LED Lighting ??

[Omega]

Hiya,

My car has bulbs all round. I have been wondering about LED bulbs for quite a time (I have been making things with ordinary LED’s etc). I certainly didn’t think they would be bright enough for automobile use.

In the meantime, I needed to replace my useless Blackspur 1,000,000 candle power lantern, and household torch.

I did quite a bit of research, & decided to go for a handheld torch, with an LMX800 bulb – WOW. It really is the best torch I’ve ever seen. Mind you, there are a couple of better LED’s, but the prices rise dramatically.

This brought me back to my quest; are there -reliable- LEDs to replace Head, dipped, fog lights with ?

Many thanks

 

[190]

There is a huge choice from ebay cheap Chinese stuff which probably isn't reliable to the ludicrously expensive Philips bulbs at £170 a pair which are supposed to be very good.
They all share two problems. Can bus errors which means you have to employ wasteful load resistors to make them consume the same watts as a halogen bulb and none of them are legally certified as halogen replacements because the bulb/reflector has to be designed as a unit. That means in theory replacing a halogen with an LED would be breaking the law which risks MOT failure and invalid insurance.

 

[AntMB]

Due to the canbus, I'd probably not retro fit them. I've had reliability issues with them in the past.

 

[Chrishazle]

If you search on here and t'other side you will find a lot of discussion about replacing standard halogen bulbs with LED's, it's one of those frequent "pass the popcorn" topics. Basically, if your car came equipped with standard halogen bulbs, you cannot legally replace the halogens with any other type of bulb, you have the choice of changing the bulb to something like Osram Nightbreaker Ultimates, Phillips X Vision etc, or changing the entire headlight unit to one designed and ECE approved for a different type of bulb. With some types you would aldo have to fit self levelling and headlight washers. Look for posts by GLK as he is well versed in the legalities etc. and has posted many times on this topic. Also be aware that LED bulbs in non LED headlights could easily be an MoT fail these days!

Many of the other bulbs can happily be changed to LED - just make sure you get canbus error free ones. The rear lights on my S204, with the exception of the indicators, are now LED, I also experimented with the front side/position lights but gave up as they would fail fairly quickly, I suspect due to overheating, and they're a PITA to change.

 

[Chrishazle]

Might as well close this thread as he's had plenty of advice on his mirror thread on MBOA!

 

[stephenmercedes]

Externally on my C240, I have replaced front side lights, front fog lights, and rear number plate bulbs all with LEDs. Internally, every single bulb (11 of them) have now been replaced with LED bulbs. On my Celica GT4, both headlights have been LEDs for years now. I'm a fan, but it's a 'brexit' debate, some people here vehemently for them, others against! It's your car, you have to decide. The 'canbus' error discussion is a bit of a red herring as there are numerous solutions that work round this. I have 17 LED bulbs on my Merc, not a peep from any error messages...

 

[Omega]

Externally on my C240, I have replaced front side lights, front fog lights, and rear number plate bulbs all with LEDs. Internally, every single bulb (11 of them) have now been replaced with LED bulbs. On my Celica GT4, both headlights have been LEDs for years now. I'm a fan, but it's a 'brexit' debate, some people here vehemently for them, others against! It's your car, you have to decide. The 'canbus' error discussion is a bit of a red herring as there are numerous solutions that work round this. I have 17 LED bulbs on my Merc, not a peep from any error messages...

Was it these bulbs you used; 181868602643 ?
When you have the time, would you be kind enough to list what you used around the car please ?

 

[stephenmercedes]

Was it these bulbs you used; 181868602643 ?
When you have the time, would you be kind enough to list what you used around the car please ?

The interior bulbs were all bought from a single kit, so handy, and every bulb is labelled exactly where it goes, and even comes with proper trim tool to access them all. Took no time at all to fit, and they came from this seller, just search your car from their 'shop'...

Premium LED Store | eBay Shops

The front fog bulbs, HB4s and also the number plate bulbs came from this listing & supplier...

*2x HB4 27 SMD 50W Resistors Error Free Canbus DRL Fog Light Spot Bulbs WHITE | eBay

The front side lights came from Halfords as I bought a few cheapies on Ebay but had issues with them, whilst the Halfords ones have a good warranty with them, and they've been perfect ever since fitted!

Hope this is of some help...

 

[190]

The 'canbus' error discussion is a bit of a red herring as there are numerous solutions that work round this. I have 17 LED bulbs on my Merc, not a peep from any error messages...

That's true enough until considered from a Green perspective. There can't be many areas of energy use where the majority of input energy is deliberately wasted as heat. Admittedly no more than the halogens were dissipating but for me it rules out LEDs as bad engineering even if entirely the fault of the "canbus" system. It would be better if the bulb monitoring circuits could be adjusted to suit LEDs.

So it's negligible and can't be more than 200 watts per car but there are 32 million cars in the UK alone. That will be some reduction in CO2 when all cars are properly engineered to use LEDs.

 

[stephenmercedes]

I must confess, the 'green' argument is one I never though twice about in my car. I simply wanted a brighter and more modern looking bulb. However, as of last week, every single bulb in my home is now LED, and the energy saving, where I am paying the bill, is considerable. Even in my kitchen where 3 x downlights went from 300w halogen to 18w LED with no discernible reduction in light output, and instant on operation!

 

[190]

...as of last week, every single bulb in my home is now LED, and the energy saving, where I am paying the bill, is considerable. Even in my kitchen where 3 x downlights went from 300w halogen to 18w LED with no discernible reduction in light output, and instant on operation!

Me too, I think LEDs in the home have really come of age. My biggest saving though was replacing a 20 odd year old integrated fridge and freezer with the new items consuming half the electricity.

 

[stephenmercedes]

Me too, I think LEDs in the home have really come of age. My biggest saving though was replacing a 20 odd year old integrated fridge and freezer with the new items consuming half the electricity.

mmm... my dilemma, I have Hotpoint fridge/freezer in my garage, bought in 1986, and works as well as the day it was installed. I know it's heavy on juice, but I can't bear to throw out something that works LOL

 

[190]

If you do some research though I think you'll find a new one will pay for itself in 5 years which is not a bad return on investment.
Shame I like reliable old things.

 

[Omega]

The interior bulbs were all bought from a single kit, so handy, and every bulb is labelled exactly where it goes, and even comes with proper trim tool to access them all. Took no time at all to fit, and they came from this seller, just search your car from their 'shop'...
Premium LED Store | eBay Shops
The front fog bulbs, HB4s and also the number plate bulbs came from this listing & supplier...
*2x HB4 27 SMD 50W Resistors Error Free Canbus DRL Fog Light Spot Bulbs WHITE | eBay
The front side lights came from Halfords as I bought a few cheapies on Ebay but had issues with them, whilst the Halfords ones have a good warranty with them, and they've been perfect ever since fitted!
Hope this is of some help...

Yep it certainly is. Thanks for taking the time.
All I have to do now is see if I can stoop over long enough to make the changes.