LED Cargo Lights
01-24-2015, 06:52 PM
#21
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I understand now how the inside also lights up with the two new lights. Cool.
Yeah, I don't know if the interior bulbs are checked by the CANBUS system also, or just exterior bulbs. I guess I can check easily enough by pulling one of the bulbs in the trunk and see what happens.
But I think I'm beginning to understand why people go with LED lights, when just replacing bulbs. Let me know if I'm correct. It's mainly for esthetics to get the whiter light. You get about the same or slightly less lumen output as before it seems for most of the replacement bulbs I've found. But they use 1/4 of the wattage as a regular tungsten bulb.
But my goal's not to use less power. I want more light. I wanted to use an LED bulb that uses about the same power as the regular bulb, but since it's more efficient, I'd get way more light/lumens. But since they don't seem to make such bulbs, it doesn't look like just replacing the bulb with an LED type will do me any good.
Right? Or have you found any?
.
.
.
For the backup lights, are these what you've used?
iJDMTOY 25W CREE XP-E High Power 921 912 Reverse Backup LED bulbs
They say they're 921 replacements, but list them as T15 base bulbs. But if it's true, and they put out 500 lumens, that's impressive. That's double stock output!
And what are these 10 cree xb-d LED's you've found? A link? I'm not keen on blowing $50 on bulbs that I can't return to find out they're not much of an improvement...
Yeah, I don't know if the interior bulbs are checked by the CANBUS system also, or just exterior bulbs. I guess I can check easily enough by pulling one of the bulbs in the trunk and see what happens.
But I think I'm beginning to understand why people go with LED lights, when just replacing bulbs. Let me know if I'm correct. It's mainly for esthetics to get the whiter light. You get about the same or slightly less lumen output as before it seems for most of the replacement bulbs I've found. But they use 1/4 of the wattage as a regular tungsten bulb.
But my goal's not to use less power. I want more light. I wanted to use an LED bulb that uses about the same power as the regular bulb, but since it's more efficient, I'd get way more light/lumens. But since they don't seem to make such bulbs, it doesn't look like just replacing the bulb with an LED type will do me any good.
Right? Or have you found any?
.
.
.
For the backup lights, are these what you've used?
iJDMTOY 25W CREE XP-E High Power 921 912 Reverse Backup LED bulbs
They say they're 921 replacements, but list them as T15 base bulbs. But if it's true, and they put out 500 lumens, that's impressive. That's double stock output!
And what are these 10 cree xb-d LED's you've found? A link? I'm not keen on blowing $50 on bulbs that I can't return to find out they're not much of an improvement...
Most people buy LED bulbs for both aesthetics and output but end up settling for just aesthetics as the LED bulbs they bought are not brighter than stock. This is a common error but can be overcomed with due diligence the problem is it is really hard to know what you are getting with most LED products, especially from China.
Those bulbs you listed in the link are the same ones I have currently in my wagon (T10 base with x5 Cree XP-E leds). I would not spend your money on those.
These are what I will likely buy in the near future: 2x 50W T10 W5W CREE XBD high powe Chip LED Bulbs For For Car Backup Reverse Lights 912 921 T15-in Light Source from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
...twice as many LEDs and brighter LEDs, but be prepared to wait 20 days for shipping.
Most of the LED replacement bulbs are a downgrade as most of them are of a lower quality and also their optics are not designed to work in the reflective bowl designed for the icandescent bulb. BUT there are some LED bulbs which emit so much light, it doesn't matter, you just need to know what kind to get and where to get them. Most mainstream LED dealers like autolumination, iJDMtoy, and the like charge about x2 what you can find from some AliExpress and some eBay sellers. Sometimes you get duds and sometimes you find jackpot deals, it is part of the buy-from-China game.
I have found some LED bulbs with high performance to cost ratio if interested.
Evan
01-26-2015, 08:08 AM
#22
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Thanks for the extra info. A few more Q's:
1 - The iJDMtoy bulbs I had linked to say they have a T15 base, but the backup lights are T10's you're saying. Are the two the same basically?
2 - The iJDMtoy bulbs are 25W bulbs, but AFAIK, the rear bulbs are 16 or 18W. Those extra few watts I'm guessing isn't a problem, since you're saying you're already using the iJDMtoy ones instead of stock, but the other ones you linked are 50W bulbs. How can that not blow the fuse? I guess LED's don't give off heat, so at least melting something's not a concern (except for wires?)
3 - Yeah, I would like to upgrade my cargo area bulbs and the one to the left of the hatch lock, if I can get LED bulbs that give off a lot more light than the stock ones. Can you share your leads?
1 - The iJDMtoy bulbs I had linked to say they have a T15 base, but the backup lights are T10's you're saying. Are the two the same basically?
2 - The iJDMtoy bulbs are 25W bulbs, but AFAIK, the rear bulbs are 16 or 18W. Those extra few watts I'm guessing isn't a problem, since you're saying you're already using the iJDMtoy ones instead of stock, but the other ones you linked are 50W bulbs. How can that not blow the fuse? I guess LED's don't give off heat, so at least melting something's not a concern (except for wires?)
3 - Yeah, I would like to upgrade my cargo area bulbs and the one to the left of the hatch lock, if I can get LED bulbs that give off a lot more light than the stock ones. Can you share your leads?
01-26-2015, 04:57 PM
#23
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T8-T15 all share the same base (10mm wide) the number after T refers to the width of the bulb at the tip, so T15 is the largest bulb that will work on that base.
