Kia Soul Forums :: Kia Soul Owners banner

Replaced low/hi headlights with LEDs. What about the weather covers?

17K views 32 replies 19 participants last post by  gt5oh 
#1 · (Edited)
I changed the headlights on my wife's 2014 Kia Soul (combo low/hi) for LEDs (OPT7 LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit - H13 (9008) - 80w 7,000Lm 6K Cool White CREE). It was easy on the passenger side and 'fun" getting it done on the driver side, but it worked although the driver side illumination pattern now seems to be a bit higher than the passenger side. My challenge is with the "weather covers" as they cannot be reinstalled on either side due to protruding wires.

The LEDs I am using have a fan for the cooling so I don't believe that placing a sealed cover will help with heat dissipation. As we live in Florida and apart from hurricanes and the occasional F1 tornado (El Nino), all we need to worry about is rain so I am considering leaving the covers off.

I am curious to read what others have done.

- Have you modified the weather cover (i.e. cut out a slot for the wires)? The car is fully ours (no liens, no lease) so I don't mind cutting out slots for the wires

- Did you leave them off?

- Did you have problems with the driver side LED shining too high? When I replace it with the stock lamp it is OK but the LED is higher.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
#3 ·
I will add pics later today but as I look at the stock pictures of the installation you shared from their site, I notice that they do NOT show how to replace the "weather cover" over the lamp housing. As the cable is coming out of the housing, you will not be able to install the cover as it's designed so that all of the cabling must be INSIDE the housing. They never planned for wires coming out. One other installation note, I had to remove the gasket from the LED as there is already one in the KIA lamp housing and the LEDs would not fit if both the KIA and LED gaskets are present. The LED lamps are nice and snug (the seal is there) using the stock gaskets.

IMHO, even with the fanless model you show, placing the weather cover back on to the housing will create heat dissipation problems as there would be no air circulation, which will greatly minimize the lifespan of the LED lamps. It seems like per the stock pictures you attached, the OEM does not want you to put the weather covers back. They are silent in the text but the pictures indirectly show that, plus knowing that heat can destroy the CREE LEDs, it makes sense.

One last "challenge" I now have is that the driver side LEDs are shining too high compared to the passenger side. The stock lamps are OK but the moment I install the LED, the pattern is visibly too high compared to stock. I didn't have this problem with the same brand LEDs I installed in my 2014 Nissan Rogue Select so it kind of puzzles me why it's the case with the KIA. Mind you, on the Rogue I have separate lo/hi LEDs while on this 2014 model of the KIA it uses a dual-LED (HI/LO).

This is why I am asking for comments from others who have done this.
 
#6 ·
I had the dealer do it. I had a good relationship with Service at the original dealer, and they did it for freebies when I had the car in for other service, probably an oil and filter.

I don't know why the makers wedge stuff in there so tightly, it wouldn't have been difficult to free up a couple of inches on both sides to facilitate bubb changes.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Sorry for the delay. Here are two pics (Kia Soul 2014 w/1.6L engine)...

Auto part Technology Vehicle Fictional character Engine

Passenger side side

Vehicle Auto part Car Automotive lighting Automotive exterior

Driver side... this is the one which is out of adjustment

Both are seated properly but I did have to force the driver side headlamp assembly after removing the screws. No other way to remove the cover due to the proximity to the fuse box.

Can anyone help me with the adjustment procedure? I read some messages in different threads and it seems like it's easy to perform (I know that the adjustment needs to be at certain heights and distances).

Do I require a special large-fine screwdriver that I insert in the guided slot on top?

There are UP and DOWN arrows on the cowl but I tried using an improvised tool and and I didn't see any height changes when I move the wheel.

What am I missing???


<<<UPDATE>>>

I read other posts and maybe the entire driver side headlamp housing is not properly in place so tomorrow I will unscrew the housing and re-seat it just in case. As many people did, I did force it a bit trying to get the back cover off so perhaps that's what's out of adjustment.

If that doesn't work, I will swap LED headlamps from the passenger and driver sides. Note that this is the 3rd set of LEDs I have bought from them and installed them on three different vehicles. This is the only one I have a problem with and it might have been user induced LOL.
 
#22 ·
Sorry for the delay. Here are two pics (Kia Soul 2014 w/1.6L engine)...

View attachment 80162
Passenger side side

View attachment 80170
Driver side... this is the one which is out of adjustment

Both are seated properly but I did have to force the driver side headlamp assembly after removing the screws. No other way to remove the cover due to the proximity to the fuse box.

Can anyone help me with the adjustment procedure? I read some messages in different threads and it seems like it's easy to perform (I know that the adjustment needs to be at certain heights and distances).

Do I require a special large-fine screwdriver that I insert in the guided slot on top?

There are UP and DOWN arrows on the cowl but I tried using an improvised tool and and I didn't see any height changes when I move the wheel.

What am I missing???


<<<UPDATE>>>

I read other posts and maybe the entire driver side headlamp housing is not properly in place so tomorrow I will unscrew the housing and re-seat it just in case. As many people did, I did force it a bit trying to get the back cover off so perhaps that's what's out of adjustment.

If that doesn't work, I will swap LED headlamps from the passenger and driver sides. Note that this is the 3rd set of LEDs I have bought from them and installed them on three different vehicles. This is the only one I have a problem with and it might have been user induced LOL.

