Carlamp
Лампочка для авто H3 Carlamp LED Smart Vision 8000lm 9-16V 30W 6500K комплект 2шт
30 Вт · 6500 K · 9–16 В
UAH 2,033In stock
Step 1. Identify the base
The base type is given in the owner’s manual, on the halogen bulb itself and in online bulb finders by make and year.
| Base | Where it is fitted | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| H4 | Dipped and main beam in one bulb | A halogen bulb has two filaments, an LED one two blocks of LEDs; the most demanding in terms of geometry |
| H7 | Dipped or main beam in separate headlights, most European cars of the 2000s | The most popular; many variants of the retaining clip — check the adapters |
| H1 | Main beam, fog lights, older projector headlights | A slim base, little room for a heat sink in the headlight |
| H11 / H8 / H9 | Dipped beam and fog lights on Japanese, Korean and American cars | One base with a twist-lock mount |
| HB3 (9005) | Main beam | American standard |
| HB4 (9006) | Dipped beam and fog lights | Similar to HB3, but not interchangeable |
| H3 | Fog lights | A base with a wire lead |
Step 2. Projector or reflector
The optics decide whether an LED will work at all. A round lens 5–8 cm across behind the glass means a projector (lens) headlight; a mirrored bowl with a faceted surface means a reflector headlight.
A projector forms the cut-off line with a shield inside the module and forgives inaccuracies in the light source: almost any good LED bulb will give a sharp cut-off in it. This is the safest replacement.
A reflector is designed for a filament 4–5 mm long at a precisely defined point. An LED bulb has to replicate it: LEDs up to 1 mm in size in a row on two opposite sides of a thin board, exactly at the height of the filament. Wide LEDs or three or four emitting sides scatter light upwards and blur the cut-off: you can see well, oncoming drivers are dazzled. You need bulbs marked as reflector-compatible, with a board that can be rotated by a few degrees.
Step 3. Real lumens and colour
The 10 000, 20 000 and even 40 000 lm on the packaging are a theoretical total for a pair of bulbs without losses. A halogen H7 gives about 1 500 lm, a good LED bulb 1 800–2 500 lm of real flux at 25–35 W: noticeably brighter, while the headlight stays controllable. Bulbs claimed at 60–80 W overheat in a closed headlight and degrade within a few months.
Colour — 5500–6000 K: clean white, road markings read well. Do not take 6500 K and above: in rain and fog bluish light reflects off the droplets and worsens visibility. 4300 K looks like a good halogen and is the least tiring.
Step 4. Cooling
LEDs do not like temperatures above 85 °C, and in summer a headlight can reach 60 °C before it is even switched on. A fan is compact and cools well, but it wears out and can be audible in silence. A passive heat sink or copper “braids” are silent and last for ever, but they are bulkier.
Measure the distance from the base to the rear cover of the headlight. If the cover will not close, there are extended rubber covers — they keep the headlight sealed.
Step 5. CAN bus and cancellers
Most cars made after 2005 monitor their bulbs by current. An LED draws a third of the current of a halogen bulb, and the on-board computer decides the bulb has blown: an error on the dashboard, flickering, or the bulb does not switch on.
- A bulb with a built-in CAN bus decoder: the driver simulates the load. Enough for most cars with lenient monitoring.
- An external canceller — a load resistor or a decoder spliced into the wire. Needed by “strict” systems: VAG, BMW, Mercedes, Ford after 2010.
Load resistors heat up to 100 °C — fix them to metal, away from plastic and wiring. If in doubt, send us the make, model and year, and we will tell you whether a canceller is needed.
Legality and safety
The UNECE regulations under which headlights are certified do not provide for an LED bulb in a headlight designed for halogen. Only a few models have been officially approved, for specific cars, in some EU countries. In Ukraine such a replacement is formally not certified, and the driver is responsible for making sure the headlights do not dazzle others.
In practice:
- LED — first of all in projector headlights; in reflector headlights only a proven compatible bulb.
- After the replacement — headlight alignment on a test stand, or at least against a wall from 5 m.
- If the cut-off is blurred — go back to halogen or have the headlight converted to a Bi-LED projector at a car service station, with resealing.
- In fog lights LEDs can be fitted with fewer reservations: they shine low and wide.
Checklist
- The base — from the manual, not “by eye”.
- Projector — almost any good bulb; reflector — only compact LEDs on two sides, with adjustment.
- 1 800–2 500 lm of real flux per bulb, 5500–6000 K, 25–35 W.
- Space for cooling measured, the headlight cover closes.
- A canceller if the car monitors its bulbs.
- Headlight alignment after fitting.
