Headlights with PWM DRL Dimming LED

I have a 2015 Tahoe with halogens and plan to upgrade the low beams with LEDs. The low beams are also the DRL so I am thinking of usings a can bus filter ie resistor/cap to clean up the pwm enough that this circuit can be used. Anyone know how clean the PWM is after the can bus filter and what the effective dc voltage is? When the voltage drops the relay is energized.

This is the circuit that I think will work without too much hassle

are you gonna replace entire fixture with one that was designed for led? or you'll just stick one of those led bulbs into halogen projector\reflector?

Initially I am going to run a set of XHP70 in this fixture first.

There are those that consider the Low CRI of LED to be a downgrade vs. halogen.

Can what you are proposing to do be deemed as illegal?

I hear the sound of a padlock closing. :laughing:

LeanBurn said:

There are those that consider the Low CRI of LED to be a downgrade vs. halogen.

Can what you are proposing to do be deemed as illegal?

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Is illegal period.

cjdee said:

I have a 2015 Tahoe with halogens and plan to upgrade the low beams with LEDs...

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Actually, that would be a major downgrade, as it would render your headlamps ineffective and unsafe. The optics in your headlamps will only function properly when used with the light source they were designed around. That's not an opinion either, see here for a thorough explanation; while the article is focused on HID bulbs, the same principles apply to LED's.


An actual upgrade would be to use these(if you have H11's currently) for your low beam and these for your high beams.

few years back i really disliked mods here for telling it is improper\unsafe\illegal... now i do the same on car forum, telling people same things, after actually trying things that i "can't do" i realized mods were right. none of the tries were actually improvement. none was worth the money and time. flooding foreground with light really is not a good thing, cuz right after that flood is a zone you can not see as good as you would with properly focused lights. none of the hid or led bulbs focus correctly, neither you'll be able to focus xhp70 correctly with stock optic.
i would leave headlights stock, and install additional, properly designed lights on the bumper guard as separate units prbly will end up being cheaper too. your headlight is around 500 each, i have a feeling after experimenting with xhp, you'll most likely need new pair.
also you can prbly disable your low beam drl, and have dedicated led drl install either on the bumper, or on bumper guard.

Man. I don't take it personal. Built many cars and custom bikes. Sometime I like to take the hard way and see how it works out. I thought someone would know how clean the PWM was after the resistor load and cap. I guess I will break out the scope and see it myself.

cjdee said:

Man. I don't take it personal. Built many cars and custom bikes. Sometime I like to take the hard way and see how it works out.

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Maybe, but we won't be discussing it here. The lighting modifications/products you're asking about are (not "may be") illegal and unsafe. Rule 11 of this board prohibits advocating illegal or dangerous activity, so this thread ends now.