Would Different Wattage Bulbs Fit?

LMistaL on 08/06/2018 - 17:05

Hi everyone,

A bit of an automotive newbie, tried to Google this but it's coming up with some mixed answers saying that wattage is okay as long as heat dispersion is fine, but it wasn't exactly clear.

The scenario is I require a pair of H11s for my foglights, these are rarely used but they turn on when you unlock the vehicle, so I thought perhaps I can replace these with some LED ones instead.

The bulb that it usually uses is the H11 12V 55W bulbs, I have found some which says they are H11 12V but 72W (LED) and also some which are the same, H11 12V but 15W.

Would these be okay to use in the car? Is it just the voltage that needs to be the same, and that the W is just drawing more power off the battery? Or am I better off with some that is exactly the same (there are some few 55W LED ones as well).

On another hand, the car is a European, I heard there may be some issue with the computer reporting that the light is broken for LEDs, would getting a 72W or 15W have any affect on this? Or just as long as they are the "CANBUS error free" ones?

Thanks all for your help!

Automotive

Comments

  • RandomFox on 08/06/2018 - 17:53

    voltage that needs to be the same, and that the W is just drawing more power

    Is correct

    On another hand, the car is a European, I heard there may be some issue with the computer reporting that the light is broken for LEDs, would getting a 72W or 15W have any affect on this? Or just as long as they are the "CANBUS error free" ones?

    I'm not sure about this though.

  • Euphemistic on 08/06/2018 - 17:57
    +1

    72W is an awful lot for led lighting. Are you sure this is the wattage? 72w would be around a 20” light bar normally in led and extremely bright.

  • raziel2001au on 08/06/2018 - 17:59

    In short, voltage has to match. Wattage is more tricky as there are power-draw limits in a car and if you use a higher-wattage lamp, it will pull more power and you may end up blowing a fuse. My recommendation is to pick either the same wattage bulb, or use a slightly lower wattage bulb if you're not sure what you can use. The car's manual is likely to list acceptable wattage ranges for some key lamps, so if you have that, look in there.

    • Euphemistic on 08/06/2018 - 18:59

      That’s a good point. 72w may well overlaod the circuit.

      • MistaL on 08/06/2018 - 21:12

        In this case, would a standard LED bulb be fine? Those are listed as drawing 5-7W (the usual halogen bulbs are 55w)

  • MistaL on 08/06/2018 - 20:49

    Yep, it says H11 LED 72W with 9000LM light output

    EDIT: My stupidity, it is for the pair

    Each bulb is 36W with 4500LM light output

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