How to wire LED tail lights
- Thread starter Alax7
- Start date
Well,right now I have 10w 100ohm resistors like u said, how much should I bump that up ya think? I do have more of those resistors cuz i bought a 10 pack, think just adding another in series would make it work? Or be too much?
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
Understand that with resistors, more is less. What I mean is that the higher the resistance, the lower the current. 100 ohms across 12V results in a current of 120 mA. This is 1.44 watts. You are trying to simulate a 26 watt bulb. Maybe try 10 ohms next, that would simulate 14.4 watts (resistor needs to be at least 15 watts rated). 5.5 ohms would simulate a 26 watt bulb. (Resistor should be rated at least 30 watts).
Instead of installing resistors that get really hot, I simply used t5 instrument cluster bulbs for each circuit, and since they don't get burning hot I tucked them in behind the trunk liner. They only pull 180ma's each, which is enough to fool the lamp out warning. I also didn't spend a lot of $ for LED's, I used Sylvania Zevo bulbs that were only $14/pair w/lifetime warranty. They are super bright and have been installed for over 18 years. My youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Tv0kuDyQhbH-DrqF71zYQ/videos has a video of my LS showing how bright they are. The Sylvania Zevo's came in 2 different styles, reverse facing LED's (that require a reflective bowl behind the bulb), and forward facing LED's. I used the reverse facing LED bulb for tail/brake and the forward facing LED bulb for the reverse lights.
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03LSSport
LVC Member
Hey guys, I've done a full LED conversion on my 2003, stop lights, running lights, turn signals, everything. I have no errors. You'll need to wire in some relays to change polarity of the sockets in the taillights, as the factory uses a common positive, switched independent grounds for the stop/running lights. Attached is a wiring diagram I made of how I connected them.
Cheers.
Cheers.
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
So rather than starting a new thread... I figure I would post here.
I found out yesterday that Sylvania now makes LED's gor the fog lights (9145 bulb).
They appear to be side facing (neither forward nor rear).
Just wondering if anyone has tried these (no I didn't read through this thread) and wondered what the thoughts/opinions were.
Any unforseen issuues with using them? Are they "plug and play" ... or will they need some sort of resistor added to make them function properly.
Price is $70/pair. Think it's worth it? I get 1.5 - 2 years out of the basic 9145's ... and only about 6 months out of the Silverstars because they run so hot.
Just wanted to brighten up the fogs... and the Sylvania LED's have a 3 year warranty.
TIA...
I found out yesterday that Sylvania now makes LED's gor the fog lights (9145 bulb).
They appear to be side facing (neither forward nor rear).
Just wondering if anyone has tried these (no I didn't read through this thread) and wondered what the thoughts/opinions were.
Any unforseen issuues with using them? Are they "plug and play" ... or will they need some sort of resistor added to make them function properly.
Price is $70/pair. Think it's worth it? I get 1.5 - 2 years out of the basic 9145's ... and only about 6 months out of the Silverstars because they run so hot.
Just wanted to brighten up the fogs... and the Sylvania LED's have a 3 year warranty.
TIA...
03LSSport
LVC Member
The fog lights aren't monitored, so you won't need a load resistor. If you have HID headlights you'll want 5000K color temperature LEDs to match. Halogen headlights are probably closer to 3000K color temperature.
Should be plug and play. Whats the lumen output of them?
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
They are 6000k color temp. Haven't found the lumens... yet.
03LSSport
LVC Member
They should match pretty closely to the HIDs then. I think I used some 2000 or 2500 lumen ones I found on Amazon, they work very well.
They might have been 6000K too, its been a couple years and I've got way too many projects going on haha
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
They get high reviews on A-zon. Couldn't find actual lumen specs... but through a little research they are probably 3000-3400 lumens.
SultanGris
Dedicated LVC Member
Kind of expensive for LEDs in my opinion, I bought a $200 set for my F350 but you can get a $50 set that's pretty much the same thing, migjt last little longer but in case of F-350 headlights they're kind of a bitch to change, gotta take the grill loose and headlight out basically, but in a Lincoln LS fog light I would opt for a cheaper one if I had the chance because they are super easy to change. Far from an expert but I have noticed that LED bulbs range from $10 to $200 and I don't see much upside with the $200 ones versus the $10 ones so far.
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
I disagree (LOL)
$70 for a SET of 2 doesn't seem bad ($35 per light).
Especially with a 3 year warranty. If I get 5 years out of the LED's... It's a break even proposition (with better lighting from the LED's)
EDIT: I will add that the DR2 lamps for the HID headlights run $90-100 per lamp.
If I buy the basic 9145 fogs (and they last 1.5 years) at $20 per pair... that would be $60
The basic 9145 only has a year warranty. Don't remember the warranty on the Silverstar 9145's... but they have a short life span cause they run hotter.
The color temp of the LED fogs would better match the factory HID headlights I have. The yellowish fogs always kinda bothered me... against the contrast of the HID's.
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SultanGris
Dedicated LVC Member
Fair enough, yes there are a few factors to consider, have no idea what they actually cost but if I could find one for 10 or 20 bucks I'd use that before I'd do $70 ones cuz it takes 5 seconds to change them, if 40 or 50 is t the cheapest they get then i agree it's not worth the hassle.
