Aiming SMD headlights

[Richard Sjolund]

I had a set of SMD headlights for my 1964 C coupe - got them from Amazon.

I installed them and I could not get them adjusted. Neither could my pair of Porsche body and engine guys (some of the best in the USA). I gave up and sent them back for a refund.

But - - I WANT them, and I want them to work. I ordered a second pair from Amazon again - after failing to reach Jeffrey by phone or email.

The problem the last time was aiming. The high beams went straight up into the trees a hundred feet in front of the car. The low beams were half as bright as my 6 volt H4 Halogen lamps that the SMD replaced.

I have read many, many glowing reports for the SMD headlights and I plan to make them work this time. In a few weeks I'll be driving from Iowa to Scottsdale, Arizona, and I like to have my headlights on during the day so that other drivers can see me coming. I have the CuLayer LED lights at the rear - they are great !

I had a generator failure on Route 66 in the middle of New Mexico on a previous trip -- and reducing the drain on my 6 volt electrical system is a good goal.

Please share your stories of installing and using the SMD lights on a 356 --- installation and especially aiming.

Richard Sjolund
Solon, (Iowa City), Iowa
1964 (September 1963 build) 356 C Coupe #215661 (Ruby Red, color:6402)
(On the 356 Registry cover- November, 2005)
Ford F150 4X4 (Winter Snow Plow)
2015 Audi A4 Quattro (Wife's car)

[David Jones]

Richard, I am guessing that the LED lights you bought were from Jeffrey even though you bought them from Amazon. Are these the ones? https://www.amazon.com/SMD6V1015-Porsch ... B016H43O0U
Stoddard also sells them so you have three choices including Jeffrey.
Before Jeffrey started selling his I bought some 12 volt lights and installed them on my 64C. No question they are way brighter than anything else I ever installed but penetration was questionable. They did not throw a beam of light as far as my H4 bulbs but simply because they consumed so little current in comparison I was willing to put up with that shortcoming. The light cutoff was also nowhere near as good but again as I never got flashed I was prepared to accept that shortcoming as well.
My car is still 6 volt so I had to do a little creative wiring to get them to operate even though it did state they would work on 6 volts to 32 volts. It was nearer to 10 volts where they turned on. I used two small 6 to 12 volt converters wired in to the Hi/Lo beam circuit to switch them on and measured the current input at close to 2 amps on each. Way lower than the 10 amps for the H4 bulbs.
I would suggest you try what I did but the SMD lights I bought seem no longer to be available but I found some very similar on Amazon. You will of course need two 6 to 12 volt converters as well but all in all I was happy with the result.
Of course I also like to play so for me it was all about the adventure as much as the lighting improvement.
Here is a link to the SMD lights that are similar to the ones I bought. These do have the advantage of having a plug that will fit the 356 wiring. PM me if you want more details.
https://www.amazon.com/Aryan-net-corres ... +headlight

[Richard Sjolund]

Richard, I am guessing that the LED lights you bought were from Jeffrey even though you bought them from Amazon. Are these the ones? https://www.amazon.com/SMD6V1015-Porsch ... B016H43O0U
Stoddard also sells them so you have three choices including Jeffrey.
....
Here is a link to the SMD lights that are similar to the ones I bought. These do have the advantage of having a plug that will fit the 356 wiring. PM me if you want more details.
https://www.amazon.com/Aryan-net-corres ... +headlight

This is the set that I ordered today:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016H ... ailpages00?

I hope that they can work with 6 volts - I don't have time to purchase or construct 12 volt inverters before i leave for Arizona.

Richard

[David Jones]

Richard they are the ones that Jeffrey is selling so they should work by all accounts that I have heard. Just in case you want or anyone else wants to go the 6 to 12 volt conversion route here is a link to a couple of converters.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01 ... =UTF8&th=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1

[Charles H Jacobus]

I had a set of SMD headlights for my 1964 C coupe - got them from Amazon.

I installed them and I could not get them adjusted. Neither could my pair of Porsche body and engine guys (some of the best in the USA). I gave up and sent them back for a refund.

But - - I WANT them, and I want them to work. I ordered a second pair from Amazon again - after failing to reach Jeffrey by phone or email.

The problem the last time was aiming. The high beams went straight up into the trees a hundred feet in front of the car. The low beams were half as bright as my 6 volt H4 Halogen lamps that the SMD replaced.

I have read many, many glowing reports for the SMD headlights and I plan to make them work this time. In a few weeks I'll be driving from Iowa to Scottsdale, Arizona, and I like to have my headlights on during the day so that other drivers can see me coming. I have the CuLayer LED lights at the rear - they are great !

