Fixing LED Headlight Radio Interference 

Next time, try a capacitor to filter out the switching frequency. The noise is coming mostly from the led control ic that switches the leds on & off at a high rate of speed to keep voltage within spec so they don't burn out. The fan also creates a pulse when it's running, so a cap on it will help filter out the ripple.

Which cable did you put them on ? Leds or radio areial

The important thing is to stop the wiring acting as antennas. For the LED-headbeams that is as close to the lights as possible. The main problem is the voltage switch mode regulators. They act like spark gap transmitters with lot of harmonics in the radio spectrum. Clip on ferrite does not attenuate much, so often you use several in series. A ring core with many windings works better.

@@la7dfa Hmm, I'll have to make one. I have several ring cores in a tray around here somewhere, and plenty of solid copper wire core.

Where is the power supply to the radio??

That's How I Roll Thank you my friend!

Nice!

Thanks I think...

DERMOT HENRY Thank you! glad it worked for you!

Let me know how that works on a light bar! I don't have one and I'm curious to see if it works on something with multiple led's.

@@RocketScientist I just installed them. They work great! Almost no interference now. Before my light bars blasted the whole radio out. I had to play around with the sizes and locations to get the best single. I got better results when I upsized but they are a little loose. I'll have to zip tie everything in place, but now I can have my lights on and listen to the radio at the same time! Thank you for the video!

well, crap. yeah it was worth a shot..

I have LED headlights have interference too. Talked to a stereo installer about it, he said the coils are really the only option or go back to halogen lights again👎. Apparently it's caused because the led lights draw less than 12 volts? Which I don't really know much about. So any other suggestions?

Reuben Joyner Well thank YOU! Glad it worked! Sometimes it doesn't.

Rocket Scientist well I did use 8 lol

Yeah that wasn't happening here. It's a pretty fat cable.

James Holbrook I heard that, unfortunately not enough wire on the headlight kits to do that

Kevin Hunter Thanks man! I'll look into it. I installed a different set recently and they have interference I can't get rid of.

Hey mate, could i get more information on that plug you were talking about?

What is the device called?

Thanks! How did it work out?

Ehhh. Idunno if I can do that. These lights are like crack to a nerd like me.

That particular led in the fog light only has a one-sided LED, so it reflects opposite of the way its facing. Turned upward the way it is, the light bounces off the top of the housing and down toward the road, exactly how I want it.

Interesting

NosMan Jason Glad to help! Thank you!

Thats pretty much what i did.. on and off various wires until the noise stopped.

Nice!!

I tried this and it didn’t work

Twzted_Synapse it worked for me, but I think it also depends on how strong the AM station is to begin with. All you can really do is give it a try and see what happens.

This is similar to the kit I ordered. There doesn't seem to be much difference in the actual items other than size and quantity. Its probably a good idea to get a variety in one order. I also thought about wrapping the entire ballast box with EMI tape. Cost is about the same, and its another option. Could do both if you had to. Taigoehua 20 Pieces (Black) RFI EMI Noise Suppressor Cable Clip for 5mm/ 7mm/ 9mm Diameter Cable a.co/d/h6Qg75M

@@RocketScientist let me try that... But I presume this should work

Didn't know that! Thanks! Are you talking through the center or around the outside like a cylinder?

through the centre, around the outside, through the centre

what core?

Wire for the bulb isn’t long enough

eh, just get a variety pack.. one of them is bound to fit..

only in heavy snow where u get that star wars effect.. try some Auxbeam fs3's. they're awesome

It worked for me. It may not work for all lights. Not sure on the MM. These are just a cheap package off Amazon.

@@RocketScientist Thanks

DERMOT HENRY Hmm... not sure. I didn't try that, but I would think it would mess with the desired radio signal. perhaps I'll try it just for the heck of it. Thanks!

Antenna= no, radio power= yes

@H Higgins tried it. Made no difference.

@H Higgins exactly what I did. I have since changed these lights out for a different set which I have also reviewed it interested.

Been a while, I think i used all but 6 from the pack.

tried it in a later video with some different lights. did nothing.

Hmm... Thinking about what may be different about mine... OEM 6 disc GM radio.. I have a generic replacement antenna since a car wash ate my factory one. I did try the stacking idea to no avail, and ended up with one on every wire going to each light head, and it worked so I stopped there. What brand of headlights do you have? Any other LED lights on your truck besides the headlights that you may be overlooking? They all seem to make noise for me, even the little turn signal ones which I pulled back out in a hurry.

