LED Replacement Bulbs

[mcfcjoe]

I purchased the bulbs and all was going well. I noticed that one of the DRL turns off after a while. I have switched them around but it still happens, so it’s not the bulbs. If it not on I can turn the main beam on then turn it back to auto and the DRL turns back on. 

Anyone have any ideas please ?

[Edge of Reason]

Sounds like one of the many electronic gremlins that seem to inhabit the brain of the car.  I’m assuming the old favourite of turning it off and back on again, makes no difference ?  Is the DRL off permanently or is it sporadic ?

[mcfcjoe]

It's on sometimes then sometimes it does come on at all....I then have to turn the light dial fron auto back to beam the turn it back to auto then the DRL comes back on.....drives me crazy. It's not like I can take it back to ford because I am using LED Bulbs instead of the rubbish it should have installed

[Edge of Reason]

14 hours ago, mcfcjoe said:

It's on sometimes then sometimes it does come on at all....I then have to turn the light dial fron auto back to beam the turn it back to auto then the DRL comes back on.....drives me crazy. It's not like I can take it back to ford because I am using led bulbs instead of the rubbish it should have installed

Have you tried putting the original bulb back in, just to see if the electronics have some issue with your bulbs ?  If you try that and there is still an issue, then this points to a Ford problem and you can go to the dealer. If there is no issue after you re-fit the originals, this points to a compatibility issue with the new bulbs.

[David on the Edge]

Well as the owner of an LED'less Edge Sport that is now 6 months old I have to say that on balance I am quite attached to it! My experiences broadly echo those covered on this forum, including mediocre fuel consumption and an odd rattling noise from the injectors at light throttle settings - it seems I am apparently waiting for the engine management system to learn my driving style according to the dealer, at which point it will hopefully stop sounding like a bag of nails!

As for the headlights, what were Ford thinking? This is the first car I have owned without HID lights since I had a Seat Leon between 2004 and 2007! As many have already mentioned  the standard lights are bordering on dangerous, especially on unlit roads and I end up driving with the front fog lights on to at least get some definition to the edge of the road. All this on a £40k car quite frankly beggars belief!

I therefore decided to take the plunge and fit LED Bulbs, having read Hamster's experiences with LED replacement bulbs. I have fitted  TXVSO8 H15 LED Headlight bulbs Conversion Kits for the DRL and main beams (£34.99 from Amazon) and TXVSO8 H7 LED Headlight bulbs Conversion Kits for the dipped beams (£23.99 from Amazon). I have also ordered H11 Twenty20 Cree LED 12V Canbus Foglight Bulbs, but have not been able to fit them yet despite Hamster's instructions: "Easy one to start with, Front Fogs, carefully pull of the fog lamp cover towards the front of the vehicle, undo two small Torx screws and replace with LED H11" Maybe it is me but I still can't work out out to remove the fog lamps, other than I seem to be able to get most of the chrome trim off, but that is about it!! Any guidance here much appreciated.....

Anyhow the advice about removing the headlamp units and fitting the new LED Bulbs away from the car was spot on! There was no room to replace the bulbs with the headlamps still on the car. It was still very fiddly, more so as I have large hands and made worse by having to file the edges of the location lugs on one of the H15 bulbs so it would lock into place on the housing. Someone also mentioned problems with the retaining spring on the dipped beams - spot on, it was really awkward and I ended up having to remove the spring and re-fit it with it wrapped around the base of the new H7 LED bulb and then re-insert both ends of the spring back into the lugs. Lost count of the number of times the spring shot off into the headlamp housing and then having to shake the unit with it upside down to get the spring out! 

All four flexible covers fitted back on the headlamps perfectly and there appears to be sufficient clearance from the back of the LED Bulbs / cooling fans. The results are staggering and I can actually see where I am going at night! The beam pattern seems fine and nobody has flashed me so far. The DLRs now actually look like proper lights, although one seems a little temperamental and I had to wiggle the black connector in the housing to get it to work. I suspect the LED lamp is not fully locked in place and I will probably remove the headlamp unit again to ensure it is rotated as far as it will go. 

 

[Edge of Reason]

Great post Dave.  It would have been good if you had taken before and after photos, so we could see the difference.  Don’t suppose you did ?

[David on the Edge]

...unfortunately I didn't take any before pictures as there was insufficient light being produced by the original lights to stop the camera flash going off!! Seriously though as I have to remove one of the H15 LEDs today to get the bulb seated properly in the housing I will put back the original H15 light and take a picture of the DRLs - one side LED and the other candle rated! 

To be honest the DRLs were as much of an embarrassment to me ( need all the credibility help I can get these days ) as the original dipped beams were both embarrassing and dangerous in equal measures!  

[Hamster]

Hi David

Good post. The fog lamp covers do come off. Liberally squirt WD40 all around where the cover meets the bumper. Get a plastic wedger or credit card sized plastic tool and gently prise the trim towards the front of the car until you can get a finger in and just pull it forward. The lubricant helps it come off and it just snaps back on. The two Torx screws are obvious.

H

[David on the Edge]

6 hours ago, Hamster said:

Hi David

Good post. The fog lamp covers do come off. Liberally squirt WD40 all around where the cover meets the bumper. Get a plastic wedger or credit card sized plastic tool and gently prise the trim towards the front of the car until you can get a finger in and just pull it forward. The lubricant helps it come off and it just snaps back on. The two Torx screws are obvious.

