well, yah...they're definitely NOT as bright as stock...however, there are NO error messages on the dash.

Next step is to indeed add resistors so these are firing at full power rather than reduced DRL power.




daytime or in bright sunlight at this reduced power you cant see jack.




and of course, you lose the high beam capability.

Nice mod, and yes you need resistors since they are not so visible during daytime.

Are you sure resistors will make them brighter..? Usually people need to add a relay module in order to send the full 12V to the DRLs. The resistor's only job is to trick the computer into thinking there is a load similar to halogen bulb there. It's the relay module's job to 'make it brighter'.

that's correct...sorry I got my lingo wrong, need the relay. I'm just not good at that sort of install so I'm going to get a shop to do that.

No problem! just wanted to make sure you weren't getting misinformation!!

changed this set out to a different set....the new one features a 68 smd LED bulb and is pure pure pure white... looks great...no resistor/relay needed, they are bright enough...day time pix coming soon!....still no effective high beams but these are real nice at night.

The bulbs do not appear brighter because the reflector is not meant for LEDs (and not because the bulbs are not bright enough). The bulb probably put around 2400 Lumens which is more than the original halogens. Installing a relay harness from battery will NOT likely help you in making the headlights brighter.
The reflector optics is what makes or breaks a light beam...especially in headlights.
Look at the daytime picture you posted. Bulbs look like barely functioning. This is what happens when the reflectors are effectively not redirecting the light beam. The result will be the same with halogen bulbs (albeit in yellow color) if reflectors are removed. You seem like hoping against hope that some LED bulb will eventually shine brighter than your existing halogens in this headlight. Good luck.

^^^ Have you gone through the entire thread? the new 68 SMD LEDs that I put in to replace the previous ones are a whole lot brighter and pretty much are equal brightness to the halogen DRLs...although I still don't have an effective high beam.


more day time pix are coming soon... I will take the same pic as above but with the new setup to show the difference.

I'm glad that you got the upgrade you wanted and are happy with it. As you mentioned this would work only for those who won't ever need their high beams.
Good luck.

2400 lumens? Doubt it. The bulbs he installed were "plasma" style LEDs, those are weak sauce.

you're saying that going from 6V to 12V power won't make it any brighter?

They look like they're barely functioning because they're running at half the power, in addition to them being weak LED bulbs.

This used to be the case back in the 2000s, not anymore.
LED bulbs these days using Cree LEDs will shine as bright as an HID kit.

Sorry to rip your posts apart, just wanted to get the information out there.

Acura604 buddy: The tower LEDs are definitely brighter than the "plasma" LEDs you used earlier. Be prepared to replace them sooner or later, they don't last very long, and they're not that bright either.

My Cree DRL LEDs:




They're so bright it's ridiculous.

^^ link to the Cree bulbs you're using please. eBay?

I bought mine from gtlightingusa for around 75 bucks.

I see I paid a premium price to have the "gtlightingusa" name on it.

Just found these exact same ones from China on ebay for much cheaper:
40W 4800LM Kit Car CREE LED Headlight Bulbs H7 H8 H9 H11 H10 9005 9145 HB3 6000K

And just found the same ones for $75... the price really does range for these bulbs lol
For Fog High Beam 9005 HB3 Instant Start 4800LM CREE LED Bulbs SMD 40W Lights | eBay

In the end, get the cheapest one, they're all manufactured in china anyway.

I agree that you have a point. I meant the tower style LED when I mentioned 2400 lumens.
Now if you are running DRLs at 12 v what about high beams? DRL and high beams are not equal. Are you planning to completely do away with high beams? That's not a practical solution for everyone unless you have bixenons. I hope your car has bixenons.
BTW your gtlightingusa does not exist anymore. Does anyone remember the "frosty" LED lights? Those are similar.
I did say in my previous post that they are brighter than halogens but that doesn't mean the light beam is better. It will produce a bright foreground but that's it. I would love to see a picture of your high beams shining down the road , or a wall shot from 100 -200 feet (not 3 feet). That way we will be on the same page. I'm all for cool and safe mods and if you are able to produce a useful high beam with those LED lights, that will be great and I myself would consider that mod.
This is an information sharing forum. I don't consider your disagreement as "ripping apart" of my posts. Cheers.

3G TL has bi-xenons Your argument is invalid and could have been pre-empted with a simple Google search. GP is coming from a background of DRL's on our 3rd Gen TL's that have bixenon headlights and the DRL is indeed only a DRL and not the high beam. DRL = 6V so hence the 'low brightness' comment. I understand that the RDX uses the same bulb for high beam so it may not be prudent. But to each their own!

Aren't we talking about mods for RDX here.
I understand that TL has bixenons so the LED mod will work for that car. That is exactly what I said.
This mod may not be ideal for an RDX unless you plan to not use high beams at all ( or retrofit the projectors with bixenons).

"Frosty" LED lights were from gtlightingusa. I ordered right through Frosty, he's a friend.
And yes, they do not exist anymore
no more warranty for me i guess

You're right about the beam, though. I'll just have to take a picture of them on at night and see how they are. Honestly, I've never had my DRLs on at night because it would be so blinding to other people. i usually turn on the low beams and have them turn off earlier than usual just to be courteous to others

I guess I can say I was just a bit surprised when you stated 6V to 12V won't make it any brighter.
I see you're speaking in terms of the high beam. Could have said that from the start and we'd be on the right page.

