More than ever, headlamps have become prominent styling items. Beautiful “eyes” can make or break a face as designers work hard to craft a captivating pair of headlights, which marketeers then use to flutter lustily at consumers. Tail lamp signatures too, but it’s important to put you best lamps forward.
The Civic FC’s bold front isn’t quite the same without those scaled LED headlamps, does it? And what’s a modern Mazda face without the dash-line LED DRLs that cup the LED headlamps? Our man Gerard Lye, with his halogen reflector-equipped early Mazda 2, knows the pain and daily longing for “the complete Mazda face”. Otherwise a mild-mannered lad, he doesn’t react well to the “taunting” of newer M2s.
It all started with tungsten, and then we had halogen reflectors on our cars, before projectors and then HID headlamps came in the picture. Now LED headlamps, once a preserve of flagship premium models, have crept into the mass market. Even the Honda City, a humble B-segment saloon, now comes with full LED headlamps. This trend will continue to fuel the desire for “white lights”, as the accessory shops refer to in Cantonese.
The halogen bulb is cheap, and with a lifespan of 500 to 1,000 hours, it’s the most practical lighting solution for cars. However, it needs around 55 watts of power to function, and some of that energy is “leaked out” in the form of heat. Not the most efficient.
Light emitting diodes (LED), long used in electronics, are smaller in size and therefore more adaptable to designs. It’s also brighter and faster in reaching optimum brightness. Another advantage of LEDs is the claimed lifespan of up to 15,000 hours, which is much longer than halogens. Of course, LEDs are also more energy efficient and suffer from less heat dissipation – more of the power goes into illumination.
High intensity discharge (HID) lights produce a whitish light that’s brighter – by up to two or three times – than that produced by halogen lamps (LEDs are behind HIDs in this respect). It requires less power than halogens (around 35 watts) and is claimed to have a lifespan of approximately 2,000 hours.
HID headlamps usually come with an auto-leveling function and have wider light dispersion. Wider and brighter means improved visibility and safety at night, not just for the driver, but for other vehicles as well. Now, since HIDs improve safety and aftermarket items are widely available, can we DIY swap our plain old halogens to HIDs? Is it legal?
You might have heard of various answers to this question, but for the definitive answer, our paultan.org/BM colleagues posed the question to Datuk Mohamad Dalib, director of the automotive engineering department at the Road Transport Department (JPJ). This is the only answer you’ll ever need, forget the rest.
“The rules on vehicle headlights are very clear. Any lights that are fitted on later (retrofitted), lights that differ from the original ones that came with the vehicle, they’re illegal. If it follows the specifications of the manufacturer, no problem,” he said, adding that in the UN Regulations 48 (UNR48), main headlamps can use bulbs with the maximum colour temperature of 4,300 K.
“But some HID bulbs on the market have colour temperatures of up to 16,000 K. That’s the problem, when we come across cars that blind opposing traffic. This endangers other road users, and we want to avoid this,” he said, adding that changing headlamps is also against the Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) that has been given to the vehicle.
So, there you have it, from the man himself. But what are the penalties that headlamp modifiers face? “Motorists who spot such cars can make a report via email ([email protected]). Provide information and a picture if possible. If there’s a report, JPJ can call in the vehicle for an inspection,” Mohd Dalib said. If the inspection reveals retrofitted headlamps, JPJ will issue a “Notis PG1” instructing the owner to return his car to its original state in 10 days.
Good news for those who have retrofitted LED daytime running lights, or if you’re intending to do so. That’s not a problem as DRLs do not involve complicated systems (unlike headlamps) and don’t use reflectors that can blind other motorists, the JPJ man explained. Enlightening, wasn’t it?
Read more JPJ answers on current trends such as vehicle body wrapping and “stance and fitment” a.k.a. hellaflush.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
I used to send reports to the email address stated above to JPJ and the response was quick….but lately JPJ don’t even reply to emails so are they even reading it? Maybe Paultan can follow up on that as we have no clue if JPJ is really taking action since we do not get a reply from them anymore.
You should not be asking whether it is illegal or not. Ask JPJ whether they enforce any of their rulings and whether they have eradicated duit kopi
You can have hundred and one laws also no point when the JPJ officer is asking money from the offender and letting the offender lose.
One good example is lorry hantu. Every year hundreds of people get knocked down and killed by lori hantu. The problem arises because whenever lorry hantu gets caught, the JPJ officer asks for duit kopi and lets him off without a saman or confiscating his lorry.
This is why every year, so many people still die. The same illegal drivers are still driving the lori hantu despite many times being caught.
