Brake light bulb type and LED bulb discussion

[notquitesane]

Hey Madmax98,

 

I took a quick pic of the amber LEDs (well this one was white, but its the same length as the amber one) I used in the mirrors for the turn signal.  It's not much longer than a regular incandescent, so make sure what ever LEDs you buy are short.

 

[Madmax98]

Thanx!  I should have measured first, but I'm pretty sure are 'shorty's'.

 

So did you do the puddle lights also?

With what bulbs - white 194 like what you show above ?

have to take mirror off or can be done from bottom?

 

I just bit the bullet with a little help with 35% off online orders over $75 from pep boys and got

Xtreme Vision 921LED 6000K white for the reverse bulbs.

 

Been dealing with dead battery issue instead, see other threads...;(

Hope it's not from the still ghosting center brake light led's...., haven't put the resistor in line yet, but I'd think that'd just draw more current if anything, wouldn't it?

[notquitesane]

No, the resistor to prevent ghosting isn't adding any current draw, it's just bleeding off what is already present.  Some LEDs already have resistors built in, so if they do you wouldn't need to add one.  You'll have to install your LEDs and then see if you have any flickering when they are supposed to be off.  Seems all my Diode Dynamics 194s flicker when they are supposed to be off.  I noticed my front sidemarkers were faintly glowing after I locked the car.  They eventually turn off.  Again, it's not a big enough deal for me to pull them out.

 

The puddle lamps are 194 as well, exactly as pictured above.  I've heard you can tilt the mirror up and towards to car and access it in the bottom corner away from your car if you have long needle nose pliers.  If you are careful, taking the mirror off is the easiest.  They don't give you much slack wire when you are pulling the bulb out.

 

I have the Xtreme Vision 921 LED for my reverse light. They are nice and bright.  I don't think it throws any more light behind the car, but they look awesome.

 

I am sorry you are dealing with the dead battery issue.  That would be extremely frustrating to deal with.  I can only hope that Ford comes up with a solution soon.

 

I received my really bright front turn signal LEDs, I will try to install them at noon.  Unfortunately I won't be able to compare to stock bulbs and I left them at home.  But I will be able to compare with what I currently have installed.  They look like they will be pretty bright!

[notquitesane]

Well I got them installed, but didn't get any good pictures.  Any pictures I took didn't show much of a difference as my car was pointed toward the sun at noon.  The C-MAX sure has a funny shaped reflector, makes for the LEDs lighting it up in funny ways.  You don't get a nice solid fill of light, like all of the lights in the rear of the car.  At any rate, they are brighter than the old LEDs and I'm happy with that.  When I get time I will take decent output pictures.

 

All I have left to do is install a dashcam to a switched power source (got the Mini Add-A-Circuit, just have to find the right fuse to tap off of), install an LED for the glove box (since I'll have to remove it in order to run wires for my dashcam) and maybe figure out how to retrofit the vanity lights in the sun visors.  I can't figure out how to take the lens cover off to get at the bulb.  I tried going in from behind and there is no access to the bulb from there either.  I can't have all the interior bulbs LED except the vanity lights.  It just seems wrong! lol

[Madmax98]

Hard to believe the Xtreme's don't also throw more light than the stock bulbs... I didn't take the time to test both, but I am concerned that the Phillps 921 didn't really 'pop' or even stick tightly in to the sockets.  I'm a little concerned they might shake loose over time, no?  I didn't want to push them any harder than I tried pushing from the bottom sides.

 

.....I had similar thought on the visor, but I would confer with whoever you know who might be using the vanity mirrors for makeup, lipstick, etc, whether incandescent is in fact preferable to LED just for the visor light....;)

 

what's the dashcam going to shoot, a backup camera? facing forward

[notquitesane]

Hard to believe the Xtreme's don't also throw more light than the stock bulbs... I didn't take the time to test both, but I am concerned that the Phillps 921 didn't really 'pop' or even stick tightly in to the sockets.  I'm a little concerned they might shake loose over time, no?  I didn't want to push them any harder than I tried pushing from the bottom sides.

 

.....I had similar thought on the visor, but I would confer with whoever you know who might be using the vanity mirrors for makeup, lipstick, etc, whether incandescent is in fact preferable to LED just for the visor light.... ;)

 

what's the dashcam going to shoot, a backup camera? facing forward

My Philips Xtremes didn't click in either but so far they've stayed in place with me opening and closing that hatch at least 6 times a day.  I am hoping they stay put.  My co-worker put a dab of silicone around the bottom just to hold it in a little better.  I lost a 921 in the tail light of my old 2008 Ford Fusion.  I had to get a screw driver with tape stuck to the end to fish out the darn bulb that fell into the housing. 

