9005 dust covers = no LED's?!?!?

[alexYukon16]

have been looking into LEDs for my 9005 high beams but the ones that seem to look best, in terms of the way the diodes are positioned, have this oldschool pc heat sync looking thing behind them and have a picture with my dust cover crossed out.

Id like to know the reason why this is. Is it due to the heat generated that there's no proper airflow or is the heat sync to big? And if so could I just have the dust cover off? I need some guidance

 

[alexYukon16]

Read up on why the dust cover is needed. Long story short, moisture and electronic components don't mix. So my new question is, are there any high powered LED 9005 bulbs I could use WITH a dust cap?

 

[OneTwo]

The only downside to LED bulbs that I'm aware of is that they generate a lot of heat, so this means they all have some way of cooling the bulb and its components, which typically takes up quite a bit of space.

I have seen LED bulbs like the one you posted above that have a big fan on the back and some that have a heat sink, but all of them are too big to fit under a dust cap (as far as I know). Even if you could get them to fit inside the dust cap, the dust cap would retain all the heat that the fan/heat sink is trying to disperse. At least, you'd end up ruining the bulb over time. At worst, you may melt the dust cap, headlight components, or possibly start a fire.

 

[alexYukon16]

The only downside to LED bulbs that I'm aware of is that they generate a lot of heat, so this means they all have some way of cooling the bulb and its components, which typically takes up quite a bit of space.

I have seen LED bulbs like the one you posted above that have a big fan on the back and some that have a heat sink, but all of them are too big to fit under a dust cap (as far as I know). Even if you could get them to fit inside the dust cap, the dust cap would retain all the heat that the fan/heat sink is trying to disperse. At least, you'd end up ruining the bulb over time. At worst, you may melt the dust cap, headlight components, or possibly start a fire.

I'm starting to consider swapping out the halogens for HIDs instead. But I still run into the dust cap issue

 

[OneTwo]

I'm starting to consider swapping out the halogens for HIDs instead. But I still run into the dust cap issue

Have you looked into converting to factory HID or retrofitting your existing lights with projectors?

It'll be expensive, but it seems worth it to spend the extra coin on a pretty much brand new truck to have legal, reliable, effective headlights.

 

[nharkey85]

I'm starting to consider swapping out the halogens for HIDs instead. But I still run into the dust cap issue

FWIW, the morimoto hid setup I run came with adapters with a rubber grommet to run with enclosed setups like yours. Instructions were to drill a hole in the dust cap just big enough for the grommet to snap into.

 

[alexYukon16]

Have you looked into converting to factory HID or retrofitting your existing lights with projectors?

It'll be expensive, but it seems worth it to spend the extra coin on a pretty much brand new truck to have legal, reliable, effective headlights.

I have the factory HID's. HID/halogen low beam/Hi beam. i want to change out those halogens and drop in something better.

FWIW, the morimoto hid setup I run came with adapters with a rubber grommet to run with enclosed setups like yours. Instructions were to drill a hole in the dust cap just big enough for the grommet to snap into.

do you think moisture would be an issue? maybe i should get a set of dust caps and try modifying those and keep the original... any idea where i can get them

 

[nharkey85]

I would get a spare set of the dust covers if I found the them at a good price. As long as you don't drill too big it should work fine. you could probably use a dab of silicon around the grommet as a back up

 

[Prormk]

the dust covers are like $6 a piece.

 

[alexYukon16]

the dust covers are like $6 a piece.

Where!?! I found putco led 9005 with a mesh heat sync maybe that'll fit behind the cap