ADVmonster H4 R3 LED Headlight

[Jim21680_imp]

Wow, good catch. This thread is mislabeled, and I apparently just rolled along with it. The bulb I have is the older R2...and the version this thread is talking about is the R3, which is what a few people seemed to have purchased. To my knowledge, an R4 doesn't exist. I'm really surprised at myself for not noticing that; sorry fellas.

 

[the Ferret]

Do you need me to change the title?

 

[Jim21680_imp]

It's not my thread, but I think that would make sense. I tried to edit my older post (#2), but the time limit has passed.

 

[olekzap_imp]

Do you need me to change the title?

Looks like i mixed up "H4" and "R3" in my title. Feel free to change and sorry for the confusion.

Glad to report that my fingers have thawed out enough to type this, and I think I'll be reading the grip heater thread shortly hereafter.

For now, I'll go ahead and confirm that this new H4 is a pretty good product. I'm astonished, actually. The light is so much brighter than the stock bulb, that I don't think I could ever go back to the normal H4 again. As others have done, I'll wrap this up and tuck it somewhere under the seat for backup, but if these things have anywhere near the expected lifespan as advertised, I don't foresee the need to ever replace it. It really is neat to see how much light reflects back from stop signs and speed limit posts, etc. It's incredible that so much light can come from that little tiny diode, no larger than the O on our keyboards.

I was looking at the stock H4 lamp, and I'm beginning to see why they designed this new R3 so differently from the others. As with the stock, most common H4s have the low beam placed directly above the aforementioned reflector cup, which would seem to direct the light upwards into the bucket. For the high beam, the filament is below, which is just where they moved to secondary LED. This seems to mimic an incandescent bulb as much as possible, with the only difference being a much brighter, whiter light. It really is a phenomenal difference.

I'm a bit surprised that others have recommended to go out to an empty road and adjust for the "high" beam. I would think this would be a better time to adjust for the "low" beam, as that's what seems to matters most. Once the regular beam is adjusted properly, who cares how high the secondary beam shines; the higher and further-ahead, the better it would seem. My main concern on the low beam is to extend every courtesy to other, oncoming drivers. If the directed beam is shining no higher than the bottom of their necks, I think the low beam is adjusted quite properly. I'm still fiddling with it a bit, but I think I have it just about right, and it still gives me about 50 feet of well-lit area beyond my front wheel. I'm not sure what the previous owner did, if anything, but I've actually had to rotate the bucket oh-so-slightly upwards to achieve this.

I'll likely report again as time goes on, but for now, I am one happy, rosy-cheeked cold customer.

I'm surprised you had to rotate the headlight up, actually. I had to move mine down and it feels like it's as far down as it will go. I was trying to get the cutoff just below the back window on a Civic in my garage since they will be one of the lower cars on the road. It's pretty close but the cutoff still seems high when riding. I can see it bouncing in reflective signs when I go over bumps. Nobody has flashed me though and I've stood out in front of it at night and it's not blinding at all. Probably just the difference in the location of the light source within the bucket. It's not perfect but it's far better than stock.

Also, did you put the rubber boot back on? I forgot when I installed mine and not sure if it's worth the effort to open it back up and put it on with the LED assembly itself being waterproof.

Cool! Glad to see it worked out. I'm still thrilled with mine, the R2 version, but this R3 is a completely different design. From the looks of it, I'm guessing you didn't have to modify the retention spring like I had to, which is a huge benefit. That little modification wasn't the easiest thing to do, and although I wasn't too worried about messing up at the time...I should've been; replacements are hard to come by. The flexible heat-sink definitely has it's advantages over the bulky segmented design of the R2.

Were you able to use the rubber dust cap? I couldn't, but it doesn't seem to be necessary anyway...these things are apparently 100% dust and water proof. No problems so far.

I also noticed the R3's high-beam LED is on the bottom, whereas both of mine are on top. It'll interesting to see how that works in the weeks to come.
Anyway, I hope you have great luck with it...keep us posted.

I'm confused. I don't see an R4 version on the ADVmonster website, and their literature seems to indicate the R3 is the latest.

I'm confused. I don't see an R4 version on the ADVmonster website, and their literature seems to indicate the R3 is the latest.
I mixed up the revisions in my title. Here is the one we have ordered. Sorry about that.

AdvMonster.com is for sale | HugeDomains

 

[the Ferret]

title fixed and I went back thru and checked "quotes" and think I have them all straightened out as well, so the thread should all read "right" now.