U pun hantu. article tok about lights, u tok about lori. Bodo much?
“The problem arises because whenever lorry hantu gets caught, the JPJ officer asks for duit kopi and lets him off without a saman or confiscating his lorry” << from what fact did you come on this point? Come on dude, stop spreading lies and hatred to people. Keep your fantasy fact to your own.
Why some original headlamps above 4300K
When your car having those halogen reflector headlights.. don’t you dare convert it into hid bulb! Your car doesn’t fit it at all! It glares even more than those projector hid!! Face the fact that you can’t afford buy those hid projector car! Don’t you feelin like high class people driving those cheapo car with white light. Stop it! You’re just irritating others! Even you modified it heavily your car, its still cheap car! Get it?!! Stop dreamin and work harder!!
While HID is not ok, LEDs until 4300K can be retrofitted. Thats a gud compromise btwn halogen & HID
WOW Zack, U are so full of yourself. He is just commenting on the subject matters & he is on POINT. Do U have to say “your car, its still cheap car.” ??!
.Should Q&A him also on the out of alignment halogen head lamp that endangers other road users and blinds on coming traffic.
“But some HID bulbs on the market have brightness of up to 16,000K”. That is color temperature, nothing to do with “brightness”, the lower the “K” the better the brightness. Our JPJ officer seems to be not knowing this until now.
If they talk about glaring HID, those factory fitted HID in Honda CRV, 9th Gen Honda Civic 2.0, are extremely glaring. I am driving a medium saloon car without adjusting height also impacted from those vehicles. That is because the lightning output height not properly adjusted by the manufacturer Honda. Other manufacturers as well.
Some goes to you. There is a difference in “lighting” and “lightning”. No rocket science is needed to explain that. What lower? The K as in Kelvin must not be too low or else it will be red (lesser than 1800 K). 16 000 K is somewhere blue-ish and that my friend, is a pain in the eye. Yes, the JPJ officer should have explained properly.
Actually in colouration scale, when K approaches Red, its less glaring on the eyes (hence less bright from JPJ perspective). OTOH, blue light is blinding (hence too bright explanation). Probably JPJ tried to be layman here.
With LED headlights that produce light at 5,500 Kelvin, the #AudiS7 fears no darkness. #AudiNightLights… I wonder if it’s legal
Despite the LED headlights of Audi and probably on other luxury cars as well have the temperature of 5500K as mentioned by you or probably higher, those lights are computerized by the manufacturer to selectively avoid beaming towards opposite vehicles. Hence, no blinding effect. Therefore, legal. These lights are illegal if they were retrofitted to the car.
Watch this for more details: https://youtu.be/F4-iwuzAey4
Despite the LED headlights of Audi and probably on other luxury cars as well have the temperature of 5500K as mentioned by you or probably higher, those lights which were fitted by the manufacturer are computerized to selectively avoid beaming towards opposite vehicles. Hence, no blinding effect. Therefore, legal. These lights are illegal if they were retrofitted to the car.
Watch this for more details: https://youtu.be/F4-iwuzAey4
Brightness is measured in lumens. Not in K.
This is always the known regulation. Some drivers just ignored it. Bashers will come here with same shooting story. Lets see.
Maybe they could maybe a new law on retrofitting HID or LED bulbs for headlamp with slight modifications to the headlamp to diffuse the direct beams with a numb cap as many car manufacturers do. Tested by Puspakom with a processing fee and to legalise it. Some ppl in some places need brighter lights. Or taking long distance drives, say Johor to
Perak. Or even rainy days. That’s why a lot of light manufacturers promote it as safety because vision is our no 1 priority.
Actually during rain, its difficult to see when using HID or >6000K white LEDs
Folks who understand the technology and modify their headlights safely and correctly are rare… that’s y authorities have no choice but to follow manufacturers’ specs… if you need additional lights, should just add driving lights to the front of your car instead of modifying your headlights if you are unsure of what you are doing…
In short, you can’t.
The headlamp assembly was designed for only one type of bulb. And some rules that govern (higher powered) headlamp also include mandatory window washers or auto leveling which you wont have.
If there is one exception to be made, is the replacement of the whole headlamp assembly to another OEM unit of a higher specified car, including any ancillary equipment. Not the most practical solution.
I find that the older HIDs still out perform the new LED lamps. And if you are stuck with Halogens, your only option for brighter headlamps are brighter bulbs like the Sylvania Silverstars, Osram Nightbreakers and Philips Xtreme Vision.
