anybody fitted led bulbsto there cars want to replace stop/reversing/tail light bulbson my 850 wi ledbulbs but will there bea need for a load resistor to stop the bulb out light comming on

 

I was thinking of trying some of the new 13 watt LED bulbs coming out of China. Hopefully that'll be close enough to the original 21 to not trigger bulb failure warnings. Hopefully they won't blink too fast, too.
13 watt LEDs from Hong Kong
Dimensions are same as original so I'm sure it'll fit through those small holes anyways.

 

I'm kind of worried they might be too bright though. I wouldn't want to blind the guy behind me. That many regular LEDs would use less than 2 watts, so unless they're putting out a lot of heat, must be bright as !@#$,

 

as far as i know the leds give of no heat just intence light, bulbs are cheep enough ( £3/$6) but if you have to buy a load restistor for every bulb (£5/$10) well kinda dear[:@]

 

One of my high beams was near burned out and half as bright as the other, and it didn't trigger a bulb out alarm until it went completely dead, so I think it'll probably work without a load balancer. But all that energy has to go somewhere, if not heat then it must be all light.

 

I'm gonna buy the white ones and use them as reverse/backup lights, or maybe rear fog lights. Will let you know if 13 watts is close enough not to need a resistor.

 

ive ordered some orange ones see how it goes think they only use about 1 w compaired with the normal 5w

 

I picked up some 55W backup lights from pep boys a few years ago. I was skeptical about putting a 55w bulb in there, but tried it out. Had them in my S80 for nearly two years, and just bought a set for my V70. They're pretty bright to say the least, and as far as the 55w bulb putting out tons of heat, I checked for heat damage after a few weeks on both vehicles and saw no effects. If you drive a lot at night these are a MUST!

They look sorta like these: http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/11498.html

The ones I bought have a ceramic insulator at the base of the bulb, I am assuming to help with heat. They were only $9/ea.

 

BTW, the 13 watt LED bulbs triggered a check stop lamp warning on my 2003 S80 but they seem to work fine as reverse/backup lights, which is what I'm using them for ATM.

 

...and they weren't very bright either... go figure.

 

I tried a set a friend had given me for the turn signals of my 850 not sure of the specs but they didn't work very well.

Made the blinkers work like I had a bulb out.

 

Im using 194 yellow LEDs for the side repeaters that flash but not for the main bulbs.

 

I might try that when I have to replace mine.
Also I have the euro corners that have an 1156 and a 194 so I might try them in there for the parking lights as well.
OEM setup is an 1157 bulb for both.

 

Got the 194 yellow LEDs I'm using on my S80 right off the shelf at Advance Auto Parts. Was already using them for the running lights on bumper and those little ones next to the high beams too, whatever they're called... plus the side repeaters makes eight of 'em now.

 

Cool im glad it is working good for you.

 

I've seen people who sell replacement flasher relays for other cars, just haven't seen any for my S80, or any other Volvo come to think of it... but maybe theyre out there, I dunno.

 

Maybe I haven't seen them either.

 

I obtained LED lights from the following store: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...gi?product=CAR [thats superbrightleds dot com, in case links don't work]

For the rear tail lights, I used the BA15 24-LED. Choose 1156 Red, Wide Angle. These are brighter, but not insanely so, than the original light bulbs.

For the brake lights, I used the BA15 5-Watt LED Bulb. Choose Red. Definitely brighter than stock bulbs.

I'm not happy with the BA15 24-LED in the center Stop light, because the housing's bulb base is at an angle, which makes the light darker on one side. I'm going to replace that with a small circuit board full of LEDs that will mount flush to the lens inside the light fixture.

I have no bulb warning failures. I tested my LED bulbs in the turn signals, and got no bulb failure warning, except for the fast-flashing.

Between the LEDs and HID lights I installed, I have reduced my electrical load by about 60 watts, or 10% of alternator output. I haven't measured it, but any electrical load reduction must help prolong the life of alternator and battery. If nothing else, it makes up for iPod, BlackBerry chargers.

I got lazy, and didn't want to mess with the flashers, so my turn indicators are still incandescent. But, In a Ford Escort, I had replaced the flasher with a LED-ready electronic Flasher. That was to prevent the fast flashing. LED turn signals work with your stock flasher, but you get the rapid blinking.

On a related note, I install an aftermarket HID kit for the low-beams into the stock headlights. This doesn't look at cool as projector beam lights, but from the drivers seat, the visibility is incredible. The HID lights really pick up signs from farther away, I can see street signs in residential neighborhoods without stopping to read them. The best benefit in the increased illumination of reflective devices is the word "police" that now glows from farther away as I approach speed traps. I'm quite please with how well the HID lights work in the rain, snow, etc.

If you install aftermarket HID headlights, you may want to lower the beams to compensate for the wider pattern. The HID lights act more like a flood light, and eliminated my desire to install fog lights.

For the high-beam, I cheated, I used the Silvania "cool blue" bulbs. I live in the city, high-beams are for letting oncoming drivers know one of two things: your brights are on, or, you're going to pass a speed trap.

If I lived in the country, I would go for HID high beam lights as well.

About LED colors:
Everyone probably knows this, but LED lights should be chosen to the color of their application. Using a White light will be dim in a red or amber lens, because your filtering out unwanted colors of light. To put it another way, colored LED's direct all their energy to producing exactly the color light you need. That is why they are great for indicators on cards.

 

Does anyone know the wire colors when hooking up load resistors to the tail lights? I assumed ground was black but I am kind of stumped on the other colors.