 

The vanity mirrors never get used... I just want LEDs in there! lol

 

I have a DOD RX7W+ dashcam that shoots forward and attaches over the rear view mirror.  I hate the fact that I lose the auto dimming mirror in the process, but I will be getting the back windows tinted eventually so it won't be so bad.  I got one that attaches to the rear view mirror so it blends in a little bit better.  Doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary unless you look close.  Decided to get one to protect myself in case an accident happens.  Recorded quite a few decent 'bad driver' clips but haven't gotten around to posting any of them.

 

Just to create a new project for myself, I might make it so the side markers flash with the turn signals.  I did this to my old Fusion, used a solid state relay and a small capacitor and etched my own board.  Shouldn't be too hard to do as all the wires I need are right in the headlight.  

 

I can never stop tinkering... lol

[Madmax98]

could silcone burn / melt that close to LED or does it stay that cool?

[notquitesane]

Reverse lights don't stay on that long, so it should stay fairly cool.

[Madmax98]

Reverse lights don't stay on that long, so it should stay fairly cool.

OK good, yesterday i noticed a bulb had slipped out, so I siliconed them in, kinda sticky and tricky to try not to touch any of the silver top end, hope this holds them in....

[notquitesane]

I have on order Morimoto XB LED t10/194 bulbs from The Retrofit Source.  I'm going to try them in my reverse lights to see if they are any brighter than the Philips.  They are smaller and lighter, so they should stay put, and seem like they will be really bright.  If not, I'll install in the cargo area of the car.  I haven't had one fall out yet but if yours are, I think I should put a dab of silicone on mine too. 

[Madmax98]

I got LEDs for front turn signal.  Look good, however they are hyperflashing, so I'll need to splice a resistor in.

 

Would you 1)

splice in resistor and keep INSIDE the front bulb housing (risk of heat buildup)

 

2) splice in resistor near the bulb housing but run the wires outside the rubber seal (risking less than air/water tight seal where cables pass under rubber seal)

 

3) splice into the main connector cable ( requires cutting into the nice cable cover, retaping it up, not to mention trying to figure out which cables are which). - Not sure where I can find this, but the cable connector going into the bulb housing does appear to have numbered connections.

[notquitesane]

I didn't need to put resistors on the front.  I was lucky enough to get away with having just one installed for the rear lights.  The resistors get HOT when you have your blinker on.  I wouldn't recommend leaving them in the light housing as it might melt something.  It's best to mount them on something metal. 

 

Looks like for both connectors on the headlamp, pin 8 is for the turn signal.  Pin 7 looks like ground.  Test it with a meter and let me know if those are correct.

[Madmax98]

I've seen some youtube videos where the installer just grounds the ground side of resistor to the body of the car rather than a specific ground wire.

Any pros/cons to this?

 

Aren't all the grounds tied to the chassis at some point?

 

And where did you mount the resistor for the rear turns?

 

FYI,  Unfortunately,  I am in process of trying to return the 7443 rear brake/park bulbs I bought since they did not function on the 'low'/park setting. 

Edited June 4, 2015 by Madmax98

[notquitesane]

Madmax,

 

Yeah, I think tying the ground to the body should be fine.  That's what I plan on doing when I install a 12V socket for my dashcam.  

 

When you pop the panel off in the cargo compartment and see the wiring harness go to the rear tail light, I mounted the resistors to the metal surrounding that opening.  I just drilled a hole and used self tapping screws.

 

I hope you can return your current lights and get replacements.  I'm always very impatient when it comes to waiting.  It's unfortunate that I don't have any good stores that carry suitable LED bulbs for the C-MAX.  I have to order everything online.  I actually have an order coming for yet another attempt at brighter reverse lights.  My co-worker gets my hand-me-downs.  He was excited to finally buy my old VLEDS 921 white LED bulbs that I had in my old Fusion for reverse lights.  He wanted to finally say all of his lights (besides the headlights and fog lights) were LED.  He was so excited to get them home, but at some point between work and home one fell out of his pocket and he lost it. :doh:  The other one fell on the floor as he was stepping out of his car in his garage.... *crunch* :doh:  He didn't even get to try them in his car!  If these new reverse lights I ordered work out, I'll get to sell him the Philips Xtreme Vision 921's I currently have in there.

