Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

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Figor
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Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#1

Post by Figor »

I bought one off Amazon last week and the low beam has gone out already. Low beam works on the old one. Looks like something else I’ll have to send back. Anyone else had any luck with these things?
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BlueThunder
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#2

Post by BlueThunder »

No. It is hit or miss as quality control on the cheap Chinese stuff is "iffy" at best. Also Chinese companies will pass off "iffy" goods along with the good stuff.
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Figor
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#3

Post by Figor »

Apparently so. I just ordered one that looks identical to most every other naked wing headlight I’ve seen and it crapped out the 2nd time I turned the bike on. Oh well guess I’ll ride with the bright. I don’t think I can return it. I just remembered I had to grind som clearance off the tabs to make it fit right. Hope the Amazon fork seals do better…lol.
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#4

Post by Lucien Harpress »

To that point, does anyone have any recommendations as to good sealed beam LED lamps? I may be in the market at some point and was genuinely curious.
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#5

Post by ob1quixote »

mine was fine!
your mileage may vary
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5speed
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#6

Post by 5speed »

Lucien Harpress wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 8:00 pm To that point, does anyone have any recommendations as to good sealed beam LED lamps? I may be in the market at some point and was genuinely curious.
I bought a bunch of 1156/57 bulbs from these folks and haven't had any issues.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/
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Figor
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#7

Post by Figor »

When I got the bike it had an 1157 led in it but I could barely see riding it home the first night I had it out. Maybe the issue was the lense refracting the light or something. It kind of reminded me of a carbide light. It was a slow ride home.
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#8

Post by 5speed »

Figor wrote: Mon Jul 12, 2021 6:31 pm When I got the bike it had an 1157 led in it but I could barely see riding it home the first night I had it out. Maybe the issue was the lense refracting the light or something. It kind of reminded me of a carbide light. It was a slow ride home.
an 1157 for a head light bulb? :shock:
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)

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1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#9

Post by Figor »

Whatever it is. It had an led in the old original diffuser
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#10

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Depending on which year your bike is it originally came with either a sealed beam or an H4 halogen bulb in a reflector/lens unit.
And speaking of which year your 'Wing is, please add your location to your profile so that it shows below your name when you post and your bike's model and model year (NOT year first registered if you are in the UK or somewhere else where that's what the paperwork shows) to your signature so that you don't have to remember to tell us every time and we don't have to keep asking when you forget.

There are lots of very good LED bulb replacements on the market that are suitable for use in headlights but there are also some that are really only suitable as marker lights. If the one that came in your bike isn't bright enough it could be one of those but it could also be because the lens is covered with 4 decades of tiny scratches and the reflector's mirroring has tarnished over the years. Either way I highly recommend replacing the whole thing with something newer so you can see well after dark.

If I was doing it now I would probably look for a good LED headlight unit. I'd like to recommend one for you but when I replaced mine LED headlights were something new & expensive so I went with HIDs instead so I really don't know which LED units are good.
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Sidecar Bob
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#11

Post by Sidecar Bob »

BTW: Don't brand everything that comes from China as poor quality. They can & do produce very high quality products when they are paid to do so (I can name a couple of instances of quality improving when production moved from the US to China from personal experience and I'm sure there are many more).
The problem is that they will also produce poor quality if that is what they are paid for and you can't tell from the pictures.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#12

Post by Shadowjack »

Who's old enough to remember when the label "Made in Japan" carried the same connotation as "Chinese" does today?
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#13

Post by 6adan »

Shadowjack, I am.
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#14

Post by pidjones »

My problem with everthing that I've found so far is that H4 replacements with a big enough heat sink for a GL1000 bucket won't fit without cutting a significant hole in the back of the bucket, or sealed units that look like they belong on an extraterrestrial vehicle. I want traditional styling but more light and longevity.

I do have Chinabay H4 replacement in the drawer, but it has zero driver or heat sink so I have serious doubts about light output and lifetime. Haven't tried it yet as opening the bucket always risks pinching or disconnecting things. So crowded it there, considering how much distribution is already done in the shelter.
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Re: Any luck with chinese sealed led headlight units?

#15

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Yeah, I sometimes forget about that because I did it so long ago that it seems like it was always like that. I actually had to bore a hole in the winter machine's fairing where the inner & outer shells are bonded together behind the headlight to clear the HID bulb and then oval it to allow for aiming the headlight.
When I put my GoldWing together I used the 1000's headlight and couldn't fit all of the 1100's wires in it so I bundled them behind it out of sight (some years later when I replaced the instrument panel and added the speaker/wiring box I moved them into it). When I replaced the reflector/lens the one I used had a deep protective ridge around the bulb which wouldn't fit in the 1000 headlight bucket even with the Halogen bulb so I changed to another Honda bucket I had but it was cracked so when I changed to the HID and needed even more depth I went to the wrecker and found a nice Kawasaki one with 2 holes that I could cut out the space between to clear it.

I figure it was worth all that to actually see better at night.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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