dolsen
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #1
TL;DR: just swapping headlamps from LED-R to LED-P will net you only low beams and hyper flash turn signals. In order to get "bending" and glare free you need headlamps and the HCM and all intermediate wiring. You do not need auto-level to get bending and glare free. To get auto level you also need LHS ride height sensors.
I wanted to write this out because there are a still a lot of people that do not know much about the upgrade to the projector LED head lamps. What I am writing is specific to LED reflector to LED projector upgrades. I have not upgraded from halogen, so it's possible most of this will apply, but maybe not all of it. For this post, I'll refer to the LED reflectors as LED-R and the LED Projectors as LED-P. I have answered many of the same questions this post answers time and time again. I'm certainly not upset about it because I didn't know anything about it at one time either, but I prefer to share my knowledge and hopefully make it easier for others to also do this conversion, and be more comfortable doing so.
The projector headlamp upgrade is a worthwhile but time consuming task that requires quite a bit of wiring and FORScan updates. The LED-R headlamps have three connectors that go into them and the LED-P have one connector, so you will need what is referred to as a conversion harness.
Simply installing the LED-P and the conversion harness will give you low beams only. NO high beams and hyper-flashing turn signals.
To get what I consider 90% functionality requires an HCM and all associated wiring from headlamps to HCM. This requires additional wiring from the headlamps to the BCM, headlamps to HCM, and the BCM through the ATCM to the HCM. The wiring from the headlamps to BCM is to activate the turn signal outage feedback to prevent hyper flash. It uses a different BCM pin than the LED-R's do so it requires different wiring. The headlamps to HCM allows the horizontal motors to move (aka bending) in the headlamps and activation/deactivation of the LED's in the light to enable glare free. The BCM through ATCM ties into the HS-CAN for communication with IPMA and SCCM for input to the HCM for headlamp function and the BCM powers the HCM.
I order to get 100% functionality, you would also need, at a minimum, the LHS front and rear ride height sensors. These also wire into the HCM and allow the headlamps to auto level.
If you have scales and/or CCD, the auto level will need to be wired up a bit different. I am not entirely sure how it works but it looks like the VDM communicates with the HCM over the HS-CAN.
I'll add more to this if I think of more or I can also answer questions. I just know this is a popular mod and I think there needs to be more info out there about it
EDIT: Here are the parts I bought for my entire conversion WITH the auto level:
The ML3Z part numbers are all Ford part numbers that can be purchased from a Ford parts website. I never was able to find the LH Tremor headlamp part number, but they're easy enough to find on eBay without it. I purchased my Conversion harness and the interior harness (the one labeled HCM and harnesses) from Ryan Broderick, to the best of my knowledge he is not a member on here. Anyone can make their own, as there is nothing proprietary about any of it, but I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing a premade one if you are even the *slightest* bit unsure of yourself and your skillset.
I was only successful due to the help of @JHForman812 . He is incredibly talented with this stuff. (To be clear, I am NOT offering up his services, as that is not my place to do so, but I had little to no experience with electrical, I just know my way around cars and know how to work on them and with ALOT of his guidance I was able to get it done.) I spent dozens, if not over 100, hours reading and researching for the install of the headlamps and HCM and for the wiring and components required for the level sensors (I even purchased the incorrect set of parts once which were non-returnable). Everything from the "Front LH Height Sensor" down is required to make auto level work. I did not include the wiring I used, which is 22ga TXL wiring that I got from wire barn. You'll almost certainly want 6 different colors that are 25 ft long so they can be cut down to length.
I do not have part numbers for all of the various connectors on the harness for the headlamp conversion.
I wanted to write this out because there are a still a lot of people that do not know much about the upgrade to the projector LED head lamps. What I am writing is specific to LED reflector to LED projector upgrades. I have not upgraded from halogen, so it's possible most of this will apply, but maybe not all of it. For this post, I'll refer to the LED reflectors as LED-R and the LED Projectors as LED-P. I have answered many of the same questions this post answers time and time again. I'm certainly not upset about it because I didn't know anything about it at one time either, but I prefer to share my knowledge and hopefully make it easier for others to also do this conversion, and be more comfortable doing so.
The projector headlamp upgrade is a worthwhile but time consuming task that requires quite a bit of wiring and FORScan updates. The LED-R headlamps have three connectors that go into them and the LED-P have one connector, so you will need what is referred to as a conversion harness.
Simply installing the LED-P and the conversion harness will give you low beams only. NO high beams and hyper-flashing turn signals.
To get what I consider 90% functionality requires an HCM and all associated wiring from headlamps to HCM. This requires additional wiring from the headlamps to the BCM, headlamps to HCM, and the BCM through the ATCM to the HCM. The wiring from the headlamps to BCM is to activate the turn signal outage feedback to prevent hyper flash. It uses a different BCM pin than the LED-R's do so it requires different wiring. The headlamps to HCM allows the horizontal motors to move (aka bending) in the headlamps and activation/deactivation of the LED's in the light to enable glare free. The BCM through ATCM ties into the HS-CAN for communication with IPMA and SCCM for input to the HCM for headlamp function and the BCM powers the HCM.
I order to get 100% functionality, you would also need, at a minimum, the LHS front and rear ride height sensors. These also wire into the HCM and allow the headlamps to auto level.
If you have scales and/or CCD, the auto level will need to be wired up a bit different. I am not entirely sure how it works but it looks like the VDM communicates with the HCM over the HS-CAN.
I'll add more to this if I think of more or I can also answer questions. I just know this is a popular mod and I think there needs to be more info out there about it
EDIT: Here are the parts I bought for my entire conversion WITH the auto level:
The ML3Z part numbers are all Ford part numbers that can be purchased from a Ford parts website. I never was able to find the LH Tremor headlamp part number, but they're easy enough to find on eBay without it. I purchased my Conversion harness and the interior harness (the one labeled HCM and harnesses) from Ryan Broderick, to the best of my knowledge he is not a member on here. Anyone can make their own, as there is nothing proprietary about any of it, but I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing a premade one if you are even the *slightest* bit unsure of yourself and your skillset.
I was only successful due to the help of @JHForman812 . He is incredibly talented with this stuff. (To be clear, I am NOT offering up his services, as that is not my place to do so, but I had little to no experience with electrical, I just know my way around cars and know how to work on them and with ALOT of his guidance I was able to get it done.) I spent dozens, if not over 100, hours reading and researching for the install of the headlamps and HCM and for the wiring and components required for the level sensors (I even purchased the incorrect set of parts once which were non-returnable). Everything from the "Front LH Height Sensor" down is required to make auto level work. I did not include the wiring I used, which is 22ga TXL wiring that I got from wire barn. You'll almost certainly want 6 different colors that are 25 ft long so they can be cut down to length.
I do not have part numbers for all of the various connectors on the harness for the headlamp conversion.
Sponsored
Last edited: