LED indicator bulbs

[Neily03]

This is utterly insane. Really?! If your car blows an indicator bulb you have to remove the front bumper and then the headlight unit? What insane fool signed that off for production?!

Good Lord!! I thought it was only the French that made such inept decisions.

I've never had an indicator blow in 17 years of driving so I'm not worried, infact I don't think I've had any bulb blow in the last 10 years of driving. It's a none issue.

[ahaavi]

Big change from the mk2, needed 30 sec to get the headlight out.

Edited 25 April, 2014 by ahaavi

[skodanorman]

I've never had an indicator blow in 17 years of driving so I'm not worried, infact I don't think I've had any bulb blow in the last 10 years of driving. It's a none issue.

You've been lucky. I've blown bulbs on various cars and experienced earth faults with cars as they get older. A bulb is a consumable so to make it this hard to change is stupid. What tangible benefit is there to make simple jobs this hard?

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

[xpower]

Bumper off job.

Definately is, day 6 of ownership :-) excuse the mess

I was wrapping the grille matte black as I didn't order the black pack (didn't want black mirrors)

Looks better now though!

Edited 26 April, 2014 by xpower

[panmat]

just wondered what would the cost of all this be if taken to the dealership, no doubt most owners would have to go down this route, and not DIY?

[Gizmo]

That is a crazy design ‘fault’!

 

As for the dealer charge you would not get any change from £100 IMO - a pair of repair kits got to be around £20? then at least an hours labour to fit them.

[skodanorman]

Xpower, do you think you could do a "how to" thread on how to remove the bumper?

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

[xpower]

Xpower, do you think you could do a "how to" thread on how to remove the bumper?

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

 

Can do, its not to hard once you know where all the bolts are. Shall I add it to this thread or start a new one?

[Flo]

IMO the better is to start a new one and add the link here for reference.

[xpower]

Done

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/313708-octavia-3-iii-vrs-front-bumper-removal-how-to/

[Flo]

Done

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/313708-octavia-3-iii-vrs-front-bumper-removal-how-to/

 

Thank you!  :clap:

[TheWanderer]

Without seeming to be ungrateful, I wouldn't damned bother, wayyyy too much hassle to change a bulb.

[xpower]

Without seeming to be ungrateful, I wouldn't damned bother, wayyyy too much hassle to change a bulb.

I wasn't doing it to change the bulbs, I was doing it to wrap the chrome grille black

[Gizmo]

Just negative then, which is to be expected from your posts.

 

 

And sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but still I shouldn't expect anything less from you or the idiot from Rossendale.

 

Can I remind you both of these:

 

• 5. Respect is the name of the game. Do not flame, hound, badger, disrespect, or taunt ANYONE on the forums. If we feel a thread is getting out of hand we will close it or delete it. You can and very possibly will be banned if you continue this type of behaviour. This is on a case by case basis with experience where possible.

[aixlad]

Reminds me of my old Mk4 Golf GTi, you had to remove the bumper and the headlamp to replace a bulb, a right pain, and hardly convenient.  At the end of ownership I had this task down to 20 minutes of inconvenience.  Always buy good quality bulbs!  Having to purchase a repair kit when a bulb needs replacing is utterly bonkers, and unnecessary.  I wonder how much Skoda actually save in the manufacturing process by doing this?  However, the repair kit may be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue to them over the next few years.  It's not good however you view it, a bulb should be replaceable, beside the road, in just a few minutes, as it's a consumable item.  I notice the guys on the Mk7 Golf forum are changing front indicator bulbs for LED's, so it seems Skoda are making the engineering challenges more inconvenient.

[Mikebham]

So, when driving on the continent, you must have a spare bulb kit in your car. But on the cars the "continent" supplies, you cannot change the bulb at the side of the road anyway?

 

Makes perfect sense.

[aixlad]

I guess it's a case of good intent. They stop you for having a bulb out, then show them you have a suitable replacement, which you can't fit anyway! Seems crazy to engineer the inconvenient bulb replacement issue into the headlamp assembly. Maybe if they were LED, which last many times longer than an incandescent filament bulb, it would make more sense. Perhaps this has been done in preparation for LED's coming very shortly?

[xabi]

Yesterday after receiving the material takes a while and I started the mess, oh yes without failure, jejej.
I leave a not very well done video and a photo.
See if I can make a video of day but I say that because the PM will see running back is also used as daylight.
I only put intermittent and reversing headlights with led him shouting pedia, the antiiniebla not as well in the future also wear them.
The following will be intermittent front

Video on the left bulbs are LED and halogen on the right are

 

I also left some of the internal

 

 

These bulbs are

What does not come out because those blue shadows of the lamp holders must be something because the light is white white.

Hope you like

[Drmarkb]

Reminds me of my old Mk4 Golf GTi, you had to remove the bumper and the headlamp to replace a bulb, a right pain, and hardly convenient.  At the end of ownership I had this task down to 20 minutes of inconvenience.  Always buy good quality bulbs!  Having to purchase a repair kit when a bulb needs replacing is utterly bonkers, and unnecessary.  I wonder how much Skoda actually save in the manufacturing process by doing this?  However, the repair kit may be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue to them over the next few years.  It's not good however you view it, a bulb should be replaceable, beside the road, in just a few minutes, as it's a consumable item.  I notice the guys on the Mk7 Golf forum are changing front indicator bulbs for LED's, so it seems Skoda are making the engineering challenges more inconvenient.

 

Aah you just made me remember the good times I had with my mk4 golf! The bulbs could be replaced with hand contortion and loss of most of the skin on your hands!

The more fun stuff with the mk4 was the spontaneously dropping windows because of plastic clips and the door lock 'issue', but i loved my mk4... remind me, why im getting a VRS?

[TheWanderer]

Because you have blown your mind!

 

[silver1011]

It is worth noting that whilst I've never had an indicator bulb blow I have had to replace a few bulbs over the years.

 

The reason being is that the orange coating (for indicators behind clear lenses) eventually fails due to the light output and heat during prolonged operation.

 

If enough of the ornage paint cracks and flakes off then the indicator bulbs shines less orange eventually turning clear like a reverse light bulb.

 

This then constitutes as an MOT failure.

 

Skoda may claim that their incandescent bulbs are now much longer lasting (hence the farce required to access them) and therefore far less liklely to blow, but let's hope that they have also improved the durability of the orange coating!

 

I have a feeling I already know the answer. Another unexpected charge for those of us that might end up buying a used MkIII a few years down the line.

[mab5e]

Hi all,the indicators can be changed without removing the bumper,needs a very precise tap with a hammer and flat blade to get in to the headlight from the back and the bulbs a doddle,the repair kit/blank plate goes in easy but the screws are very fiddly,the repair kits cost 11.45 Inc vat

[xpower]

Is that per side or for both sides?

[treendale]

thanks mab5e - any more details on the "precise tap", and do you have a part number for the repair kit?

[MJKooLio]

Dear xabi,

 

Thanks so much for the video and info above. I'll be getting my RS Octavia in September (Delivery in Australia) and would like to know what the rear indicator (Orange) LED bulbs are called (Spec, model etc) and where you bought them from? (Possible online link?)

 

Would it be an easy pull out the current ones and put in the LED globe?

 

Would there be a reverse light LED as well (White)...

 

Thanks!