ZB Commodore LED Upgrade

[2018 Commodore RS ZB]

Hey guys ,

just wanted to share my experience with upgrading to the LED low beam globes before stumbling across this thread.

Started off with purchasing Narva surefit H7 from local repco, was ensured straight swap plug and play for my existing H7 Halogen. So installed much improved brightness off course but kept getting warning to check left and right globes. purchased Narva canbus module which did not assist with error message.

returned surefit H7 and purchased the performance H7 as the canbus module pictured Thea globes on the box and thought it was worth of shot. Of course this did not fix the error message. Returned the lot.
I have since got a fix with globes with a built In canbus module which is plug and play and no error message has been dipalyed and globes are perfect.

F2 MINI H7 WHITE 6500K LED HEADLIGHTS CANBUS KIT
Purchased from GTautoparts.com.au

You said you returned the sure fit and the performance H7's but didn't say what you bought in the end.

How did you just replace the low beam? I thought the low beam are dual filament, low and high beam.

Sorry mate I entered a link but it got removed. (first post on here) called purchased from gtautoparts.com.au
F2 MINI H7 WHITE 6500K LED HEADLIGHTS CANBUS KIT

 

[stooge]

Hey guys ,

just wanted to share my experience with upgrading to the LED low beam globes before stumbling across this thread.

Started off with purchasing Narva surefit H7 from local repco, was ensured straight swap plug and play for my existing H7 Halogen. So installed much improved brightness off course but kept getting warning to check left and right globes. purchased Narva canbus module which did not assist with error message.

returned surefit H7 and purchased the performance H7 as the canbus module pictured Thea globes on the box and thought it was worth of shot. Of course this did not fix the error message. Returned the lot.
I have since got a fix with globes with a built In canbus module which is plug and play and no error message has been dipalyed and globes are perfect.

yeah the narva gear is pretty crap and the zb is extra sensitive when it comes to the load detection, it is just a matter of finding the right setup to keep the vehicle happy.
there is no detection on the high so you can install what ever you like on the high.

You said you returned the sure fit and the performance H7's but didn't say what you bought in the end.

How did you just replace the low beam? I thought the low beam are dual filament, low and high beam.

on the non led matrix headlights they use a h7 for low and h7 for high, they dont use h4(dual)

 

[2018 Commodore RS ZB]

Clear 6500K Cool white light projecting 6000Lms per LED bulb without dark spots! Gex G8 LED is the only light that uses CREE LED and Arc-Beam technology to ensure a perfect beam pattern.

LASTS OVER 50,000 HOURS! Enhanced cooling with smart driver, solid aluminium build, and Turbo Cool fan results in an LED bulb that lasts longer than your car!

Plug-N-Play: Gex G8 headlights are made to replace your stock housing and sockets.

Error Free Canbus Technology ensure no error appears on your Dashboard and No Flicker Guarantee

Weather-Resistant! Turbo Cool 7,000rpm rainproof fan spins and cools even underwater.



Package Includes:

1 X H7 Low Beam LED Kit

Cost me $140

 

[stooge]

dont you love marketing jargon

 

[2018 Commodore RS ZB]

dont you love marketing jargon

Lol yeah they work but. Got rid of the error codes. Hopefully helps if someone else is having the same issues.

 

[2018 Commodore RS ZB]

dont you love marketing jargon

Got rid of these

 

[stooge]

Got rid of these

the "marketing jargon" is not about the inline load resistor that keeps the bcm happy to not display errors it is all the other junk like "cree leds", "arc beam tech", "without dark spots", "lasts over 50,000 hours", "advanced cooling", "smart driver", "turbo cool fan" etc.
they write all of that to sell you a $30 kit for $140.

to get rid of the errors you only need to apply enough load on the system to pass the load threshold expected by the bcm, this can be achieved a few different ways.

i am not saying the product you purchased is bad i am just laughing at the jargon the chinese use to hype up a product.

 

[Skylarking]

the "marketing jargon" is not about the inline load resistor that keeps the bcm happy to not display errors it is all the other junk like "cree leds", "arc beam tech", "without dark spots", "lasts over 50,000 hours", "advanced cooling", "smart driver", "turbo cool fan" etc.

