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LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2018 9:49 am
by Milfmog
We had a very heavy frost this morning and it was great to be able to press the button and watch the ice disappear from the front screen. However, as I drove down to the river to walk the dogs, I noticed that the headlights seemed rather feeble. They were still providing a nice, white light but they were very diffuse and not providing any real penetration of the darkness.

When I stopped, I left the lights on and got out to have a look at them; heavy frost coverage was acting as a diffuser on the lights. Running a scraper over them to remove the frost immediately fixed the problem. Looks like LED lights have at least one disadvantage over the older technologies; they don’t generate enough heat to defrost their own lenses. (Probably serves me right for feeling smug about the heated front screen)

Have fun,


Ian.

Re: LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:11 am
by kodiaq
Gosh! I'd never thought of that!
Good job frost is rare darn sarf in Darzett.

Re: LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:16 pm
by Ford pop racer
I'll wait for the sun to defrost the car before going out. I drove my car in darkness this evening in country lanes, those LED lights are very good

Re: LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 11:01 pm
by GeoffH
Wow! Thank you so much for posting this. I`d never have thought of it. I`d probably have got in the car, switched on the heated screen and heated steering wheel and driven off! I can`t thank you enough for raising the issue.

Re: LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:24 am
by Meister
If the LED headlights are the same as my Seat Leon ST, which they probably are, I find the light is better BUT the range of the beam isn't as far as the 'old fashioned' type ..... I suppose I will find out when my new Karoq arrives in Feb.

Re: LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 1:32 pm
by mikaroq
Seem good to me so far - had the best dark cross-country A road drive home I have ever had at the weekend - 55 miles with clear vision all the way and the auto main beam was excellent as well.

Re: LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 1:35 pm
by Milfmog
I can't say that I've noticed any drop off in range from the excellent xenon lights on my old Yeti. However, the cutoff is very sharp so if the garage sets the lights low you will definitely notice it.

Please remember to scrape the frost off the lenses before driving as the frost diffused beam is really not helpful for approaching drivers.


Ian.

Re: LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 1:37 pm
by mikaroq
Milfmog wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 1:35 pm Please remember to scrape the frost off the lenses before driving as the frost diffused beam is really not helpful for approaching drivers.
Ian.
Agree - and the handy ice scraper in the petrol cap means there is never one far away. Was impressed with it the first time I used it!

Re: LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 7:00 pm
by supreme
Thats where the headlights washer comes handy :)
I picked that extra for exactly this purpose. Since i live in norther EU where we have often winters around - 20 or -30c where we have to use winter washer fluid its no problem at all. Every time car starts from cold start and using wipers to clean windscreen with fliud will automatically push fluid on headlights. But its true LED light does not generate heat from the light source but from back (microcontroller usually needs active cooler)

Re: LED headlights - one disadvantage I had not considered

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 8:28 am
by Jimbologo
I also meant to reply with this ! Now I didn't add the light washer as an extra so think if uou have the SE L which comes with the Full LED package its included , that's soon rids any ice so long as you are using the correct concentration of washer fluid , and note I only use the VW group one , Skoda were kind enough to leave me the rest of the bottle after a service πŸ™…πŸΌβ€β™‚οΈπŸ˜€