LED lights

Technical info on the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix including do-it-yourself info
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Digger
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Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 3:36 am

LED lights

Post by Digger »

Anyone try the new LED replacement bulbs in the brake lights or blinkers. if in the blinkers do they still flash?
2005 AWD What's your story?It's a wonderful thingMomma always said "Help that is not helpful, is no help at all"
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ColonelPanic
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Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2003 8:48 am
Location: South Central Indiana

Re: LED lights (Digger)

Post by ColonelPanic »

They will flash for the turn signal, but they will flash at dobule the normal rate... The flasher circuit can sense when a bulb is burned out - it expects to see a certain amount of current for the two incandescent bulbs when the flasher is active. If a bulb burns out, the circuit detects a drop in current in the circuit and will flash twice as fast to alert you of a burned out bulb. The problem with replacing incandescents with LED's in the flasher circuit is that the LED's will not pull anywhere near the current that the standard bulb will... So, even though the LED may be working, the circuit doesn't think there is a functioning bulb there, and it will flash twice as fast as it normally does. There are resistors to put inline with the wiring going to the bulb to correct this, it puts a sufficient enough load on the circuit to make the flasher think there is a working incandescent bulb present. You'd have to wire one in for both sides. Scroll down the page on this link to see the resistor... OR, I don't know about whether one of those will work, but they do have replacement flashers designed to get around this problem on that site as well.. That would be easier to replace.Unfortunately, replacing the brake lights with LED's has proven to be too dim for optimum safety as a couple of our members found out... You can get a drop-in replacemnt that will fit in there perfectly, but the lights will be less visible than your current incandescents in there. If you go to replace the turn signal bulbs up front, you may want to see if you can find some LED replacements that have LED's soldered on all the way around the assembly, so there will be sufficient light from all angles, not just from the front. Those were on ebay, with "tower" in the name of the bulb, but I can't remember anything else about them.
03 Vibe base. Born 10/14/2002 06:07 AM
Auto, Moon & Tunes, power package. 143k
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Digger
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Post by Digger »

that is the same site I was looking at. it referes to the filter effect of useing white LED's with red lens or white LED with yellow lens.
2005 AWD What's your story?It's a wonderful thingMomma always said "Help that is not helpful, is no help at all"
Digger
Posts: 674
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 3:36 am

Post by Digger »

anyone know where the flasher resistor is?
2005 AWD What's your story?It's a wonderful thingMomma always said "Help that is not helpful, is no help at all"
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