Stoney871 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I purchased and fitted a pair of LED side light bulbs after seeing a Member recommend them.- Look nice when fitted and turned on but a curious fault has occurred. When I press the brake pedal my radio and dash dims (with my dimmer switch turned down as usual) and the sidelight indicator on the dash illuminates so obviously the sidelights are switching themselves on. On checking the headlights the sidelight bulbs are indeed lighting up albeit very dimly. The bulbs are each fitted with a resistor as standard (little black rectanges at the base) but I am pretty certain that they are not doing much good at all. I reckon I need to fit some 3 watt resistors to remedy this, do others concur with this decision or should I bin the bulbs as a bad job? This type of resistor?- http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_864523_langId_-1_categoryId_272449#tab3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I wonder if putting a resistor in would do any good but it could certainly be worth a try? It depends how much effort you want to go to Sent from my MY SAGA C2 using Ford OC mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoney871 Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 The bulbs are definitely an improvement over standard T10 bulbs, I believe that I may get away with just one resistor and as long as I position it sensibly to avoid possible damage due to heat from the cooling fins. Putting in one standard bulb and one of the LED Bulbs stopped the error so definitely something to do with resistance, just strange that it happens when pressing the brake pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I gave up with leds mate even with resistors they burn out quickly either from the heat or the chips burn out honest opinion theyre a waste of money i use wedge diamond white bulbs and they last forever at a fraction of the. cost My mates leds got so hot that the chip started burning after the resistor packed in the only leds that may last are the new ones with the heat shield but they arent cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I see where your coming from but I have to disagree on part Arthur. I bought all my LED's for the CMAX cheap, and all of them lasted for the year I had them in the car. I think its a case of not so much the price you pay, but the batch you get. even cheapo LED's looked good on my bus, functioned excellent, and lasted long (and I am hoping to transfer them into my mondeo soon) so its not a complete waste or disaster :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 i see youre point mate like you say if its a bad batch it gets expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 yeah exactly, I cant afford to splash out on my car, so I just buy it nice cheap things, and to be fair almost all of them work out well. Granted some dont, but I suppose I have some luck in it (for a change!) but the cheap and expensive can all fall over I guess! I bought a set of H7's for the CMAX - Xenon look, white output - popped them in and they did me for ages, in that time, I cant recall how many posts I saw of people who went and bought the likes of Xtreme Vision or the same and they went pop before mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoney871 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 So I came up with a straightforward workaround which was easy to do and saves having a boiling hot resistor next to plastic. I attached a bulb holder in parallel to the existing sidelight socket on the offside headlamp and stuck in a spare T10 bulb then taped everything up safely with the bulb suspended in a clear space inside the headlight unit. It is touching nothing that will melt and has got rid of the annoying flickering dash symptom. The LED Bulbs looked too nice to bin so a wee bit off effort has left me happy. Simples ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 that sounds like a great answer, you could wire it into the bonnet so that when you turn the sidelights on you could then have bonnet lights and engine bay lights :D lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoney871 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 That was a thought. I'd have to extend the cable and drill a hole in the back cover on the light. I have plenty of Sugru to seal the hole too :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troy45 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I've used the same set of LED's for sidelights in my last 2 Focus's over a good few years. Were Ultra LED's I think, something like this http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/the-ultimate-ii-501-t10-194-1-x-1-5-watt-ultra-xenon-white.html Seen the resistors my brother had to use to get some LED indicators working on a bike, big chunky 2W jobbies so fitting the extra bulb is definitely a better fix :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoney871 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 The bulb is cheaper, cooler and easier to replace/remove if it pops or I change sidelight bulbs at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bry0586 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 ive had good and bad led's in the past. in my old corsa b the drivers side wouldn't come on straight away, usually after 10-15 minutes haha, or sometimes would just go on straight away haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Thats cos it was a Corsa! :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bry0586 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Haha dont dis the corsa b haha. Even with its dodgy cv joints, knackered crank sensor and leaking b pillar......... was a monster 1.0 50hp haha Sent from my GT-I8190N using Ford OC mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoney871 Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 Haha dont dis the corsa b haha. Even with its dodgy cv joints, knackered crank sensor and leaking b pillar......... was a monster 1.0 50hp haha Sent from my GT-I8190N using Ford OC mobile app So it was brand new then? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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