Do be advised, that even these replacement bulbs may throw your headlamp aim off, so you will still need to properly re-aim your headlamps.
i strongly support this , as most of the out of city road are dark without lamp post and with lots of poth holes. furthermore there are lots of animals or sometimes fallen tree’s on the road , previously i lost my car due to this ,
i feel HID 4,300k with manual leveling control should be acceptable to keep everyone safe
Enlightening
Are stylized fancy font number plates that is not up to JPJ illegal? Then where is the enforcement? I also see motorbikes hide their number plates.
u really want they do road block every day? Why do u think they give their email n has FB account?
Article about lights and u r talking about number plates. Lari topic ka?
Basher cuma nak bash saje. Klau tak bash kat sini, mana nak cari makan?
What I am saying is cakap saja, but still low on enforcement. Still people crash and got killed everyday.
What don’t you agree with me? Are you guys one of them? The ones that do not follow the law?
K is unit measurement Kelvin, which measures the colour temperature. The higher the number the whiter/bluish the light. For example, 6000K is whiter than 4300K, and 4300K is whiter than 3400K. It has nothing to do with brightness. Brightness intensity is measured in Lumens.
So is it Datuk Mohamad Dalib or the author got the wrong understanding on this?
Agreed Marc. In fact JPJ need to do research on car lighting lumen. How many cars on the road now having less than 1000 lumen intensity especially old cars with blur and yellowish headlamps? In fact many high end HID bulbs are well fit without glare effects to other road users. The bulb length and illumination is well adjusted suitable for halogen retrofit head lamps. Safety wise, longer lifespan and consume less wattage so headlamp is cooler.
Most car accidents on the road at night is not even cause by the glare effects from the opposite lane cars but is actually unable to see what is lay ahead especially those with old bulbs and yelowish headlamps. Visibility is even worse in rainy days. They should allow 4300K HID to road users. And of course blue and purple headlights is illegal.
Yes. Folks need to understand tho that they should drive as fast as they can see… as in if they can’t stop in the distance they can see then they need to slow down… doesn’t mean that if your headlights are super bright you can drive over the speed limit… what I mean is that if your lights are the standard halogen items you can’t drive with as much confidence as if you have HIDs. But not all lights can be upgraded to HIDs as I explained further down the comments… at the end of the day, if ur headlight type can be upgraded to HID bulbs safely, then go for it, they do make a difference. Else, stick with your standard halogen lamps and drive a little slower…
Glare are related to both brightness and colour temperature. White light does glare more than yellowish tint. There has been research done. Try googling it. Some has even rises concern over white led street light. AMA recommend no greater than 3000K for street light. What do you imagine they suggest for car light that is shone to your face.
I think either this director didn’t explain well or paultan.org BM didn’t ask the right question. Retrofits from halogen to HID is safe and won’t harm or annoy other road users on the condition the car uses projector headlights and do some proper tuning, go learn it over YouTube.
Problems arise when idiots put HID in reflector headlight and cause massive glare. Nissan Navara D40 uses that and what a stupid and annoying instances when it glares the incoming motorist.
If want to retrofit, do it the proper way instead landing you into trouble.
What about changing to halogen bulbs that are a little white like Philips crystal vision and Osram Night breaker ?
no issue.. they are halogen bulbs, and also following the standard 55w power of your car.
Those are legal since its not much brighter than stock anyways. I am using NBU , at first it looks brighter but in the end its just a tiny wrr bit brighter than stock
These are ok as long as they are the same type of bulbs that you are swapping with
The mentioned bulbs are still halogen bulbs and the beam pattern is the same. Hence will not cause glare. Glare is usually caused by misaligned/misfocused beam.
Oh man, this is pain in the ass. You dont need to go very far. Just put up a tent at night on NSE. When I was driving up to BKH during CNY, I was being blinded by crazy headlight from at least 30% of the cars coming up from behind. Some car even purposely following closely to save fuel probably but their blinding headlight are annoying. Im driving without my side mirror whenever one approached me slowly. I just redirect the lights back to show how annoying their headlight were. They even dared to stare back like they did nothing wrong.
Most wont realize it.
There are a number of cars with lights that are unnecessarily blinding. Like the Myvi and Alza. Honda’s LED equipped cars, particularly the CRV, are particularly bad offenders. I have even written a complaint post on Honda’s FB page, and there is a consensus from other posters that they may indeed have a problem.
In your case, to make matters worst, all these cars are probably overloaded for the CNY trip back, and i would suspect none of these cars has auto headlamp levelers.
