Unofficial Honda FIT Forums

Unofficial Honda FIT Forums (https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/)
-   Fit Interior & Exterior Illumination (https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-interior-exterior-illumination/)
-   -   Honda Fit - Poor Headlights according to IIHS (https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-interior-exterior-illumination/97044-honda-fit-poor-headlights-according-iihs.html)

kenchan 12-22-2017 05:10 PM


Originally Posted by ashchuckton (Post 1388931)
Ken do you see a noticeable difference in light output from these bulbs?

yah i did but not a big difference. they still have the yellowish halogen hue. my wife said it's better(?) but i think she was just being nice. lol

:D

worth a try though if you have amazon points!

ashchuckton 12-23-2017 12:30 PM

The trouble with lights is if the light housing is a poor design putting a brighter bulb in doesn't really improve things much. In the old days we'd swap in a euro speck headlight like a Hella or Cibie & actually see a big difference. Those days are long gone alone with my youth. ;-)

kenchan 12-23-2017 04:53 PM


Originally Posted by ashchuckton (Post 1389016)
The trouble with lights is if the light housing is a poor design putting a brighter bulb in doesn't really improve things much. In the old days we'd swap in a euro speck headlight like a Hella or Cibie & actually see a big difference. Those days are long gone alone with my youth. ;-)

:yeahthat: i agree 100%. i was looking at the GK's lamps and its really the dated design of the lamp and reflector that is preventing it from getting much brighter.

Thiamin 12-30-2017 08:20 AM

I don’t think the lights are all that bad. Now, my 2014 Sierra 🙄. They had a TSB on that to crank up the voltage and replace the bulbs. These are okay at night, not so much at dusk. I put in Silverstars, not the top end ones. So far so good.

kenchan 12-30-2017 08:28 AM

snow on the ground greatly helps at night. i know you folks in PA got some crazy snow.. lol

my wife could careless about the new bulbs.. she cant tell a difference since most of her drive is in the city where it is well lit.

2Rismo2 01-03-2018 07:42 AM

Honda Fit made a showing on C&R headlight test: https://blog.caranddriver.com/model-...-1916-to-2018/

kenchan 01-03-2018 06:56 PM

yah, basically no different than the 1997 miata headlights from 20yrs ago..

but they shouldve also done an illumination comparison when you turn the steering wheel. thats where adaptive headlights make a HUGE difference.

mike410b 01-07-2018 08:00 PM

Those sealed beam lights on Miatas were terrible. I threw a pair of E-code Cibie sealed 7" lights on mine & oh man was that ever night & day.

SoCalPurpleFit 01-12-2018 05:58 PM

The color temperature of the bulbs that came OEM with my Fit was stupidly low, and caused me horrible eye strain. I replaced them with aftermarket LEDs from Amazon. Because of the low voltage daytime running light function wearing them out (I guess), the LEDs tend only to last about a year, but $40 a year for white light at a decent intensity is not much in the overall context of the annual cost of owning and running a car, though.

kenchan 01-12-2018 08:17 PM

how about pulling the fuse and shut off DRL in ur case? just run your headlights

SoCalPurpleFit 01-12-2018 08:40 PM

Because I believe that there is a safety benefit to DRLs, especially here in Southern California, where there is bright sunshine most of the time. If you're driving westbound on a freeway in the morning with the sun behind you (or eastbound when the sun is starting to go down), a car behind you that has DRLs on is much easier to see and judge the distance from in the rear view mirror, than one that is unlit. DRLs are probably a lot less useful in conditions where it's overcast most of the time, but I would not want to lose them here. If the DRL function was killing LED lamps every month I might have second thoughts about it, but they're still lasting long enough that for me, it's no big deal.

kenchan 01-12-2018 08:41 PM

nono, im saying run your headlights all the time and dont run DRL by mistake (by pulling the fuse, it will turn off DRL).

nomenclator 01-13-2018 01:08 AM

I think kenchan is trying to say that, in addition to pulling the fuse for the DRL function of the headlight highbeam filament, during the daytime you should simply turn on your headlights. Turn the headlight knob past the automatic position to the headlights on position, which is the simplest way to turn your headlights on during the daytime. By doing this you will have daytime running lights, albeit rather bright ones. Same brightness as your nighttime headlights. Only in the sunlight, they will be "washed out" by the sunlight, and won't look all that bright. I would keep them on low beam though. Before car makers started putting in automatic daytime running lights, people used to do this, turn on their headlights during the day, in order to have daytime running lights. Another way to accomplish turning on your headlights during the day would be to turn the headlight switch to automatic, and keep the photosensor on the dashboard covered all the time, with an opaque cover, so that in the daytime, the computer "thinks" it is nighttime, and turns on the headlights. Ordinary headlights, when you turn them on during the day – are daytime running lights. Bright ones.

