This follows on from
this earlier thread where I mistakenly purchased non-CANbus globes and received a malfunction message.
Thought I'd start a new thread for anyone interested in changing from Halogen to LED globes.
Saw
these 55W globes very cheap on Ebay and decided to give them a go. They arrived yesterday.
Hooked one up to a 12v power source for 45 minutes to determine how hot it would get. Placed a cooking thermometer (not very scientific) up against the heatsink for a few minutes and it reached 75degC - heatsink didn't radiate as much heat as I expected and I could touch it briefly without getting burned (the lamp portion was luke warm). Disconnected it and the heat dissipated very quickly. Could touch the heatsink shortly thereafter, the wiring to the connector was warm'ish.
Hooked up the OEM halogen globe the same way, stopped it after about 5 minutes. Didn't measure the temperature, the heat radiating from the thing felt substantial - certainly much higher than the LED globe. The fastener, the connections where very hot to touch.
Fitted the new globes, no malfunction messages, far better and brighter light than the stock halogen globes.
Note the photo with dimensions. This one fits easily inside the cannister with about 2cm between its base and the cannister cover. Others have longer heatsink with built in fan and may be too long to fit inside the cannister without modifying the cover plate.
Word of warning, with my experience with cheap LED globes for the home, these are unlikely to have anywhere near the lifespan of brand name globes (which are up to 10 times more expensive). I'd expect 2-5 years life depending on how much night time driving and whether one keeps their lights switch on auto.
I'm happy to replace them more regularly and will be purchasing an extra pair to keep as spares and replace them every couple of years as part of normal servicing.
Hope this helps. Will report back when they eventually fail.
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