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LED bulbs

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by Superdrol, Apr 16, 2013.

  1. Superdrol

    Superdrol Member

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    This entire bulb fits in the reverse light housing ?
     
  2. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    It does in my GenII!
     
  3. lopgok

    lopgok Member

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    Most LEDs are less efficient that the cree's. Most cree's are good for 100 lumens/watt (or more)
    Though a galazillion SMD leds can have wide dispersion, I don't generally recommend such bulbs if you want something
    bright, compact and efficient.

    In addition, those bulbs are grossly overpriced.
    In addition, it doesn't state what type of led is used, how much power it consumes, or how many lumens it produces.
    At least the multiple SMD LEDs I buy use 5050 LEDs, and generally state the power and lumens. Oh, they are much cheaper also.

    I can get 2 bright a$$ cree LEDs for under $15 shipped on ebay, from a variety of sources.
     
  4. Superdrol

    Superdrol Member

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  5. lopgok

    lopgok Member

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    Why would you want to put resistors in your reverse lights?
    The prius isn't a canbus car, and doesn't care how much power the reverse lights use.
    If you want to use them as turn signal bulbs, the prius will likely hyperflash, but white turn signals are a bit odd.
     
  6. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    No resistors are needed. IF, the LED you get has a built in resistor, or better yet some sort of current regulating circuit. Many of the cheap ones one eBay may have a resistor built in, the more expensive ones are a bit better built with a current regulating circuit and do tend to last longer!

    You do need to change out the turn signal flasher relay to a unit that is compatible. It costs about $10 bucks, and depending on what Gen Prius you are running one is a little tougher to swap, but it is do able!

    you can find the relay here...
    Toyota Lexus 8 Pin 12V Electronic LED Flasher Blinker Bulbs Relay Fix
     
  7. Superdrol

    Superdrol Member

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    Ok that's what I assumed. The way the previous post was written made it seem like it was required for reverse. With the resistor you posted, changing this in the fuse box in the engine bay will make both turn signals flash slower with LEDs ? Both front and back ?
     
  8. lopgok

    lopgok Member

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    A standard flasher, for use with incandescent bulbs has a feature to make it blink very fast when a bulb burns out.
    Since LEDs draw much less power than an incandescent bulb, the flasher thinks a bulb is burnt out and will flash very fast.
    Front and back lights will flash at the same speed. The solution is what is known as an 'electronic flasher'. It will work fine with incandescent bulbs as well as LEDs. If there is low current draw it will not blink very fast. There are many sources for them. I bought mine from amazon, but ebay and others sell them also.

    None of this has anything to do with reverse lights, but only to do with turn signal bulbs.

    Every LED I have bought for automotive applications has some form of current limiting. Without it, LEDs will burn themselves out in a fraction of a second. Cheap ones use resistors. Expensive ones use a more sophisticated constant current regulator. If you buy a bulb with 20-50 LEDs, it is sure to use resistors, as you can only string about 2-4 LEDs in series. Each string needs to be current limited. So 20 leds/4 leds per string means a minimum of 5 current limiters.

    Most people use resistors to increase the current draw of a LED bulb in order to fool a car equipped with canbus. This is used to detect burned out bulbs. Many european cars have this canbus feature, such as bmw and mercedes. As far as I know, no japanese car uses canbus. That is why I questioned why anyone would add a resistor to a LED bulb in a prius. The only possible reason is to avoid buying an electronic flasher. But since you would need a minimum of 2 power resistors, it is simper, more elegant, draws less power, and is likely cheaper to use an electronic flasher.

    Avoid buying a 'canbus' equipped LED bulb, as it will suck down lots of current, and costs more and runs much hotter.
     
  9. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Just buy the relay, it makes leds work just fine! Buy a good quality LED you will be fine, not much more to explain!
    No canbus problems, nada. I have had mine in since I posted my thread about the 60 led DRL dual color LED.
     
  10. Superdrol

    Superdrol Member

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    Do you current use the electronic flasher above for your turn signals ? How many SMD LEDs are your turn signal bulbs ? I always wondered why there was hyper flashing for my turn signals in my old Camry.

    Two cars ago I had a '97 Camry and it hyper flashed the turn signals. At the time I didn't know what to do about it so I had them hyper flash (until it got hit by a drunk driver several years later).
     
  11. lopgok

    lopgok Member

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    The only lights on my prius that I have not changed are my high beams and my turn signals. It is tough to find bright amber LEDs. SMD LEDs are quite marginal for brightness, compared to the OEM bulb. Also, the are much bulkier than the OEM bulb, which is likely an issue in my 2012. I have not changed the flasher yet, as I have the OEM bulbs in.
     
  12. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    I give up!
     
  13. Superdrol

    Superdrol Member

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    Bulbs came in the mail today. Going to start plugging them in. To be continued..........
     
  14. Superdrol

    Superdrol Member

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    I bought some chrome amber halogen turn signals for front and rear instead of screwing with LEDs. Looks pretty good actually. Esp with the 2010-2011 taillights.

    The new prius has the extra red reflector which ruins the look, IMO.
     
  15. burstaneurysm

    burstaneurysm Active Member

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    I've used those chrome bulbs before. They're great and that's what I'm planning on replacing my turn signals with.

    I'm going to bite the bullet and order a set of Cree w/12SMD for the reverse lights. We'll see how they do.
     
  16. Superdrol

    Superdrol Member

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    Post a pic when you put them in. I'm interested to see what they look like
     
  17. burstaneurysm

    burstaneurysm Active Member

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    Well, I just checked out a friend's car who had the Cree reverse bulbs and they're very bright when you look at them, but they illuminate poorly.
    Worse than the stock bulbs.

    Since I don't spend more than a few seconds at a time in reverse, I'm going to skip these.
     
    Bullet Salvador likes this.
  18. Superdrol

    Superdrol Member

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    I've put in the parking light, license plate and courtesy door lights so far. They look very good. The headlight bulbs beg to be HIDs after the LED parking lights.

    Thanks to everyone for all the help. I'll probably put in HIDs after everything is done
     
  19. Superdrol

    Superdrol Member

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    That includes you to KKp6d. Lol
     
  20. burstaneurysm

    burstaneurysm Active Member

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    HID is a must now.
    [​IMG]