# LED headlight bulbs with DRLs



## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

Before we tackle that, which ones are you considering putting in? There are bulbs that will give you almost no usable light (by that I mean, you'll have very poor visibility with them); there's bulbs that will spit out too much light in all the wrong directions that just aren't compatible with reflector housings (which I assume you have unless you've upgraded your headlights); then there's bulbs that claim they're made for reflector housings, but even still, typically don't give off as much light as a stock halogen bulb.

I've looked into the same thing myself and came to the conclusion that the upgrade wasn't worth it as it really isn't an upgrade. What are you personally looking to gain from the LEDs? I know for a fact most, if not all HIDs will basically be destroyed from the DRL function of the Cuze (and any car similar to the Cruze) considering the DRL runs on the high beam circuit at a pulsating voltage to give the effect that it's dimmer. With LEDs being instant on and instant off, you may see some flickering, but I doubt it would ruin the diode.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

LiveTrash said:


> Before we tackle that, which ones are you considering putting in? There are bulbs that will give you almost no usable light (by that I mean, you'll have very poor visibility with them); there's bulbs that will spit out too much light in all the wrong directions that just aren't compatible with reflector housings (which I assume you have unless you've upgraded your headlights); then there's bulbs that claim they're made for reflector housings, but even still, typically don't give off as much light as a stock halogen bulb.
> 
> I've looked into the same thing myself and came to the conclusion that the upgrade wasn't worth it as it really isn't an upgrade. What are you personally looking to gain from the LEDs? I know for a fact most, if not all HIDs will basically be destroyed from the DRL function of the Cuze (and any car similar to the Cruze) considering the DRL runs on the high beam circuit at a pulsating voltage to give the effect that it's dimmer. With LEDs being instant on and instant off, you may see some flickering, but I doubt it would ruin the diode.


Thanks for the quick response! I was considering the H13-HLV4 LEDs from SuperBrightLeds.com. The reason these bulbs stood out to me was the fact that the positioning of the diodes mimics those of the H13 halogen bulb itself. I also understand that the efficacy and beam pattern produced by an LED headlight bulb is entirely dependent on the reflector housing in some cases; as I’ve heard of instances in which some LEDs work great in some reflector housings and horrendously in others. The bulbs I’m looking into also have an adjustable collar so that the diodes can be rotated, I know this is required in most cases in order to achieve the correct beam pattern. The main reasons I’m looking into an LED upgrade in my stock reflector housings is for a higher luminous output and also for the kelvin rating of the light output - I think it looks a lot nicer than the 3200k - 4200k most halogens produce. That being said, I don’t want to run into issues where I’ll either be blinding other drivers on the road due to a poorly aimed beam pattern and I also don’t want to effectively decrease the luminous output of my headlights. I know for a fact that the Cruze, given it’s modulated DRL voltage would either need a resistor or a warning cancellor in order to work properly, I believe these run the DRLs at full low beam voltage instead. I’ve seen a few other Cruzes either with LEDs or HIDs and it appeared to me that the DRLs were functional, but I could be wrong - they could have simply been the low beams. I’ve also read up on other threads on this forum of people who’ve done LED conversions and seemed to have luck with cheaper bulbs off Amazon, even with the DRL function. I’m just looking for a little more clarity on the issue because not much is said on the matter of the DRLs.

Anyways, here’s the link to the bulbs I was considering - https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...s-conversion-kit-with-compact-heat-sink/3926/


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

A lot of leds are actually pretty good at replicating halogen bulbs. There are some bad ones though.

The real issue is reflectors are just really bad. They suck at projecting light. If you increase brightness, you increase glare, there is no way around it. Doesn't matter if it's LED or a super bright halogen. Which is something I wish more people understood.

As for the flickering issue. Depends how they have it set up... What driver they use... Etc. It doesn't take a very big capacitor to pretty much remove this issue.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

Snipesy said:


> A lot of leds are actually pretty good at replicating halogen bulbs. There are some bad ones though.
> 
> The real issue is reflectors are just really bad. They suck at projecting light. If you increase brightness, you increase glare, there is no way around it. Doesn't matter if it's LED or a super bright halogen. Which is something I wish more people understood.
> 
> As for the flickering issue. Depends how they have it set up... What driver they use... Etc. It doesn't take a very big capacitor to pretty much remove this issue.


You’re absolutely right, reflector housings certainly aren’t great. It’s funny looking at the cut-off of a projector housing compared to a reflector housing, the difference is unbelievable. I do a lot of driving on dark country roads and always thought the headlights in the Cruze were a little bit sub-par, so I thought I would look for alternatives. I’ve tried the Sylvania SilverStar ZXE’s and they’re certainly a vast improvement over the stock Sylvania bulbs. However, I’m trying to find an alternative that’ll give me the best light output possible without having to swap out the housings with aftermarket projector housings; I like the look of the stock housings. Nonetheless, thanks for informing me on some of the other issues I hadn’t taken into account.


