Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

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Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby doczombie on Thu Nov 23, 2017 6:58 pm

Hi Everyone,

Been lurking here awhile, and couldn't find many reviews of these before taking the (relatively expensive) plunge.

First things first, I'm in no way associated with the reseller or the manufacturer of these, I paid dollarydoos to get them.

Second things second: the legality of these is a bit questionable. The reseller claims that they are ADR compliant and legal in every state in Australia, but I've read other documentation that suggests unless the vehicle came with an LED option as standard equipment (to my knowledge, the ML didn't), then you cannot fit LED globes. I am not a lawyer, given it seemed unclear in any case I figured my own risk v reward and thought it worthwhile. Everyone that owns a car is an adult and can make their own decisions.

Anyway, on with the review. I happened to be back home in QLD at a couple of weekends ago, and dad mentioned having found some LED headlight globes for his truck. They seemed pretty cool, but he hadn't fitted them yet. The reseller on ebay was very accomodating and had sent him along a couple of CANBUS modules free of charge as he had some concerns about voltage differences on his very favourite toy causing electrical problems - the modules should not be required according to the reseller or my own experience thus far. Dad didn't end up fitting his.

Anyway, two weeks later and one of my headlights doesn't come on low beam, so I bit the bullet and grabbed a set of these, for $130 delivered from https://www.ebay.com.au/usr/jtxlighting. They've got a real address in VIC as well, and postage was incredibly quick - I ordered at about 6pm one afternoon and they were in my letterbox when I got home from work the next day.

If you just want all the pictures of the install: https://imgur.com/a/n34It

The box: https://i.imgur.com/A8wgZMh.jpg

So, remove the old bulbs as normal. If you haven't done that before, when all else fails, brute force usually works. The plastic clip at the back should just pull straight off with a bit of wiggling. Once that's done, the rubber seal should pop off (there's a pull tab to help with this), and then unclip the little metal clip holding the headlight itself in place, then it should pull straight out using the electrical connectors on the back.

Now, the major problem I had with these lights is they have quite a large heatsink on the back, making them more difficult than regular bulbs to fit. Fortunately (?) for me, age and poor quality control meant that one of my rubber seals already had a bit of a split, so I could work the new bulb in through that. The heatsink then sits on the other side of the rubber seal (where a normal bulb would just have the electrical connector poking through). This is useful, as twisting the heatsink (on the H4 model) rotates the bulb inside, leaving the physical mount as is. This allows adjustment of the bulb to achieve the best results with your reflector, as the bulbs have two thick metal strips running down the sides - this is one of the reasons I'm of two minds on the legality still.
Bulb inside grommet: https://i.imgur.com/dn43XYm.jpg, https://i.imgur.com/62Mo6rJ.jpg

Here it is installed from the front: https://i.imgur.com/wZ7SKXE.jpg

Here it is installed inside the engine bay. Please note, getting this back in is an utter, utter bastard. You've got to get the bulb lined up with the corresponding slots for the 3 metal tabs, and work the metal clip back down to latch the bulb in place, all at the same time, with not a lot of room. The heatsink is also quite sharp - not sharp enough to cut, but definitely sharp enough you'll get that 'I played with lego too much today' feeling by the time you've worked it in and adjusted the rotation to match your reflectors best.
https://i.imgur.com/cq7sffm.jpg

So, a note on that horizontal rotation. Here it is just after install, before I adjusted it (the other light is still the old working bulb): https://i.imgur.com/VtS7IJU.jpg

With just horizontal rotation adjustment, I got it looking like this (didn't think to take it from the same angle, just accept it was better :) ): https://i.imgur.com/L3OasHj.jpg

Can't stop there, so I pulled the other bulb out with its (up until now) intact rubber seal. Preferring to choose where the destruction happened that waiting for the inevitable tear, I cut a matching line in the side of the seal, like so: https://i.imgur.com/RC7auz7.jpg

Burning through patience and fingers again, I got this bulb installed. This side was worse, there's more shit hanging out over near the batteries, and I tapped into the connector a while back to use as the high beam sensor for the other set of rather bright LED's hanging on the front of my ute..
https://i.imgur.com/Za96YTH.jpg

Now with both bulbs of the same type, it was looking a lot more even: https://i.imgur.com/I0gHC11.jpg
They still looked a bit high to me - I didn't have time to do a full adjustment, so I fiddled with the horizontal screw until they were lower. How much lower? A bit - I really wasn't taking measurements, just kinda eyeballed that one.

I don't know of anywhere around Melbourne I can go without pissing off someone with the lights, but if someone points me in the right direction I'll head out and get some proper photos of the differences sometime soon.

Early takeaway, short of a full trial out in the bush somewhere? They seem very solidly constructed. The heatsink I was bitching about is quite heavy, which is usually a good sign, and they claim an IP67 waterproofing rating. The install is a bit of a pain, but didn't take more than about an hour or two, all things considered, so relatively easy as well - I would have preferred if they had a more normal shape, but to accomplish that, you'd need to look at some kind of remote heatsink, which would lose a lot of efficiency, if it were even possible - at that point, you'd be better off just replacing the whole assembly. My only suggestion to the ether would be a removable heatsink, so you could at least fit the bulb as normal, then the rubber seal, then attach the headsink on the other side.

They are also much brighter than the bulbs I had in before, which were Phillips X-tremeVision Plus +130%, which were themselves better than stock - if you're tired of not being able to see anything at all when night driving without having to flip the high beams on, I'd recommend giving these a try.
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby NowForThe5th on Thu Nov 23, 2017 9:29 pm

Nice post but, mate, having to click every link to see the image has hairs on it. Tried to fix but Imgur doesn't always play nice. Suggest you use imgHOSTR (link at bottom of this page) instead.

As for whether those LEDs are any good, they're not.

Just looking at your wall shot the light is a barely formed blob with a tail and, even in daylight, I can see masses of glare above the cutoff line. Even if the bulb could be reseated I doubt it will get much better. Aiming them further down disadvantages you, as the driver, but doesn't solve the glare problem.

Sorry to say but those things are a fail. That's not your fault, the technology simply hasn't and maybe never will, come up with a PnP solution that works. It just isn't possible to get a square LED that emits light over maybe 120deg to substitute successfully for the cylindrical shaped filament that the lights were designed for.

And your seal modifications? It's hard to say whether the light will fill up with dust or water first. Probably doesn't matter - those scotchlocks will likely fail first anyway.

Do yourself, and everyone else on the road a favour. return them or chuck them in the bin.

If you really feel that you want better lights then get a projector retrofit. You'll have more light on the road and won't be inflicting mass retina burn on other road users.
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby doczombie on Fri Nov 24, 2017 4:09 pm

I get your point. I'm withholding final judgement until I actually have a chance to use them on the road at night, but it seemingly never gets dark in VIC. The photos were before a lot of the adjustment, they were a lot better after only minor adjustments and I'm going to align them properly when I get a chance. Not giving up on them just yet.

Yeah, it pained me to have to cut into the rubber... on the one that wasn't already buggered. The buggered one already has a bit of sand in the bottom from the last trip to fraser. Shit happens, I'll see how they go and figure out a better way to seal it if its a problem.

Re. the projector lights - I would argue those are worse - I've seen them in action, and they give out a shitty light after the CCFL's get a little older and everyone I know that's installed them has had reliability issues.

Image hosting: that's why I put a link for the full album if you just want to scroll through. CBF making another img hosting account. It'd be nice if the forum rendered the image tag without using the full image size, think later versions of phpbb do that by default, not sure what version the site is running.
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby NowForThe5th on Mon Nov 27, 2017 8:36 am

doczombie wrote:Re. the projector lights - I would argue those are worse - I've seen them in action, and they give out a shitty light after the CCFL's get a little older and everyone I know that's installed them has had reliability issues.


If you buy shitty lights like the Angel Eyes type then, yes you'll get crappy CCFLs and projectors that are worse than the factory lights. But not all projectors are created equal. There are some which are designed for HID bulbs and there are differences between them that allow you to choose a projector that suits your driving needs. You can choose between HID and LED projectors (although the good LED ones are still a bit expensive) and they can be retrofitted into your existing headlights. Good quality components and professional installation rarely results in reliability issues.
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby gartam on Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:06 pm

This is what my LED head lights look like.

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/garta ... t.jpg.html]Click to view larger picture[/URL]
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby NowForThe5th on Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:13 am

Photobucket doesn't work, gartam.

I managed to open that link, eventually, and it's a nice road shot, but doesn't show what a wall shot would, in terms of light above the cutoff line.

This is what I see, 35W HID in bi-xenon projectors. Notice the clean, sharp cutoff which means no glare.
SAM_1937_v1.JPG
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Headlight replacement kit LED

Postby Geralt of Rivia on Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:17 am

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and only just got my Triton (a car i've always wanted), however i notice one of the headlights (bulb) has gone. I tried searching on the this site and didn't see anything on the LED conversion kits. If I have missed or over looked and this topic has been posted before, apologies and please provide me with a link and I will check it out.

Are these worth it and it says "easy self install" are they easy to install?
https://www.tyrant4x4.com.au/shop/brand ... rsion-kit/

Is LED kit worth it or just replace the existing bulb....
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby NowForThe5th on Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:39 am

Moved to this thread because, regardless of the brand and the ridiculous claims that are made, no LED replacement bulbs come anywhere close to either being legal or even producing glare less than is likely to give retina burn to any other road user within sight.

As I've said before, a square, surface mounted LED that has, at best a light radiation of 120 degrees simply cannot duplicate the cylindrical shape of a tungsten filament, for which most reflector headlights are designed. As far as H4, and other dual filament bulbs are concerned, it is physically impossible to duplicate the placement of the second filament in relation to the first, so you end up with some really ridiculous beam patterns which are hardly conducive to being able to see better at night.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-LED, per se; in fact with my last order of a hundred or so HID bulbs I asked the factory to supply some LEDs that they've been anxious for me to try. Even in a high beam application the results were awful, and these are "state of the art" LEDs. It is possible for LEDs to produce quite good light and compliant beam patterns, but the whole headlight, reflector or projector, needs to be designed for the LED output.

There are some awesome Koito projectors which use LED and prove that the technology has a lot of potential, but the kind of crap sold in the aftermarket isn't worth its weight in scrap.
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Re: Headlight replacement kit LED

Postby Merts on Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:44 am

Geralt of Rivia wrote:Are these worth it and it says "easy self install" are they easy to install?
https://www.tyrant4x4.com.au/shop/brand ... rsion-kit/

Is LED kit worth it or just replace the existing bulb....


I suggest you read 5th's comments above.

Fitting aftermarket LEDs into your factory reflector housing is a bad idea, and you WILL produce unacceptable levels of glare for other road users. Doing this is not only pointless (you won't get good results), it's also selfish.

If you want improved lights, can I suggest just fitting some of the higher output halogen bulbs, like the Philips +130s, which will be a noticeable improvement, whilst still working correctly in the reflector housing.
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby Merts on Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:46 am

You beat me to it Chris. :)
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby Bitsamissing on Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:23 pm

This is a bit of a can of worms but...

If you're not happy with the light output from your headlights, it really is important before you do anything else, to confirm that the existing bulbs are getting as close as possible to the full battery voltage.

You need to measure the voltage with a digital multimeter. With the engine running, and the headlights on, measure the voltage directly across the battery terminals, and then directly across the headlight terminals (without disconnecting them) (I know that is usually difficult). If there is more than about 1.0 volt * difference, you may have a wiring (or switch or relay) issue. You can measure from the positive battery terminal to the positive headlight terminal and from the negative battery terminal to the negative headlight terminal to get an idea on which side the fault may lie.

Putting in higher wattage bulbs in when there is excessive voltage drop will only worsen the problem, resulting in unsatisfactory performance from the new bulbs, and possibly overheating and burn-out at the fault location.

This page discusses the issue found and fixed with a motorbike, but the principles apply equally well to cars:
http://skene.org/K1200RS/headlight-wiring/index.htm

* Ideally you'd like to see much less than a 1.0 volt difference... but my near-new MQ has a difference of about 0.95V ! - almost evenly distributed between the + and - sides, indicating that too-thin wire is likely the biggest issue.
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby Merts on Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:55 pm

Bitsamissing wrote:Putting in higher wattage bulbs in when there is excessive voltage drop will only worsen the problem, resulting in unsatisfactory performance from the new bulbs, and possibly overheating and burn-out at the fault location.