 

[Bob Sdaman_imp]

Looks like I just took the title and ran with it too. What are we here, a bunch of mindless zombies?
And my packing slip is on a shelf right above my computer. There it is, plain as day: "Rev3"
I was able to edit my recent post, so all appears to be right in the world.

I did see that these lights are considered waterproof, but I re-used the rubber boot anyway, if for nothing else, to keep dust and water out of the bucket.
It seemed to mount right back on, just as easily as it came off, with the metal heat sinking sent through the hole. Did someone mention melting wires? I can't say for certain, but I'm very much hoping this material doesn't get "that" hot. (But now that you have me paranoid, I will absolutely be checking). Fingers crossed on that one.

As for the discussion about adjusting for the high beam, I can certainly see your reasoning now. That makes perfect sense for your needs.
I should note that my bike was purchased second-hand, so I have no idea how or if the original owner adjusted the headlamp (it did feel surprisingly loose, so there's really no dependable way to compare our two bikes). I have, however, been adjusting solely for the low-beam. Like others, I'll take some rides and see if I get blinked at.

Still feeling really happy about this light though. I'm more excited to ride at night now than I've ever been, if it weren't for this for-the-polar-bears weather.

 

[Bob Sdaman_imp]

So that question about the modulators seems to have never been sufficiently answered.

I'm not an expert (not even close), but my guess at that would be "no". From my very-limited understanding, LEDs work on a threshold voltage, meaning they're either on or off, and will accept nothing between. In a contrast to that, a filament in an incandescent bulb can function off a variable amount of current, and will glow brighter or dimmer depending on exactly that.

So with a modulator, wouldn't you possibly end up with an on/off blinking headlight, rather than the more desirable bright/dim pulsating one?

I might be completely off with this, especially with these modern dimmable LEDs, but that's at least how my tiny brain would speculate the idea.

 

[Randy B]

So that question about the modulators seems to have never been sufficiently answered.

I'm not an expert (not even close), but my guess at that would be "no". From my very-limited understanding, LEDs work on a threshold voltage, meaning they're either on or off, and will accept nothing between. In a contrast to that, a filament in an incandescent bulb can function off a variable amount of current, and will glow brighter or dimmer depending on exactly that.

So with a modulator, wouldn't you possibly end up with an on/off blinking headlight, rather than the more desirable bright/dim pulsating one?

I might be completely off with this, especially with these modern dimmable LEDs, but that's at least how my tiny brain would speculate the idea.

I have never owned a modulator, but I have seen a few on the road so here is my speculation...

I think they would work just fine because they flip between high and low beam, not on and off of the low beam.

And even if LED's are just on and off, it will still give the flashing effect that will get someone's attention and that is what people are after.

 

[Jfavole_imp]

Does anyone know of any good videos that show how to install? Just got a 2014 CB1100 (new out of the box) and found the standard headlight weaker than I'd like, particularly for back-road driving.

 

[AzBob_imp]

Just FYI, not too long ago Phillips came out with a very good LED retrofit bulb that includes the shades the original halogen bulbs have, with the LED's placed very closely to the light source in the Halogen bulbs so that they will work in almost all reflectors originally designed for halogen bulbs. Without the shades, the LED lamps are throwing light all over the road, to the side, and up. They APPEAR brighter because the light is whiter, but in reality they are scattering light all over the place, and the hotspot is often in the wrong place. One of the only downsides to these lamps is they are expensive: $270 for a pair... http://www.xenondepot.com/h4-philips-12953BWX2-LED-Bulb-p/12953bwx2.htm

 

[Jim21680_imp]

JFav, first off...welcome to the Forum! Congrats on the purchase and I hope you enjoy the CB (too bad you won't be riding anytime soon).
To install a new bulb, a video really isn't necessary. I'm pretty sure the owner's manual will give you all the direction you need, but you might not even need that.
If you decide to go with the bulb mentioned in this thread, the only tricky part you might run into is finding a location for the external driver. For me, it seemed to fit perfectly along the bottom of the light bucket, and the rest is super easy; it plugs in just like any other bulb.
Also, those lights from Philips look interesting, but AzBob is right - that price makes them a tough decision. I suppose the cost could be split with another rider, and at $140 or so, I think that's acceptable, if they work really, really great. But if I weren't happy with my current lamp, I think I'd stretch for the full LED bucket conversion that Peddlin' Slow did....I think that was about $400 bucks complete. You're not really taking any gambles with his setup...it's a well-proven system used in many applications.

As for the hotspots mentioned, I can't speak for the R3, but my R2 version honestly doesn't generate any (I posted a picture in another thread).
They certainly do occur with some other bulbs; I've seen it just by Googling around, but this one provides a nice even field.