Dane
08-19-2012, 02:35 PM
Often the Gator is used at night around people, not high speed so bright far reach lights are not needed and I wanted some lower brightness lights that would not have people shielding their eyes. Since the LED lights mounted on the roof are so superior to the headlights for night time driving I decided to convert the existing headlights instead of adding yet another set of lights. I replaced the stock 35 watt #862 lamp with 300mw LED #411 bulbs which are often used in car daytime running lights. This also gives me an option to use the Gator as a light platform for night time work. With the new headlights pulling .6amp they can be used for some time with the engine off and not fear draining the battery.
http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Lights%20Install/Headlights1.jpg
The electrical connector is identical but if you look closely you can see that the mounting flange of the #411 is slightly larger than the stock #862. I used a Dremel rotary tool to grind down the tabs on the #411's about half way and I enlarged the hole in the Gator's headlight housing.
Here you can really see the difference in color temperature and brightness between the two bulbs. The old headlight was aiming more directly at the camera but is is also considerably brighter than the LED. I would not recommend this change if the stock headlights are your only driving lights. I'll check at night but I don't think the LED's are bright enough for higher speed driving at night.
http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Lights%20Install/Headlights2.jpg
The new headlight's color almost identically matches the top mounted big lights. Now I'm just waiting for dark to see the beam pattern. I had a choice of several bulbs. There is a brighter LED available that has one powerful emitter aiming straight forward. I choose a bulb which emits most of it's light sideways (8 LEDs aimed to the side, 1 aiming forward) to use the Gator's reflector. I wanted a broader, less intense light instead of a pinpoint blinding light for anyone looking into the light.
http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Lights%20Install/Headlights3.jpg
http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Lights%20Install/Headlights1.jpg
The electrical connector is identical but if you look closely you can see that the mounting flange of the #411 is slightly larger than the stock #862. I used a Dremel rotary tool to grind down the tabs on the #411's about half way and I enlarged the hole in the Gator's headlight housing.
Here you can really see the difference in color temperature and brightness between the two bulbs. The old headlight was aiming more directly at the camera but is is also considerably brighter than the LED. I would not recommend this change if the stock headlights are your only driving lights. I'll check at night but I don't think the LED's are bright enough for higher speed driving at night.
http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Lights%20Install/Headlights2.jpg
The new headlight's color almost identically matches the top mounted big lights. Now I'm just waiting for dark to see the beam pattern. I had a choice of several bulbs. There is a brighter LED available that has one powerful emitter aiming straight forward. I choose a bulb which emits most of it's light sideways (8 LEDs aimed to the side, 1 aiming forward) to use the Gator's reflector. I wanted a broader, less intense light instead of a pinpoint blinding light for anyone looking into the light.
http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Lights%20Install/Headlights3.jpg