I would not, as kenchan said, run my headlights "all the time." For example when the car is parked and left alone, I would make sure the headlights are off. I am not sure what kenchan meant by "don't run DRL by mistake," as you hadn't been doing that; you had been running them knowingly. But he is correct when he says that "by pulling the fuse it will turn off DRL." Pulling the fuse will prevent 5 volts from going to the headlight high beams, which otherwise, with the fuse in place, is what happens when the computer calls for daytime running lights. Actually there are 2 fuse locations labeled DRL. If I recall correctly, in my car, the location inside the cabin, under the dash, was empty and the location in the engine compartment, on the car's left side, near the battery, had a fuse. I have an LX. Not sure what the cabin location is for. Maybe for vehicles that come with LED headlights and separate lamps for DRL functioning, their DRLs are are connected through the cabin fuse.

kenchan 01-13-2018 08:33 AM

im a simple guy with simple solutions.

if you forget to turn on your headlights then the DRL turn on. you dont want that so you pull the fuse to eliminate those instances.

so you'd run your headlights all the time while you are driving the car night or day. then your LED will get full power while the car is on.. which i am assuming would lengthen the life of those LED's considering you mentioned the half power from the DRL circuit is prematurely killing them.

i cant explain this any simpler.

2Rismo2 01-13-2018 11:51 AM

I run headlights on all the time. The car turns them off after about 20s after shutting the car down. I can't even recall the last time I turned the stalk.

SoCalPurpleFit 01-13-2018 12:32 PM

Thanks. I'm not 100% sure that the 5v running is what is killing the LEDs. It could also be the extreme heat. Over the two years I've had the Fit we have had sustained daytime temperatures into three figures of fahrenheit for around half the year, and very few days when it didn't reach the high 80s. Given that the LEDs need little fans in the back of them to cool the power supply boards, it could be simple overheating that is killing them. The makers of these things claim that they should last for 100,000 hours, but I doubt if I am getting 10 out of a set. However, a transformer coil that is expecting 12v in and only getting 5 is likely to increase resistance that will likely stress other components on the board, so I'm guessing that the DRL function is the problem.

Point taken about pulling the fuse, but if I do that, then turning the headlights on and off is one more thing I have to remember to do at the start of each journey. If these lamps were costing me $100 a year then maybe, but the cost just isn't high enough to motivate me to investigate further. And if the problem is simple overheating rather than DRL low voltage operation, then running them more on full power will just kill them even sooner.

Still, the visibility of those headlamps with LEDs on them is excellent - a world of difference from the halogen bulbs that the car arrived from the factory with. No eyestrain whatsoever, even after several hours of night driving on an unlit desert freeway.

niko3257 01-13-2018 02:00 PM

I put these on my car.

money well spent. it is night and day difference.

kenchan 01-13-2018 05:21 PM


Originally Posted by niko3257 (Post 1390715)
I put these on my car.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

money well spent. it is night and day difference.

i didnt think so. but thanks anyways. it was worth a try especially with amazon points, they were free to me.

Aznsupastar 01-15-2018 12:38 PM

to the guys having issue with LED not working in DRL mode.

have u guys tried this?

https://www.asungarage.com/product-p...headlight-bulb

their youtube video shows no flicker of LED in DRL mode.

nomenclator 01-16-2018 11:28 AM


Originally Posted by Aznsupastar (Post 1390830)
to the guys having issue with LED not working in DRL mode.

have u guys tried this?

https://www.asungarage.com/product-p...headlight-bulb

their youtube video shows no flicker of LED in DRL mode.

The A-Sun page says the LED headlamps work in DRL mode, but they also say only operate at between 10 and 30 volts. According to my understanding, the Honda Fit applies 5 volts to the high beam filaments, in DRL mode. I believe I read than 5 v number at a reputable source. So the info on the A-Sun page is contradictory. If the LEDs don't work below 10 volts, they won't work at 5 volts. Something is fishy there.

What on earth do they mean by "high beams optional" ??? Also 8000 lumens? 8000 lumens for what? Total for both lamps with both high and low beams on? Total for one lamp? Total for high beam from one lamp, or low beam for one lamp. It doesn't say. The 8000 lumen spec is therefore meaningless.

By the way the stock halogen bulbs are about 900 lumens for low beam filament, 1200 lumens for high beam filament, if I recall correcly.


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:49 PM.


© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands