).

Again, I'm not entirely certain if this is a major concern on our vintage bike (maybe less for those still running a zener setup), but it has yet to be mentioned in any of these threads.
.
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Actually, it was hashed a bit at please-check-diagram-and-confirm-for-t21817-60.html Since the stator was originally designed to operate in this manner (max output always, based on rpm) it shouldn't really matter if the power is being consumed by a tungsten filament, or turned into heat by the zener or regulator. A 120W (or 180W) stator is always going to produce 120/180 watts at speed. Using LEDs only means that the regulator system has to handle a bit more heat to reject. Either way, the stator sees the same load.

Nathan
 
kommando said:
These LEDs are not polarity sensitive, they fit both type earths, the very latest ones have dropped the bulky fan and instead have long flexible metal mesh strips coming out the back for cooling, I will be getting these next but for now I have even got a fan cooled one inside a 5 3/4" headlamp shell.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2pcs-lot ... 13518.html
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Kommando,
Could you update the link in this post, please?

FYI, the light that swooshdave bought on Amazon is now only $15.99 with Amazon Prime.
 
I have two of Paul Goffs latest in the Bonnie and Cdo and they’re awesome !
 
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