Whilst that's true, the bulbs I was talking about are the same wattage as the factory ones. They just have a higher light output (and lower lifespan).
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby BIGJEZ on Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:57 pm

Okay fellas so we have established that plssibly LEDs arent up to snuff just yet.. Im not sure what you do for a living but if your ordering 100 HIDs at a time i figure its probably automotive. So based on that this question is for you... What do you think of the Morimoto mini projectors as a retrofit for an MQ triton? And is it even a viable alternative in your opinion? I ask because i am not happy with the performance of my headlights. Was in the bush this past weekend and compared to the other vehicles that were with me i was driving in the dark. They all had either projector hid or projector led headlights. Brilliant white lights. In their vehicles it was like driving during the day..
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby NowForThe5th on Sun Jun 10, 2018 1:14 pm

Yes, automotive paint repair and projector retrofits. Which is as much as I'm allowed to say without getting into strife for advertising.

Morimoto have had some good products, and a few shockers. The mini H1 is not a bad little projector, albeit carrying a few mechanical issues that can be fixed, but shouldn't have to be. The Mini D2S, in its latest iteration is much better. That said, choosing the right projector is very much a case of matching performance to needs. Some projectors excel at width, others have longer range, some have better low beam while others are better at high beam. There is only one, that I know of, that ticks the boxes in almost every category and it isn't made for right hand drive. :( So good though that I'm considering converting LHD units.

Unless you really know projectors it's a bit of a minefield to try to choose the right one. In my vehicle I run a superceded model that is particularly strong in low beam and width. Nothing exciting in the high beam department but this doesn't matter since I have separate high beams (Gen 4 Pajero) and the highs from the projectors give me instant longer range until the highs reach full output. Coupled with halogen driving lights this is a combination that is very well suited to my needs - but may not suit someone else. In your case, I'm assuming GLX with halogens lights, the difference will be quite astounding.

Width, for example, can play an important role in not just lighting up the sides of the road. I recall having a passenger on a night run through some very mountainous country and his remark that he'd never before been in a vehicle where you could see around the hairpin bends before you got to them.

Don't be fooled into thinking that white light is necessarily better. A touch lower on the Kelvin colour temperature scale will lessen the blue that drowns out other colours and make definition of that well camouflaged roo or wombat much easier. For example I run 4200K low beams, 5000K highs and driving lights that are well below 4000K. Yet the overall effect is a nice, but not harsh, white where greens still appear as green.

So, to answer your question, the Mini D2S isn't a bad choice but there are other projectors out there that may be better for your needs. The trick is to find someone who knows what they're talking about but isn't tied to a particular brand and is therefore free to choose best of breed.
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Re: Review: JTX Lighting LED Headlight Bulbs

Postby paulharper on Fri May 24, 2019 5:36 am

lots of LED bashing in this post lol, not all LEDs were created the same!!

What i will say and agree with is that you should not be putting LEDs in projector headlights under any circumstances, they will be less bright than halogens with a crappy focus and beam pattern. As for reflectors, that's a whole other story.

The issue with most crappy LEDs is that the LED chip is not leveled with the original halogen bulb. They are typically too high. Headlights, both reflectors and projectors, are calibrated and positioned specifically to project/reflect the exact lighting point on a halogen. Another issue is that the bulb stem (where the LED chips sit) has too large of a diameter which leads to the creation of dark spots (remember that halogens are transparent and the light shines through on a "360-degree" basis.

That being said, if you want to find a good set of LED headlight bulbs, youll want to make sure they have an identical lighting point compared to the original halogens and that the stem is super slim to minimize dark spots and give off a 360-degree (or close) light output. This also ensures a proper light pattern, which will not blind other drivers. Lastly, make sure the lights have a decent fan to cool the bulbs and soak up moisture build up.

Source: https://www.xenonpro.com/difference-bet ... headlights
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