Acura604 did this for his DRLs, I'm sure he knew what he was getting into when it came to a dimmer high beam.

^^ thanks guitarplayer...ordered these CREE LMs today... will update this thread once I receive/install them.

these are great....! night time shots coming soon!

thanks to guitarplayer16






4800LM on passenger side / 68smd on driver side


4800LM on both sides

Lots of added glare.

The new ones are definitely brighter, but as Ceb stated glaringly so.
If you are happy with the current mod then all is good (I'm sure you are). .
Now move on to the fogs next.

Where did you end up ordering from? They definitely are a lot brighter then the oems and your old DRL's.

^^^

the camera adds glare to the photo...its not really much brighter than stock halogens but the light is a pure white. and the added bonus is that they give out relatively good enough light for high beams.



got it off this ebay seller but looks like he's sold out.

40W 4800LM KIT CAR Cree LED Headlight Bulbs H7 H8 H9 H11 H10 9005 9145 HB3 6000K | eBay

The first photo of the comparison shot clearly shows the added glare with the differences between the driver's and passenger side - then the equal glare on the photo showing the new bulbs on both sides.

Don't try to convince yourself that these bulbs don't add glare - they do.

Bad choice in bulbs. Return and use the money for Morimotos.

I like them. Rather be more noticeable day and night. People suck at driving. Morimotos are for fogs... How does that relate to DRL's?

They'd make you more noticeable day and night.

Lol. If you use your fog lights the whole time. Be a good addition.

Best choice would be to retro your projectors to bixenons (may be the TL ones). Then you can use whatever you want for DRLs.

well at least this thread covers off the different LED options... with photos!

summary:

Plasma LED bulb: weak sauce
Tower 68SMD LED: good for normal DRL operation/ no high beams

4800LM CREE: "I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but blinding!” -Bane

Hi Acura604,

New member here. I have the 2015 Acura RDX and been trying to change the DRL. However, the driver side is giving me trouble as it is nearly impossible to have access to the light bulb without taking out some parts. When you changed your light bulbs which part did you need to take off?

Thank you~

hey YYC! ok yes the driver side bulb is pure hell... I've changed it 3 times now and I've always asked myself in the process...how the hell do I just do that?

I did not move anything out of the way and there were times I just wanted to give up... spend maybe 60mins thinking about it and 3mins of effort while my wrist was getting cut up.

SO... what I did....on the electrical connector, there's a tab that you push to 'release' the locking mechanism. I pressed that and then used a long flat screwdriver to slow pry away and separate the connector from the bulb. once I saw there was a good gap created, I put my hands in and pulled hard and voila..it came off. be careful of course, perhaps cover the screwdriver tip with a towel to avoid any scratches and stuff. but yes, why did they make it so difficult to do this? beats me...!

Would you be able to tell me where the connector is located? I notice there is a electrical connector that connects to the battery and cover with a plastic tab and blocking me from reaching inside the DRL. My hand is not big but I am still having a hard time reaching inside. No matter how I tried I just can't seems to figure out a way to reach the bulb. I thought this would be more easy to do since its common to change light bulbs.

I will post a photo later today. ^^^^^

but visually, the connector is blue and attached to the drl bulb which has a black end. it is right in front of the battery and yes, even with small hands it is difficult to maneuver in.

By any chance would you be able to post the photo of how I can gain access to the driver side DRL ? Thanks!

This looks great. But if you do high beam, is it be same bright? Can this do high beam flash? The ebay price reduced to $33 now.

I am hesitate on changing to LED. If dim like DRL, will lost High Beam function. If bright like High Beam, police will catch me.

I'm looking into converting my halogen DRL/High beam to LED as well. I found these on amazon that is at a good price point.


Do I need decoders to ensure there is no flicker and that it will actually work as DRLs?

I tried those a few months ago. As DTR's they are no good because they were way too bright... so i returned them. I don't want to blind other people day OR night. Some of these new LED DTRs are painful to look at. I find it quite irritating. (esp since I chose to return mine for this reason) ...lol.... The hi-beam mode of operation worked OK. ..they were bright. No decoder appeared to be needed in my case but they were only in my vehicle for 30 minutes. If you do get them and do not use the decoder harness, you will most likely have to reverse the plug (polarity ) when connecting, as the decoder harness switches polarity of the wire connections between the bulb and the RDX headlight harness.
Since the DTR voltage going to the bulb is pulsed, LEDs dont work very well as aftermarket replacements. Pulsing works OK with halogens to reduce the light output. If its a steady 12 volts (hi beam mode) then they work fine.

Thanks! I don't want to blind people either. Did you find an alternative that would work well? I like the colour temp of LED and want to replace the yellow Halogens.

No I didnt. I was thinking about rigging up a power resistor and a relay so that they would be dim for DTR and full power for hi-beams, this would work but:
A. too much work and friggin around
B: the added resistance may necessitate the need for the decoder

I also forgot to mention they did not fit properly into the housing as the 3 tabs on the mounting flange were just slightly different and yes the seller claimed they would fit the RDX. They later said "well, the lamps may require minor modifications for proper fit..."