LED Headlamp options

mdewalle · Post by **mdewalle** » 14 Nov 2018, 08:31

Does anyone know if it's possible to put LED bulbs in my headlights? Does it require changes to the electrical system?

Any recommendations for the type or brand of bulb? This is for my 2001 V70 2.5T.

- marc
Raleigh, NC

Post by **jimmy57** » 14 Nov 2018, 08:54

The only ones I have tried for others had bad light pattern and the bulb warning message was on 100% of the time due to the bulbs not being within a wattage range that the bulb failure detection was OK with.

Maybe someone else with more recent experience will have better news. LED headlight bulbs have been changing/improving ever since they were introduced. I know people that have put them in pickups and other vehicles (not Volvos) and had a little bit better light pattern though still a light pattern that gets them flashed by other drivers at night, but the bulbs didn't last more than a few months. They get hot but can't tolerate it like halogen bulbs

Post by **Rattnalle** » 14 Nov 2018, 09:05

For low beams no good. Get a set of quality halogens instead. Osram Night Breaker or Philips Extremevision.

For high beams the newer high power led bulbs work pretty well and give no warnings. Xenon is still better when it comes to light output but not by too large a margin. It's a question of light output but a bit slow vs instant light but a little less of it.

mdewalle · Post by **mdewalle** » 14 Nov 2018, 16:23

Thank you both for the comments and suggestions. Sounds like it might not be worth it. Ratnalle, I will try the halogens you suggest. I'm not sure what it's in there now (a cheap Osram I think) and I really want more light for driving at night on country roads.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 15 Nov 2018, 00:12

Make sure the glass and reflector all look nice and clean as well.

Quality halogens are mostly about focusing the light better not more actual light output since the standards won't allow it. The result is more light goes where it's supposed to.

Post by **ndphotonl** » 16 Nov 2018, 10:43

I would only advice them if you do a projector retrofit. Else skip them and keep using high quality halogens like Osram Nightbreakers or Philips Extremevisions.

I used them, but the error message and bad lighting pattern made me revert to halogen bulbs. Much happier now with these puppies below.

Tip: buy some cables with ceramic headers, so the plastic doesnt become brittle > www.aliexpress.com/item/Durable-2pcs-15 ... 83221.html

Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited H7 + H1 by Andy Ramdin, on Flickr

mdewalle · Post by **mdewalle** » 26 Nov 2018, 06:45

Thanks for all the comments. I installed Philips H7 X-tremeVision bulbs for the low beam. They replaced some "standard" Osram bulbs. After driving a few times at night I'm concluding that the new bulbs don't give me better light (no noticeable difference).

When I installed the bulbs I noticed that the inside of the lenses (the big glass part of the headlight) has a lot of wear on the *inside*. Other than replacing them, is there anything I can do about that?

- marc

Post by **ndphotonl** » 26 Nov 2018, 14:02

On the inside? Could you upload a picture?

mdewalle · Post by **mdewalle** » 28 Nov 2018, 07:17

Here are 2 pics of the headlights. It seems it might be there was moisture in there once that dried up. One of the pics is upside down, but you can see what's going on. Both headlights have it.

Post by **ndphotonl** » 29 Nov 2018, 12:10

Hmm indeed, maybe try to salvage a nicer set from the breakers?