How to put LEDs in fog lights with your own hands

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41

Currently, everyone knows about LEDs, as they are used in almost every area of human life. Mobile phones, light sources, televisions - the list is endless. It seems that this technology appeared recently, but its history goes back a little more than a century, but more on that later. Now even the automotive industry has begun to introduce LEDs into the fog lights of modern models to the delight of many owners.

PTF functionality

Any experienced motorist, as, however, and still inexperienced, is well aware of the role played by fog lights (PTF). In the conditions of a white curtain, standard head lighting does not cope with its task of providing good visibility on the road, and this is all due to the fact that fog is a suspension of water droplets through which standard optics cannot penetrate. In addition, the light from such lamps is almost completely reflected from the curtain. Thus, a whole white wall is obtained, which significantly complicatesreview.

Fog optics has its own emission spectrum, capable of penetrating such a wall. In addition, the luminous flux spreads horizontally and is directed downwards, which makes it possible to illuminate the road well. Is it possible to put LEDs in fog lights? An interesting question that needs attention.

The biggest mistake many drivers make

With regard to PTF, most drivers make a gross mistake - the use of optics is not for its intended purpose. In addition, things can just go crazy: drivers equip their vehicles with such optics in large quantities. It is not uncommon for sedans to have these lights (4 or more) on their roofs at any time.

Meanwhile, the traffic rules clearly state that turning on the PTF is allowed only in the dark period of the day and in conditions of insufficient visibility (fog, smoke). Some drivers turn them on instead of low beam, which is also a gross violation of traffic rules.

Therefore, one should not forget that PTF is just additional optics, although some owners manage to convert foglights to LEDs. Of course, it is impossible to completely abandon them, since under certain circumstances they help out a lot. Their main advantage from a constructive point of view lies in a special reflector and diffuser. There is nothing like it anywhere in any other optics yet.

Paradoxical as it may seem, nevertheless it is the foglamps consume the most energy, giving out a powerful luminous flux, which is significantly brighter than that of low beam lighting. In modern traffic rules there are no instructions regarding the color scheme of the PTF luminous flux. Because of this, various manufacturers are experimenting.

A bit of history

Returning to the topic of installing H11 LEDs in fog lights, it's worth rewinding a few decades ago and find out how it all began. 1907 The laboratory where one of the famous radio technicians, Guglielmo Marconi, spends his working time. It was he who noticed the effect of the glow of semiconductors, which was later called electroluminescence. Almost immediately, an article on this topic appeared in one of the scientific journals, but was ignored.

On the territory of the USSR, 20 years later, another scientist, Oleg Vladimirovich Losev, also discovered something similar. He was researching a silicon carbide crystal that glowed when a current was passed through it. Subsequently, the effect received the name of a genius - Losev's glow, and its author acquired a patent. However, the discoverer could not figure out the very nature of this glow.

Answers came later

Long before drivers began to put H11 LEDs in the foglights of their cars, almost by the middle of the 20th century, the p-n junction theory was created in relation to semiconductors. Based on this, in 1947 the first transistor was invented, which to this day has remained an unchanged element of radio engineering. The glow appeared when charged particles overcame a boundary consisting of twodifferent semiconductor elements. And it is the place of contact of these two crystals that glows, which eventually forms a kind of sandwich.

The whole difficulty was in the production of semiconductors of the required structure. And this obstacle could not be overcome for a long time. It was not until 1955 that research was crowned with success. The first diode was obtained by General Electric, although not everything is so simple here, since similar developments were also carried out in different countries of the world. But these are not yet the H11 LEDs in the fog lights of modern cars that are common today.

Nichia made a revolutionary breakthrough in 1995, demonstrating a super-bright LED, which was a complete light source. Since that time, the development of semiconductor light devices has begun. And as many experts note, new light sources may completely replace traditional counterparts in the near future.

Feature selection of lamps

The first samples of LEDs were expensive - the price of one such copy in 1968 was $ 200! The cost decreased gradually, and for some time no one could even imagine that such light sources would become the main competitor in relation to incandescent lamps. And we didn't talk about cars at all. Now, many motorists are faced with a difficult choice of which LEDs to buy in fog lights for their car.

On the market you can find a wide range of automotive optics usingdiodes that differ in a number of parameters:

• shape;
• dimensions;
• material;
• shade of light output.

There are also many manufacturers, but only trusted companies should be preferred. As for the shape, on the modern market PTFs are presented in the form of a circle, rectangle, oval, square.

There is no useful feature here except for aesthetics. Therefore, the choice depends only on the requirements and tastes of motorists.

Another important point

As mentioned above, the luminous flux can be of different shades:

• white;
• blue;
• red;
• yellow.