I had a generator failure on Route 66 in the middle of New Mexico on a previous trip -- and reducing the drain on my 6 volt electrical system is a good goal.

Please share your stories of installing and using the SMD lights on a 356 --- installation and especially aiming.

Richard Sjolund
Solon, (Iowa City), Iowa
1964 (September 1963 build) 356 C Coupe #215661 (Ruby Red, color:6402)
(On the 356 Registry cover- November, 2005)
Ford F150 4X4 (Winter Snow Plow)
2015 Audi A4 Quattro (Wife's car)

I am having the same aiming issue.

ChuckJ

[Richard Sjolund]

I am having the same aiming issue.

ChuckJ

OH NO !!!!

That is not good news ..... Let's hope that we can both get some guidance. The lights will not do me any good if they point at the sky.

Richard

[WilliamVaughan]

There is no such thing as high beams and low beams anymore. It seems all modern cars are setup to simultaneously blind on coming (old)drivers and illuminate parking barriers.

[Dave Wildrick]

This is the set that I ordered today:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016H ... ailpages00?

I hope that they can work with 6 volts - I don't have time to purchase or construct 12 volt inverters before i leave for Arizona.

Richard

The copy on the ad for these lights sounds like Fellman's writing.

I bought a set of his SMD headlights for each of my 6V C coupes within the past 2 years.

They do not have precise aiming, as the standard sealed beam lights or the H4s do.
The light is bright on "low beams" and more diffuse (lacking the range of some of the high intensity of the 12V xenon flame-throwers available), as David Jones points out.

Also, there is only a slight upward shift in the beam when you switch to "high beams." This is true on both sets I bought, and also on the set my friend Jim Learmonth bought.
Nevertheless, other cars will see you coming. I suggest setting the low beam aim fairly low.

[Jeffrey Leeds]

I have tried these and have now gone back to my former H4's. The SMD's are certainly "whiter" which I think some are confusing with "brighter". I am too accustomed and more comfortable driving at night with the sharp cutoff.

[Richard Sjolund]

I have tried these and have now gone back to my former H4's. The SMD's are certainly "whiter" which I think some are confusing with "brighter". I am too accustomed and more comfortable driving at night with the sharp cutoff.

In reality I want the SMD lights so that I can have them on during the day without over taxing my 6 volt electrial system and its generator. It may turn out that my current H4s are better for night driving on my country road that has lots of deer and raccoons waiting for me to drive by.

A perfect solution for me is to find a way to emulate the LEDs and Headlights on my wife's Audi A4. She has a ring of bright LEDs that serve to announce her car to traffic during the day - and bright headlights for night driving.

I would keep my H4s as my headlights if I could find some bright LED bulbs that would fit the front parking lights and turn signals -- and maybe also my fog lamps.

Has anyone found 6 volt LEDs for the front parking/turn lights ?????

Richard Sjolund
Solon, (Iowa City), Iowa
1964 (September 1963 build) 356 C Coupe #215661 (Ruby Red, color:6402)
(On the 356 Registry cover- November, 2005)
Ford F150 4X4 (Winter Snow Plow)
2015 Audi A4 Quattro (Wife's car)

[M Penta]

Are you sure they were not installed upside down? The lens pattern needs to be correctly oriented. I forget now but also thinking they may be L and R as well.

I understand the concern of not enough projection compared to the H4's, I kind of felt that way myself at first (maybe partially due to reading about this), but after driving mine at night many times now they are far superior to the H4's I had in every way, and drawing so much less current is icing on the cake. I too worry about deer, and am much more comfortable driving at night with the SMD's.They are not that expensive either compared to other modern lighting upgrades, so I am entirely satisfied.

[Jeffrey Leeds]

Jim Franzen (CuLayer) offers what he calls BA15S- HP Single Filament and BA15D-HP Dual Filament bulbs for the beehive brake lights of the early cars. I've often wondered if these could work in the front parking lights to do exactly what you are looking for http://culayer.com/product/ba15-hp/

[David Jones]

Richard I have some SMD parking lights in my "A" headlights but of course your "C" does not have the parking lights in the headlights so you will have to search the internet for some to fit in your turn signal light units but they are so small they may not make any difference at all. If you switched to the early headlights as in the "A" with parking light in the headlight they really show up even during the day. I will take a picture tomorrow and post it.

[David Jones]

These are the bulbs I have in my "A" headlights for parking/side lights.
https://www.ebay.com/i/182744464334?chn=ps&dispItem=1

[Jules Dielen]

Richard

come to AZ and look at what the guys at Deluxe customs did with the T5 outlaw. It would work the same way as in your wife's Audi, as long as you can live with that look.