Can’t do much, but just make sure your own car’s headlamp isn’t all over the place.
The facelifted 4th gen CR-V is actually factory-fitted with auto-leveling HID rather than LED and I agree that this model in particular is Honda’s worst offender despite having auto-leveling function. On the contrary, I’ve had no problem with the Odyssey and HR-V dual LED setup; they are properly leveled and really bright (two thumbs up). Never mind the Civic 1.5T-P LED setup, it doesn’t glare oncoming traffic but it is an utterly hopeless performer when compared to a good quality halogen projector setup
Yes, This I will agree with you. The Civic’s LED headlamps are pretty much useless, especially when it comes to highway driving in bad weather.
The CIVIC’s doesn’t provide a wider throw + the whiter Kelvin rating doesn’t reflect rain water am I right?
HID lights are irritating to the eyes period and those cars with high positioning light whether done unintentionally or intentionally should also be regularly checked, please JPJ it’s getting out of hand.
How about replacing the two yellow license plate light bulbs with white led bulbs?
Should be no problem.I changed it to white also.Went for an inspection in puspakom and it passed
License plate white LED bulbs should be ok as many original manufacturers now use them… although u must remember if u changed any bulb different to original JPJ have a right to be fussy about it… if possible revert to original when sending car for JPJ inspection
Orang yg komen harga itu ini naik hari2 tak payah berangan pakai LED/HID.
He is right. Color temperature does affect brightness. The higher the Kelvin number, the more blueish it gets at the same time reducing the bulb intensity. That is why stock HID does not go above white which is around 5500k to not to compromise performance.
It’s not brightness. It’s really glare. Although white light might seem brighter it really is not it just it has more glare. The more blueish tint the more glare you get.
I have a pair of aftermarket 90W LED spotlights and an aftermaket 120W LED floodlight mounted on the sport bar at the back of my 2wd truck to complement my headlights for the worst case scenario.
These are very useful especially while driving in the cold night on the long stretch of windy, unlit, funny weather and erratic road conditions we have in East M’sia.
If you don’t need them, just switch ’em off.
Keep it safe and don’t dazzle the people around you with your bright light.
They will thank you for that.
:)
No you don’t understand. No use retrofitting HID to their 20 year old Wiras if they can’t flaunt it to orang kampungs. Must flaunt baru lah anak jantan.
Which color that help much..? the warm white or coldwhite…?
If the lights are glaring to the other road users, the problem is to do with the height of the beam being adjusted. If the beam is adjusted correctly, even on HId bulbs, the light projected shouldnt be to glaring. Even halogens can be glaring if you set it to high beam.
Dont know how to standardize measurements? Just Arm enforcers with lux meters… standardise equipment to eliminate deviations. Rm50 on lazada per unit, or standardize mobile phones used on petrol and get a free app for enforcers so that the hardware measurement deviation is minimized. Takes a little effort to test and you have a replicable method to do it.
Senang je peraturan JPJ ni.
Yang pakai Halohen, jangan la memandai pakai HID punya mentol, silau bak hang
Yang paling bengong aku jumpa, kat bandar dia pasang spotlight kereta. Yang ni sakai sangat. Pelik, dia pakai kancil, duduk bandar, pasang spotlight kereta malam2. Ada masalah mata ke?
Good read. Hope it will raise awareness on headlamp abuse. Rear foglight abuse is also another issue.
There is one more detail which wasn’t mentioned; headlamp levelling.
Some cars have a small dial/switch which you can use to adjust the y-axis spread of the headlight beam. If you’re carrying many passengers in the back seat with a fully loaded boot, the car’s weight distribution will become uneven and your headlight beam will tilt upwards. This might create glare in the rear-view and side mirrors of other drivers, so it’s good to use the headlight levelling switch to compensate.
Some cars can do it automatically (BMWs, Mercs etc.). Some cars don’t have the switch at all. But whichever the case, no harm in learning.
Datuk Mohd Talib 163, may I ask is it legal if my car (local-assembly) refitted from the original spec to replace with the HID headlamps with 4300k bulbs ? Then, how about refitted with LED light (whitish) on the fog lamps from the original halogen bulbs ? It’s made brighter the road & more safety when you drive at night.
LED foglamp is less problematic, since it shines down, unless it kau-kau adjusted to project upwards. Take example new civic & city V spec.
