LED hedlamp install

[XfireZ51]

I recently bought a set of OSRAM LED headlamps. In process of installing them, and I notice that on the headlamp buckets for my ZR, there are only 2 adjusters,
One vertical, one horizontal. However, the FSM shows 3. But the bucket has provision for only 2 so it appears that it is not a case of missing parts or anything like that. It looks stock.

[Paul Workman]

Dom,

Did you opt for LOAD RESISTORS, or clip/ground the FOG LIGHT RELAY?

[Flyman 27]

Where did you end up getting the headlights?

[XfireZ51]

Dom,

Did you opt for LOAD RESISTORS, or clip/ground the FOG LIGHT RELAY?

I’m going to connect a separate ground. The horn ground is very close to the fogs.

Wayne,

I got these off Amazon.Mistakenly, I ended up w another set also. Once I get these hooked up and tested I may sell the other set.

[XfireZ51]

Paul,

Just realized I can’t do it that way. Hate idea of clipping wires.

[Jagdpanzer]

Take a look at the way brother Yun (secondchance) solved this issue with a relay terminal jumper.
He laid hands on my Z when when I switched over to GE LEDs as couple years back and all is well with the fog lamps.

[dredgeguy]

Did mine as well but recall we cut a wire and then grounded it. All is well with fog lights.

[secondchance]

First two Zs - mine and dregeguy's - I located fog light ground wire (light green, I think), cut and grounded. Third Z, Phil's, I pulled the fog light relay, bent the ground leg, soldered about 8-10" long wire and grounded it. Both methods worked fine. The latter, relay leg mod, avoided cutting any factory wiring.

[XfireZ51]

First two Zs - mine and dregeguy's - I located fog light ground wire (light green, I think), cut and grounded. Third Z, Phil's, I pulled the fog light relay, bent the ground leg, soldered about 8-10" long wire and grounded it. Both methods worked fine. The latter, relay leg mod, avoided cutting any factory wiring.

Yun,

Are u saying you grounded the fog lamp at the front of the engine compartment?

[secondchance]

Yun,

Are u saying you grounded the fog lamp at the front of the engine compartment?

least intrusive method I found is to remove fog lamp relay under the passenger side dash, bend the grounding leg sideway and up (so that ground circuit is defeated), solder a wire on the ground leg and finally ground this new wire by hooping it under a 10 mm nut close to bottom of passenger side A pillar/front edge of passenger side door.
Soldering on to relay leg is pretty easy because most, if not all, relay legs have a hole where you can thread a wire before soldering.

[XfireZ51]

least intrusive method I found is to remove fog lamp relay under the passenger side dash, bend the grounding leg sideway and up (so that ground circuit is defeated), solder a wire on the ground leg and finally ground this new wire by hooping it under a 10 mm nut close to bottom of passenger side A pillar/front edge of passenger side door.
Soldering on to relay leg is pretty easy because most, if not all, relay legs have a hole where you can thread a wire before soldering.

Yes but u also mentioned grounding at the fog lamp. Did u do that? If so, how?
Any chance u have pic of where relay is on passenger side?

[Paul Workman]

Yes but u also mentioned grounding at the fog lamp. Did u do that? If so, how?
Any chance u have pic of where relay is on passenger side?

Noooo.... I think you misunderstood, Dom. The COIL portion of the fog relay has to be grounded - either at the relay (modifying the relay (bending it out and attahcing a ground wire to it) OR the harness between the relay and the dimmer switch has to be cut and the wire portion connected to the relay has to be grounded somewhere.

Nowhere does the stock wire between the dimmer switch and the relay come close to the area of the fog lights themselves.

When you look at the schematic, it all becomes clear.

OR, if you don't want to permanently disturb the stock wiring, NOR change the operation of the fog lights (turned OFF when the Hi beams are activated), the LOAD RESISTOR option is about you only option.

However, anytime you use a load resistor to maintain original control of the lights, you are not reducing the load on the alternator. Aside from operating the fans, the headlights are a significant load.

So, if you don't mind isolating the fog light operation from the (stock) headlight operation/configuartion, you CAN reduce the load on the alternator by grounding the (coil) portion of the fog light relay.

P.

[BigJohn]

So if you have a problem with your lights driving across Kansas; can you stop at Autozone to pick up replacement lights?

[Paul Workman]

So if you have a problem with your lights driving across Kansas; can you stop at Autozone to pick up replacement lights?

Ha-Ha! YOU make a good point!

But, the answer is "Of course you can buy stock type sealed beam light(s). That will get you by until you can run down a replacement.

But, you raise a valid point about the LED headlight market being flooded with virtually every imaginable LED configurations!!

[XfireZ51]

So if you have a problem with your lights driving across Kansas; can you stop at Autozone to pick up replacement lights?

Yeah or just bring the spare set of Halogens you just replaced.

[Paul Workman]

Chipsets by CREE if used in a particular headlight pair gives by association a certain level of confidence. They've been in the LED biz for decades, and are the leader in the technology.

Time will tell all. But, compared to incandescent bulbs (at least those producing the same amount of light), the LEDs are hands down winners in the service life comparisons.

But, as mentioned before, the LEDs don't run near as hot as HIDs or incandescent sealed beams. That means there may be issues with ice such as freezing rain building up on the lens. (Course, everyone knows that it's against the law to be driving a Corvette is such conditions in the first place. And, the Corvette Police will give you a ticket for driving in such weather anyway!:sign10:)

I don't loose any sleep worrying about driving in a sleet storm...

.

[GOLDCYLON]

I recently bought a set of OSRAM LED headlamps. In process of installing them, and I notice that on the headlamp buckets for my ZR, there are only 2 adjusters,
One vertical, one horizontal. However, the FSM shows 3. But the bucket has provision for only 2 so it appears that it is not a case of missing parts or anything like that. It looks stock.



There were only two on my 90 and my 91. The FSM is wrong

[Paul Workman]

There were only two on my 90 and my 91. The FSM is wrong

Dittos. Same on our 90 and 91 Zs: TWO only.

Note the headlight housing is notched in two spots ONLY.

[XfireZ51]

Thx guys. Good to know.

[DRM500RUBYZR-1]

Wow!
You drive these cars after dark?
What's next?
Driving in the rain?
:mrgreen:
Marty

[-=Jeff=-]

Wow!
You drive these cars after dark?
What's next?
Driving in the rain?
:mrgreen:
Marty

Or SNOW!!!

[GOLDCYLON]

Or SNOW!!!



Yeah Snow is not fun. Been there done that in a Z !!!

[-=Jeff=-]

Yeah Snow is not fun. Been there done that in a Z !!!

woke up to 7" of that heavy wet white stuff this AM..

[WARP TEN]

woke up to 7" of that heavy wet white stuff this AM..

Boy, me too. Just cleared the driveway with my Toro.--Bob

[-=Jeff=-]

Boy, me too. Just cleared the driveway with my Toro.--Bob

Mine couldn't handle the wet snow (Single Stage Toro)

[Karl]

No snow on the lakefront. Just rain and windy.

Btw are the LED lights that much brighter than the HID conversion bulbs?

[Paul Workman]

Technically, Halogen lights (e.g., aircraft landing lights, spot lights, off-road flood lights) hold the leadership spot for absolute lumens output in the visible spectrum. But, that isn't the issue: headlights have to fall in line with DOT specs for safety, and in that role, LED technology meets/exceeds those limitations now. (I don't know 'bout U, but I've seen some of the LED headlights approaching me, and even when aimed properly - that still are almost too bright [even on LO beam] for me to see past to negotiate the road.)

LED technology AND automotive (headlight) applications are still on a very steep development curve, whereas HIDs are on the sidelines. It's too early to "put a stake in the ground" and declare a winner just yet (IMO).

[Karl]

I kept it simple and did the HID conversion. They are way better than stock headlights.

[XfireZ51]

For the OEMs, LEDs are a godsend due to their stingy amp usage. When the industry is moving toward all electric vehicles, every watt saved is precious.

[Ccmano]

For the OEMs, LEDs are a godsend due to their stingy amp usage. When the industry is moving toward all electric vehicles, every watt saved is precious.

And low cost, especially when compared to HIDs.
H
: cheers:

[Mr.Yuck]

Wisconsin Sunday Drive October 21nd. The forecast was 45 and sunny.86218622

Sent from my 2PS64 using ZR-1 Net Registry mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=90383)

[Mr.Yuck]

Wisconsin Sunday Drive October 21nd. The forecast was 45 and sunny.86218622

Sent from my 2PS64 using ZR-1 Net Registry mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=90383)Even with halogen my lights were useless

Sent from my 2PS64 using ZR-1 Net Registry mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=90383)

[Paul Workman]

Even with halogen my lights were useless

Sent from my 2PS64 using ZR-1 Net Registry mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=90383)

"Useless"?? How's that? If you don't mind, I'm truly curious:

Did the lenses remain clean, or did they get covered with ice?
OR, was there so much glare from the snow that an (effective) "white-out" occurred?
Can you provide a bit more detail on what made the lights useless in you opinion?
Do you have a make/model information on your particular lights that one might investigate further?