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## carid (Jul 20, 2011)

Hey Matt, let me tell you something about that DRL function and LEDs. All manufacturers of the LED upgrade kits warn, that if you install the LEDs, you will have to turn off the DRL function. That's what they say - 
If your vehicle’s headlight bulbs have a DRL function, please ensure you turn the DRL function off and only use the headlights in the "on" position.
Here is an example of the LED conversion kit we carry, and you may want to check it out for better explanation.


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## InsideMan (Sep 23, 2017)

I'm currently running the new Op7's that are supposed to be designed to give no hotspots however, there horrible. I wanted my DRL's, fogs and headlights to match but the cost of light quality on the road in front of me isn't worth it in my opinion. The hotspots are so bad it even looks horrible to look at the headlight when the lights are on. Very blotchy. Can't wait till one burns out so I can switch over to HID's.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

InsideMan said:


> I'm currently running the new Op7's that are supposed to be designed to give no hotspots however, there horrible. I wanted my DRL's, fogs and headlights to match but the cost of light quality on the road in front of me isn't worth it in my opinion. The hotspots are so bad it even looks horrible to look at the headlight when the lights are on. Very blotchy. Can't wait till one burns out so I can switch over to HID's.


I was considering the Opt7 or JDM ASTAR LEDs but went with a set of LEDs from Auxbeam because they were cheap and there were a few positive reviews for them from people with Gen 1 Cruzes, so I bought a set and I’m going to try them out. If they don’t produce a good beam pattern, I’ll switch back to the halogens and it won’t be much money, time or effort lost. I’ll post an update along with some pictures on this thread when I receive them and get them installed.


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## Cruzen18 (Jan 28, 2018)

Matt, don't know which Auxbeams you got, but I put F16s and FS3s in daughters car and could not be happier. Great cutoff too!


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

carid said:


> Hey Matt, let me tell you something about that DRL function and LEDs. All manufacturers of the LED upgrade kits warn, that if you install the LEDs, you will have to turn off the DRL function. That's what they say -
> If your vehicle’s headlight bulbs have a DRL function, please ensure you turn the DRL function off and only use the headlights in the "on" position.
> Here is an example of the LED conversion kit we carry, and you may want to check it out for better explanation.


I would gladly disable my DRLs but here in Canada we can’t, since the law mandates that all cars must be fitted with DRLs. My Cruze is a manual transmission so as long as my handbrake is released, my DRLs are on. So in my case, they can’t be disabled unless I could possibly reprogram the BCM to disable the DRLs.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

Cruzen18 said:


> Matt, don't know which Auxbeams you got, but I put F16s and FS3s in daughters car and could not be happier. Great cutoff too!


I picked up a set of Auxbeam F-S2s on Amazon for 30 bucks, which I believe are the same as the FS-3s. I thought it was a pretty good deal and there were generally pretty good reviews so I figured I’ll give them a shot!


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

MattJensen said:


> I picked up a set of Auxbeam F-S2s on Amazon for 30 bucks, which I believe are the same as the FS-3s. I thought it was a pretty good deal and there were generally pretty good reviews so I figured I’ll give them a shot!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Just a quick update:

I got the Auxbeam bulbs installed tonight and I’m all in all pretty impressed with their performance for the price. The bulbs themselves are excellent quality, produce nice 6500k light, work just fine with the DRL function in the Cruze, and the fans are quiet and don’t cause radio interference like some do. I might need to tinker with the beam pattern adjustment as I have the drive-side bulb adjusted a little bit too low, but otherwise they are super bright and light the road up nicely. They don’t seem to blind oncoming traffic, I made sure they weren’t aligned too high and I didn’t have one person flash their high beams at me on my drive home (on very dark country roads). The high beams aren’t as effective as I would have liked but they aren’t bad either, like I said I still need to tinker with the beam pattern so that may resolve that issue. The low beams are excellent as well, and for the price I don’t think you can go wrong. I’ll attach pictures when I get the chance.


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## Cruzen18 (Jan 28, 2018)

MattJensen said:


> Just a quick update:
> 
> I got the Auxbeam bulbs installed tonight and I’m all in all pretty impressed with their performance for the price. The bulbs themselves are excellent quality, produce nice 6500k light, work just fine with the DRL function in the Cruze, and the fans are quiet and don’t cause radio interference like some do. I might need to tinker with the beam pattern adjustment as I have the drive-side bulb adjusted a little bit too low, but otherwise they are super bright and light the road up nicely. They don’t seem to blind oncoming traffic, I made sure they weren’t aligned too high and I didn’t have one person flash their high beams at me on my drive home (on very dark country roads). The high beams aren’t as effective as I would have liked but they aren’t bad either, like I said I still need to tinker with the beam pattern so that may resolve that issue. The low beams are excellent as well, and for the price I don’t think you can go wrong. I’ll attach pictures when I get the chance.
> 
> ...