I got an answer from the Mfg that the dust covers must be left off to make these particular lights for the heat sink/dissapation to work in a 2014 or newer Soul. My concern living in WI with our range of weather is what is going to happen long term with moisture/corrosion etc with no dust covers on?
 
#10 ·
The white light seems brighter but more importantly, it is better reflected off signs and road markings.What I noticed since I installed mine on my Nissan Rogue was that they don't necessarily shine further than the standard ones but that they provide better feedback to the driver as the street/highway signs and road markings are MUCH more visible (read "lighted").
 
#11 ·
I have OEM projectors on my 2016, too new to even know what bulbs it calls for stock. I am hesitant to change my headlights however since many states (might even be Federal) prohibit such a mod legally.
 
#12 ·
If you want a whiter light from your headlights but don't want to invest all the time doing these mods. I absolutely love Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs. They really do make a difference, and even tho they say the life span is much shorter, I have not experienced this personally. I leave my lights on 100% of the time and use the headlight escort feature that auto shuts them off after locking the car doors.

I even get the occasional flash with my low beams on from time to time. I try to keep the lens clean for maximum sight at night.
 
#14 ·
Hockettj --> I tried various "white" and "bright" halogen lamps from Sylvania and from others to only be disappointed in the marginal improvement. Once I switched to the LEDs, the changes were very visible. As noted in my previous post, street signs and markings pop-out at night and I like the "white" light in place of the yellowish halogens.

For example, I changed the low beam on my 2014 Nissan Rogue select but not the fogs and the difference was very visible. So much so that I ordered a set of "H8" LEDs. Our daughter was visiting from California and she used my wife's 2014 Kia Soul. She also noted the difference... so much that she ordered a set for her car and installed them over there.

As for being hard to change, most of the LEDs are very easy to install and even changing the HALOGEN bulb on the driver's side of the SOUL is challenging as removing the cover is not easy due to the proximity of the fuse box. The same amount of effort is needed to swap that bulb as is required to install LED lamps. On the passenger's side it's as easy as changing the stock bulb.

IMHO, the negative is the price (~$99/set) while the positive is are the results.
 
#18 ·
Everyone perceives things differently, so to one who thinks they don't make a change others might think they do. My night time driving happens to be through very remote parts of colorado where there isn't a lot of interference from other light sources. There is a difference, but depending on your driving needs, they might not be enough.
 
#15 ·
Flashfox - I am trying to change my bulbs , but only changing from the OEM bulbs to some Osram Nightbreakers. Just wanted to ask if you had any special tricks when twisting the bulb out of the holder for the dipped beam. I can get to the LHS bulb even with the fuse box, but struggling with the RHS bulb. I can twist about 1/2 the required rotation but no more. Is there some trick to this or some tool you used to help? (I use LHS and RHS as I am in the UK and so the car is right hand drive).
 
#16 · (Edited)
AK888 --> That's odd as the RHS lamp was very easy to remove on our 2014 KIA SOUL. I struggled with the LHS cover one due its close proximity to the fuse box (had to losen the lam housing). Note that our KIA version has a combined H/L lamps while as per what I understand, yours has separate H and L lamps as you refer to your "dipped beam". If this is the case then I don't have any suggestions but I am certain that others on this group will... they are very helpful. Perhaps the engine compartment layout is different for those who drive on the "wrong side" (LOL). Cheers :)
 
#17 ·
ak888, flashbox makes a good point in post #16.... What side is your fusebox on? If not a bunch of trouble could you take a pic of your engine bay for us??

Thanks

David
 
#19 ·
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Engine Auto part


This is the engine bay from the front - you can see the fuse on the right hand side of this image (LHS of the car).

Auto part Engine Technology Automotive exterior Machine


This is what I am having trouble with - I can remove the dust cover but the bulb is on real tight - I can only rotate it half the required distance. Space is tight (the engine coolant tank is there.) but not as tight as the side with the fuse box.

Just wondered if anyone as a tip or trick to help remove the bulb.
 
#20 ·
This is exactly the thread I have been searching for as I have been researching these exact same bulbs. My big concern is leaving the dust covers off since I live in Wisconsin... The land of ice and snow and rain and heat and cold and humidity and every other type of weather extreme you can throw out there! Thanks.....
 
#27 ·
Hey guys been lurking on the site for a little over a month now reading some great threads. I was just wondering if any of you could post a pic or a video of the lights at night shining on a wall or something. I have been looking at HID lights and LED lights but i don't want to be "that guy" that blinds everyone. I would like to try and keep the same light pattern but with just whiter light.
 
#30 ·
Hi C-Rad, bumping this old thread. Do you have an update on your LED conversion issue? Could it be that LED needs a conversion adapter? DDM tuning is 15min from my house, and I've had great experience with their HID kits, so my plan is to eventually convert my stock halogen H7 bulbs to HIDs (using stock projectors); however, I need the following
-H7 to 9006 adapter cable (like the ones on this link: http://m.ebay.com/itm/2x-H7-Sockets...%3A3e5a15b015e0aa66e7c5c760fff8afe5%7Ciid%3A1 )
-H7 adapter for to mount 9006 HID bulb onto headlamp housing

If you have the non-projector headlamps, your bulb could be different.
 
#31 ·
Thanks for bumping the thread... I was wondering, Has anyone had any life problems with their LEDs?
My three cents on the dust cover dilemma. Personally, I would get a pair of replacement covers. Use a hole saw or something that will cut a nice hole and just put a hold in the cover. I would make the hole roughly 1/16 of an inch to give a little wiggle room and heat dissipation.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top