I know what you mean about the fog lights but they are yellow for a reason, so you can see in the fog. The whiter and brighter your lights are the worse your visibility and fog and snowy conditions cause the whiteness just reflects back at you, may not matter for where you live but if you have to deal with snow or fog very much then you would definitely want yellow fog lights. Even yellowish tinted sunglasses help brighten up your visibility and see further in fog and snow, it's crazy!
I know what you mean about the fog lights but they are yellow for a reason, so you can see in the fog. The whiter and brighter your lights are the worse your visibility and fog and snowy conditions cause the whiteness just reflects back at you, may not matter for where you live but if you have to deal with snow or fog very much then you would definitely want yellow fog lights. Even yellowish tinted sunglasses help brighten up your visibility and see further in fog and snow, it's crazy!
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
For the record... the fog lights on the LS... are not yellow. I said yellowish (compared to the headlights).
LOL... you obviously haven't read my location. It's at the top of every post I make. I'm right in the heart of the
snowbelt/rustbelt.
We don't just get snow and fog here... sometimes we get freezing fog. Black ice is very common here too in winter.
Part of the reason I did my headlight switch bypass... was to run fogs only... to get light under the fog since it typically hovers a couple feet off the ground. Proper foglight adjustment helps too.
"Car season" (for deer) is
coming up soon... and I'd rather not have a "12 point" in my passenger seat.
Already said you won't find decent LED fog light bulbs for the LS for $10-20. Sylvania for $35 each is the best option.
They put the time and research into them... and make a quality product. Not sure where they are made... but still have to be better than a China knockoff.
.
LOL... you obviously haven't read my location. It's at the top of every post I make. I'm right in the heart of the
snowbelt/rustbelt.
We don't just get snow and fog here... sometimes we get freezing fog. Black ice is very common here too in winter.
Part of the reason I did my headlight switch bypass... was to run fogs only... to get light under the fog since it typically hovers a couple feet off the ground. Proper foglight adjustment helps too.
"Car season" (for deer) is
coming up soon... and I'd rather not have a "12 point" in my passenger seat.
Already said you won't find decent LED fog light bulbs for the LS for $10-20. Sylvania for $35 each is the best option.
They put the time and research into them... and make a quality product. Not sure where they are made... but still have to be better than a China knockoff.
SultanGris
Dedicated LVC Member
Yes i understand, and agree as blizzards and fog is relatively uncommon and most people just stay home, but i have some real PIAA fog lights for my f350 and they are yellow and they work awesome in snow and fog, if you ever experience real foggy or blizzard like conditions with real yellow fog lights vs white it will blow your mind how much further and better you can see with yellow lights when the ground and the air are all bright white. It basically comes down to if you wanna be able to see where you're going in a blizzard and fog or if you just wanna look cool,
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
This is fogs only... and I guess technically they aren't fogs... but "driving lights".
04_Sport_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
They work... cause I was able to see 2 racoons at 2 different spots... and dodge them.
ok so i cant figure out what i need to do to get rid of this bulb warning message. ive got the stock bulbs, and 2 different sets of LED bulbs, i wired the resistors in exactly as it shows on here, still got the message, tried different LED bulbs, still got warning message. so i measured the resistance of all 3 bulbs,
Stock bulb:
filament 1 - .7ohms
filament 2 - 2.6ohms
LED #1
side 1 - 7.5 M ohm
side 2 - 7 M ohm
LED #2
side1 -340 k ohm
side 2 - 750 M ohm
ive got 2 100ohm 10w resistors wired in exactly as the diagram shows.
i thought the warning message came one because LED bulbs have LESS resistance, but these bulbs have way MORE resistance than the stock incandescent bulbs? i know one set was labeled as "canbus error free" is there maybe just resistors wires into the bulbs to try to stop warning messsages or something? or does anybody know what i need to change to make the warning message stop popping up?
Stock bulb:
filament 1 - .7ohms
filament 2 - 2.6ohms
LED #1
side 1 - 7.5 M ohm
side 2 - 7 M ohm
LED #2
side1 -340 k ohm
side 2 - 750 M ohm
ive got 2 100ohm 10w resistors wired in exactly as the diagram shows.
i thought the warning message came one because LED bulbs have LESS resistance, but these bulbs have way MORE resistance than the stock incandescent bulbs? i know one set was labeled as "canbus error free" is there maybe just resistors wires into the bulbs to try to stop warning messsages or something? or does anybody know what i need to change to make the warning message stop popping up?
03LSSport
LVC Member
LEDs have more resistance than incandescent bulbs, not less. The higher the resistance, the less current flow. Kind of the inverse of how you are thinking of it.
In this case the car is seeing too much resistance and thinks the circuit is open (open circuit = infinite resistance). On the opposite end of the spectrum is a short circuit or zero resistance.
Also you may want to look at my post above, if you haven't changed the polarity of the bulbs by adding relays, you probably won't have working running lights (or rather the stop lamps will be on constantly and people won't know if you step on the brakes). You can get the bulb out messages to go away with the resistor wired correctly, but it won't fix the running/brake light issue.