There is a better way to retrofits HIDs. There are RHD HID projector kits that sold online and fits plug and play into H4 and H7 sockets, it uses H1 HID. The type of HID that can be use is 4300k yellowish white – 5000k pure white or 6000k Bluish white. Other than that are useless. Smart people will use projectors to avoid blinding other drivers, this is because those projector internally have cut-offs that will cut the beam nicely and need. Suggest to learn more and the retrofit source. Just google it.
Regrettably, the enforcement emphasis is on speeding. How common to see traffic police with camera on road dividers snapping away.
I think the JPJ and police should conduct enforcement on road hogs i.e. drivers who drives at 20km/h on the fast lane, those who drives recklessly, tail gate, broken rear lights, etc.
Trafik polis wun saman cuz of headlights (unless not function). Its JPJ.
And how many pipu dare do devil driving infront polis/jpj? All kecut bolas when see enforcement cars. Then how to tangkap?
How about LED or HID foglamps? I saw some cars use these kind of bulb instead of stock halogen. Were these bulbs illegal too?
dont change the lights, change the car
In Malaysia, nothing is illegal until getting caught by the authorities….
Perhaps you should word it to say that “nothing is illegal unless it cannot be solved by a bribe”.
More like “if one side cannot make it legal, then choose the other side” just like cover AES…
What about LED foglamp? Is that illegal?
Basically if your car has the reflector type headlights you can’t use anything other than the same spec halogen bulbs. This is because the HID bulbs don’t have the cut off blanked part of the normal bulb and will dazzle oncoming traffic. You can use brighter or whiter bulbs as long as they are the same spec u can’t go wrong .Of cos u can’t use a totally different colour like blue, red, yellow, etc.
If your headlights are the projector type, you can use HIDs up to 4300K. The projector type headlights will cut off the light correctly and you will not disturb oncoming traffic. Use higher than 4300k at your own risk as it is easily noticeable and u will be stopped by the authorities. Of course anything other than standard is still illegal in JPJ’s eyes so if u are sending ur car in for inspection remember to revert back to halogens…
What I said above is for dipped headlights only. Normally main beam headlights are reflector type headlights and although u want as bright as u can for full main beam, HID lights need a few seconds to warm up and they will be useless if you need to “flash” roadusers. Original HIDs that has built in low/high beams function by having a mechanical plate which shields a part of the bulb when dipped and flips out of the way for full beam.
So based on the article, 4300K is the max temp allowed for main headlights (assuming all configurations). That renders nearly all manufacturer LED systems illegal.
Manufacturer LED headlight systems right out of the factory are typically between 5000K to 6000K. Just take a gander at every Merc, Audi, BMW, Honda, Mazda, Ford, etc. that comes equipped with LED headlights from the factory, none of which have temps of 4300K.
There are still so many information gaps. Assuming all reference is made to HID retrofits, what about LED retrofits?
usually ah beng cars will have glaring HID lights.
while some looks like everyday is deepavali with lots lights blink blink.
But what if I want to convert my old halogen projector headlight bulb to LED headlight bulb?
Is it the same law applies for this case, under 4300k, but no light Lumens limit.
What about those cars which fitted with projectors but using halogen bulbs from factory, can they change it to HID? Like Toyota Fortuner or the new Vios.
All of you guys are great keyboard warrior. Smart but idiot. Typing typing boleh r sembang kencang, in real world pengecut neard mcm siput
The JPJ should join with KPDNKK, police & others authorities for doing enforcement at accessories car @ shopping mall @ shipping FOB hijacking @ prosecution upon selling or supplying to the public.
example: Refers to people who buy drugs, of course distributors arrested but this case has not banned the sale to the public. Unfair right..fully enforcement is recommended good to everybody.
How about those driver who adjust their own vehicle headlight too high? Those owner also blind other drivers.
so if the hid below 16000K can use or not???still confused
So wait.. Can i use aftermarket LED bulbs on my car ? Is it legal? Because as i know HID and LED are two different things? HID ARE ILLEGAL FOR SURE, but what about aftermarket LEDs?
2 things wrong…
1 – nowadays, technology in LED have developed so mich that they actually are brighter, better and more economical than HID and they use less energy as well…
2 – blinding is not caused by the bulb, its caused by the housing that the bulb is used…. under the JPJ act of upgrading the lighting system, it must comply with strict rules of roadworthiness which is also connected to UNECE codes…. i have been using HID in my 1992 Accord and never once been stopped by them…. it came with a proper housing and proper setting and can be installed easily…..
Furthermore, they specifically said RETROFITTED didnt they….??? If you want to use bright light, buy the whole assembly of it…. works for me….
us novsight n6 h7 led bulbs 6500k legal in Malaysia