Here you should think not only about personal preferences, but also about other road users. For example, H3 LEDs in blue and white fog lights will blind oncoming drivers, which is not good for anyone, since not only personal safety depends on this. Therefore, it is better to purchase optics with a yellow tint.

Undeniable popularity

Despite the variety of PTF, which are represented by LED, halogen, xenon products, the first one is at the peak of popularity. And all because of some undeniable advantages. And the main advantage is that LEDs emit much more light per watt when compared to standard incandescent lamps. In addition, there is practically no heating.

This allows you to consume less energy, respectively, and the service life is noticeably increased. It is believed that when using foglights with LEDs, you can save on fuel, even if not as much as we would like. In addition, the maximum luminous flux is formed very quickly, since there is no need for ignition, which some lamps lack. And if we compare with the xenon counterpart, then the LEDs cannot blind the drivers of oncoming cars.

Another big plus

It is worth highlighting another important advantage that greatly highlights the LEDs and brings them to the fore. Since they do not have a filament, they are very resistant to various kinds of vibrations, which simply cannot be avoided when driving.

Due to the wide range of colors, LEDs are a great option to give the car an original appearance. A kind of tuning without significant intervention.

The LEDs in the foglights themselves are characterized by their small size, which allows them to adapt to the design of any vehicle. But, unfortunately, there is one drawback, which will be discussed below.

Disadvantages of LEDs

The main disadvantage of LED lighting is its high cost. Another drawback is the lack of brightness - only 700 lm, while the minimum indicator for lamps should be 1000 lm. Only in this case it is possible to provide the necessary visibility of the roadway inlow visibility conditions. And as you can see, LED lamps do not meet the required condition, and therefore xenon is still in the lead among other analogues. But overly bright light is not always good for the cause. And it is no coincidence that the use of such lamps is allowed with some reservations from the law.

You should be aware of these shortcomings before deciding to put LEDs in fog lights with your own hands.

Installing PTF

There are no fundamental differences regarding the installation of PTF. You can only notice that it is easiest to install LEDs in standard round-shaped optics. If the headlights are in excellent shape, then it will take a lot of patience to find a suitable option that excludes big alterations.

It is also worth taking into account that PTFs, regardless of design, are used together with the parking lights of the car. But it is highly not recommended to connect them to the ignition using a separate remote button.

On some cars, fog lights are not installed at all, which can often be found among domestic vehicles. Therefore, many drivers are trying to correct this situation by putting LEDs in the fog lights on their own.

But at the same time, it is necessary to adhere to certain requirements, otherwise you cannot avoid pen alties from the traffic police. That is, the headlights should be located at a height of 250 mm from the ground (no less), and to the nearest position lightsshould be no more than 400 mm.

As for the LED connection scheme, it is fully the same as in the case of standard foglights.

Hyundai Solaris

As mentioned above, it is easier to put LEDs in round standard optics, but Hyundai Solaris owners have just the opposite situation. In this case, you have to dodge. But craftsmen found a good solution - installing LED foglights on this car.

For this you will need:

• base H27 (2 pcs.);
• regular hex ballpoint pen (2 pcs);
• LED strip (1 meter).

Also, you can not do without solder, soldering acid and the soldering iron itself. The whole procedure for installing LEDs in Solaris foglights is simple, and it can be described in a few words.

To begin with, cut 6 pieces of 50 mm each from a common tape. Pieces about 65 mm long are cut from ballpoint pens. A piece of tape should be glued to each face, and then soldered together in parallel. The resulting structure is then attached to the base with glue and soldered to the base contacts. Before installing the resulting lamp in the headlight, it is better to check its performance. If everything is in order, you can safely proceed to the direct installation of the LED PTF.

You can, of course, buy ready-made options and not bother yourself with unnecessary work. However, it all depends on the family budget, since the cost of LED foglights starts at about 5 thousand rubles. Therefore, forFor some drivers, DIY is the best option.

Public opinion

If someone has doubts about the use of LEDs in PTF, you can visit several forums on automotive topics.

Studying numerous reviews of LEDs in foglights, you can find out, for example, what kind of lighting sources are best to buy, since the market is flooded with various fakes that fail almost the next day.

At the same time, as often happens, there are supporters of a good alternative in the face of LEDs and their opponents. Many drivers note that the luminous flux is no worse than from xenon lamps. Others, on the contrary, do not see the difference, because, in their opinion, the diodes shine not much better than the same halogen bulbs.

But this happens all the time: someone is left disappointed, while others see all the benefits. Perhaps the whole thing is in some subtleties of the headlight device or other factors. In any case, most drivers have already managed to appreciate all the delights of LED lighting in foggy conditions. And many motorists were satisfied.