Nice! Yeah, I really like their stuff. Let us see them when you get a chance.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

I’ll add some night shots as soon as I can

























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## Cruzen18 (Jan 28, 2018)

Lookin' good, even in late afternoon/early evening light. Once it gets dark you will really see the difference from oem.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

MattJensen said:


> I’ll add some night shots as soon as I can
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Added a few night shots, sorry the picture quality isn’t great - they were taken on my phone. 





























































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## Cruzen18 (Jan 28, 2018)

Much better! Enjoy the increased visibility!


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## MB2014LT2 (Feb 23, 2015)

Are these plug and play...??? Or do I need the conversion kit too...???


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

MB2014LT2 said:


> Are these plug and play...??? Or do I need the conversion kit too...???


Completely plug and play, they come in a set of two and go into the stock reflector housings without any issues at all. No need for warning cancelers or load resistors either, they seem to work flawlessly with the modulated voltage for the DRLs. The base is also adjustable so you can achieve the desired beam pattern.


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## MB2014LT2 (Feb 23, 2015)

MattJensen said:


> Completely plug and play, they come in a set of two and go into the stock reflector housings without any issues at all. No need for warning cancelers or load resistors either, they seem to work flawlessly with the modulated voltage for the DRLs. The base is also adjustable so you can achieve the desired beam pattern.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Are these the ones you bought...??? Thanks. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KFBPBC...3b1-bc98-1ae8cb4cfe1f&hsa_cr_id=5711103590301


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## AutumnCruzeRS (Sep 10, 2012)

Did you by chance do the headlight harness upgrade? There is a how-to on here for that and it will give you constant battery voltage to your bulbs even when DRLs are on. It uses a relay that switches on and off the battery voltage.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

MB2014LT2 said:


> Are these the ones you bought...??? Thanks.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KFBPBC...3b1-bc98-1ae8cb4cfe1f&hsa_cr_id=5711103590301


Yeah, those are the same ones. But as an H13 bulb as that’s what the Gen 1 Cruzes use.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

AutumnCruzeRS said:


> Did you by chance do the headlight harness upgrade? There is a how-to on here for that and it will give you constant battery voltage to your bulbs even when DRLs are on. It uses a relay that switches on and off the battery voltage.


I would have ended up doing that if I had an issue with the DRLs flickering. But with these bulbs, there was no need to do a harness upgrade because DRLs function without any issues. They’re completely plug and play.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

MB2014LT2 said:


> Are these plug and play...??? Or do I need the conversion kit too...???


This is all there is to it, connects directly to the stock harness.










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## AutumnCruzeRS (Sep 10, 2012)

Are these LEDs good to use without a projector housing?


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

AutumnCruzeRS said:


> Are these LEDs good to use without a projector housing?


They seem to be, they’re not blinding from a distance and produce a pretty good beam pattern. The light output is good too!


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## Cruzen18 (Jan 28, 2018)

Couldn't wait. Weather is supposed to be crappy tomorrow, so tonight I changed out the fogs with a set of Auxbeam F16s that I had and...SHE'S ALIVE! (In my best monster movie voice. haha!) Cutoff is nice, although is does give off the angry eyebrow look. Can't wait for the headlight bulbs to arrive next week.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

That's a borderline acceptable cutoff line. Is there something you can do to the "eyebrows"?


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

Here a couple more shots of the cutoff on my 2014 Eco after a few minor adjustments to the driver-side bulb orientation.


















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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

Cruzen18 said:


> Couldn't wait. Weather is supposed to be crappy tomorrow, so tonight I changed out the fogs with a set of Auxbeam F16s that I had and...SHE'S ALIVE! (In my best monster movie voice. haha!) Cutoff is nice, although is does give off the angry eyebrow look. Can't wait for the headlight bulbs to arrive next week.


They look really nice, and the cutoff doesn’t look too bad either. Love the Gen 2 Cruze!


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## Cruzen18 (Jan 28, 2018)

All you did was adjust the drivers side? Whatever it was, it works! The beam pattern looks so much better in the bottom picture.


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## MattJensen (Oct 24, 2017)

Cruzen18 said:


> All you did was adjust the drivers side? Whatever it was, it works! The beam pattern looks so much better in the bottom picture.


Yeah, when I initially adjusted the bulbs, one wasn’t aligned the same way as the other so I was getting a slightly uneven beam pattern - the driver-side bulb was aiming the light a little too low. So I adjusted it and made sure it was oriented the same as the passenger-side bulb, and I have a nice even beam pattern now which produces pretty impressive down-road light! The cutoff is good too, as I made sure it would be as mimetic of the halogen bulb as possible.


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