LED Drl & Reverse Lamps

[BIG Nick]

Muhahaha,

 

I can confirm that these expensive little darlings work in the DRL's and Reverse lamps with no issues 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281136398265?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

If anyone wants a pic let me know as they are rather bright as well 

 

Currently got them in the DRL's as didn't want to buy 2 sets in case they didn't work, however can't make my mind up now to stick with white or have Amber as DRL's  :think:

 

Nick

[Guest ProfesorDeBuceo]

Hi Nick, a pic would be nice, ta, but at virtually £38 a pair I have to wonder "are they really worth that?"

 

As for colour, I'd always stick with white DRL's.

[BIG Nick]

Hi Nick, a pic would be nice, ta, but at virtually £38 a pair I have to wonder "are they really worth that?"

 

As for colour, I'd always stick with white DRL's.

 

Trouble with me is I'm a sucker for LED's I really like em and I also hate bulb warnings.

 

I like the white DRL but as in the non vrs FL they are in the fog light housing I get sick of people flashing me and gesturing at me when I've pulled along side at a set of lights. 

 

"You've got your fog lights on"

"No I haven't."

"Yes you have"

 

I then drive off.

 

Will get a pic when the piece of junk Zafira has been moved from my drive. (Missus friend)

[Guest ProfesorDeBuceo]

Yes Nick, LEDs have many advantages over ordinary bulbs I agree, it's just the cost of these I queried.

 

I hadn't realised you had DRL fog lights. In that case I can see the attraction of a colour change.

[BIG Nick]

Yes Nick, LEDs have many advantages over ordinary bulbs I agree, it's just the cost of these I queried.

 

I hadn't realised you had DRL fog lights. In that case I can see the attraction of a colour change.

 

Sorry I meant my DRL's are next to my fog lights as they reside in the same housing.  

[Guest ProfesorDeBuceo]

Sorry I meant my DRL's are next to my fog lights as they reside in the same housing.

 

Yeah, that's what I meant, just didn't explain clearly.

[BIG Nick]

As requested.

 

 

 

 

I'll get some at night if I haven't fallen asleep on the sofa

 

[Guest ProfesorDeBuceo]

Cheers Nick. Must admit they do look bright, a see a definite use in reverse lights.

Now to find a seller without having to speak to the bank manager first 

[ryan-re]

You can get cree q5 led p21 bulbs for less than half that. Only difference is they dont have the leds on the side

[BIG Nick]

You can get cree q5 led p21 bulbs for less than half that. Only difference is they dont have the leds on the side

Yup you're not wrong, but because of how picky the canbus is on Octy's between 09-12 I went for the highest current draw.

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[Surrey Ocy]

Hi Nick,

 

Any issues with heat damage to the housing that you can forsee?  Or do you think they run close to the filament bulb temps?

 

Cheers,

Bob

[BIG Nick]

Hi Nick,

Any issues with heat damage to the housing that you can forsee? Or do you think they run close to the filament bulb temps?

Cheers,

Bob

They're a little longer than a normal bulb, but the previous LED's I had in the housing were the same size and I ran them for 12 months I think without any heat issue.

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[CmB]

How easy is it to change the bulbs where your DRLs are located? These would look good on my fathers Octy estate.

And, has the eBay seller already put his prices up !!!

[BIG Nick]

How easy is it to change the bulbs where your DRLs are located? These would look good on my fathers Octy estate.

And, has the eBay seller already put his prices up !!!

Easy to replace, just a case of getting the grille inserts out each side.

As for the price, yes it would appear they have gone up by £10.

All I can say is, Google is your friend

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[mmafreak]

Yup you're not wrong, but because of how picky the canbus is on Octy's between 09-12 I went for the highest current draw.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

 

Nick,

 

I bought 30W Cree LEDs from Car Mod Shop http://www.car-mod-shop.co.uk/382cree-30-30w-ba15s-1156-382-cree-12v24v-high-power-led-bulb-stop-tail-reverse-fog.html. 

