H4 Bi LED Dacia Sandero: a customer review

Sadly, we still hear it all too often: new cars with poor lighting. Annoying, but no disaster if you can easily upgrade the standard lighting with an LED kit. That quickly gives you 3 times more light than the traditional halogen bulb. It makes driving a lot more relaxed, gives your eyes extra rest and so improves road safety too. And the fact that it looks rather cool is of course a nice bonus.

Bi LED Dacia Sandero: why did you choose an LED kit?

Well, at first I was looking for better halogen bulbs. I tried the Philips Xtreme Vision bulbs first, and there was some improvement, but nothing to write home about. After 3 months one bulb had already died, so I was back to looking for something that would actually last. Through a friend of a friend I ended up at Hilox LED lighting, and I let them advise me on which bulb to take.

Which products did you install and why?

Since my headlights use H4 bulbs, I installed the Hilox H4 Bi LED kit from the Performance series. My Dacia has no bulb monitoring on the lighting, so this LED kit does not trigger a fault either. And to complete the picture, I replaced the T20 bulbs for my daytime running lights straight away too.

Products used

• Low beam + high beam: H4 Bi-LED, Hilox Performance
• Daytime running light: T20D LED, Hilox Performance
• 82 mm rubber housing caps

Browse all LED lighting for your car.

Bi LED in an H4 headlight: how it works

An H4 bulb combines two functions in one: low beam and high beam. A halogen H4 bulb has two filaments for that. An LED replacement for H4 has to manage both functions too, which is why such a bulb is called a Bi LED: one bulb with two light settings. Besides H4, you will also find this type in the fittings H13 and HB5.

Because low beam and high beam come from the same bulb, the position of the LED chips matters even more. If they sit where the filaments of the halogen bulb were, you get a crisp low beam with a clear cut-off line and a high beam that reaches far ahead. So after fitting, turn the bulb until the beam pattern is right, and check it against a wall.

A Dacia without bulb monitoring gives no fault with an LED kit, as this customer found. If your car does have bulb monitoring or CAN-bus, the system may report a failed bulb because an LED draws less current. In that case, pick a kit with a CAN-bus module.

What you need to know about the Hilox H4 LED kits

Hilox has two series for H4. The XTR Black LED kits come in H4 as a Performance Duo and an Evolution Duo, and as a Solo for a motorbike, for example. The lighter XTR S LED kits are also available in H4.

According to the product details of the XTR Black series (measured on the H7 Evolution):

• 3,600 lumens per LED and instantly 3.5 times more light than halogen.
• Luxeon Z ES LED chips from Lumileds (Philips), which last up to 50,000 hours.
• Rotates through 360 degrees for a good beam pattern in both reflector and projector headlights.
• A Smart Cool IC chip with a Maglev fan to stop burn-out.
• 5700K white light, IP68 waterproof and Plug-N-Play.
• A CAN-bus II module in the box, for cars with bulb monitoring.

Please note: according to the product details, LED bulbs with an H fitting designation cannot receive ECE approval or an E-mark, and they are intended for racing circuits and private land. Have the beam adjusted after fitting and check that your car still meets the APK requirements (the Dutch roadworthiness test). If in doubt, ask the RDW (the Dutch vehicle authority) or your inspector.

Daytime running lights in LED: completing the picture

The customer also replaced the T20 bulbs of his daytime running lights. That is a logical step: with white LED headlights, a yellowish incandescent bulb in the daytime running lights stands out immediately. A white LED is also more noticeable than a yellow halogen bulb, and that is exactly what daytime running lights are for: so other road users spot you sooner in daylight.

Here is how to go about it:

1. Check the owner's manual or the old bulb to see which fitting your daytime running lights use, for example T20.
2. Check whether your car has bulb monitoring. If so, choose a CAN-bus version.
3. Replace both bulbs at the same time, so left and right have the same colour.
4. After fitting, test whether the daytime running lights work and no warning appears.

You will find the bulbs under LED daytime running lights.