How to Make LED H7 Bulbs With a Fan and Heatsink Fit in a Headlight Housing

If youve ever bought LED headlights online for your car, theres a good chance they have a heatsink with a fan attached. When installing, many people run into the problem of the heatsink sticking out too far, preventing the dust cap on the headlight housing to be installed, or a mess of wires and power pack/adapter (see above picture). With very minimal effort, you can get the bulbs to fit perfectly!
Disclaimer: please make sure youre ready to do this. Some steps are irreversible and will void a warranty/return policy on your bulbs. Vehicle used to test this method was a 2002 Hyundai Sonata.

Sand paper
Screw driver
Socket and ratchet (optional)

Most vehicles equipped with an H7 bulb use a dust cap. Start by removing this.

Under the cap are the bulb retainers. Remove this hardware, you wont need it. But SAVE THE HARDWARE. If you ever wanna install halogens again, you will need the hardware.

Watch the video. On some bulbs there is a removable “mount”. This is the same style “mount” on halogen H7’s and fanless LED H7’s. You wont be needing this mount.

Under the mount, there are these notches. Sand them down (THIS STEP IS IRREVERSIBLE. DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU BOUGHT EXPENSIVE BULBS!!!)
These bumps will get in the way of installing the bulb.

This step is optional. If the hole inside the housing is not large enough for the bulb to fit in, you may consider buying different bulbs. However, if youve got nothing to lose, you can use a dremel to sand down the hole to enlarge it. Just be careful, wear safety glasses and dont get too much metal dust inside the headlamp assembly.

Now youre ready to test fit the bulb. Go ahead and pop it in. Note the position of the LEDs. If you have a flat style LED head, make sure it sits horizontal relative to the headlamp. This will maximize headlamp output. Dont install the bulb just yet.

Some of these bulbs with a fan have a power pack/adapter. Tuck it inside the housing out of the way. Tuck the bulb plug inside too. Now youre ready to insert the bulb. Remember to position the bulb as stated in the previous step.

Now that your bulb is installed and the components tucked inside, you should be able to install the cap now. Mine screwed right on and the bulb does not move at all. Turn your lights on, step back, and admire your handywork.