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Headlight upgrade.

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Old 05-22-2019
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Headlight upgrade.

Just bought these. They say it plug and play. Since I have changed the headlights before I’m hoping this is as easy.
Old 05-22-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

I've actually heard pretty good things about those LED bulbs. Since you've changed bulbs, it should be a no-brainer. Only difference is you're not plugging the factory harness into the bulb base itself. Rather, you're plugging it into the pigtail that extends from the LED bulb base. Actually might be easier to install than regular halogens due to that fact
Old 05-22-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

They arrive tomorrow. Gotta love prime next day shipping
Old 05-23-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Well they went in pretty easily. Just had to pull back the wheel well liner to get access.

Lights are so much brighter. Still need to focus them a little bit.

The DRL light on my dash is flashing now, so the canbus resistors are on the way.

Was hoping not to need them. Oh well another day until they arrive.
Old 05-25-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Canbus installed. Only needed the high beams done. DRL is off.

Haven't been out out at night since the led’s were installed. But they are much whiter and brighter.

i tell you what though. Honda’s are a bitch to work on the headlights. The passenger side is brutal to work on. Had to pull the wheel well back. Arms are scarped and bruised up from reaching around stiff. Tight fit.
Old 06-17-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Ok something has come up. After working perfect for almost a month. The DRL light is coming back on. Fine maybe I got a bad resistor. The weird thing is if I flash the brights it goes off and stays off until next time I start the car.

Ideas or suggestions

I just realized that I didn’t use bulb grease when installing the bulbs. Gonna go back and use it 🤞

Last edited by EarleD; 06-17-2019 at 03:42 PM.
Old 06-17-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

not sure, but is led lights supposed to have high beams? I know that we lose high beams when installing HID type lights

About Honda accessibility... Adjusting the headlights will have you calling Honda even further names... Very hard to get to the adjustment bolts...
Old 06-17-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Sandro, depends on the headlight configuration. 01-03, yeah, lose high beam because the dual filament h4 bulb. 04-19 you don't bc separate high/low beam (9005/9006)
Old 06-17-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

ow, yeah, separate lights for high/low.

sorry, my bad, back to regular programming
Old 06-18-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Ok. Did some testing. Applied bulb grease to all connections

start car-DRL light comes on, turn on headlights DRL goes off, turn head lights off, DRL comes back on

start car- DRL light comes on, flash brights DRL turns off and stays off until I start the car again. I have turned headlights on and off while driving and it still stays off until restart.

Any ideas. My only thought is a bad resistor. I would need to replace both to check. Weather is crap and I don’t have a garage so I can’t do much else until rains stops

i reached out to Hikari and am waiting for an answer

Thanks

Last edited by EarleD; 06-18-2019 at 03:57 PM.
Old 06-18-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Originally Posted by sdaidoji
not sure, but is led lights supposed to have high beams? I know that we lose high beams when installing HID type lights

About Honda accessibility... Adjusting the headlights will have you calling Honda even further names... Very hard to get to the adjustment bolts...
With the correct bulbs, you do not lose your high beams when converting to LEDs, even if you have H4 (or other dual filament) type fixtures. The H4 LED retrofits we have, for example, have separate sets of (appropriately aimed) diodes for high and low beam, so you maintain full functionality.

Originally Posted by EarleD
Ok. Did some testing. Applied bulb grease to all connections

start car-DRL light comes on, turn on headlights DRL goes off, turn head lights off, DRL comes back on

start car- DRL light comes on, flash brights DRL turns off and stays off until I start the car again. I have turned headlights on and off while driving and it still stays off until restart.

Any ideas. My only thought is a bad resistor. I would need to replace both to check. Weather is crap and I don’t have a garage so I can’t do much else until rains stops

i reached out to Hikari and am waiting for an answer

Thanks
It sounds like your vehicle DRL is essentially a low power state of the high beam bulb. The light goes off when your headlights are on, because the vehicle is no longer trying to run in DRL mode. Similarly, when you flash your lights, the high beam checks out for the vehicle computer, which likely resets the error until the next time the car tries to start the DRL. The overall challenge here is having the correct resistance and not necessarily more, so I'd suggest testing the LED bulb and resistor with a multimeter (in resistance mode) compared to the old halogen, to get an idea of what direction you need to go in.
Old 06-18-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.


It sounds like your vehicle DRL is essentially a low power state of the high beam bulb. The light goes off when your headlights are on, because the vehicle is no longer trying to run in DRL mode. Similarly, when you flash your lights, the high beam checks out for the vehicle computer, which likely resets the error until the next time the car tries to start the DRL. The overall challenge here is having the correct resistance and not necessarily more, so I'd suggest testing the LED bulb and resistor with a multimeter (in resistance mode) compared to the old halogen, to get an idea of what direction you need to go in.
The weird thing is that the resistors were working perfect for 3 weeks. Suddenly the drl light popped back on.
Old 06-18-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

That's certainly bizarre - could be a shorted internal connection somewhere. Have you tried using a capacitive decoder instead? Those tend to be more reliable, and with less power drain.
Old 06-19-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

I’m showing my inexperience here but what is a cap decoder?

