Review: Auxbeam "Starlight Flow" 7" LED headlights

[jscherb]

I wasn't going to post this review in this forum because these lights have DRL and turn signal halos - halo lights aren't how most people outfit serious expedition/overland rigs, but without those functions enabled, the projector design and high lumen output of these headlights may make them an option for expedition rigs.

Auxbeam just introduced this new set of 7" LED headlights and they're calling "Starlight Flow" lights. They say these are rated at 8000 lumens per pair in low beam and 16,000 lumens per pair in high beam, which is quite a bit higher than the Wrangler's factory headlights - an average halogen sealed beam headlight bulb (TJ) or H13 bulb (JK) has up to about 1000 lumens in low beam and 1200 lumens in high beam. The lights have aluminum housings and polycarbonate lenses (the JK Wrangler's factory headlight lenses are polycarbonate). They are DOT and SAE approved.

They sent me a pair just before the holidays to test in advance of their release.



The contents of the box includes two headlights and adapters for H13 plugs - the H13 adapters are for a JK. The plug on the headlight is a standard 3-pin H4 sealed beam plug which will fit a TJ. Also included are wire and suitcase connectors to connect the DRLs and turn signal halos, instructions, a large Auxbeam decal and gloves with rubber grips to help with installation.



An Auxbeam promotional image:



As a first test, I installed one in a TJ grille in the workshop to compare it to the stock sealed beam.



I powered both the LED and the sealed beam and my first impression is that the LED is a lot brighter than the sealed beam but I'll have to get it out on the road to verify that it improves visibility.

The headlight has a standard H4 plug on the back on a short cable sticking out of the headlight which matches the prongs on a sealed beam so the TJ's headlight plug will connect directly to it. The kit also includes a pair of H4-H13 adapters to use these headlights in a JK Wrangler. There are two extra spade connectors on the headlight cable, the white one is to illuminate the DRL (Daytime Running Light) halo function and the yellow one is for the turn signal halo. The DRL halo light is white and the turn signal halo is amber.



Next, using clip leads and a power supply I tested all of the functions of the light.

In this next photo, both headlights are illuminated in low beam. The LED side is deceptive in this view because it's a got a projector-style lens and unlike the sealed beam at right, not much light is wasted out the sides.



And both in high beam:



DRL halo:



Turn signal halo:



In this video I first applied power to the DRL, then the low beam, and finally put power alternately to the turn signal halo. The initial power up of the DRLs results in some animation.


As you can see in the video, when the turn signal is illuminated, the DRL turns off, and when the power is removed from the turn signal, the DRL lights back up.

Continued in the next post...

 

[jscherb]

Installing them in a Jeep...

The tests above were done with clip leads and a benchtop power supply. To install these in the Jeep, Auxbeam has supplied a number of suitcase connectors and wire leads. The suitcase connectors clamp onto an existing wire, penetrating the insulation and completing a circuit to the wire to be tapped into the existing wire.



For the turn signals, a wire from each headlight will need to go to the wire for the turn signals on that side of the Jeep, and the connection to the turn signal wire will be made by crimping the suitcase conenctor over both the turn signal wire in the Jeep and the turn signal wire from the headlight. Auxbeam has supplied extra wire for that purpose.

The DRL function can be wired in several different ways. If you want to control when the DRLs are on or off, you can connect them to power through a toggle switch and this can be either switched or unswitched depending on whether you want to be able to turn the DRLs on when the Jeep isn't running. If you want the DRLs to be on automatically whenever the Jeep is running, connect them directly to a switched circuit, such as the one that powers the radio.

Next I pulled the grille off the JKU to access the headlights, removed one of the factory housings and plugged the new LED in. I did this to verify that the headlight doesn't have a problem with being in a CAN Bus vehicle because some LED headlights have been known to flicker in CAN Bus vehicles. These work fine - just constant steady light. Some LEDs, such as the H13 LEDs bulbs I currently have in the JKU, come with a CAN Bus driver to eliminate flicker but these must have built-in circuitry to eliminate the possibility of flicker.



I didn't do a demo video in the JK because Auxbeam did one:


They also did an instruction video showing how to to the installation including details on how to wire the halo functions in a JK:


Since the housings and plugs are a direct swap for 7" sealed beams, these lights should work in most vehicles that have sealed beam headlights so I decided for the nighttime road test I would install one of the new LEDs in my '06 Wrangler pickup to compare the left and right sides on the road. I installed the new LED on the driver's side for the nighttime test:



With the lights aimed at the garage door I took these next photos to compare the lights in daylight. The left photo is low beam, the right is high and on both photos the left headlight is the new LED and the right headlight is the factory sealed beam. The LED is much brighter.



The instructions that come with the headlights explain how to wire both the DRL and turn signal functions for the JK/JKU but they don't cover wiring in the TJ so I did some experimenting. It turns out that the halo turn signals are compatible with the TJ's floating ground front turn signal wiring as long as there is power to the DRL halos. Operation of the turn signals is shown in this next video... I did a close up to show the wiring - notice a pin sticking in the white wire/green trace in the front fender marker light/turn signal plug - for this demo that "pin tap" is connected to the yellow wire on the headlight with a clip lead, and the white wire on the headlight (DRL) is connected directly to the battery with a clip lead. You can see that the DRL and turn signal functions work fine with the headlights on or off.


So to wire the turn signal function in a TJ, connect the yellow lead of each headlight to the turn signal wire for that side front fender, and connect the white lead (DRL) to a switched power source (the radio fuse in the fuse panel is probably a good choice) so the DRLs are lit whenever the Jeep is running. In my '06, the correct wire for the left turn signal is white with a light green trace and on the right it's white with a tan trace but different year TJs will have different colors for these wires.

After dark I did a quick drive around town to see how the extra brightness translated into extra visibility. These lights offer a significant improvement in nighttime visibility. The beams seem well-focused on the road, and no oncoming drivers flashed their lights at me to indicate that the lights were bothering them - the vertical cutoff of the beam is very well defined and below other driver's eyes. The new LED is only on the driver's side, the stock sealed beam is on the passenger side so things would be even brighter with these LEDs installed in both sides. This is low beam:



If you're not a fan of the DRL or turn signal halos, these lights may still be worth considering - the improvement in nighttime visibility from the projector headlights is excellent and you don't have to connect the halo functions if you don't want to use them.

The lights are now on the Auxbeam web site: https://auxbeam.com/products/7-inch-135w-dot-approved-led-headlights-with-drl-turn-signal

Since the theme of my pickup is "retro" - I designed the truck to be what the factory would have done if they were to build a modern version of the classic Willys pickup so the tech look of these lights isn't right my truck but I'm sure lots of Wrangler people will go for this look. I'll put these lights aside until I find an appropriate home for them.