Diode Dynamics SL1 9005 LED bulbs for projectors review

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JB1

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I installed a set of the new Diode Dynamics SL1 9005 LED bulbs for projector headlights on my 2017 1500. Everything fit under the cover even with the anti-flicker modules. I did have trouble with the anti-flicker modules, the wiring on the connectors was reversed on one end and the other AFM didn't even work at all it was DOA. The bulbs themselves seemed real nice and fit snugly, no issues there. You can see by the pics of the reflection on the garage door and fence looked promising, however once I drove down the street they kinda fell short, just had no depth or distance to them. So I give them a big :thumbsdown: and needless to say these will be returned ASAP.

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quietpeen

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wow like you said, in the garage they looked very promising, but outside looks like you just have fog lights on
 
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JB1

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Ya i was surprised, had nice hot spot and everything but just no depth. I’m lifted but I have my lights adjusted so when I’m behind someone the cutoff is right near the top of the trunk lid, not sure if that is the issue or not but it was fine with halogens. The pics are w/o any other lights on
 

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Wow you would have definitely expected more, especially for the price of these. A shame they didn’t work out.
 

monteholic

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this is very common with LED's

now if you could get LED's with a color of 4500K I'd bet they would be much better, no yellow in the light and it loses the depth/body of the light
 

Ravjay12

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I have always heard that led doesn’t work well in projector housings. You should just get the drop in HID kit from Morimoto.
 

quietpeen

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I have always heard that led doesn’t work well in projector housings. You should just get the drop in HID kit from Morimoto.
the appeal to the ones he got is they were specifically designed for projectors (pretty much all other LED bulbs are not and definitely don't perform well in a projector)
 

xtremewlr

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Do these apply to 3rd gens? Cause that's the forum you posted this in...
 
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JB1

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I have always heard that led doesn’t work well in projector housings. You should just get the drop in HID kit from Morimoto.

I was going to buy an HID kit but when I saw these were being developed for the projectors I decided to give them a try, I like LEDs and thought this was it.

I plan on getting the Morimoto 35w elite kit just need to decide on a kelvin to match the morimoto led fogs.....suggestions?
 

quietpeen

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I was going to buy an HID kit but when I saw these were being developed for the projectors I decided to give them a try, I like LEDs and thought this was it.

I plan on getting the Morimoto 35w elite kit just need to decide on a kelvin to match the morimoto led fogs.....suggestions?

with the 35 watt kit you can use canbus/antiflicker adapters which eliminates the need for a big harnerss which is nice. Biggest thing I will say is to make sure you get the HID bubls clocked so that the bar is at the 6-oclock posistion. It won't be if you just click it in with the tabs.
 
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JB1

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with the 35 watt kit you can use canbus/antiflicker adapters which eliminates the need for a big harnerss which is nice. Biggest thing I will say is to make sure you get the HID bubls clocked so that the bar is at the 6-oclock posistion. It won't be if you just click it in with the tabs.
Thanks, yes I read about loosening the 3 screws, rotating the bulb to 6 then tighten the screws. I will definitely do this at install as I’m getting tired of removing all this stuff lol

So whatcha think, 5500k or 6500k?

I don’t want this to warm up and resemble a halogen
 

quietpeen

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I’m pretty sure I have 5500 and they are a true white. You can tell the difference when I turn my halogen high beams on. Just looked at the boxes. I do have 5500. I think 6500 might give a little blueish tint
 
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Ravjay12

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I went through the Retrofit Source and they matched an HID kit to my Anzo projectors. I got the 5000k white, which is more than enough because I live in the city. It works pretty good for rural areas as well.
 
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JB1

JB1

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I came home from work and removed them and boxed them up for return, back to halogens :banghead:

good news is I can remove the grille/headlights/swap bulbs/reinstall in about 30min lol
 

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HID is king....for now
 

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Pretty disappointing to hear, I was waiting for your review on them as I wanted Diode to make a great product, as they usually do. Guess its just an LED thing
 
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JB1

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I installed a Morimoto HID 35W 5500K kit today from TRS, everything plugged right in with no issues. I didn't drill the hole in the cover, just made a notch for the wires to fit thru and filled around with sealant. These are much better than the LED SL1 bulbs.

The last pic is the SL1

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SL1-4.jpg
 

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Nice, I’ll be installing the DDM tuning version of these in my projectors on Monday. 35w 5500k canbus
 

Brent L

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Nice, I’ll be installing the DDM tuning version of these in my projectors on Monday. 35w 5500k canbus

Please update us on the outcome. I am looking at installing these also. Thanks


Sent from my iPad
 
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