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LED Bulbs for my 2008

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by N3FOL, Nov 25, 2009.

  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    good cause the 5-bulb is a very very tight squeeze for the door courtesy lights so I wasn't gonna try anything longer.
     
  2. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    Looks nice! Thanks and keep us updated. :)
     
  3. TRT

    TRT New Member

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    I've just tested a small circuit that cuts out an LED bulb as the supply voltage drops below 11.7V. The quiescent current in "OFF" mode is <1uA, and adds a draw of 1.5mA to the LED's requirement (around 20-25mA) when "ON".
    I'll try and make up a replacement for a 5W5 wedge this weekend and try it out live.
    I was wondering if the lights that can be left on that kill the battery are on their own relay or fuse, as I could then make up a mod which will kill any lights left on before the battery goes below usable.
     
  4. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Excuse my absence for the last couple of days, my wife was nice enough to give me her COLD!!!:eek: Anyway, I received the 2-25 Led Red Bulbs yesterday, along with 2-9 Led Oranges. The 25 Led Reds' JUST fit in the tail. Boy are they BRIGHT!!! But they fit!!! They look really deep red and are quite bright. SWEET!!!
    Next week it's supposed to rain like hell here in LA and the lighting should be good for shooting some pics showing the brightness difference. I am going to try to shoot some photos comparing the standard incandescent, 9 Led, and the 25 Led bulbs in the tail.
    I also put the 9 Led Orange Bulbs in the front running lamp housings, however the color temp is off enough that the Plastic lens color bandwidth is attenuating the amount of light being passed through the plastic lens.... The incandescent is actually brighter. That sadly, is what I expected, but it was worth a couple of bucks to see!
    I am resisting replacing the rest of the bulbs, because when I arm the car when it locks, I like to see the lamps flash, indicating a positive arming action.
    For some reason the replacement flasher that will support Led's, will not do the flash action. WHY? I am going to try to get schmetics for the two units to compare and see what the difference is and if it's possible to make the "Flash" happen with Led's!

    More to come!!!
     
  5. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    looking forward for the pictures
     
  6. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    How tight is the fit? Do they touch the lens? I want to make sure that the LED lamps don't put any stress on the lens that might lead to problems later.

    How about power consumption? Did you have a chance to measure and compare with the OEM bulb?

    About taking pictures, you may want to experiment with taking photos of the reflection off a piece of glass or clear plastic. This may reduce the problem of over exposure. Another way is to use an ND filter if you have access to one.

    Looking forward to the photos. :)
     
  7. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    talking about LEds from china that can be used as a direct replacement
    there are also current led drivers ( small printboard voltage/current regulator ) so you can protect en extend the lifetime of these cheap leds
     
  8. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Actually they Just fit fine...maybe 1 or 2 mm to spare, almost no heat generated, I can see no problems with mine ...yet, but I do not anticipate any!!

    GOOD Question, I would think the current draw is less that the regular incandescant bulb, but I will measure it during the photo shoot.

    Thanks for the tips, this Sunday it's going to be quite overcast here, and hopefully that will help in the photo shoot. I plan to tripod the Nikon, and try like hell to come up with some nice comparison shots!!!
     
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Here are the pics:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     

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  10. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    leds are lieft or right?
     
  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    guess.... =P


















    they're on both sides.
     
  12. bino

    bino JDM ZVW30

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    question: I'm using LED bulbs on my front parking lights and when I tried installing LED bulbs on my taillights the lights would turn on (both the front park lights and taillights - but not on full brightness) even if the lights are off....

    has anyone had this same problem?

    thanks....
     
  13. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    i was expecting a comparison between the leds and bulbs:)
     
  14. bagwell

    bagwell Active Member

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    yep, I've seen my back LEDs come on at about 1/4 brightness...not the fronts....very weird....usually after I've had the lights on and I get out of the car, I walk around back and see them lit very low....:confused:
     
  15. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Well, I was planning on Pics.......but so far we have had 4.5 inches of rain here since Sunday in Los Angeles...I think we will see +10 before it drys up for one day, Sunday, and then round 3....Prius handles well in rain, I just hate driving with the other knuckleheads who can't handle it!!!!

    Pics when I can, God, I wish I had a garage!!!
     
  16. bino

    bino JDM ZVW30

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    thanks for the reply.... I'm just worried that it might drain the battery if it stays on (even in 1/4 brightness) for a long period..... did not have this problem when I was just using led's in the front...
     
  17. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    You changed your taillights to LED? I didn't know that!

    Sorry. I didn't have the camera at that time and I was rushing to grab a pic before I left.


    Your 12V battery may be low?? Mine's the opposite. My taillights are full brightness but the licence plate lights are dim (I know my 12V battery is near the end of its life)
     
  18. bino

    bino JDM ZVW30

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    @Tideland Prius... the lights are ok when I turn them on... thay are very bright..... the problem is when it is off... even with the lights are turn off//the the led lights would not turn off completely... it would illuminate at about 1/4 brightness......

    pic of the lights when lights are turned off:
    front:
    [​IMG]

    rear tail light (bulb is outside the housing):

    [​IMG]

    and here are the pics when the lights are turned on:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  19. bagwell

    bagwell Active Member

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    mine only stay lit for a few seconds...I'm thinking this happens only when I'm near the car with the smart key in my pocket....

    I'm not worried about it - because they don't stay on.

    I'll do some additional testing.
     
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  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    @bino:

    Ohh I tihnk I know what you mean. I had this "problem" with my LED dome light in my smart. The thing is that there's still a very small current flow even when it's off and normally you wouldn't see it because a regular incandescent bulb can't illuminate with that small current but and LED can so that's why we still see it lit. It will turn off eventually.
     
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