The only LED's are the headlights and fog lights. I just ordered "canbus" add-on ballasts...let's see if those work...TBD.

Gene Conti Hey, its worth a shot. Let me know if that works. Usually those canbus resistors just fool the computer so you don't get a bulb out warning on the dash. So I didnt try it.

No Dice, actually worse, the lights won't come on at all now. Sending them back...running out of ideas here...

Gene Conti Well crap. So am I. Try a different brand of lights maybe? If this didnt work for me, that was my next step. I might do that anyway. Thinking about Auxbeam. I've seen zero legit complaints about them.

Hey brother! Also a FF of 25 years. It might.. I think you might run into a problem since there are multiple LED light heads contained in the bar. You'd have to take it apart and put one on each individual light inside. What brand light is it? Is the radio a portable or a mobile installed in the car? I ran a slimlighter and a bunch of tir3's for years with no issue. Also had good luck with Tomar products. Probably easier to sell the bar and get some others that don't emit as much interference.

Matt Greenland hmmmmm thats interesting. I might have to investigate that one further... Thanks!

Justin Jones fogs took 4, heads took 5. Got a small handful left out that big pack of them. Still working good though!

Awesome! Let me know how it works out!

William Lerp did they ever work. I have a Street glide and was thinking to try these because of crap reception

Mike Hammer they worked somewhat. I regained some radio reception but not as good as it was before the led installation.

@@williamlerp9773 If you can loop the wire thru the Ferite clip several times it will do more for you, there are also electronic chokes that can be used I believe and could be better.

@@Critical_Mass that's exactly what I did but I only regained some of my reception. Luckily I have a cd player.

savnbest4last Not at all. Just the FM radio. AM is unaffected.

Thanks brother. Great video and information.

Hahahaha They may... But have a string attached for easy removal when she shoves them somewhere unpleasant.

Lol..... awesome video and thanks

eh.. i got some other lights that I reviewed in a later vid. I put them on the antenna wire and it did nothing. My new lights make noise no matter what. I'll probably do some tinkering with it..

Yep they just clip on. Try it on one wire at a time so when the sound improves, you know where the interference is coming from.

Does it matter how many I put on? Which should I try first leds cables or radio aerial cables?

@@luciocancellara4995 most convenient one first. I tried my antenna wire and it did nothing.

No they're not, but thanks

Tried. Did nothing.

Even bought load resisters but I think they're for ''canbus'' protection. Haven't hooked them up yet

@@dawhoda1 what kind of vehicle?

Brooklyn1530 same here

72W, 8,000 lumen.

@@RocketScientisthow many ferrite chokes did you end up using on headlight wires?

@@cbradiomizfit7562 I think i ended with 2 on each wire.

I dont get why people always say that. Does no one know how tf a reflector works? If I face it in a 3/9 position, its shooting the beam sideways where its lighting up the top of telephone poles. The way I have it it reflects flat directly onto the road, and the spread is 4 lanes wide exactly how it should be.

@@RocketScientist well, thats how it works for me and also for the majority of the cars... the best comparison would be to put it against the wall around 25ft distance and have one side with the oem bulbs and the other side with the led, if the beam pattern is a lot different, then its wrongly adjusted or you have a shitty led bulb possibly, not to mention that the oem bulb and beam pattern usually has some sort of cut off line to avoid glaring the driver in front of you.. with the 3 9 setting, my beam pattern is almost the same as the oem bulb, just a tiny bit different because the chip in the leds and the filament in the oem bulbs being a little bit different in size and positioning.. and thats another thing, the leds you are using in this video, chips seem to be the ones from older tech, they won't resemble the beam pattern very much even if its 3 9 position it seems.

Tried that. Did nothing.

@@RocketScientist Sweet. Good to know.

I'm here, just haven't made a vid in a while. By running lights you mean dash lights or outside lights?

I would have, but there's there's not enough and it's too thick. Ha

Eh.. It helps to have it clipped firmly on the wire so it doesn't move around. I'd say just get one of those variety packs. There's bound to be at least a few you can make use of.

Hey! Not a bad idea!

2007 Hummer H3

Wasn't even trying either.. 😂

But that would actually provide bright light on the road and not blind other drivers! Can't have that now, can we?

It's a cooling fan. It's there for a reason, like not burning my truck to the ground. Haha

@@RocketScientist I did not mean to leave it unplugged. I thought everyone would have understood that. Briefly...

David Peric perhaps, but I wonder how it would last very long.

the fan would fail before a fanless led bulb blows

I have led headlights without the fan and I'm having the same issue.

Ditto - fanless bulbs definitely still have the problem.