H

Thanks Hamster! I actually realised that once I had the whole O/S headlamp out to re-seat the H15 LED bulb I could see the back of the fog lamps beneath. I was therefore able to change the fog lamp bulbs without having to remove the units:-) 

I also found that by wrapping a large rubber band around the cooling fan on the back of the H15 LED bulb I was able to exert enough grip to twist it fully into the mounting ring.  Still not easy, but it feels like it is properly seated now - fingers crossed!

[David on the Edge]

10 hours ago, Edge of Reason said:

Great post Dave.  It would have been good if you had taken before and after photos, so we could see the difference.  Don’t suppose you did ?

So here are a few photos - not very scientific, but you should hopefully see the difference!

The first one is with one LED DRL and one Candle DRL.....hopefully you can see the difference!

The second one is with the new LED DRLs.

The third one is with dipped beams and the last one is with main beams as well as the LED fog lamps on.

Certainly looks much better!

 

[Edge of Reason]

Thanks for the pictures. Certainly a crisper and whiter light, so that’s good. Now when you get a minute, could you just pop out in the dark and give us some more snaps with the old and new bulbs in so we can see the beam patterns for comparison. Anytime before the weekend will do mate !!  😉 😆

[mcfcjoe]

Hi folks here’s an update on the led lights... as my previous post said I was having trouble with the DRL passengers side only ... took it to ford they reverted back to old candle bulbs and everything works fine. They have no idea why one side works and the other doesn’t as it’s not the bulb.  So now I am stumped ... even ordered new led lights but same problem. Does anyone have any idea why or how I can fix it as ford say it’s not there problem as the factory fitted candles work fine .. well they come on !!

thanks Joe

[simonb65]

21 hours ago, mcfcjoe said:

They have no idea why one side works and the other doesn’t as it’s not the bulb

You ideally need to measure the current the old bulb is taking vs the new one or swap the new bulbs over and see if the issue goes with the bulb or stays on that side. If it stays on that side, I suspect the harness + bulb may be just outside the ECU's 'good' range and that it either can't drive it or sees it as a fault. Not sure if they are both driven from a single output o the ECU or independently. If independent, it could be a very sensitive current/load output driver on the ECU!

[mcfcjoe]

Hi simon

i swapped the new LEDs and it's not the bulb... it just annoying that the one light works perfectly and the other one doesn't .... really can understand why previous posts say these bulbs work perfectly well both sides but this cat of mine doesnt

 

joe 

[Edge of Reason]

@David on the Edge can you confirm, since you’ve had your LED DRLs seated correctly you have had no issue with them, unlike @mcfcjoe ?

[Hamster]

All Hamsters bulbs OK as well........................................... for now!

H

[eddiek]

I`ve replaced the full set of halogen  bulbs to LED and all working fine.  Is your bulb holder connector lining up ok and fully connected when turning LED in all the way ? Found one of mine a bit tight . 

[mcfcjoe]

Hi

yes it's very firmly seated into the plug.....it comes on for about 3 mins then goes out even siting on the drive.....the main beam works ok though...I hate electrics as you never know what to do ....

[DavesEdge]

Hi All

Another (though very remote possibility) could be that it is just one of those cars.

Many moons ago (when I was a Pdi Technician for a Ford main dealer), we had an Orion go through the system. It passed the Pdi etc until it got to the customer.

The customer reported that the brake lights fuse (if I remember correctly) had blown, only to blow again when replaced.

So under the warranty the car came back to us for repair. No-one could find any faults with any of the car's electrics, but still fuse constantly blowing.

Ford motor co. sent down their boffins to look at car. Even they could not find any faults.

In the end customer got another new car (of same specs as their order) and the faulty car in question went back to Ford motor co and was destroyed.

That aside, I am still contemplating changing my Edge over to Led lights.

Dave

 

[nickblackedge]

I've been reading this post from the start  . I got my edge from a main dealer it was there demonstrator from day one the bulbs have been  very good . I do get flashed a lot in the dark on dipped beam . I do find them better them than  the lights I had in my Nissan pathfinder and they where very good. The only thing that does annoy me is the yellow drl's that are fitted so I might look into changing them . I will ask the dealer this week when the car goes in for warranty work if they change the bulbs to better ones or if the are the genuine one's that came with the car .

[schnipps]

Hi guys, read through this a few times and basically I’m still a bit confused. I want to just change the bulbs to better halogen ones as I don’t want to tinker with led just in case something happens. However I’m not sure what I actually need to get? Leaving out the fogs is it just h7 and h15 bulbs I need? There seems to be a non existent selection of h15. Can somebody suggest decent white light ones for this best I can get for halogens? 

 

Many thanks

[MJubby]

I am due to collect my Edge this week and already planning little bits I would like to do. 

When you changed to the LED lamps in your description did the headlight caps fit back on ok or did you have to leave them off for ventilation?  

Cheers

[eddiek]

Yes, the covers fit back on as there is plenty room inside headlamps.

[MJubby]

Thanks eddiek. 

Looks like I have some LED lamps to buy as well as the RaceChip GTs. 

[MJubby]

I pick up my Edge on Monday and so tempted to change the lamps as soon as I pick up. After reading about the LED replacements do any of you who have changed have photos of the cut off and step.

The only information I can find is on the Philips replacements but I don’t want to pay £130 a pair.