Hi all

 

Apologies if this has already been posted (I couldn't find anything similar).

 

In the last fortnight, I have one sidelight (501), one low beam (H7) and 3 rear (P12W) blow.  Probably as a consequence of the lower temps and higher moisture buildup.

 

Excluding the beams (H7 / H1 etc) is it "acceptable" to replace all the old halogen style bulbs with LED versions? I'm fed up of replacing these things every-time it gets a bit cooler!

 

I've seen some people driving around with naff purple or blue sidelights which are obviously not legal, but what about just a single white LED in each sidelight?   Same goes for rear bulbs - is it legal to swap them out with an equivalent LED alternative?

 

TIA as always

 

Huskie.

Any light you fit must be fit for purpose(Construction & Use regulations) e.g. you can't use a 5W bulb as a headlamp; and also must be E-approved, to be legal. Some stuff off the web that explains:

E-mark approval on a lamp basically means that it has been tested by an approved photometric laboratory and has achieved the standards laid down by the EC for fitment to a vehicle within the European Union. There are other regulations which apply in the UK, such as those for Construction and Use, but broadly speaking, vehicles registered from 1986 onwards are required to have e-marked lights if they are used on a public road. Given the fact that there could be insurance- or even legal implications if a vehicle without e-marked lights is involved in an accident, always follow the manufacturer or distributors guidelines when fitting & using styling lighting. Some lights, for instance, are not legal for road use, and if you do fit them to your car you assume all responsibility for any consequences thereof.

Having been through all of this LED carry on I'll give you my abridged version.

 

Only reputable AND guaranteed error free bulbs with built in resistors will work in any Octavia that has a bulb monitoring system and was made after 2005/6. You can get them but I seem to be unlucky and they eventually cause me an issue. Others on here have coded out the warning through Vagcom but I don't want to do that.

 

I have a full LED interior, puddle lights and door lights and LEDs in my DRLs. The DRLs are the ones that sit next to the foglight in my 2011 mark 2. I have not yet found an LED that works in the headlight, indicators, sidelights or number plate lights that hasn't eventually caused me an issue and even now the DRLs give me a bulb out warning if I sit with the ignition on but no engine running or start the car with lights on so tread carefully.

 

I have a friend who is an alleged expert on these matters and he is firmly in the "believe in luck" category as he has 2 Octavias of the same year, one that will happily work with number plate LEDs and one that won't. I can have one LED in my number plate but if I use two I get a fault light on the dash.

 

Hope this helps.

Bulbs wear.

 

Buy cheap, buy twice.

 

Spend the £30 needed to replace all of the bulbs with OEM or Bosch and then forget about it.

 

I replaced all the rear bulbs in my 2008 Octavia at two years old (for various reasons) but used the more expensive Bosch versions available in Halfords.

 

Over 5 years later none have blown since.

 

If the new bulbs continue to blow then I'd suggest you have an electrical fault.

Bulbs wear.

Buy cheap, buy twice.

Spend the £30 needed to replace all of the bulbs with OEM or Bosch and then forget about it.

I replaced all the rear bulbs in my 2008 Octavia at two years old (for various reasons) but used the more expensive Bosch versions available in Halfords.

Over 5 years later none have blown since.

If the new bulbs continue to blow then I'd suggest you have an electrical fault.

I've got a bulb selection from a brand I can't remember, never had an issue I'd agree with the above even cheap bulbs don't blow that much

Thanks for the info.

 

I think I've just been a bit unlucky with having so many go at all at once.   I always drive my lights on so it's inevitable they're going to blow eventually.

 

What I don't like doing is replacing for example one rear bulb and having it look brighter, dimmer or a slightly different colour temperature than its counterpart - it looks terrible!  So I end up buying a pair and replacing the set which ends up doubling the cos:/

 

As for LEDs, (with the exception of bulbs for lighting the road ahead) it seems ludicrous that 'old-style' halogen bulbs are still "certified" where longer life, lower maintenance, better looking, and in my opinion more visible LED lighting is still seen as a taboo.  

 

I think I'll try my luck with a handful of LEDs and see if they throw a canbus fault or not.  I prefer the idea of being more clearly visible over any arbitrary EU certification rules!

The rear clusters on your Octavia have dished reflectors behind each bulb - their purpose is to reflect the 360 degree light output of a normal incandescent bulb through the coloured lens. The clusters are designed to work with the current bulbs.

