Hi all, apologies if this has been done to death before :-)

 

My Fabia (TDi mk2 on a 62 plate, not that it probably matters) has DRLs, ok, so far so normal. They have standard incandescent 21W bulbs in - but those seem not to last particularly long, so I thought I would try LEDs instead.

 

Except that the LEDs don't work on the car! it looks as if the bulb holder is wired with reverse polarity, so the cylindrical casing gets the +12V and the centre blob of the bulb is connected to ground.

 

So I tried poking the terminals in the plug to get them out (using proper "keys" to release the tabs, of course), but they are so tightly in (mainly down to the waterproof bung, I suspect) that I can't get them to move.

 

I think it's possible to find 'polarity free' LED bulbs, but thought I'd try the collected wisdom of BriSkoda before I spend yet more money... Has anyone else noticed this, and come up with any alternative solutions?

 

VMTIA

seems very odd to me.

 

Check the feed or more to the point which is live.

The Grey and Blue wire should be +12v, very odd that this would be wired to the bulb case.

 

PS if you are convinced you are correct, then swapping the wires in the plug should work. Post a picture of the plug, I can possibly assist then on terminal removal.

Edited 2 September, 20214 yr by UrbanPanzer

7 hours ago, Narrowboat-Ian said:

'polarity free' LED bulbs

That would be an oxymoron; the operative word is "diode", which by definition only passes a current one way.

41 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

That would be an oxymoron; the operative word is "diode", which by definition only passes a current one way.

 

Yes Ken, but these polarity free diodes are actually part of a complete circuit miniaturised and encapsulated in a bulb type housing, it's that circuit that doesn't care which way round it's connected.

Although I have not got DRL's on my car, I have fitted many LED bulbs in it, over time, from sidelights, numberplate lights, to headlights and fogs, too. Generally,if they are not going in to a one way fitting,  they will only work one way so if they don't work one way, twist them half a turn and try again. Of course, if the bulbs you are replacing have staggered bayonet type fittings, this won't work.

11 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

a complete circuit miniaturised and encapsulated in a bulb type housing

It's not a bulb but an entire device them. What could possibly go wrong!?  

UPDATE - thanks for the responses 🙂

 

So I went ahead and bought a pair of "non polarity" LED lamps. As Sepulchrave says, the lamp is not sensitive to the polarity of the connections, though obviously the individual LED elements in it are. The lamps work perfectly in the car and are a lovely crisp white light.

 

It's a bit annoying that I had to get them - I had bought a load of 'ordinary' LED lamps a while ago, but they are all polarity sensitive so wouldn't work in the housing as it is.

 

The wiring harness is definitely the wrong way round as far as the polarity in the housing is concerned. I did try poking the terminals out and swapping them round - but after stabbing myself several times with the keys, and making no progress getting the little suckers out, I gave up on that (once I'd wiped all the blood off!).

 

I also put LED lamps into the reversing light, but when I put one into the fog light it came up as a bulb failure - presumably the current was too low to register, and the car flagged it up because the fog light is a statutory item.

 

My Spitfire isn't a lot more cooperative, by the way - I put LED lamps in the reversing lights and fog light, but I can't put them in the indicators because the flasher is a bimetallic strip, so it needs current to heat it up!  

 

 

57 minutes ago, Narrowboat-Ian said:

My Spitfire isn't a lot more cooperative, by the way - I put LED lamps in the reversing lights and fog light, but I can't put them in the indicators because the flasher is a bimetallic strip, so it needs current to heat it up!

 

You could put a relay in instead, it would be a simple upgrade.

5 hours ago, Narrowboat-Ian said:

UPDATE - thanks for the responses 🙂

 

So I went ahead and bought a pair of "non polarity" LED lamps. As Sepulchrave says, the lamp is not sensitive to the polarity of the connections, though obviously the individual LED elements in it are. The lamps work perfectly in the car and are a lovely crisp white light.

 

It's a bit annoying that I had to get them - I had bought a load of 'ordinary' LED lamps a while ago, but they are all polarity sensitive so wouldn't work in the housing as it is.

 

The wiring harness is definitely the wrong way round as far as the polarity in the housing is concerned. I did try poking the terminals out and swapping them round - but after stabbing myself several times with the keys, and making no progress getting the little suckers out, I gave up on that (once I'd wiped all the blood off!).

 

I also put LED lamps into the reversing light, but when I put one into the fog light it came up as a bulb failure - presumably the current was too low to register, and the car flagged it up because the fog light is a statutory item.

 

My Spitfire isn't a lot more cooperative, by the way - I put LED lamps in the reversing lights and fog light, but I can't put them in the indicators because the flasher is a bimetallic strip, so it needs current to heat it up!  

 

 

Did you do the actual main headlight bulbs? I would like to upgrade mine as the standard ones do not seem to be that great. Any recommendations??

LED bulbs are not approved for Halogen lamps and you would be another statistic that blinds everybody else.

 

To improve the fabia headlights, first of all get it on a beam setter and set them correctly, made a huge difference to mine..............then purchase some uprated bulbs, I use Philips Extreme power, Osram night breakers are similar and there maybe more.

These will also improve the lights significantly.

 

7 minutes ago, UrbanPanzer said:

LED bulbs are not approved for Halogen lamps and you would be another statistic that blinds everybody else.

 

To improve the fabia headlights, first of all get it on a beam setter and set them correctly, made a huge difference to mine..............then purchase some uprated bulbs, I use Philips Extreme power, Osram night breakers are similar and there maybe more.

These will also improve the lights significantly.

 

+1 on this. It's also worth checking if the lenses are a bit scuffed or fogged. Polishing them back up will improve light output as well.

Okay thanks

Can you tell me if these would be the correct bulbs please for the headlights on my vrs thanks

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B092JN6K85/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_1CEDBJSS9N62BD7RSQ15

 

 

Not 100 per cent sure. But I think you need the h7.its to do with having a separate high beam. h4 has the high beam included in the same bulb i think 

7 hours ago, Madvlad65 said:

Not 100 per cent sure. But I think you need the h7.its to do with having a separate high beam. h4 has the high beam included in the same bulb i think 

If it helps any further i use h7 in my vrs

On 08/09/2021 at 21:42, Madvlad65 said:

Not 100 per cent sure. But I think you need the h7.its to do with having a separate high beam. h4 has the high beam included in the same bulb i think 

I think that's right.

 

I had a 'mare a while ago when I noticed a dead Main Beam on the driver's side, and spent ages, with lots of swearing and scraped knuckles, to change the bulb over. And wondered why it hadn't solved the problem...

 

Then I realised I'd changed the dipped beam bulb!!!!  

 

 

These are the ones I bought for mine. Works fine without any errors:

 

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs/382-super-bright-led-car-bulb-halfords-advanced-twin-pack-719272.html

1 hour ago, ruida_silva said:

 

Loving your car mate, did you ever get the Monte Carlo headlights to work properly? You couldn't flash your high beams right?

4 minutes ago, WillSmithy said:

Loving your car mate, did you ever get the Monte Carlo headlights to work properly? You couldn't flash your high beams right?

Thanks mate, no I haven’t bothered with that yet. I just make hand gestures to let people go haha. I’ve got a local auto electrician but they’re opening times are awkward plus it’s not a priority yet