rodybmw

I was going to post this as a response to one of the posts in the "new philips bulbs for signal + brakelights" thread, but I decided to start a new thread.

There are several companies that have had LED automotive replacement bulbs out for a while now. These are LED clusters that are built with standard automotive bulb bases (like the bayonet base and the wedge base). They come in different colors (red, yellow, clear, etc.) and have versions that have forward projecting LED's as well as versions that have both forward projecting AND side projecting LED's on the same bulb. They even have lamps with different numbers of LED's in the cluster. But in cases where the lens and the reflector are not detachable, and the bulb mounts from behind the reflector (like BMW tail lights), you have to be careful that the overall diameter of the LED cluster does not exceed the size of the hole that the bulb has to pass through before it can be mounted. Also, in some cars you may need to install a load resistor in line with the turn signal bulb in order to "fool" the car into thinking there is an incandescent bulb there. I don't know if this is the case for BMW.

Here are a couple of links to companies that make and sell these types of LED bulbs. For some reason the second link is VERY slow as I write this, but it will probably be fixed soon. So if it does not work when you try it come back later and it should work:

rodybmw



Link 1


Link 2

Rudy

Well what do you know, they DO make them. In the other thread, I was thinking about what a good idea it would be to do this and lo and behold, there they are.

530E60NL

These type of ledlights will give a faultwarning: light defect. This will show in your instrument cluster. On e46fanatics guys have tried it and had to use special resistantblocks to overcome this problem.

JDN

I don't know what the resistors would cost, but the cost for two of these lights on Link 1 would only be $10.

Rix Mix

The main problem I have heard with these is that the light does not properly reflect.

Peace

Rudy

That's my concern as well although they do sell different variations that project the light in all directions as opposed to simply forward projecting.

rodybmw

They (Link 1) are selling the resistor for $4.95 (click on link below and scroll down 3/4 of the page). This is still cheap, and it might be OK to use if you only need them for the turn signals. However, if the LED's do trigger a "burnt bulb" condition then you may have to have resistors for every bulb you replace (and probably 2 resistors for bulbs with dual contacts). This could mean 4 to 6 resistors for EACH tail light, and 1 to 2 resistors for each of the front parking/turn signal bulbs (depending on which BMW model you have). I think that is too many resistors that would be hanging on wires and dissipating heat.

I have not seen any mention of resistors on Link 2 from my previous post. I wonder if their system has something incorporated with the bulb to solve this possible problem. However, I don't see how they could have integrated a heat dissipating power resistor within the lamp assembly. Their prices are certainly a lot more expensive than Link 1.

rodybmw


>>>>>>>>Click Here<<<<<<<<

Guest_zippers525

They shouldn't disipate heat all the time. The turn signals will only disipate heat when active and thats a on/off motion. Brake lights may use alot of power but not for very extended periods on use. The tail lights for night driving use less power than the Brake lights. I dont think there will be much of a problem. Dont forget, Incandesents creat more heat themselves than the leds.

Rudy

It's not about the bulbs generating heat, it's about the resistors. They will dissipate heat all the time since they're there to "fool" the car into thinking there's a filament in the circuit. If the car doesn't see a filament, it thinks the bulb is burned out.

In other words, the resistors, if installed, will create heat regardless of whether or not the bulb is being lit.

The telltale sign is the picture of the resistor -- it has a heat sink!

rodybmw

Just as the regular incandescent bulbs only generate heat when they are on, the resistors would also just generate heat when the LED bulb is on (which means that there is voltage accross the resistor and current going through it). When the lights are off and the car is just "sensing" the resistance then there should be no heat dissipated. I may try some of these LED bulbs on my wife's X5 sometime in the next few weeks. If I do I will post how it worked out.

rodybmw