Many of us have or are contemplating headlight upgraded using various schemes. And, I know from experience that color can make a big difference in how some upgrades do or don't work in adverse weather conditions...is my reason for asking!:cheers:

.

[Mr.Yuck]

Paul, I'm running the OE halogen headlights and they were covered with ice providing no visual benefit for driving. It was a early morning pre-sunrise drive directly into a headwind of sleet and snow. It was white out conditions I don't think it would have mattered what I had for headlights. It was a very unusual and unintentional position to be in..I will be upgrading to LEDs while in hibernation regardless. I can attest from my first and only experience that our cars handle quite well in the snow...lol.

Sent from my 2PS64 using ZR-1 Net Registry mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=90383)

[XfireZ51]

least intrusive method I found is to remove fog lamp relay under the passenger side dash, bend the grounding leg sideway and up (so that ground circuit is defeated), solder a wire on the ground leg and finally ground this new wire by hooping it under a 10 mm nut close to bottom of passenger side A pillar/front edge of passenger side door.
Soldering on to relay leg is pretty easy because most, if not all, relay legs have a hole where you can thread a wire before soldering.

Yun,

Would u have a pic of the relay u are talking about? Where exactly is the relay?

[XfireZ51]

So here’s an update on my installation of the OSRAM SYLVANIA projector LEDs.
They installed easily like any other headlamp. I decided to go the route of enabling the foglamps operation via wiring modification rather than introduce a resistive load defeating part of the value of LEDs, ie less current draw, brighter light.
Couple of items for the install. My ZR is a late 92 #454.

1. The 92 FSM INDICATES that the foglamp relay is the one closest to the radio and center console. At least on mine, it is the one closest to the door. You need to identify the relay by looking for the light green wire going to the correct relay.

2. In addition, the relay terminal to be modified is terminal 86. Unfortunately, using Yun’s method is not possible, ie bending the relay leg back. That’s because that leg would interfere w the relay next to it. My modification involved drilling a hole at the bottom of relay leg 86. Then soldering a wire to the bottom of that leg. I used a Dremel cutting tool to cutoff the leg leaving about 1/8” stub along w the soldered wire. Put a ground ring on the other end and ground that wire. I used a firewall stud closest to the door opening and which retains the instrument pad. Plug modified relay back into its socket after taping over remainder of stub for Terminal 86.

It worked.

[secondchance]

Unfortunately, using Yun’s method is not possible, ie bending the relay leg back. That’s because that leg would interfere w the relay next to it.

Sorry. I missed your earlier post asking for a relay pic and location.
Perhaps I did not make it clear - relay leg can be bent sideways first followed by another bend "up" to clear the adjacent relay - double bend.

[XfireZ51]

Sorry. I missed your earlier post asking for a relay pic and location.
Perhaps I did not make it clear - relay leg can be bent sideways first followed by another bend "up" to clear the adjacent relay - double bend.

Yun,

Thanks for chiming in. I don’t recall u mentioning a “double bend” but I am glad u took the time to clarify it here. I mentioned my “solution” to Marc H at lunch last week, and he was suggesting the same approach. I also took down some of the outer perimeter to the relay so the now soldered wire would not be pinched when the relay is positioned back in the harness connector. The error in the FSM cost me $15 for a new relay.

Turning the headlamps on in the garage showed a crisp cutoff. Need to look at high beams also. I’ll try taking pics either in a dark garage or outside in the night.

[Subfixer]

Looks like I'm going in this direction also....
Drove to work this morning at 5:30am and I couldn't see jack. Even the high beams were lame.
Current headlights are the 1992 original halogens. (19K miles).

[-=Jeff=-]

Yeah OEM are weak. I am using glass conversions with H4 halogen bulbs. Some day I might switch to LED

[XfireZ51]

Well I finished installing the SYLVANIA OSRAM projector LEDs.
Cutoff appears to be very good. I’m posting pics understanding that they are not the greatest, but I think u will get the idea. Especially given the price for these, they appear to be pretty decent. I’ll try following up w clearer pics of the lighting pattern.

[GOLDCYLON]

woke up to 7" of that heavy wet white stuff this AM..

