BA15d LED Headlights

[davidGR]

Hey everybody,


Has anyone tried out BA15d LED headlight bulbs from Classic Dynamo?

Did you like them? Did they fit in your headlights? Plug and Play? Any pictures?



I'm running a 6v Positive Ground car with typical dual filament bulbs. Like the idea of a brighter bulb with less power consumption.

[GPierce]

In the search box type in CLASSIC DYNAMO. There are several threads about it.
This is the most active one.
Start with post #14.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...Classic+dynamo

[30 Closed Cab PU]

Another recent thread.


https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=250049

[MikeK]

Here is their picture.

From their own words: ". . . produce a softer beam pattern." Meaning they DO NOT focus in a parabolic reflector and will not give a good driving beam pattern. They will provide a lot of off-axis glare, making them look bright from the side of the road. Just not down the center of your driving lane!

By design, there are two discrete LED chips, each laterally off the center axis because of the thick aluminum passive heat sink in the center. Moving them back/forth with the focus screw cannot move either LED to the focal center line of the reflector. In a word, IMPOSSIBLE to focus. Thus their ". . . softer beam pattern."

Second, and worst problem is the high/ low LEDS each face sideways and can illuminate ONLY HALF of the reflector at one time! Added to the cold blue-green color with a relatively low color rendering index they look peculiar on any antique vehicle.

Based on the advertised current draw the actual lumen output, combined with the inability to achieve correct focus will give you a good daytime running light (if you can get past the weird blue-green color) and a terrible, glare producing, weak, poor beam pattern night driving light.

[GPierce]

Mine focused nicely with just a very slight adustment. I have new Brattons reflectors. I have a very bright white light; the same color that my 18 Toyota puts out. I would disagree with the weird blue/green color statement.
I understand what Mike is saying. The bottom line. I feel a lot more comfortable driving at night. Others in the group that were with us at night were impressed with my much improved lighting.

[updraught]

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Until someone posts a photo of the cut off on low beam up against a wall it is all speculation ...

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by updraught

Until someone posts a photo of the cut off on low beam up against a wall it is all speculation ...

Absolutely true!

Here's some good reading about that: LINK

[Kurt in NJ]

Yes I would like to see the pattern on a wall--- both with and without a lens
The ones I saw at Hershey several years ago would not focus at any adjustment, made sort of a figure 8 sideways beam, --- how far down the road the road the light is projected on high beam, and how good the cutoff is on low beam is important, a lot of bright light to look at them means little

[GPierce]

Does this help. I have a 6 volt system. Picture taken with the engine off.
From this drivers perspective these lights are much safer than the incandescent bulbs they replaced and the amp meter showing discharge at the slow speed I felt comfortable driving in the dark.

[MikeK]

Thank you for posting the pictures. You are really too close to that white door to see the fully developed beam pattern.

As Kurt mentioned, you can already see the result of the reflector's figure eight pattern from side by side LED's not at the focal centerline. Interacting with the Twolite lens pattern you have a large amount of light above horizontal that will translate into blinding glare for other traffic.

Of interest to me is the complete lack of light downward and below those two ovals. If all that skyward skew light were down and the dark area below were on top you would have something approaching a correct driving beam pattern.

The second picture, looking into all that glare from an above horizontal point, gives credence to 'sure looks bright' testimonials. Above horizontal there should be no glare at all.

The EU, Aus, and the US D.O.T. all have similar headlamp pattern regulations. Strict horizontal pattern cutoff is paramount in all of them. Where I live that light pattern would get you into traffic court for non-compliance.

[Kurt in NJ]

Here is what original bulb with proper filament placement and focus looks like at 20 feet, this is original reflector, lens, at 6volts, you can see the bright down the center, the cutoff and lower aim of light to the side to prevent blinding oncoming drivers in the other lane

[Kurt in NJ]

This is what proper focus looks like at 20 feet-- no lens, this will give the pattern through original lens like previous post

[Badpuppy]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/BA15...719482964.html

$37 a pair, available in pos ground too, they say.

Be careful how high you aim the headlights - 28-29 with centered reflector socket guides (original and most repros) should be aimed at 33" high. Twolight lamps had offset guides (like Bratton's). If installed on 28-29 the height jumps to 37". 30-31 Twolites with original offset reflectors are aimed at 39-!/2". If you have centered reflectors in a 30-31, you should drop them down some, but I don't know how much. The 4" difference for 1929 seems like quite a leap, but i won't argue with Henry.

[loubob]

Wow! I really appreciate the responses.
I've not driven the car too much after dark. The headlights just never seemed to "throw out" a lot of light.
Car is 6v + ground w/alternator. Parking lamps are in the headlights.
By "new reflectors" do you mean the ones sold by Brattons?
Sorry, I've never seen a focusable flashlight.
I read a post where a member stated his connectors got very hot with the quartz/halogen bulbs. He switched to bakelite connectors, from NAPA, and they worked better.
For whatever reason I have never tried to adjust my lights. Car is up for the Winter and cannot perform a true test until Spring.
I've got some parts on order but will not install anything until after I check out my lights.
I appreciate all the response and will continue to follow future postings......Loubob

[Bill G]

I bought my car that someone else had long ago replaced the stock reflectors, lamps and lenses with a sealed beam kit. When I put an alternator in, I bought halogen sealed beam 6volt lights and ran a dedicated ground wire to the lamp buckets, along with bullet connectors rather than the stock connectors on the buckets because...well... the stock connectors were gone.

This combination, while not original does give bright and aim-able focused beams. Anyone who knows Model A's can see from way off that the headlamps are sealed beams, but they sure do work.

When I am finished spending money on other aspects of my months-long restoration project, I will likely spring for stock-style headlights, but with halogen bulbs. I am very much interested in having correct focus and aiming because for myself at 67+ years, bright lights on modern trucks and other cars drive me nuts. I think my eyes are not as tolerant to bright lights as they used to be. I also think people just go out and buy LED headlights even for newer cars, thinking they are getting uber-bright headlights for the sake of lighting up the road in front of them, but oblivious to the fact that they are blinding everyone in front of them. I am convinced that local police and highway patrols don't spend any time policing this, at least where I live. grrr a pet pieve.