LED headlight upgrade weird buzzing

[LarryD]

Originally Posted by Sappy2

I cannot say who said this, but this is what they said:
"I can state from experience that if a cheap or improper LED bulb is installed on a vehicle some buzzing can be heard. I don’t have any details but yes, it is possible. There are articles on Google that provide information on the issue."

These cost ~$1700 and are considered the best in the industry. About as far from "cheap" as you can go.

[JDub]

Ok folks...we have a FIX for the Morimoto xb LED headlight assembly!!

my installer took his time testing each wire and he also torn done the center stack area as well. So below are the issues we found:

1) Their is a relay right in the lower half of the center stack that was NOT receiving enough LOAD when the low beams were on..hence the buzzing
2) After taking apart the grill and pulling out the headlights it looked like when Thor attached their front bumper and fog lights they sliced directly into the headlights for power. They did a poor job and used a "temporary connection"
3) The morimoto's assembly works great and the issue occurred because of Thor splicing to the headlights

Fix
1) We redid the wiring and solder the connection points the correct way for the headlights
2) We rewired the fog lights to the AUX 1 slot since we have 5+ slots from the factory

So if anyone plans on getting these headlights you will have to fix the poor workmanship that Thor did when installing the fog lights....

Hope this helps!

[JDub]

I will try to upload pictures or video. If you have or need a direct response please PM and I will text you pics if needed....

I cannot tell you how happy this makes me as the light output on the XB's are so much brighter than the stock bulbs.

[Bill Johnson]

Originally Posted by JDub

Ok folks...we have a FIX for the Morimoto xb LED headlight assembly!!

my installer took his time testing each wire and he also torn done the center stack area as well. So below are the issues we found:

1) Their is a relay right in the lower half of the center stack that was NOT receiving enough LOAD when the low beams were on..hence the buzzing
2) After taking apart the grill and pulling out the headlights it looked like when Thor attached their front bumper and fog lights they sliced directly into the headlights for power. They did a poor job and used a "temporary connection"
3) The morimoto's assembly works great and the issue occurred because of Thor splicing to the headlights

Fix
1) We redid the wiring and solder the connection points the correct way for the headlights
2) We rewired the fog lights to the AUX 1 slot since we have 5+ slots from the factory

So if anyone plans on getting these headlights you will have to fix the poor workmanship that Thor did when installing the fog lights....

Hope this helps!

I have a question, I have a class A and all the lights and dash come from Thor. On yours it is the front end of a Ford truck including the dashboard, I might be wrong, but If this all came from Ford then the bad wiring is from Ford or the people that installed the headlights?

[LarryD]

Originally Posted by Bill Johnson

I have a question, I have a class A and all the lights and dash come from Thor. On yours it is the front end of a Ford truck including the dashboard, I might be wrong, but If this all came from Ford then the bad wiring is from Ford or the people that installed the headlights?

except the fog lights are installed by Thor and it seems they are wired to pull power from the same harness as the headlights. This is what is causing the under voltage situation resulting in the alarm buzzer. When I swapped out my fog light bulbs for LED before I did the head light upgrade I noticed that fog lights had been spliced in with those cheap red plastic crimp splitters. I'm not positive but I think thats what he is saying caused the issue.

[JDub]

Originally Posted by larryd

except the fog lights are installed by thor and it seems they are wired to pull power from the same harness as the headlights. This is what is causing the under voltage situation resulting in the alarm buzzer. When i swapped out my fog light bulbs for led before i did the head light upgrade i noticed that fog lights had been spliced in with those cheap red plastic crimp splitters. I'm not positive but i think thats what he is saying caused the issue.

spot on!!

[Bill Johnson]

Originally Posted by LarryD

except the fog lights are installed by Thor and it seems they are wired to pull power from the same harness as the headlights. This is what is causing the under voltage situation resulting in the alarm buzzer. When I swapped out my fog light bulbs for LED before I did the head light upgrade I noticed that fog lights had been spliced in with those cheap red plastic crimp splitters. I'm not positive but I think thats what he is saying caused the issue.

Thanks I figured all the lights would be from Ford, I'm surprised that the wiring from Ford wasn't just sitting there by the lights

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by JDub

I will try to upload pictures or video. If you have or need a direct response please PM and I will text you pics if needed....

I cannot tell you how happy this makes me as the light output on the XB's are so much brighter than the stock bulbs.

Are you using the Thor stock housings and lenses? They are "brighter", but how is the throw? Did the LEDs improve that?

[Zenith]

Originally Posted by JDub

I will try to upload pictures or video. If you have or need a direct response please PM and I will text you pics if needed..

Pics would be much appreciated JDub! We run with the lights on 24/7 because if I turn the lights off, the front console buzzes just as you described. I'm guessing the problem I have is probably in the same place - so that would help me find it!

[LarryD]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Are you using the Thor stock housings and lenses? They are "brighter", but how is the throw? Did the LEDs improve that?

as explained earlier in the thread these aren't drop in bulbs that use the ford light housing. These are a complete headlight, ie. the entire plastic headlight bucket with integrated LEDs. The lenses, reflectors etc are specifically designed for the best possible output.