What all that white stuff -=JEFF=- we are in the death of winter here in AZ I think it got down to the 50s in the early AM. :cheers:

[GOLDCYLON]

Well I finished installing the SYLVANIA OSRAM projector LEDs.
Cutoff appears to be very good. I’m posting pics understanding that they are not the greatest, but I think u will get the idea. Especially given the price for these, they appear to be pretty decent. I’ll try following up w clearer pics of the lighting pattern.

Cutoff looks good Dom. GC :cheers:

[-=Jeff=-]

What all that white stuff -=JEFF=- we are in the death of winter here in AZ I think it got down to the 50s in the early AM. :cheers:

Dunno, it was gone after 4 days been in the 40s here as a high 😀

[GOLDCYLON]

Dunno, it was gone after 4 days been in the 40s here as a high 😀

Hell thats a pleasant day in Chicago !!! ! GLobal warming lol :cheers::cheers:

[Mystic ZR-1]

Yeah OEM are weak. I am using glass conversions with H4 halogen bulbs. Some day I might switch to LED

Try 100/55w H4 bulbs (Hella Z Beams)
High beams will burn the paint off the car in front of you!
And, you don't have to screw around modifying your car's
electrical system...

[-=Jeff=-]

Hell thats a pleasant day in Chicago !!! ! GLobal warming lol :cheers::cheers:yes too bad I am laid up with a cast on my right foot (same surgery as last year just the right side now)

Try 100/55w H4 bulbs (Hella Z Beams)
High beams will burn the paint off the car in front of you!
And, you don't have to screw around modifying your car's
electrical system...

Oh don’t get me wrong, I am happy with the light they put out for the amount I drive the car at night, but nothing like the HIDs in my charger

[Paul Workman]

Try 100/55w H4 bulbs (Hella Z Beams)
High beams will burn the paint off the car in front of you!
And, you don't have to screw around modifying your car's
electrical system...

The higher off the ground the headlights are mounted, the greater the issue with glare...which makes sense. I get away with my (Larsen) LEDs on the Z, and they're ~ 6000º (K) bright, white. I've never been "FLASHED" by on-coming traffic. But my (2017) F250 truck lights appear to be standard incandescent (warm in color [4500º?]- not white) - not particularly bright either (except there are 4 headlights and 2 fogs illuminated on LO beam) - and I occasionally get "FLASHED" by on-coming traffic.

I hypothesize that if the LO beam cutoff is always below the eye level of oncoming traffic, then the glare factor is greatly (mostly) eliminated: such being the case in the Vette. I've never been "flashed" by on-coming traffic when driving the Z, in spite of being much brighter that stock. That ain't the case for the truck tho! I get flashed in spite of the fact the lights are not much brighter than standard incandescent sealed beam lights. (But, there are twice as many of them running on LO beam to offset the lack of (brightness)).

My point? If one is going to run HID or LED upgraded headlights, it is apparently important to have a well defined cutoff to prevent blasting on-coming drivers - except perhaps when cresting a hill that other guy gets blasted until the cutoff drops below his eye level.

[Subfixer]

Installed the LED headlights this past Saturday. Also did the Fog Light relay mod.

Took a drive in the afternoon to see some friends, and the ride back at night on back roads and highway was great.
Very good lighting both low and hi beam.
Nobody in the oncoming lanes flashed their brights at me, so the cutoff must be ok.

The headlights look a little goofy, but being hidden during the day makes it ok.
I highly recommend this mod for those who go out driving at night.

[Paul Workman]

Installed the LED headlights this past Saturday. Also did the Fog Light relay mod.

Took a drive in the afternoon to see some friends, and the ride back at night on back roads and highway was great.
Very good lighting both low and hi beam.
Nobody in the oncoming lanes flashed their brights at me, so the cutoff must be ok.

The headlights look a little goofy, but being hidden during the day makes it ok.
I highly recommend this mod for those who go out driving at night.

If you're referring to the Genssi/Larsen ("spider-eyes") lights, one option is the black face: definitely look different...but very cool (IMO)!:dancing

[XfireZ51]

These are the lamps I recently installed

[Subfixer]

I installed same as above.

[-=Jeff=-]

Subfixer,

got some night shots of the lights outside on the road?

[Subfixer]

Hard to show in pictures.
As good or better than the HIDs in my R8.
Just about as good as any current high end vehicle.

[XfireZ51]

Jeff,

Here’s a couple of shots from the manufacturer of low and hi beam coverage.