 

They did throw an error after 5 minutes of turning the engine on. I reduced the power of the DRL using VCDS- it is set to 92% by default and I found that 70% brightness did away with the error on my car. 

 

Did you have to do anything with VCDS or just plug-n-play? 

 

Some pics-

 

 

Edited 20 November, 2013 by mmafreak

[BIG Nick]

Didn't have to change anything on mine, although I did buy the 50w versions which I think would draw more power.

[john.errington]

Unlike bulbs, which run happily at very high temperatures, LEDs need to be kept cool.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_management_of_high-power_LEDs

 

I cant believe a "50W" LED - or even a "30W" LED bulb with a little bit of metal in an enclosed lamp would stay cool very long.

Has anyone measured the current to check the wattage?

 

"do you think they run close to the filament bulb temps"?

 

LED lamps are destroyed when the CHIP reaches 150C. Not the housing, the chip. Halogen capsules work at over 250C!.

Their useful life is dramatically reduced when the temperature exceeds 55C.

 

Halogen capsules need to be over 250C for the halogen cycle to work!.

[xpower]

Unlike bulbs, which run happily at very high temperatures, LEDs need to be kept cool.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_management_of_high-power_LEDs

 

I cant believe a "50W" LED - or even a "30W" LED bulb with a little bit of metal in an enclosed lamp would stay cool very long.

Has anyone measured the current to check the wattage?

 

"do you think they run close to the filament bulb temps"?

 

LED lamps are destroyed when the CHIP reaches 150C. Not the housing, the chip. Halogen capsules work at over 250C!.

Their useful life is dramatically reduced when the temperature exceeds 55C.

 

Halogen capsules need to be over 250C for the halogen cycle to work!.

Thing is they are not 50w at 12v

Each led runs at around 3v at 5w (for example) so 4 of them together (in series) will run at 20w light output but still only draw 5w total at 12v.

I think these draw around 8-9w total at 12v

[john.errington]

"Thing is they are not 50w at 12v

Each led runs at around 3v at 5w (for example) so 4 of them together (in series) will run at 20w light output but still only draw 5w total at 12v."

 

w - watts - is the amount of electricity they use (volts * amps).  Light output is measured in lumens not watts - so you dont have 20 watts of light.

 

If you could get 20W out from 5W in you could sell electricity.

 

And you cant run 4 in series from 12V - each NEEDS 3.6V. 4 * 3.6 = 14.4V

"I think these draw around 8-9 w total at 12v"  so they would correctlt be  9W lights, not 50W. If the company are SELLING them as equivalent to a 50W bulb, thats different.

But they arent. They are claiming they use 10 5W CREE LED chips.

 

However a conventional 50W car headlight bulb prodiuces around 1400lm (lumens - of light) http://www.durhambats.org.uk/about_torch.htm

 

a 9W LED produces at best only about 1000 lumens. So its still not correct.

[radders567]

Has anyone used these in their reverse lamps. I am about to fit a reversing camera so I would like a bright bulb so that I can see what is behind me. 

[ryan-re]

There is an issue with fitting leds in the reverse lights and thats a huge blind spot in the centre of the car. Exactly where the camera will be facing.

This is due to poor rear light cluster design

[Guest ProfesorDeBuceo]

Having recently installed a camera, I can confirm that the standard reverse light bulbs are more than adequate to light up enough to be seen on the screen.

 

Mike

 

Precisely

[radders567]

Having recently installed a camera, I can confirm that the standard reverse light bulbs are more than adequate to light up enough to be seen on the screen.

 

Mike

Cheers you just saved me twenty quid because when I install my camera I was going to put the brighter CREE bulbs in so that the picture would be clear.

 

Any advice on the install of the camera ?

[radders567]

I have the Kenwood DNX521DAB so I don't think I will have to code it in. Which side of the car did you run your video line. I think I am going to go down the passenger side.

[radders567]

Ok thanks mike I will bear that in mind.