LED Headlight Bulb Kit Recommendation

[squeasel]

Greetings All ... I have purchased two sets (inexpensive) of LED Bulbs to replace the Halogen in my 1996 Chevy Tahoe 4dr 4wd 5.7L. Neither set worked though both should have (either listed as proper fitment or claiming to replace 9005/9006 bulbs). One set did work on a 2009 Honda Civic so the bulbs were OK. Why don't these work in the Tahoe? Has anyone changed to LED with success? Have I missed something?

 

[MatSLO]

That's odd. Did you try reversing the socket? (LEDs are usually polarity sensitive)

 

[squeasel]

@MatSLO ... you are correct! The plug on the light bulbs is keyed incorrectly though they do show a + and - sign. The nub that should be caught by the wiring harness plug is on the wrong side. Now ... I am waiting for darkness. Again, @MatSLO thank you very much.

 

[df2x4]

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I feel obligated to link to this thread every time someone brings up drop in LED headlights.

http://www.gmt400.com/threads/spyder-headlamps-my-take-on-em-and-lighting-in-general.36647/

It's a good read, although a bit long and jumbled. The long and short of it is that no drop in LED bulb replacement will ever throw light properly from a reflector designed for a halogen, and none of the drop in LED replacements are DOT legal either. The only properly designed LED headlights that will work for these trucks are the 5X7 sealed beam LED options from GE, TruckLite, etc that fit the single headlight W/T grilles.

In the composite plastic housings with the replaceable bulbs, it's best to stick to halogens.

 

[un4givn85]

These have been solid units for me so far.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XHDW23Q/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Nice even light output, and bright.

 

[RMFSK1500]

Had the same problem man, I had to reverse the wires on my lows. I went with the spyder projector they come with H1's for the lows. I then got some Lasfit H1 LD series that I can switch between white and yellow depending on the weather for the lows and Lasfit 9005 LS series for my high's. Short of doing some true HID projector conversation it's about the best light I've seen out of these trucks.

 

[shovelbill]

Had the same problem man, I had to reverse the wires on my lows. I went with the spyder projector they come with H1's for the lows. I then got some Lasfit H1 LD series that I can switch between white and yellow depending on the weather for the lows and Lasfit 9005 LS series for my high's. Short of doing some true HID projector conversation it's about the best light I've seen out of these trucks.

i guess you never saw glass reflector Spyders with Phillips XtremeVision +130% bulbs and a relay harness.........with AC Delco HIR's in the high beam position.

 

[RMFSK1500]

i guess you never saw glass reflector Spyders with Phillips XtremeVision +130% bulbs and a relay harness.........with AC Delco HIR's in the high beam position.

That complet combination, No. I'm sure it's great.

Edit: Just found some glass spyder they do look nice. I may just build up this combo.

I have a new harness on the way from gmachinz.

My Dad had HIR's. Those were nice.

I've had Phillips xtremevision in high and low but they were +100% if I remember right I don't think they were +130%
They were better than stock but in my experience seemed to fade relatively quickly.

All in the factory light housing.

None of them gave the option to go from 6000k to 3000K instantly if needed.

Are there better options? I hope so, while I can live with my experimental set up and it is better than most lights I've seen or had on these trucks it's definitely far from what I would truly be happy with.....it's also a 22 year old Chevy I'm happy anything electric on it usually works.

 

[cane]

Didn’t like the led ones on my 90 went back to the hid kit I had before the led ones weren’t as bright and they seemed to be all over the place

 

[94burbk1500]

Didn’t like the led ones on my 90 went back to the hid kit I had before the led ones weren’t as bright and they seemed to be all over the place

Any time you put an LED bulb into a reflector style housing meant for halogens, you will scatter the light instead of having a focused beam. Unless you change the housing to one meant for LED, LED's are actually a hindrance and will likely blind other drivers.