I can tell you that I had tried installing high end LED bulbs $150 per bulb) in the original Ford buckets and while the brightness increased considerably the "throw" was horrible, exhibiting the halo effect you see all over youtube which is why so many discourage LED "upgrades". This halo is caused by the bulb not being in the exact right focal point of the Ford headlight mirror. THIS IS NOT THAT.

[JDub]

Sorry for the delay - been out of the country and just got back.

Below are some of the pictures of the poor wiring done by Thor when installing the front bumper and fog lights

The first pic is the relay that is UNDER the dashboard that was not getting enough load which was causing the buzzing

The second picture was the poor splicing job that Thor did on using the headlights to power the fog lights (see the round red crimpers they use on the headlights, according to my installer you use those round crimpers for an emergency only)

The third picture is my installer correctly solder the wires on the driver side headlight and redirecting the fog lights to one of the aux ports (installer pulled the fog light wires out and installed them to aux port 1 so they have their dedicated source and switch vs splicing into the headlights)

I tired to load up some video's but they were to big if you need anything else please PM me. About to go on my trip to Colorado this week as well

[JDub]

So far I have had ZERO buzzing issues with this set up...once again the Morimoto full leadlight assemblies work great. The issue was Thor splicing into the headlight wires to power the fog lights (driver side pic above) once we moved the fog lights to their own dedicated power source and into the aux port the issue worked itself out.

Once again I am NOT the installer and had my audio guy come to the house and fix this for me. If you want a more technical description please PM and I can forward you his information. Thanks!

[JDub]

Here are the pics with the Morimoto headlight assemblies on the super c

daytime lights on
low beam lights on both pics

they actually have a killer start up sequence like my Audi when you start the super c up.

Next up blacking out the grill and window tint

[ericmac450]

Originally Posted by JDub

Sorry for the delay - been out of the country and just got back.

Below are some of the pictures of the poor wiring done by Thor when installing the front bumper and fog lights

The first pic is the relay that is UNDER the dashboard that was not getting enough load which was causing the buzzing

The second picture was the poor splicing job that Thor did on using the headlights to power the fog lights (see the round red crimpers they use on the headlights, according to my installer you use those round crimpers for an emergency only)

The third picture is my installer correctly solder the wires on the driver side headlight and redirecting the fog lights to one of the aux ports (installer pulled the fog light wires out and installed them to aux port 1 so they have their dedicated source and switch vs splicing into the headlights)

I tired to load up some video's but they were to big if you need anything else please PM me. About to go on my trip to Colorado this week as well

I have a Thor built on a E450 chassis...I have found MANY wires held together like this. I just don't get it, it's all about getting the units out the door.

[Zenith]

Originally Posted by JDub

Below are some of the pictures of the poor wiring done by Thor when installing the front bumper and fog lights

Thanks JDub, this is very helpful and should save me time troubleshooting my buzzing.

[MLP]

Originally Posted by JDub

Sorry for the delay - been out of the country and just got back.

Below are some of the pictures of the poor wiring done by Thor when installing the front bumper and fog lights

The first pic is the relay that is UNDER the dashboard that was not getting enough load which was causing the buzzing

The second picture was the poor splicing job that Thor did on using the headlights to power the fog lights (see the round red crimpers they use on the headlights, according to my installer you use those round crimpers for an emergency only)

The third picture is my installer correctly solder the wires on the driver side headlight and redirecting the fog lights to one of the aux ports (installer pulled the fog light wires out and installed them to aux port 1 so they have their dedicated source and switch vs splicing into the headlights)

I tired to load up some video's but they were to big if you need anything else please PM me. About to go on my trip to Colorado this week as well

That is one way to do it. I would use a solder sleeve to solder and make it water tight. Yes I own a proper solder sleeve soldering gun. Not a standard heat gun. I have seen some that are quite skilled at using a small torch to do the soldering without melting the wiring insulation. Solder sleeves are used in MIL and NASA certified work.

[JDub]

Got back from our first long trip in the Magnitude and those LED lights work AMAZING!!!

We did a mad push from Crested Butte, CO to the Sand Dune, CO to Tulsa, OK in the same day and we switched out 2 drivers and those LED headlights are better than the ones on my AMG or my RS7 by far! I tried to take some pics see below - a great investment if you plan on driving your Magnitude or Omni at night for long stretches

Sorry pics are upside down for some reason

[DogLovers]

Originally Posted by JDub

Got back from our first long trip in the Magnitude and those LED lights work AMAZING!!!

We did a mad push from Crested Butte, CO to the Sand Dune, CO to Tulsa, OK in the same day and we switched out 2 drivers and those LED headlights are better than the ones on my AMG or my RS7 by far! I tried to take some pics see below - a great investment if you plan on driving your Magnitude or Omni at night for long stretches

Sorry pics are upside down for some reason

There is a way to flip the photos before they go crazy on you.