Those advertised ratings (25w) are theoretical limits of the LEDs not their actual power consumption. Pushing 25w to LEDs would yield an output similar to your HID headlights.
You will be able to achieve the best and most cost effective results if you are willing to add some lights like I did. If you are only interested in replacing the stock bulbs with the brightest possible I recommend looking at some SMD panels. Most of with a festoon and T10 base adapter and are the best way to stuff a lot of LEDs into a smaller location like interior lights.
Something like this: Light Panel 48 SMD LED+T10+BA9S+Festoon Bulb Adapter
Evan
Those advertised ratings (25w) are theoretical limits of the LEDs not their actual power consumption. Pushing 25w to LEDs would yield an output similar to your HID headlights.
You will be able to achieve the best and most cost effective results if you are willing to add some lights like I did. If you are only interested in replacing the stock bulbs with the brightest possible I recommend looking at some SMD panels. Most of with a festoon and T10 base adapter and are the best way to stuff a lot of LEDs into a smaller location like interior lights.
Something like this: Light Panel 48 SMD LED+T10+BA9S+Festoon Bulb Adapter
Evan
01-26-2015, 08:52 PM
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Wow, I'm learning lots from you! So the only thing holding me back from ordering those backup Alibaba bulbs now is whether they'd throw a Bulb Out error or not... If you code them out (I'll get someone local to do it), would they code out just that bulb's error, or any Bulb Out error that'll pop up in future? It's not a bad thing if I get a Bulb Out warning I'm thinking...
That SMD LED panel, you'd end up just mounting it on the carpet area above the light cover, for example? I'm guessing it's too big to fit with the festoon bulb adapter under the cover? It would look ghetto just sitting out there above the light cover...
Last edited by Lotus99; 01-26-2015 at 09:01 PM.
01-27-2015, 05:36 AM
#25
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Those lights are really bright! Good job!
01-27-2015, 07:28 AM
#26
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Thanks
Wow, I'm learning lots from you!
So the only thing holding me back from ordering those backup Alibaba bulbs now is whether they'd throw a Bulb Out error or not... If you code them out (I'll get someone local to do it), would they code out just that bulb's error, or any Bulb Out error that'll pop up in future? It's not a bad thing if I get a Bulb Out warning I'm thinking...
That SMD LED panel, you'd end up just mounting it on the carpet area above the light cover, for example? I'm guessing it's too big to fit with the festoon bulb adapter under the cover? It would look ghetto just sitting out there above the light cover...
The SMD panel ideally would fit inside the oem light housing, it may be difficult to find some in a small rectangular shape for the lights on either side of the cargo area but I think it is possible to find on for the end of the tailgate. I would definitely advise against mounting it on the outside, what an aesthetic nightmare! No Ghetto!
With NCS Expert bulb warning can be coded out individually. Whomever does the coding will select the light module (controls all lights on the car) and either eliminate the bulb checks (which sends the test signals to bulbs and checks they are ok) or eliminate the bulbs warnings, I personally do both but make sure you are aware if a bulb burns out since there won't be a warning.
The other option is to run some 50w/ 6ohm resistors (one for each LED bulb) but those cost money, have to be installed, and can get really hot ...more work than than just clicking a couple buttons on a computer.
Evan
Wow, I'm learning lots from you! So the only thing holding me back from ordering those backup Alibaba bulbs now is whether they'd throw a Bulb Out error or not... If you code them out (I'll get someone local to do it), would they code out just that bulb's error, or any Bulb Out error that'll pop up in future? It's not a bad thing if I get a Bulb Out warning I'm thinking...
That SMD LED panel, you'd end up just mounting it on the carpet area above the light cover, for example? I'm guessing it's too big to fit with the festoon bulb adapter under the cover? It would look ghetto just sitting out there above the light cover...
With NCS Expert bulb warning can be coded out individually. Whomever does the coding will select the light module (controls all lights on the car) and either eliminate the bulb checks (which sends the test signals to bulbs and checks they are ok) or eliminate the bulbs warnings, I personally do both but make sure you are aware if a bulb burns out since there won't be a warning.
The other option is to run some 50w/ 6ohm resistors (one for each LED bulb) but those cost money, have to be installed, and can get really hot ...more work than than just clicking a couple buttons on a computer.
Evan
01-27-2015, 10:33 AM
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Thx for the coding tips. Glad we're on the same page as far as not installing them outside the bulb cover! LOL!
By the way, with your tailgate open, since the two new lights shoot down, do you still get some of that light inside the cargo area too? I want it bright in there with the hatch up...
By the way, with your tailgate open, since the two new lights shoot down, do you still get some of that light inside the cargo area too? I want it bright in there with the hatch up...
01-27-2015, 11:15 AM
#28
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Thx for the coding tips. Glad we're on the same page as far as not installing them outside the bulb cover! LOL!
By the way, with your tailgate open, since the two new lights shoot down, do you still get some of that light inside the cargo area too? I want it bright in there with the hatch up...
By the way, with your tailgate open, since the two new lights shoot down, do you still get some of that light inside the cargo area too? I want it bright in there with the hatch up...
The best alternative would be to run the bolt LEDs like I have and in addition either replace the interior lights with brighter LEDs or add another pair of bolt style LEDs in the same location as the oem cargo lights, the lens on the bolt leds is focused but widens quickly and should offer nice coverage in the cargo area, it would be really bright at that distance. I have thoughts to do that and may play around with it later but have more pressing car projects ATM.
01-29-2015, 09:15 PM
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Nice Mod!!