Has anyone changed the bulbs in the rear light to LED, if so what did you use?

I'm trying to find good quality replacement led bulbs that are error free and do not cost the earth!

Look up CREE bulbs they get a good write up, thinking of buying the indicator ones my self. 

some chap on here has done it well the fronts.....so far look pretty good and they are error free but the do come at a price £26.99 for a set i think

I've done all the indicators with cheapo eBay SMD's. Recently installed Cree's for reversing too but they're giving a bulb out warning when they're tested on engine start.To be honest I didn't have the guts to buy enough bulbs to do stop/tail only for them to give bulb out warnings.

 

Indicators were fine though, no warnings with those.

Maybe LED bulbs have improved lately but up until recently they weren't any good for traditional car rear light clusters.

 

The reflectors are designed to work with normal incandescent bulbs and reflect almost all of the light output across an approximately 180 degree field.

 

LED's are very directional meaning the light is shone straight out and not back into the reflector - this actually often makes them less bright than normal bulbs.

 

I think the Cree LED's are less directional with their domed lens so perhaps things have improved?

 

Otherwise I'm not sure LED's used in fittings not designed for LED's will offer much of an improvement other than their increased light-up speed...

Given the cost of changing all the rear lights over to CREE, why not go the whole hog and replace the entire cluster with something like DectaneLEDs? (Look for Brimma's job on the JPS)

Given the cost of changing all the rear lights over to CREE, why not go the whole hog and replace the entire cluster with something like DectaneLEDs? (Look for Brimma's job on the JPS)

 

The one thing that puts me off the Dectane lights is the reflector at the bottom of the cluster. If it wasnt for that i would probably buy a set !

What's wrong with the reflector strip? It hardly stands out much over the LED's?

 

 

The reflector is less pronounced on the tinted version...

 

 

Better still get the OEM LED clusters instead...

How can I get hold of those OEM LED clusters? They look brilliant

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And are they for the hatch as eveey set of LED ive seen are for the estates

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try www.alibaba.com

try www.alibaba.com

Has any one bought from them before I know its like a Chinese amazon but what changes can occur as in do you have to pay extra shipping fees etc

DMilleaVRS

I bought my genuine OEM LED rear clusters for my Superb from Alibaba, great service.

 

 

Edited 15 August, 201312 yr by silver1011

Was there any extra cost silver?

DMilleaVRS

Nope, the prices are all in USD so you need to covert into GBP, but shipping is included.

 

Don't forget you might have to pay customs charges but I never, seems that packages are pulled at random.

 

The good thing with Alibaba or AliExpress is that you pay Alibaba and they hold your money until you confirm receipt. Only then are the funds released to the seller.

 

I was able to ask the seller all sorts of questions before buying with regard to fitting and coding etc. and they were very good.

 

This is the seller I used...

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FREE-SHIPPING-SKODA-SUPERB-OUTSIDE-LED-TAIL-LIGHT-REAR-LAMP-ASSEMBLY/738907583.html

Did you have to do any re-wiring or add resistors to get them to work ??

Byte 18 in Central Electronics needs updating to tell the car it has LED rear clusters fitted using VCDS.

 

The Octavia may well be different though.

 

You can also add resistors to clear the blown-bulb warning too if you prefer.

so if i buy a set i need some one to code them to the octavia.....never really understood this coding thing do you have to have a specific make/age skoda?

Any parts you buy from Alibaba will not be genuine. 99.9% of "Genuine" items you buy from China are fake

My lights are genuine. The LED tail lights fitted to the Octavia and Superb (until recently) are only on the Chinese models.

 

The lights are therefore manufactured locally in China, hence they are popular on Alibaba / Aliexpress.

 

I can't say this for all Alibaba sellers / products. Just like any internet sale there is a risk.

so if i buy a set i need some one to code them to the octavia.....never really understood this coding thing do you have to have a specific make/age skoda?

 

Take a look here in the dedicated VCDS forum...

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/23-diagnostics-vcds/

here you go click on link

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2010-2012-SKODA-OCTAVIA-ORIGINAL-LED-TAIL-LIGHT-REAR-LAMP-ASSEMBLY/202676_562302011.html

 

 

but would you get any canbus errors on a mk2 octavia ????

Yes, if the car isn't coded or resistors fitted you will get the blown-bulb warning on the dash

sounds like a lot of hard work to me fitting  resistors

Far from it, you can fit the resistors before fitting the clusters to the car.

 

See here...

 

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Load-Resistor-Use-With-Automotive-LED-Bulbs/10000000010793386/g.html

 

They can get hot though so you need to be careful where you mount them.