[Subfixer]

Looks pretty much as above from my driver's seat.

[-=Jeff=-]

Looks pretty much as above from my driver's seat.

Thanks for the confirmation, you cannot always trust some of those photos

[Locobob]

I just installed the Osram headlights after one of my Genssi units failed. Honestly I'm not very impressed with the Osrams, when facing a wall up close I get two very distinct lines of light with a big gap in the middle. On the road they have good side lighting and signs pop out but they seem rather dim on the pavement. I may end up buying another Genssi, I was very impressed with their light output.

[XfireZ51]

I just installed the Osram headlights after one of my Genssi units failed. Honestly I'm not very impressed with the Osrams, when facing a wall up close I get two very distinct lines of light with a big gap in the middle. On the road they have good side lighting and signs pop out but they seem rather dim on the pavement. I may end up buying another Genssi, I was very impressed with their light output.

I guess I’ll see what my light pattern looks like. Reviews were very good for these lamps.

[Locobob]

I guess I’ll see what my light pattern looks like. Reviews were very good for these lamps.


Yeah I saw some good reviews and the listed light output looked good... and they are half the price of the Genssi units... but I drove around with half and half for a while, then switched to both Osrams and just not impressed. The other night it was raining pretty good and I felt like my visibility was badly impaired, never had that problem with the Genssi units.
One other thing I noticed is that the Genssi headlights are quite a bit heavier than the Osrams, almost an extra pound each.

[XfireZ51]

Bob,

How long ago did u buy them and from where? Curious.

[Locobob]

Bob,

How long ago did u buy them and from where? Curious.


Got the Osrams off ebay about a month ago, the center LED just doesn't look very bright. I took some pics comparing the two, need to figure out how to post them.

[Locobob]

Here are some comparison pictures, the Genssi is in the left bucket and the Osram is in the right bucket.

http://www.zr1.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=432&pictureid=3930

[Locobob]

http://www.zr1.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=432&pictureid=3931

[Locobob]

http://www.zr1.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=432&pictureid=3932

[Locobob]

http://www.zr1.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=432&pictureid=3933

[Locobob]

http://www.zr1.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=432&pictureid=3934

[Ccmano]

Just did a set of Osram Headlights in my car along with rear led marker and signal bulbs. Fogs were done previously.

The headlights turned out to be a bigger job than expected. When I inserted the new Osram headlights into the buckets I found that they didn’t sit flush with the bucket housings. On closer examination I found the the buckets had a sheet metal protrusion inside on the right side about 1/4 inch high which wouldn’t let the Osrams sit flush. Ended up having to grind the protrusions flush. Not a big deal but certainly not plug and play. Once I got them mounted flush everything else went smoothly.

I ended up doing the double bend of the 86 terminal on the relay, soldering and wiring the ground. Everything works like it should! Lights look outstanding! Thanks to all those that did this before.
H
:cheers:

[XfireZ51]

Just took my ZR out for the first time at night. Took the opportunity to take a pic of the light distribution pattern for the Osram LED I got from Amazon. I think the cutoff is good. I’m happy w them particularly for the cost.

[Paul Workman]

Just took my ZR out for the first time at night. Took the opportunity to take a pic of the light distribution pattern for the Osram LED I got from Amazon. I think the cutoff is good. I’m happy w them particularly for the cost.

That's whatca call a "sharp cutoff"!

Updating my "LED" article a bit, something not mentioned anywhere - and an advantage for we Corvette (and other low-slug car) drivers is because the height of our lights is so low to the road, we can get away with a slightly higher aim angle than vehicles where the headlights are further off the road The beam passes under the line of vision of most of the on-coming traffic: except perhaps OTHER Vettes, etc.

So, the point is one doesn't have to set the angle so low that the driver feels like he's "tripping on his own shoe laces". And, especially since the light patern is so very sharp, a little more "fill" above the (super bright) headlight is a good thing. IOW, running the FOG LIGHTS with the headlights while on LO beam is what I've found to soften the cutoff just a wee bit: just enough.

Bottom line: being able to have the FOG lights assist the low beams produces an unexpected plus w/o blinding on-coming traffic. (I'm talking specifically about LED headlight/fog lights combo in particular).:cheers:

[XfireZ51]

This was before I have had the headlamps adjusted. Need to get that checked because as u mentioned Paul I’d like to see a little more “distance” to the low beams and it looks like it could be done without impairing the vision of oncoming traffic. I did turn on my HID fogs and it was difficult to see where one started and the other ended.