Bi-Xenon LED Bulb Life
08-14-2011, 07:54 AM
#1
Bi-Xenon LED Bulb Life
Hi All,
Are these LED DRL bulbs going to last? I'm talking about the OEM lights, not aftermarket ones. I've just installed the OEM Bi-Xenon headlights on my car and they look beautiful specially the DRL LEDs. Are those LED bulbs replaceable?
Are these LED DRL bulbs going to last? I'm talking about the OEM lights, not aftermarket ones. I've just installed the OEM Bi-Xenon headlights on my car and they look beautiful specially the DRL LEDs. Are those LED bulbs replaceable?
08-14-2011, 09:41 AM
#2
Federal lighting laws make it impossible to change a single LED (light emitting diode.) They must be changed as a group. The entire assembly has to be replaced. It is very expensive because Audi marks up the cost of the assembly 13 times to the retail parts counter.
Production of LED's is a part science and part art. The chips are produced in batches and then grouped into brightness and color groups to assure even illumination across the assembly. The mounting is a bit tricky to assure continued safe operation. Automotive lighting is a safety component, with little regard (on the part of government) for it's decorative nature important to the user.
The LED's have a life of greater than 20,000 hours. Early failures are caused by mechanical damage from vibration, or UV damage from the sun. These high brightness LED's need special handling of the heat generated by them. Sometimes the heat sink system is damaged and the LED dies of heat prostration.
The xenon lamp on the other hand will last about 2000 hours. After that the color temperature (4,300K) will begin to decrease and become more yellow. They should be replaced in pairs so the two lamps match for color. Lamps with higher color temperatures will have a shorter life and cast less light on the road. As the color temperature goes up more blue light is emitted. The human eye cannot see blue as well as other colors, so with less light emitted, and human eye sensitivity you put yourself at a serious disadvantage to see at night with 5,000K or greater lamps. There is also a reduced life of the metallic salts inside the capsule that produce higher Kelvin lamps. 6,000K lamps from genuine lamp manufacturers have a life of only 1,000 hours. Most of the lamps sold in aftermarket kits are either unbranded or counterfeit and will have lifetimes of about 200 hours.
People that sell "conversion kits" that pair a xenon capsule with a standard halogen base to use in cars with halogen lamps do you a disservice. No one can place a xenon light source in a reflector designed for a halogen lamp and get a correct beam pattern to illuminate the road properly. The cheap power supplies and counterfeit lamps are a waste of your money, and could be dangerous. Many halogen housings (including Audi's) are not designed with the dielectric strength required of xenon lamps. Xenon requires a 25,000 volt pulse to start the arc, and 85 volts to keep it running. Halogen housings are designed to work with 12 volts. High voltage materials are expensive and the suppliers of these kits are unable to use accepted automotive techniques for their capsules and power supplies (sometimes called "ballasts") for the cheap price.
Production of LED's is a part science and part art. The chips are produced in batches and then grouped into brightness and color groups to assure even illumination across the assembly. The mounting is a bit tricky to assure continued safe operation. Automotive lighting is a safety component, with little regard (on the part of government) for it's decorative nature important to the user.
The LED's have a life of greater than 20,000 hours. Early failures are caused by mechanical damage from vibration, or UV damage from the sun. These high brightness LED's need special handling of the heat generated by them. Sometimes the heat sink system is damaged and the LED dies of heat prostration.
The xenon lamp on the other hand will last about 2000 hours. After that the color temperature (4,300K) will begin to decrease and become more yellow. They should be replaced in pairs so the two lamps match for color. Lamps with higher color temperatures will have a shorter life and cast less light on the road. As the color temperature goes up more blue light is emitted. The human eye cannot see blue as well as other colors, so with less light emitted, and human eye sensitivity you put yourself at a serious disadvantage to see at night with 5,000K or greater lamps. There is also a reduced life of the metallic salts inside the capsule that produce higher Kelvin lamps. 6,000K lamps from genuine lamp manufacturers have a life of only 1,000 hours. Most of the lamps sold in aftermarket kits are either unbranded or counterfeit and will have lifetimes of about 200 hours.
People that sell "conversion kits" that pair a xenon capsule with a standard halogen base to use in cars with halogen lamps do you a disservice. No one can place a xenon light source in a reflector designed for a halogen lamp and get a correct beam pattern to illuminate the road properly. The cheap power supplies and counterfeit lamps are a waste of your money, and could be dangerous. Many halogen housings (including Audi's) are not designed with the dielectric strength required of xenon lamps. Xenon requires a 25,000 volt pulse to start the arc, and 85 volts to keep it running. Halogen housings are designed to work with 12 volts. High voltage materials are expensive and the suppliers of these kits are unable to use accepted automotive techniques for their capsules and power supplies (sometimes called "ballasts") for the cheap price.
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