LED Headlight reflective blindness in Heavy snow

[Pilot425]

As a side note. Might want to get the eyeballs checked for cataracts. I was having reflective issues and night issues for a few years until the eyes went full on cloudy. Had cataracts and was told i probably had it for years. They just got to the point I couldn't ignore it. Got new lenses put in and what a world of difference! Didn't realize the brightness and colors I was missing. Everyone gets it. Just a matter of when.

Thx, Im a commercial pilot. Eye’s are still strong. Hopefully for awhile yet

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[Pilot425]

This happens with any type of headlight in heavy snow, thick fog, or heavy rain. That's reflection is worse when you run high beams, that's why fog lights usually shut off the high beams when turned on. Also, LED's are a poor choice for wet snow because they aren't hot enough to melt the snow and the lens get's covered up. Some LED headlights include heaters to prevent this.

You probably noticed the reflection more with the LED because they are brighter than most other halogen and standard headlights.

Also have a KIA Telluride with LED’s and have not experienced anything like what I experienced in the Gladiator in similar conditions. One of the jets I fly has LED landing lights and at 200 kts and much heavier snow with no blinding reflection. Must just be the design of where the lights are located that attribute to the issue in this platform. I was mainly interested in knowing others experiencing same issue and to see if any corrective actions helped with reducing the reflection.

 

[Pilot425]

Driven a ton in the snow and don’t recall ever having any issues….only time I had an issue was once when I drove a hundred miles through the mountains at night and couldn’t see well when my lights normally illuminate everything… turned out I only had the DRL’s on the whole time ?

DRL’s were the only way I could see anything in that snow.

 

[Pilot425]

DRL’s were the only way I could see anything in that snow.

Headlights were too blinding

 

[Wbrook24]

My buddy who had a similar issues got an amber light bar and angels his lights a degree or two below spec for winter.

 

[Pilot425]

My buddy who had a similar issues got an amber light bar and angels his lights a degree or two below spec for winter.

Thanks. Good suggestion

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Diode Dynamics SS3 factory fit ambers will fix it right up. My wife requested them after she drove my jeep, with them.

Selective yellow??

 

[ShadowsPapa]

From Daniel Stern Lighting site -



So, what is a good fog lamp? A good fog lamp produces a wide, bar-shaped beam of light with a sharp horizontal cutoff (dark above, bright below) at the top of the beam, and minimal upward light above the cutoff. Almost all factory-installed or dealer-optional fog lamps, and a great many aftermarket units, are essentially useless for any purpose, especially for extremely demanding poor-weather driving. Many of them are too small to produce enough light to make a difference, produce beam patterns too narrow to help, lack a sufficiently-sharp cutoff, and throw too much glare light into the eyes of other drivers, no matter how they're aimed.

Good (and legal) fog lamps may produce white or Selective Yellow light—it is the beam pattern, not the light colour, that defines a fog lamp—and most of them use tungsten-halogen bulbs though there are some legitimate (and a lot of illegitimate) LED fog lamps beginning to appear. Xenon or HID bulbs are inherently unsuitable for use in fog lamps, and blue or other-colored lights are also the wrong choice.

The fog lamps' job is to show you the edges of the road, the lane markings, and the immediate foreground. When used in combination with the headlamps, good fog lamps weight the overall beam pattern towards the foreground so that even though there may be a relatively high level of upward stray light from the headlamps causing glareback from the fog or falling rain or snow, there will be more foreground light than usual without a corresponding increase in upward stray light, giving back some of the vision you lose to precipitation.

When used without headlamps in conditions of extremely poor visibility due to snow, fog or heavy rain, good fog lamps light the foreground and the road edges only, so you can see your way safely at reduced speeds.

 

[DAVECS1]

Here is a with and without. While I enjoy a good read, real life experience has given me a strong preference to have these fog lights, as I can drive at night with minmal strain. Diode Dynamics says these light are DOT.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Here is a with and without. While I enjoy a good read, real life experience has goven me a strong preference to have these fog lights as I can drive at night with minmal strain. Diode Dynamics says these light are DOT.

If I recall they have three versions - last year I was considering their better level in yellow, may still as factory fogs aren't great.
Which version do you have? Sport/Pro/Max?

 

[Mastermind]

I thought it was just me…

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That picture isn't bad at all. In fact it looks like our last several vehicles, including my Silverado, etc.
IF things always looked that good in winter I'd be happy.

 

[Trickster]

Lights on the cowl or a-pillar are going to illuminate the hood area and cause distraction. Put them up front.

I have LED amber aux on the bumper and LED white aux on the A pillar.
Nothing will penetrate heavy snow and yes you will get more reflection off of it with brighter lights. Just like throwing high beams on in the fog make it worse for vision. There is a small reflection off the hood from the A pillar lights, but I have them aimed more to the ditches.
Heavy snow or fog I just go low beam LED and amber bumper lights.
I’m used to driving in the blinding snow, just like today was. I drive a plow/sander truck in the winter on highways. Just drive slower and don’t over run your light beam.?

 

[Trickster]

Also have a KIA Telluride with LED’s and have not experienced anything like what I experienced in the Gladiator in similar conditions. One of the jets I fly has LED landing lights and at 200 kts and much heavier snow with no blinding reflection. Must just be the design of where the lights are located that attribute to the issue in this platform. I was mainly interested in knowing others experiencing same issue and to see if any corrective actions helped with reducing the reflection.

Well on your aircraft they are usually nose gear or inboard of the wing correct? Location makes a difference for sure. As mentioned maybe dial the OEM’s down a bit, they may be set too high. Any Mods done?
Tires, lift?
Maybe try driving on instruments, you know adaptive cruise control.?

 

[Pilot425]

Well on your aircraft they are usually nose gear or inboard of the wing correct? Location makes a difference for sure. As mentioned maybe dial the OEM’s down a bit, they may be set too high. Any Mods done?
Tires, lift?
Maybe try driving on instruments, you know adaptive cruise control.?

Yes 2” on 37’s. Set at measured headlight height from 25’. Will dial down a bit more and see if that helps. Thx

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