Hikari answered my question. Thumbs up for the quick answer. They suggested using. 2 resistors on each bulb.
Im gonna just replace the ones I’m currently using. They are sending a replacement set at 99% off. Total cost 21¢. Not sure if using 2 inline is a good idea. Would this course any problems.

I did forget to mention that I installed a back up camera just before the problem surfaced. Wasn’t even thinking about it because connections were in the rear of the car. Could this be related?
Old 06-19-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

what wires did you tap for the camera?
what resistance are they?
Old 06-19-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Originally Posted by Colin42
what wires did you tap for the camera?
what resistance are they?
I had it installed by a shop. I assume then tapped into the reverse light wire. The problem didn’t start immediately though. Took a week or so.
Old 06-19-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

well if it does "night vision" when its dark out and you have the lights on then they probably tapped into the taillight circuit, probably not related to drl problem though.
what resistance are the resistors that you want to use?
Old 06-19-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.


These are the resistors that I’m currently using. They sent me another pair. Should be here tomorrow. I’ll ohm them out when they arrive. And will them compare to the set in the car now. They recommended using 2 per bulb. I’m currently only using on the hi beams. Should I use them on the low beams also.

and yes it has lights on the camera that turn on at night
Old 06-19-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

ah ok, i was thinking of actual circuit components.
shouldn't need them on the low beams, drl only deals with high beam
Old 06-19-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

That’s what I thought. I’ll post here when they arrive and what I find.
Old 06-19-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Originally Posted by EarleD
I’m showing my inexperience here but what is a cap decoder?

Hikari answered my question. Thumbs up for the quick answer. They suggested using. 2 resistors on each bulb.
Im gonna just replace the ones I’m currently using. They are sending a replacement set at 99% off. Total cost 21¢. Not sure if using 2 inline is a good idea. Would this course any problems.

I did forget to mention that I installed a back up camera just before the problem surfaced. Wasn’t even thinking about it because connections were in the rear of the car. Could this be related?
A capacitive decoder has the same goal, except it uses a capacitor instead of a resistor to increase electrical load on the circuit. Capacitors are more expensive to produce, but are more efficient since they don't focus on turning energy into pointless heat and can be more reliable. For what it's worth, the ones you linked below look like capacitive ones by design.

Originally Posted by EarleD
These are the resistors that I’m currently using. They sent me another pair. Should be here tomorrow. I’ll ohm them out when they arrive. And will them compare to the set in the car now. They recommended using 2 per bulb. I’m currently only using on the hi beams. Should I use them on the low beams also.

and yes it has lights on the camera that turn on at night
I haven't come across a situation requiring 2 sets of resistors, but curious to see how this works out for you. I wouldn't recommend using them on the low beams if you're not having any issues without - keeping the system as simple as possible is typically the best.
Old 06-21-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Well I found the problem. I don’t know how I missed it the first time. Must not have been as bad. It was rubbing against the belt. Guess I’m not ready to take on anything much harder than basic maintenance. Lol

anyways the new resistor is installed. And properly mounted to the car. I opened up the old one after realizing it was trash.

Is this Cap decoder?

Last edited by EarleD; 06-21-2019 at 11:28 AM.
Old 06-21-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

that thing on the right looks like a capacitor (cap), left side a relay, and a coil in the middle

glad you figured out the problem, always check if wires can come into contact with something when installing stuff
Old 06-21-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Will definitely be more careful. Both boxes are mounted with double sides tape. Will check them regularly to make sure they are still secure.
Old 06-21-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

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Last edited by EarleD; 06-21-2019 at 03:54 PM. Reason: Double post
Old 06-24-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Originally Posted by EarleD
Well I found the problem. I don’t know how I missed it the first time. Must not have been as bad. It was rubbing against the belt. Guess I’m not ready to take on anything much harder than basic maintenance. Lol

anyways the new resistor is installed. And properly mounted to the car. I opened up the old one after realizing it was trash.

Is this Cap decoder?
Ooh that looks painful (for the wire). Glad you found the issue, and yes that looks like a capacitive decoder!

Is the issue fixed, with the new decoders in?
Old 06-25-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Yes. Everything is working great now
Old 06-25-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Fantastic!
Old 07-03-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Well guess what is back on. My DRL light. Don’t get it. Everything is mounted and looks good. I think I have a extra resistor so I’m gonna try that later today. Any thoughts?

maybe a sticker on the dash lol
Old 07-05-2019
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Re: Headlight upgrade.

Any ideas? I have done some testing. When I start the car and don’t turn on headlight. Drl is on and running lights are off. Flash the brights drl goes off and running light go on and stay on until next time car starts.

Turn on headlight drl goes off. Turn them off drl goes off


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