Number plate light Focus mk3

[F0CUE]

Does anyone elses number plate light stay dull illuminated when the car is off? It reminds me of the cheap drl's that hold on to any amount of power.

[StephenFord]

13 minutes ago, F0CUE said:

Does anyone elses number plate light stay dull illuminated when the car is off? It reminds me of the cheap drl's that hold on to any amount of power.

My old Mk2 has upgraded LED Bulbs for number plate, and switch of instantly when lights are off. Guess my car isn't clever enough to dim them over time LOL

[F0CUE]

5 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

My old Mk2 has upgraded LED bulbs for number plate, and switch of instantly when lights are off. Guess my car isn't clever enough to dim them over time LOL

I loved when I changed my MK2 to LED's it was bright a hell and looked good. Unfortunately on the MK3 it's a whole unit with built in LED's 

[StephenFord]

8 minutes ago, F0CUE said:

I loved when I changed my MK2 to LED's it was bright a hell and looked good. Unfortunately on the MK3 it's a whole unit with built in LED's 

 

[TomsFocus]

Never understood why anyone would want their plate to be more visible...

 

[StephenFord]

8 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Never understood why anyone would want their plate to be more visible...

 

Handy when you're upside down in a dark ditch, to allow authorities to contact next of kin 🤣

[alanfp]

On 12/17/2021 at 6:55 PM, F0CUE said:

Does anyone elses number plate light stay dull illuminated when the car is off? It reminds me of the cheap drl's that hold on to any amount of power.

YES!!!  But only since I replaced the original one with a non-Ford lamp last week.   Mine goes completely off after about 10 mins. Does yours? 

... and is yours a genuine Ford lamp or not?

[StephenFord]

5 hours ago, alanfp said:

YES!!!  But only since I replaced the original one with a non-Ford lamp last week.   Mine goes completely off after about 10 mins. Does yours? 

... and is yours a genuine Ford lamp or not?

As far as I;'m aware, a non 'Ford' LED unit will work just fine as long as it's specified CANBUS compliant, is yours?

[F0CUE]

5 hours ago, alanfp said:

YES!!!  But only since I replaced the original one with a non-Ford lamp last week.   Mine goes completely off after about 10 mins. Does yours? 

... and is yours a genuine Ford lamp or not?

Not really checked how long and not changed it myself. I will check the time though.

[alanfp]

2 hours ago, StephenFord said:

As far as I;'m aware, a non 'Ford' LED unit will work just fine as long as it's specified CANBUS compliant, is yours?

The supplier doesn't state whether it's CANBUS compliant.   I didn't know that might be relevant, as I stupidly thought it was just a bulb that comes on with the tail lights!  But for whatever reason it appears not to be that straightforward.

So for this ten min period, is there a small voltage going to ALL the other bulbs too, but CANBUS stops  them illuminating somehow??? 

From your post and my experience, I guess that it isn't compliant.

 

 

[alanfp]

3 hours ago, F0CUE said:

Not really checked how long and not changed it myself. I will check the time though.

...and I bet it comes on dimly when you switch your ignition on and consequently, when the engine is running. 

I haven't yet checked whether it stays on ALL the time that the engine is running (but my guess is that it does stay on). I'll try to remember to do that tomorrow when I'll be doing a 20 minute journey.

[TomsFocus]

8 minutes ago, alanfp said:

So for this ten min period, is there a small voltage going to ALL the other bulbs too, but CANBUS stops  them illuminating somehow??? 

The resistance in normal bulbs is too high for them to be illuminated by the small amount of power they're getting.  CANBUS LEDs just have a built in resistor to mimic a filament bulb.