Morning all,

I've been running led sidelights for a little while now but have had to replace my LH one recently as it stopped working.

My RH sidelight has started to switch off after about 10 minutes of driving, and throws up a canbus warning saying it is out. I replaced it with another (different) led and it would switch on for 10seconds or so, then would go out and throw the error on the MFD.

I then decided to switch both sidelights back to standard filament bulbs. LH one works fine, RH one lights for 10s then goes out again. It does this every time the lights are turned on.

 

Does anyone have any ideas what might be happening? Sounds like a canbus issue to me but have no idea how to correct it. Can the canbus be reset?

Thanks,

 

Ian

I suspect those bulbs you are trying to use only have one LED. Have you tried other types of LED bulbs?

 

It is all because of the low current draw the LEDs have.... 

I know many people advise against LED sidelights but I have been using those for the past 6 months and they run perfectly fine . (as opposed to the expensive Osrams I tried which just shut off after 5 seconds and throw an error)

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351594246315?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I have been buying these types for the past 4 years for all my other cars and on average they last about a year and a half which is more than enough considering the price and the performance. You don't have to buy from that seller... you can find that kind of bulb on many other sellers).

Edited 5 March, 20179 yr by Inex

I was running ones very similar to the one's you've linked to, until the RH started switching on then off again. I tried going back to the standard filament type bulb, but it's doing the same thing turning on, then off after 5-10s then throwing up the error. My lighting is now completely original equipment, but still showing this error hence why I'm thinking it's a canbus error perhaps?

Have you tried scanning it with vcds? Might need to be reset from there. I could be wrong though... Mine did go away by themselves after fitting proper bulbs.

No, I don't have VCDS. Is it easy to get hold of? I've seen some on ebay for between £6-10, but also some from UK sources for £200. DO you recommend a source please?

There's 2 options

Either you get a genuine one which can reach 200 pounds but then you get free support from them, updates and you don't risk anything...

 

... Or you get a fake one that works but you need to make sure you never update it otherwise you risk bricking it and there's always a risk of messing up the electronics in your car..

 

I have ordered one from Australia (probably a Chinese knock off but its done the job good enough so far - it actually saved me from paying the dealer enough times that it actually paid for itself already) However, I don't want to push you into buying a cheap knock off over a genuine one.... Many people advise against this.

 

Edited 8 March, 20179 yr by Welsh_kai_boy
links to fake cable removed.

Understood, thanks for your advice!

Yes. Hence why I clearly said I don't want to make him or anyone buy one. Just shared my experience so far.

 

Forgot to mention that the customs tax raised the price of the cable enough to makee regret not buying a genuine one... :(

I bought some Halfords LED side lights and love them £15 pair I think.

they flash 4 times when I put the ignition on and then run like a dream afterwards. they are so bright they are almost like dipped headlights

Since problem with LED's usually is the low resistance that makes canbus error light up people usually confuse these problems. There are two different options for LED's. One is without resistance and one is with imitated resistance to make it look like normal light bulb to the cars computer.

In your case it seems that you are using the one with resistance so the LED you are using shouldn't be the cause of your problem since same alsoo happens to original light bulb you tried.

I suggest you to check wiring related to this sidelight. There might be some short to ground or some oxidation in the chain that could increase total resistance which would turn off the lights as security measure.