 

Those Morimoto XB LED 194 bulbs were perfect for the cargo lights.  Nice and even lighting.  I don't like how the light doesn't use a reflector.  You basically lose half the light coming from the bulb.  I tried putting metal tape around the light to act as a reflector, but the shape isn't right.  Doesn't do much.  I'll have to work on it some more.  

 

[Madmax98]

Any other advice on side mirror removal to get at bulbs? 

A little anxious not to crack fragile glass.

 

What tools did you use, if any, is it best to try to pull out one tab, then move mirror to try to pop next tab, etc. ?

 

Thanks.

[notquitesane]

I used a flat screwdriver, tried to pry up a tab while putting pressure on the mirror with my other hand.  I think if you push closer to the centre of the mirror, the better.  Then I tried prying up another tab.  Eventually it popped off.  I started with the mirror all the way down and towards the car and used the exposed corner.  I found, though, that when the mirror popped loose, it got wedged in the housing.  I had to tilt the mirror toward a more normal position and was able to remove the glass.  I didn't disconnect the wires for the heated mirrors, I lowered the front windows and just let it rest on the window sill.

 

I *may* attempt to do this again, to put in brighter puddle lamps... lol

[notquitesane]

Well, now I know.  A Putco Plasma 921 LED (52mm or 2.05") is a few mm too long for the reverse light.  I can snap everything back together, but the end of the LED is pressing on the U shaped plastic piece in the reverse light housing.  I was contemplating removing that U shaped bit, but wasn't sure I could fish it out of the housing without damaging something or having to take the housing apart.  In the end, I just put the Philips Xtreme Vision 921 bulbs back in.  It's bright enough.

Edited June 10, 2015 by notquitesane

[Madmax98]

I had pretty good luck with the side mirrors, tilting them up  and in all the way and using a mini-crow bar to gently push the center area outwards away from mirror holder. pushing out on that one spot popped the whole mirror off pretty cleanly.

 

and yeah, I hear ya, the white led batch I got is nice led quality, but not killer bright lumens since is same ones used for license plate and trunk area....

[Madmax98]

I am having a bear of a time finding a 7443 bulb that actually works, have gone through two failed attempts.

The ones I  have tried so far work EITHER as a brake only light, or if turn 180 degrees, then work ONLY as a park/tail light.

 

I don't get how these dual filaments get tested or why they don't work in same way as dual filament incandescent.

Interior contacts are for park light, exterior contacts for brighter brake, 2 different brightnesses...

 

Also don't get how vendors test these and why doesn't work in my car.

 

Any recommendations?

[notquitesane]

Wow.  That's a bit of trouble you've been having with those brake lights.  The only thing I can think of is they didn't get the pins in the correct spot if it half works one way, and half works when spun 180°.  Can you post a link to what you have tried so far?

[Madmax98]

Wow.  That's a bit of trouble you've been having with those brake lights.  The only thing I can think of is they didn't get the pins in the correct spot if it half works one way, and half works when spun 180°.  Can you post a link to what you have tried so far?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281663277363?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

failed

and

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-7443-7440-High-Power-CREE-30W-White-Reverse-Brake-Tail-Turn-LED-Light-Bulbs-/251882852345?hash=item3aa5634ff9&vxp=mtr

also failed

 

Pins match the incandescent dual filament W21/5W, but perhaps internal wiring to the LED's is screwy?

 

How hard can it be?

[Madmax98]

 

Click on image to read the label is a  W21/5W dual filament bulb I'm tring to replace.

Notice the inside pins light up the top filament which is the dimmer (park/tail) filament.

The outside pins light up the lower filament which is the brighter brake light.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Madmax98

[notquitesane]

The only thing I can suggest is to make sure the wires on the LEDs are straight.  Sometimes they don't line up with  the contacts in the socket and do strange things. If you have access to a power supply, verify that your LEDs light up with that.  If it does then there is something not contacting correctly in your socket.

[Madmax98]

I'm not sure where I read/saw that the Ford socket is 'Standard', but upon closer inspection, ground contacts are across the same side of the socket, making this a 'CK'  type socket after all according to many of the drawings out there at bulb vendor sites.

 

Not sure I can convert this bulb by bending pins around, or if I can find a CK style LED bulb replacement....will update later.

[notquitesane]

I'l take my tail light out at break and see what I can find out.