Some is marketing jargon or subjective statements but stuff like “lasts over 50,000 hrs“ is a publicised specification. The seller can be held liable should the product they sell not meet that advertised spec and fail at say 10,000hrs. In such cases the buyer can ask for replacement or refund as a result of the failing to meet the spec which is a major fault under ACL.

I also laugh at many adds and the marketing jargon they write on the product packaging but sellers need to be cautious as such stuff can bite them

 

[MattSAU2XR8]

Finally got around to installing LED globes
Ended up buying Narva part number 18407
Not cheap at $130 per set on sale at Supercheap Auto and needed 2 sets, although have since seen them for about $115 per set
But I figured going with a known brand and having the option of local return is good
And they seem to be rated at 2500 lumens per globe which is pretty good
And this is probably an honest assertion, they look at least twice as bright as the Osram Nightbreakers I had in there.
i didn’t bother with the canbus modules - these probably create extrs heat in the headlight unit...
I just interpret the ‘low beam failure’ message as ‘headlights now work better’

I’ve also adjusted the lights up a bit so the low beam cutoff is about bonnet height when facing a wall perhaps 30 metres away - should keep it below other drivers sight line.
When doing this I suggest adjust lights as high as possible using dssh control, then open the bonnet and use a phillips head to adjust up (likely) a bit more
Then if oncoming cars flash me (they haven’t) I can adjust down via dash control

i think this is about as good as you can get without adding more lights
And I would recommend it given easy to source, easy to fit, very noticeable gain, and even at $260 is not a lot for a $30k car.
And if you didn’t agree I’m sure you could box them ip and flip them on gumtree for at least 50 percent of your money back

All this said I would now consider the lights to now be perfectly safe for doing maybe 110 km/h on country roads where the halogens were good for only 80...,

If however one lived in the NT 10 years ago and preferred to travel at about 150 then better distance would be needed, which the factory reflectors seem unable to provide :-(

I have also fitted a 14 inch Narvs light bar behind the grille, and removed a slat to let the light out
This helps a little bit bit to fill out the overall beam but doesn’t really add any useful distance - it seems to be a combination of very wide spread and very narrow spot which is good for advertising but annoying to drive with

30 years ago now I had a set of cheap Narva 175 spots on my Holden Gemini which had non halogen headlights and as I recall the overall effect was better...
Admittedly my eyes are older but I still think the main problem is reflector size and design - a large diameter reflector and what is usually marketed as a spread beam is probably the most useful at semi-legsl speeds

Given at say 150 km/h the car is doing about 42 metres per second, and allowing a generous reaction time of 2 seconds, and a generous stopping distance of 150 metres, this would suggest one could pull up easily from 150 km/h if for example a cow appeared on the road 230 metres out. So a spread beam that lights everything up well out to 300 m should be enough...

So anyway my next project I think will be working out how to attach some large diameter spread beam spots

 

[stooge]

i didn’t bother with the canbus modules - these probably create extrs heat in the headlight unit...

if you use the error modules like the ones i have posted they do not create heat, if you use the resistor type ones those do create heat.
i would never use the resistor types myself.

the ones to use look like this

1 Pair H7 LED Headlight Canbus Decoders Error Free Anti Flicker Resistor AU | eBay

1 Pair H7LED Car Headlight Bulb Canbus Decoders Error Free Anti Flicker Resistor Flash Canceller. 1 Pair XLED Car Headlight Bulb Canbus Decoders. -led canbus decoder with effective interference absorbing circuit;.

www.ebay.com.au

they have a little plastic box in the middle and in the zb you may need two of them connected together on one or both sides of the low beam so order 2 sets(4 pcs in total).
high beam does not need anything.

if you ever decide to have the error message removed then it will cost around 30 bucks and it works perfectly.
mine have been running for well over a year in the zb with these $35 night eye leds.

NOVSIGHT H7 LED Headlight Globes Bulb Kit Hi/Lo Beam 6500K 9000LM Bright White | eBay

Our Novsight Tech's are here to serve you. LED Headlight Globes. Color temperature: 6500K White. No Blinding Oncoming Vehicles. Car LED Headlight. Q4: Will this bulb give error code or tend to flicker，or neither side lighting up, or work inconsistantly?.

www.ebay.com.au

i had one nighteye led blow because the set had been used in previous vehicles for about 4 years and when it did blow i had the check lamp error popup so using the combination i have it still alerts me to a blown bulb.