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Flickering LED 168 bulbs (licence plate lights)

Discussion in 'Prius v Accessories and Modifications' started by ricomtl, Sep 20, 2015.

  1. ricomtl

    ricomtl Member

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    I've swapped out all interior and exterior 168 bulbs with white crisp JDM Astar LED's. So far, all the cabin LED's are doing great and no issues to report but the 2 bulbs for the licence plates end up flickering (not strobe like) but they don't seem to stay on for long periods.

    I went through cheaper LED bulbs prior these ones and they all did the same - I thought by upgrading to JDM Astar bulbs, the flickering issue would go away.

    Anyone here has succesfully installed LED's for their licence plates that won't flicker? I've switched them with some bulbs from the cabin and they eventually flicker as well, but they don't inside. So it doesn't seem to be related to the bulbs quality.

    Any clue what could be causing this? Would it be because the bulbs are pointing down and with the car's vibrations, they eventually slip and contacts aren't as tight?

    Thanks!
     
    #1 ricomtl, Sep 20, 2015
  2. varun singh

    varun singh Member

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    Yes, I saw them too, within a week after plugging in them,. I then went for single piece LED rather than multi-piece LED, so far have not seen them flickering, but after researching more , I found philips and sylvania now sell 168 LED bulbs, I might try them.
     
    #2 varun singh, Sep 20, 2015
  3. ricomtl

    ricomtl Member

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    What brand did you end up going for? One piece LED.... is it bright enough?
     
    #3 ricomtl, Sep 20, 2015
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    They're license plate lights, how bright do they have to be? :confused:
     
    #4 xliderider, Sep 20, 2015
  5. varun singh

    varun singh Member

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    #5 varun singh, Sep 20, 2015
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  6. ricomtl

    ricomtl Member

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    #6 ricomtl, Sep 20, 2015
  7. Ben2jz

    Ben2jz Junior Member

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    Check out Luxer1 LEDs. They are pricy but excellent in quality and stupid bright. They are more on the white side with a hint of blue. Comparable to most 5,000K HID kit.

    I had them on my SUV for eight years (yes, 8) without a single issue before trading it in. (All domes, 4 door, 2 license plate, 4 for the two side rocker). Wish I had remember to swap them out!

    I have these on my car. I think it's great but a little annoying as they are really bright. Have them for three months now. No issue. Maybe you can contact the seller if they will sell two for your need. Shipping was like three day, from Japan!

    Toyota Prius v (lowercase v) Exact Fit LED Map Light 118 SMD Dome Lamp ZVW40 41 Α Interior | eBay
     
    #7 Ben2jz, Sep 23, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2015
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  8. ricomtl

    ricomtl Member

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    The ones for the license plates (part of that kit) seem to be exactly like ones I ordered on Ebay and they also started flickering on/off after a few days. Looks like it's a recurring problem from what I've read so far throughout Amazon reviews (regardless if the bulbs are cheap or high-end) when used for license plates (constantly on when driving at night).... I'm already at my 3rd set (different brands) and they all ended up flickering. The only way I realized they were flickering is when I used the back-up camera!

    I re-installed the OEM and I'll just get over the "yellow tint". :)
     
    #8 ricomtl, Sep 23, 2015
  9. varun singh

    varun singh Member

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    They do have a noticeable bluish tint when viewing from near, but from far they are OK.

    I heard the Sylvania|Philips ones appear more white, but haven't tried then personally.
     
    #9 varun singh, Sep 24, 2015
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  10. nathes2016

    nathes2016 New Member

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    I found philips and sylvania now sell 168 LED bulbs, I might try them.
     
    #10 nathes2016, Oct 29, 2015
  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I use superbrightleds.com LEDs in my vehicle. 168/194 wedge as well as festoon (for the rear dome and cargo light). So far so good. I just replaced my licence plate ones after ~5 years (I think I installed them Fall 2010) as they were getting dim (one had only 1 LED diode left working, the other had 2. They have 5 to start). No flicker. Heat is an issue because the same bulbs that were in the forward-facing parking light (on the liftback), only lasted a year on two occasions. (They do mention this on their website. Also, the 2010's forward facing parking light space is really small so I can imagine it gets really hot in the summer). My current set is running 2 or 3 years now so I don't know if it was just unusually hot summers back then or two batches of poor quality ones. All interior lights are still on their first set except one map light (the metal U-shaped piece at the base of the bulb lost connection and when I pulled it out, it broke off. The map lights are a bit of a tight fit). These bulbs went through -30°C to +35°C temperature ranges.

    My door courtesy lights are red, interior are cool white and cargo light is natural white (almost the same tint as the original bulb). Licence and forward-facing parking lights are cool white (matches the 5000K HIDs).
     
    #11 Tideland Prius, Oct 29, 2015
  12. Scott_K

    Scott_K Junior Member

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    I know this is an older thread, but I may have found why cheaper led bulbs flicker. The CAN bus thinks its a burned out bulb due to the lower voltage requirements of LED's and load resistors are needed so the car thinks it is a normal bulb, pulling a normal load. search online for CARID, Lumen LED load resistors as I can't post a link here
     
    #12 Scott_K, Jan 18, 2016
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