 

LED's are very directional and the light beam is narrow. The coloured lenses refract the light so that you get a nice large and even area of light output.

 

You won't get this with LED's. The latest CREE versions with LED's down the sides are better but still inferior to normal bulbs when fitted into clusters designed for normal bulbs.

 

Just take a look at the many threads on LED retrofits to the DRL's on the Fabia, Yeti, Octavia and Superb. They are a cleaner, crisper light but I've yet to see any that are brighter than the original bulbs. LED's are renowned for longevity however they often aren't lasting as long as the normal bulbs in these types of application. Overheating is killing them - again due to the housings that aren't designed to fit LED's.

 

Personally the issues around them flickering or flagging the on-dash blown bulb warning, expense and their reduced life puts me off.

 

I'll sit tight and wait until I buy a newer model with them fitted from the factory.

Edited 25 November, 201411 yr by silver1011

I got a couple of led sidelights from a member on here, Pip_vrs. He has some for sale and they were definitely error free, might be worth dropping him a PM. One word of advice though, once you have struggled to remove the old sidelight bulbs, test the led ones before pushing them home into the headlight (let them dangle from the connector), they are polarity sensitive, nothing more annoying than pushing them in only to find neither of them work because they are the wrong way round!

The rear clusters on your Octavia have dished reflectors behind each bulb - their purpose is to reflect the 360 degree light output of a normal incandescent bulb through the coloured lens. The clusters are designed to work with the current bulbs.

LED's are very directional and the light beam is narrow. The coloured lenses refract the light so that you get a nice large and even area of light output.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Silver, this hadn't even crossed my mind but does make sense.  I do hope the industry make some headway in the adoption of LEDs as a standard where beam distance isn't a requirement (especially rear clusters).

I got a couple of led sidelights from a member on here, Pip_vrs. He has some for sale and they were definitely error free, might be worth dropping him a PM. One word of advice though, once you have struggled to remove the old sidelight bulbs, test the led ones before pushing them home into the headlight (let them dangle from the connector), they are polarity sensitive, nothing more annoying than pushing them in only to find neither of them work because they are the wrong way round!

 

I can't even get the bulb housing out to get at the sidelights!  The unit just won't budge.  And the YouTube vids make it look so easy!

I had (expensive) LED side lights.  Looked about right to match the 4300K HID's. 

Lasted two years.   Back to decent incandescent bulbs until the LED's are properly adapted for use with CANBUS, and proper power supplies so they really do last as claimed.

 

Removing the light units should be easy.  Unfortunately the plastics can become very high friction and both the securing nut on top and the electrical connector can be tricky.

Sometimes the hooked release latch seems to be all the way out but isn't. 

My n/s cabling is really short , and that makes it iffy to disconnect.  I always get someone to hold it while I wrestle with the connector.

I give the nut, release hook, connector and slider a dash of silicone spray each time.

2 years out of an LED?  That's dismal! Definitely not worth the costs and effort.  Maybe they need a power resistor in wired series to take the load off?

 

 

 

 

Removing the light units should be easy.  Unfortunately the plastics can become very high friction and both the securing nut on top and the electrical connector can be tricky.

Sometimes the hooked release latch seems to be all the way out but isn't. 

My n/s cabling is really short , and that makes it iffy to disconnect.  I always get someone to hold it while I wrestle with the connector.

I give the nut, release hook, connector and slider a dash of silicone spray each time.

 

From what I've seen of other Octavia owners on YouTube, it should be a farily straighforward process:

 

1) Remove nut

2) Pull the hook outwards (towards the centre of the bonnet)

3) Win!

 

 

It's the pesky release hook that's giving me grief - I've pulled on it for all it's worth even resorting to pliers and nothing seems to give.  Both units are equally stubborn and I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right!  

In that case, squirt copious amounts of release spray - even wd40 will do - underneath.  If you have looked online you should have an idea of where it needs to go.  Then leave it to soak in (hopefully).  Overnight will be fine.

Then try again.  I trust you are pulling in the direction the hook is pointing? A straight pull - no bending.

 

I wrapped a length of string round the hooks on mine to give a better grip on the one which was playing silly burgers. 

A little pressure or wiggling on the light unit may help too.

 

I'm sure you will get it sorted soon.

I'll give the WD-40 trick a try and see how it goes!