led replacement for h4 headlamp? JD 3720

[fishhead]

Tried searching and did not find anything recent, at the rate LED technology is changing i thought i would ask anew.

Been looking at something like :

Amazon.com: OPT7 LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit - H4 (9003) - 80w 7,000Lm 6K Cool White CREE - 2 Yr Warranty: Automotive

for more light with less current draw, wondering if anyone has tried these or similar lately- seems like dust/shielding could be an issue, hopefully the light pattern would be ok since it is a reflector housing on a JD 3720

 

[gears351]

I got some less robust looking units off eby for $15 / pair. They give off light that's not too bad but not nearly as bright,focused,intense as the halogens I was replacing.

From what I can find, the LEDs need a focal lens and simply plugging an SMD slathered bulb into a halogen reflector is never going to deliver the light output of a purpose built unit.

tried something like this:

2 x 12V Xenon White H4 9003 120 SMD LED Fog Light Bulb High Low Beam Lamp Head | eBay

 

[GaryM]

As mentioned by gears351, an LED replacement in a housing made for an incandescent bulb will not deliver the same beam pattern you have now. It's a serious issue for an on road vehicle where you'd likely be blinding oncoming drivers, but maybe not too bad on a slow moving tractor.

Is there anyway to actually replace the light housings with units made for LEDs? Trucklite and others make LED units for semi tractors that are designed form the start to be road legal from the start.

Check out candlepowerforums . They have a sub section dedicated to transportation lighting and there are some very smart people over there. Just like here.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I have a version of the OPT 7 in my car (Fog lights - not driving as I have Xenon driving). Gary is absoluetly right that a beam needs to be focused for the element, and that halogens designed enclosures do not match LED or Xenon very well

That said, I was hugely impressed by the amount of light coming off these new Automotive LED systems. THe corncob Gears mentioned are nothing compared to these new LED systems. Downside is they have cooling fins and a balast, adding to a failure level in an off road environment.

 

[Fallon]

I retrofit HID projectors into my Tacoma. As was mentioned proper light spread is of huge importance for road use & generally impossible with a simple bulb swap. I tore apart my headlights, cut a hole in my reflector & bolted/epoxied a projector unit in that gave a very clean cutoff to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. If you ever see an oncoming car with really bright white or blueish lights shining everywhere (and flash you back even brighter when you flash them to try to get them to dim their lights), they just did a bulb swap to HID or LED. That is actually illegal, technically my HID projectors would be illegal under the same laws, but mine are properly installed, aimed & focused to not blind people.

A somewhat irrelevant rant given tractors aren't toad vehicles. I do try to turn my ROPS lights off when cars are near when I'm plowing at night. They are aimed down though rather than out a ways. Don't have to wory about seeing that far a head doing 5-15mph compared to 45-75. Personally I think ROPS mounted lights give WAY better coverage, even if you don't have a loader blocking your headlights. 2 forward & 2 back facing small square LED units on my ROPS puts a nice pool of light all around my tractor.

The LEDs I've seen have big heatsinks on the back you need to worry about. LEDs put off a lot less heat than halogens, but heat kills LEDs a lot more.

 

[TractorGuy]

EDIT 2 !! Also just realized you were talking H4 9003. This is NOT the same fitment as my H4 Motorcycle bulb. I got confused by the use of the H4 term.


I installed one of the triangle shaped H4 replacement led bulbs in my motorcycle. The beam pattern is not correct and the hi lo function provides little difference. I mainly ride in daylight so I aimed it so it wasn't likely to blind oncoming traffic and left it in.

The bulb you linked to doesn't indicate if it's a hi lo bulb or not on the mobile ad.

Just realized you wanted this for your tractor so it might not matter if it's street legal or correct pattern. If you search ebay for LED H4 Motorcycle bulb You will find plenty from $16 up. I think most of them are the same animal. They have gone down in price and added teh plug since I bought mine.

Here is the stock high beam on my Sportster.

VS the LED High Beam. It was still light outside when I did the comparo.

 

[powerscol]

Try these two links. They might have what your looking for.
https://motoalliance.com/Site.Store.go?action=showCategoryContents&catId=221
Flood / Scene / Spot Whelen, Federal Signal, Able 2, Sho Me, Feniex, Axixtech -

 

[Piston]

I was looking for an excellent LED light replacement for a different purpose (night time off road dirt bike racing) and did a fair amount of research. I found a company called Cyclops Adventure I think is the name, and they make all sorts of LED lighting for everything from helmet mounted headlights to commercial agriculture and construction machines, including road legal lights for vehicles.

It may be worth a phone call and ask them what they have. I believe it's a pretty small company and I've talked to the owners a couple times to have them come up with a custom light mount for another motorcycle I have, which they now are producing for sale. They may or may not have a bulb replacement that would fit in your light housing but in my experience I believe they'd at least steer you into the right direction.

If you give these guys a call they should be able to help you choose a replacement bulb.

This is WAY overkill for a tractor, but since it's so easy to install on and off the bike, I'm going to put it on the tractor roll bar for the winter....
Penetrator LED 630 series Dirt Bike Headlight kit

 

[dieselcrawler]

You might check these guys out, they offer replacement lights for some of the Deere models, perhaps one to fit yours.

https://www.larsenlights.com/led-work-lights

 

[GaryM]

Piston, that looks like a nice light for off road. I cam e back today to suggest something similar mounted to the roll bar, but maybe not that nice or expensive.

I have an LED worklight mounted on my roll bar aimed to the back for plowing in reverse, but one of the bars like you linked to would be better than the headlights because it wouldn't be blokked by the FEL. I'd put a glare shield on the bottom edge so the hood is kept dark.

Those bars, in cheaper quality and price, are available on Amazon and often at the local farm store as well.