I've been dabbling with LED bulbs for over 10 years now and I think this may be the best real life review and information video I've seen to date. Well done and thank you for taking the time to post it!
Hey man. I'm an electronics engineer whom designed led lighting fixtures. You're totally right. The problem about replacement led bulbs is that the original housing is not designed to dissipate heat so, the LEDs work harder. The heat is an enemy of LEDs. Other than that's these cinese bulbs uses crappy LEDs, so they will color shift and loose loose luminous flux very rapidly with the time. Ok, it costs 1 dollar anyway. A decent led costs one dollar itself. Unfortunate there's no miracle. All these retrofit LEDs suffer from the lack of dissipation by design. Be ready to replace it in a medium therm. Keep the good working. Peace brow.
Replace the resistor so they run cool and don't get hot. They will also last a long time without losing any brightness you will notice. They are all overdriven so they die quickly. See Big clives demonstrations. I did this to all bulbs in my house and car 5 years ago and have only had to swap 2 bulbs.
sir thanks for this video, so informative, can i ask is ok to put double contact to a single contact LED signal light. i have hyperflash priblem.. thanks for the reply
Hi dear! I am Prasad 64, from India. Recently through my son, I too process a car. I wanted to replace most of the old generation bulbs in the indian built car. Your video taught me so many interesting things about car lighting. Hope with these fundamentals, I can proceed further. Thanks a lot.
I agree man! I bought a pack of 30 green led (194s) for my 1971 C/20 Chevrolet. About a yr later I started getting a flicker from random LEDs that I installed. I've added a few autometer gauges that offer led upgraded bulb replacements. They were way more expensive, about $15 each. Butt wow, they've lasted twice as long, no issues, no problem or flicker thus far
I've had similar problems. I replaced them with the newer style 4014/3014 bulbs. I think yours are 3535, these bulbs also have resistors built-in them to avoid hyper flashing or canbus errors. One has to bear in mind that these bulbs are evolving quite rapidly as opposed to the old style tungsten/halogen bulbs which were unchanged for almost a 100 years. Thank you for sharing your findings.
LEDs won't heat up but resistors will heat up if they're included in the circuitry. There are better ways to deal with hyper flashing than installing heat-dissipating resistors. The other day on Amazon I saw some of these LEDs drawing 0.5 watts. That's zero point five watts or less than a watt.
I agree I got my headlight bulbs 9006 style from them installed in September 2016 still going strong. I also got the flat all solid state state 194 bulbs from them for the interior so far no failures
Solution for the square plugin...take a hobby file, gently taper the plugin end to a slight v, the sides are ellectricaly connected thru the via's on the board (small gold holes) and the tiny bit on the very end won't matter...but will make it 100x easier to insert Thanks for the video and link!!!!
I’ve got 10 of the “newer” board style 194’s spread over three vehicles, none have failed. For backup/tail/turn signals, the brand Luyed has been great. I’ve also got one pair of SeaLight LED headlight bulbs in our Ford Ranger; again, no problems. The maker of this video is correct, there’s a ton of cheap junk out there; guess I just got lucky with Luyed & SeaLight. I can’t overstate how great the change is with new LED interior lights, literally like night & day. Cheers, safe motoring.
The main issue with a lot of the older bulbs (and some new ones) is that the manufacturer used the cheapest LED's they could get away with. They then overdrive them to make the light brighter than they're rated for. And that's why you get the excess heat and high failure rate. Or if you're lucky the bulb lasts a while, but the heat gradually damages the LED's and changes the color tone a bit
You should google datasheets on leds and electrical parts look for 1 with different tempretures but yes i have seen a few at 20-30 deg c perfectly cooled some can last 25 years , 30 - 40 - 10years 45deg- 5 years . dont qoute me on this but look for data sheets
Went with known brand name Philips. Definitely not the brightest and tend to pinpoint rather than flood for running light which disappointed. I did notice these sealight leds. Quite honestly the low price sent me packing. Look into Ludyn. Not cheap much like your dud bulbs in shape but at price for Ludyn one might anticipate better build quality. One thing no one mentions when you go to LED's (mine at least) needed a different relay for lower operating voltage. This fast indicator symptom might be causing these heat problems. Just a thought. Thanks for video Sealights look interesting no question.
@@Richibald1 No it is caused by replacement bulbs having a lower wattage they are not drawing enough electrisity therefore your car thinks a bulb has blown and therefore it hyper flashes to inform you that the bulbs are not working properly.
Well... I WAS going to order the LED bulbs to replace my map lights and others in the Nissan Titan until I stumbled upon your post. THANK YOU!!!! I will now order the correct ones for my truck Andrew
I use those Sylvania 194 bulbs in my conversion van and love them. They have not let me down for the last year and a half and still going strong. They're pricey but looks like a lightbulb rather than a circuit board. I still kept one incandescent in one lamp for warmth. One thing I would never do is modify any of my lampholder to accommodate odd shape bulb. If it don't fit, I don't use them and move on to looking for other options. You would not have had to modify any of your lamps with those Sylvanias.
Hey, I hope you might be able to help me or point me in the right direction, I have an 1980 chevy van that I have done a partial restore on, engine, trans. Lighting, and such,, my problem is that when turning on my blinkers they both flash, in fact all of my exterior lighting flashes except head lights,,,, ??
@@stevegalchutt9201 - If I understood you correctly, it sounds like you have a 3 way flasher. That is front and back flash the same time and side markers interval flashing in conjunction to front and back while using hazard. GM used them. If your turn signal works on appropriate side, you should be fine.
@@rendiewmit86 - They still works for the last 4-5 years and going strong. I only used then for the interior lighting. One of them gets used a lot and still works.
@@cheath8705 thanks. I'm looking to replace the map lights (T10) and some lights (T15) in my wife's pt cruiser convertible. I've heard some have issues with the cheaper bulbs. Thinking about trying the ones you mentioned.
LED bulbs also attract less bugs, flies, insects. Keep up your excellent research and reporting. I definitely like the white light. The white light is much brighter and looks more like natural sunlight. God Bless, Prost
Sylvania Zevo leds are amazing I have them for all my outside lights and inside lights on 2 different trucks and have had them installed for several years now
I've done a few teardowns of these cheap LED bulbs, and more often than not I always find the same common problem with them: small 1/4-watt resistors that become scaldingly hot the moment 12 volts are pumped through them. These basically act as heating coils that slowly roast the LED chips to death.
On the PCB bulbs, the 3 resistors in between the connectors (see 4:19) are there only to draw more current (and thus creates extra heat) in order to satisfy bulb monitoring systems. If you use the bulb in a not monitored position, you can desolder them (or snip them off with sharp sidecutters) to reduce current draw/heat generation - or buy the same style bulb, but ones that don't claim to be CAN-bus safe/compatible to start with...
Snip (or solder off) the resistors going directly between the connector terminals on the bulb (not in series with the LEDs) Their only purpose is to increase the current draw from the car, hoping to satisfy any bulb monitoring function. Without them the LED bulb draws less current and the car, expecting the draw of an incandescent bulb, might think the bulb is out.
We have fitted dozens of cars with LED bulbs and have not had any issues. I did my personal car about 10 years ago, and still going strong. Not had a single failure, interior, indicators, sidelights, did the headlights about 2 years ago, reversing lights all good, no issues.
I've had these Sealight 194 bulbs installed in my 2005 Chevy Malibu Maxx for over a year now and I can safely say that they are a huge upgrade from the other 194 LEDs you've shown. One of my favorite differences - the Sealight bulbs don't care about polarity! The crappier 194 LEDs need to be installed with the proper polarity otherwise they won't light up - the extra circuitry that's visible between the contacts takes care of the polarity preference that LEDs have on their own. Very, very useful feature when installing a large number of bulbs - nothing is worse than plugging them in, reinstalling your trim, then realizing you've got the polarity wrong! The Sealight LEDs are the closest things I've seen to direct replacement for 194 incandescents on the market thus far. Great summary video!
You mean you don't test them before reassembling the trim?! Does this along with the "polarity" part of your comment show me how valuable your opinion really isn't? Yes, I do believe it does. But at least you didn't say you drilled out the housings to make them fit like this video yutz did!
@@tomnovak7731 Man, I hope you have a better day, Tom. Must be having a rough one to lash out in the comments section of a UA-cam video. Take it easy, friend.
The new bulbs you purchased are definitely the way to go... for two important reasons. I had those types with the thin wires as contacts to the socket. What I experienced were dimmed lights after the normal 15 - 30 secs most vehicle allow after exiting the car. Due to the poor connectivity and shielding, any residual current caused the bulbs to remain in.. ever do slightly. The residual current is normal in cars and is not enough to light up factory halogen bulbs. Some suggested using the resistor technique to eliminate dimming, but I first researched different designs. The design that eliminated the dimming, are the ones you switched to. The metal ( or whatever it is) shields the residual current picked up by the little wires of the first led set you showed. The second reason is simple the build, more solid and the thicker base (I found) makes a more secure connection. Bottom line they just seat better than the wiggly older led types. Great video btw 👍
I replace my interior dome light with an LED a year or so ago, and, man, has it made a big difference! I work out of my car and often need to flip it on at night (while parked, of course). The brighter, whiter light helps a ton. It's like the Sun shining in through a hole in the roof, good stuff. My next step is to replace the anemic reverse lights (or maybe wire up a light bar, instead).
2 problems with LEDs. 1. They are over driven which in return blow the IC or blow the led. 2. Lead free solder. Lead free solder cannot take vibration which causes the solder joints to crack.
agreed, ( enf n ROHS!! ) . . . another issue if your upgrading to LED lamps for signaling, Mfgs have added a low ohm resistor in the circuit so the LED lamps can blink w/same timing as with incandescent lamp(s), because the mechanical turn signal relay uses a bimetal that heats up to work, ~3 amps or more/bulb , so no real energy savings + they are expensive...
@@robozstarrr8930 only the older cars have mechanical flashers, the rest are all electronic and can spit bulb out errors with the low load of LED's....
yep, over driven and lack of substrate, which provides cooling. people don't listen when I tell them no don't bother unless you pay for higher end items, even then it's a crap-shoot. problem is, standard "filament" bulbs have been so "cheapified" they don't last either, nothing does in fact. planned obsolescence at it's finest, whilst the top pyramid fat cats make big $$$. all us peons get hosed whilst China and every other country ALL of the production went to wins ten fold. #WINNING?
You guys realize that with 800K+ views (as of now), UA-cam just probably paid for both his cars with this one posting. Thank you, 1Road, for an interesting video, though!
Man, I just spent over $450 on my 2015 Ford F150, getting new LED lights from a certain Ford LED website and honestly, they all worked and worked great EXCEPT for my Cargo Brake Lights on my back window. The new bulbs, 2 of them worked, but the 1 started smoking when it plugged it in. I plugged into another socket and that started smoking now NONE of my Cargo Brake Lights work. I just ordered the AUXITO 194 LED Bulb 6000K White 168 2825 W5W T10 Wedge 14-SMD LED Interior Car Light Bulbs Replacement for Dome Map Door Courtesy Trunk Parking License Plate Lights, 10 PCS and I really think cause your great video, it is going to work great. Thanks for the great videos and keep up the great work.
The first LED you showed looked like a 912/921 bulb rather than a 194. They both have the same base, but a larger filament end more commonly used as a back-up bulb.
1 Road - Appreciate the video! Have you by chance run across any "warm light" LED upgrade options, in the same "wafer" thin design seen in the video? Not really into the super bright blue-ish LED's currently saturating the market, especially for interior lighting. Actually, someone really needs to come out with a interior LED map light upgrade that can cycle between "warm white" and "red Light"!! Rather surprised no one has done this yet...
THIS! I am currently upgrading all my interior lights in my 1997 GMC K2500 Suburban from the incandescent halogen bulbs to LEDs. I find the bright white/xenon white too harsh, and have gotten headaches/migraines from the household LED light bulbs that are the 'daylight' color. I use GE Reveal bulbs in my house. However, the warm white LED bulbs for car interiors are a nice, warm shade of white, without being too yellow. I found LED dome lights with the right warm white, but am still searching for the map light LEDs. My map light bulbs are actually 168, not 192. I know a 192 bulb will work though.
@@b.j.wheeler-hikes - It is a bit frustrating how so many after market interior automotive LEDs produce such harsh white light + there’s the electrical system compatibility issues w/dimming, flickering and turn signal LEDs that flash crazy fast…lol. I’ve returned more automotive LEDs over the yrs than any other consumer product. That said/on a side note, couldn’t help but notice the coincidence re your initials, I’ve actually gone by the same initials all thru childhood/most of my adult life, aside from formal situations. All the best and thx for posting the info re the LEDs.
Thanks Jimmy for being up front honest about your video. What you do know is that the bulbs you tried in the past didn't work so you are trying something different. Also you are asking for feedback on a subject that isn't covered. You have started a conversation, that needed to be started. I read many of the comments and they vary from very helpful to sarcastic. I like a person that has the courage to ask for help, so I subscribed.
colintx800 would you happen to have a link to where you purchased them? I love Panasonic products and searched and could not find any Panasonic led auto lights. Thanks!
@@psuave1210 @Peter Suarez If you go on Amazon or eBay and type philips X-tremeVision LED they will come up. I use the 8000k which have a hint of blue but they also come in 4000k and 6000k Hope that helps :)
I used iBrightstar for my dome and map lights and soon license plate lights and they are cheap but good quality and are still going with no problems at all
i bought 1 year ago Precision Led kit for my Toyota 4Runner, Still works fine. A little expensive but that kit have everything what you need. Amazon was my solution
I switched all of my 99 Jeep Cherokee interiors bulbs to LED last year and still no issues. Just nice and bright and easy to find stuff at night. I also did the reverse lights and license plate light. I did do the brake lights and turn signals but had to switch them back as one was causing flicker. I'm fine just having the reverse lights as LED's making visibility great. I have the One Way Light brand from Amazon.
I'm about to do this with my 06 Wrangler. The back-up lights have infuriated me since I bought the thing in 06 and I can't believe I've waited so long. So you've had them in for awhile now...still doing okay with them?
Hey Brother. First time that i watched a video from your channel. I like the way you explained your point of view about the LEDs. But you trapped me at the very End with the most important thing in this life. The Word of Jesus. God bless you brother!
I'd probably stick with the classic incandescent until they get some out with a warmer color temperature. The ones in this example are still too blue. (Technically they should be available, but what's on the shelves varies still.)
pauljs75 I drive a modern BMW and At first I thought the interior lighting was incandescent because it was warm. But I noticed they’re all just warm LEDs. Warm interior lighting reduces eye strain.
A number of LED brands do have both warm and cool white available. Just have to be careful with the un-named ones, they tend to be different color temperature than what the labeling states...or actually have multiple color temperatures listed in the specs without having different models available.
Prefer the warmer light as well! Someone really should make/invent replacement LED map lights that cycle from warm white to RED!! Rather surprised nobody has done this yet!
I bought a pack of 18 Auxbeam 194 bulbs that are made like these. Been using them for parking and tag lamps. Six months, still work great, and I have plenty of spares. Was 12 bucks on Amazon.
Had issues with all the eBay unknown brand LEDs that I’ve bought. Switched to Osram and Philips T10 LEDs for a little more money and they’ve been solid. I also thought the color on these branded ones were more visually pleasing as they are close to, if not actually, neutral white (not too cool and not too warm).
@@ddd228 - At a $1 a bulb (as stated in the video) think I'll roll the dice in favor of the less expensive LED wafers and if they fail, I'll switch over to the higher priced name brands.
Especially appreciate that you showed how to remove the map lights, how to reinstall the door courtesy light -- I need an a to z where and how-to on removing interior lights so don't BREAK them!! Thanks for video, informative and very helpful!
Have you seen the "RGB 194" versions of these bulbs, quite a bit longer than the original but would fit in the door perfectly. As the name suggests these can have their colour changed by remote, and even better be made to flash (saves last mode after power off) good as a safety flasher when doors get opened.
Silvania led bulbs work pretty well and the quality is great, I’ve had the cool white and super bright versions and their the same size as the originals, I’ve had them for 2 years now on my 01 Chevy Silverado
They look great with black or gray interiors, but I changed back to regular bulbs in my light tan leather Grand Cherokee. They made my tan interior look like crap at night. I've also had many of them fail in my other two cars, but regular 194s failed sometimes too
I did my 92 suburban and after only 2 or 3 months one headlight was out on low beam. So much for buying the cheapest ones I could find. Now I have to start all over again. They are not the easiest to get to, not like the 2001 yukon. Thanks for the info on better led's.
One thing to note about LEDs, they are diodes. They behave different electrically than an incandescent bulb. If you expect the LED to dim from a controller, they may behave very differently than the original incandescent bulb. If the original bulb has one brightness-level (for example, function is just an "on/off" -type of light), you will have no problems with a good quality LED mentioned below or in the video. Dimming of LEDs can be a major concern for retrofits... It just depends on the dimming circuit.
Yeah I've had good luck with led but i can see how they would get to hot in that plastic under the sun in the dash. But now those new ones i think will work fine and i am going to try them. Thanks for the link
I changed to LEDs the first week I got my new car, back in 2011. And back then, there wasn't so much of a variety of LED equivalents to chose from. So I did my own thing and made custom LED lights for all the interior housings, using LED tape. Cut to length pieces, stick 'em on a piece of cardboard, small wires for the connections, and 2019......all my interior lights still work perfect, no heating issues, and they turn on and off thousands of times whenever I open and close the doors. Just passed the 100.000 mile mark, and nothing to worry about. It's an Idea I can safely recomend. Although, it requires a bit more involvement to it, and soldering and all.......but I think the end result is worth it. You have interiour lights that literally never burn. Problem solved!
I use lasfit led bulbs. They use the same flat blade bulb for the 168/194 bulbs. Very bright and have been working for close to a year now without problems. Little pricey but very well made. Good video.
I gotta say, I like the LED's in the dash, but I still prefer the warmer light of the old incandescent bulbs. LEDs in the cabin feel like the fluorescent lighting in Office Space ...lol.
Yes, those interior shots made me cringe. So sterile and bright. That screws with your eyes after a while. Incandescent for interior all the way. It has a natural feel.
What about all the smaller backlighting bulbs that illuminate gauges, switches, and the radio? In my 06 Silverado, my headlights auto on more than I’d like due to probably a slightly faulty light sensor, but anyways the buttons on the radio get so so hot from those incandescent bulbs. Is there an led option for those?
I sent my instrument cluster and auto AC control off to a rebuilder on ebay for my 06 Sierra, since they had to be soldered in. They were able to replace the bulbs with different colored LEDs that are dimmable like stock. They look really good, but it was around $160 for both pieces to be done, and I had to pay shipping to get to them. They even offer a warranty and sent their business card to me in case I had any issues after the sale. Personally, I feel it was worth it. There are sellers that offer DIY kits too for just about any bulb in the dash, switches, or controls in different colors for cheaper if you're handy with a soldering iron.
@@1RoadGarage Great video with good info! Have you figured out a good replacement for the engine compartment bulb mounted under the hood? I have yet to find a sealed BA15S base bulb at a reasonable price. I was thinking of rewiring and installing four LED Daytime Running Light COB Panels wired to a switch which would provide much more light over a larger area in comparison to the single location incandescent. Also, if you has used the flat LED's shown in your video to begin with, would you have had to modify the door courtesy lights?
@@michaelwaters5168 Check on Ali Express, there are 144led types that are sealed units with load resistors built in. They are the brightest I've seen thus far and costs are about $3 each. I've bought them a few months ago and have had no issues since. If you need, I can send you the link. Good luck with your project.
Nice video, For interior i make my own bulbs, works longer then 6 years already, but I always have the problem with tail led bulbs they never bright enough for my car
Hi, I have to cool down your enthusiasm. If you are using led bulbs with „canbus” description you are not saving any power consumption at all. Bulbs with „canbus” description are designed for cars with bulb malfunction monitoring system (not only can of course). It’s hot and cold system for checking if there is everything ok with wolfram wire inside standard bulb. One is monitoring bulb when its off (resistance of cold wolfram wire) second is monitoring working one (resistance or current of hot wolfram wire). So, to cheat the monitoring system producers of the “canbus” bulbs are using additional resistors and capacitors to achieve same current or same resistance as original wolfram bulb - this is the only way. Finally we have a led bulb with exactly the same power consumption as standard wolfram one...
With exposed diodes like those, you're actually not supposed to touch them with your bare skin hands. The oils from your hands destroy them SUPER fast. It's best to have new clean golves on while handling them. I manufactured leds for two different companies. I was also the lead tech at one company. I actually hand built lights for the boats on the tv show - the worlds deadliest catch. Kinda cool 😎 😅
Well.. A free advice. If you want some really quality led bulbs, then look for those who have voltage stabilizer. They usually came with load resistors to match the original consumption of the original bulb that you are about to replace. So... you end up with a really good light and with good led bulbs that will last a decade.
I use LED Tops. They seem good, as I have had them in all my Ram truck lights for a year. The interior courtesy lights are awesome, with a remote for about 20 different colors.
Ideally, the LED should align exactly with the filament of the conventional bulb so the light is properly focused by the reflector. I noticed the bottom LEDs put all their light through the holes of the reflector. Maybe you could have had more light.
What I often notice with LED bulbs is that the LED series resistors are chosen too small - so get the LED's a higher current and burn through it sometime faster. I am a hobby electronics technician since I was 7 years old. But I've been a trained electronics technician for energy and building technology for 15 years. I've soldered together an LED bulb for the interior lighting of my car myself. I have deliberately calculated the series resistors for operation at 15V because the on-board voltage can quickly rise to around 14V with the engine running. This self-made replacement bulb has been in the car for almost 10 years without any breakdowns. On the board there are 16 LEDs, which are interconnected in 4 rows. Each series circuit also has its own series resistor. The power consumption is about 1W. The power loss on the resistors is so low (0,013W) that they heat up only slightly. But what you can do against destroyed bulbs: Connect a varistor directly parallel to the battery to prevent voltage spikes. Because I also had problems with often failed low-beam lights. Since I've installed the varistor, the bulbs last almost 2 years and longer. I also had a car hi-fi system built in with two 1F capacitors. The power amp was a Mac Audio ZX4500 Black Edition with 4x125W / 2x300W RMS at 4 ohms. The power amp was able to pull up to 900W from the electrical system. 3x 25A fuses in the power amp itself and a 80A ANL fuse on the battery. The alternator was designed for a load current up to 120A. The sound pressure was a few years ago when measured on a dB-drag event in the "Bass race" at 138dB. That was definitely more than enough. I've installed two JBL GT 4-12 Woofers (250W RMS each) in one sealed Box, but separated to each other (2 Chambers) to drive them in stereo. The other 2 Channels were used for two PA-Tweeters with a Power handling of 250W RMS each. I choose the sealed Box because of the relatively linear Frequency response before it goes down. And depending on JBL's schematics and technical data only in the sealed Box the Woofers can be driven at their full RMS Power of 250W without overheating. Actually i use this selfmade-Box at Home in my 7.2Ch Home-Cinema System. I had paid attention to crystal clear and possible distortion-free audio output. Without the Capacitors the lights are slightly flickering, with the capacitors nothing flickers. It was an Opel Astra G-CC from 2003. Despite the additional installations, everything worked flawlessly.
lol my headlights in my Prius are made by sealight. I got to tell you for me the headlight quality is top-notch. I have the fanless version. they are bright and have been installed for about 2yrs problem free!
We use LED bulbs (the 6 volt versions generally) in pinball machines. We have lots of failures of the LED bulbs due to vibration. Plus some are dead right out of the package. Sometimes, we revert back to incandescent bulbs on some machines because we don't have many problems with incandescents.
I buy a lot of chinese discrete components and other various parts from mostly overseas. It is much cheaper that way and I buy from a vendor that has been awhile a while and who answers questions about the item I am interested. I mostly do custom projects or repair items that are broken because I hate to waste things and enjoy the challenge of the repair. 1 road makes valid points for the reliability of the lamp design... I have several usb lamps that use the same board design and hold up quite well. I also use 60/40 lead solder because it is much more reliable. The lead free tends to have heat/corrosion issues over the long run. Keep up the nice videos and ignore the haters. It seems they can get attention that way just like a loud crying kid.
I've had sealight bulbs in my old Toyota Camry. They worked awesome! I also bought led headlights from the same company and havent had any issues so far. Hope everything goes as good with you as it did for me
@@parma-sean no damage so far. Even though they have a fan less design they have never overheated or caused me any issues. There's brighter lights out there like the brand fahren that makes some pretty decent lights for a great price. Might wanna give them a look too. I would recommend either about the same
Thank you, the truth has been revealed. I did that same thing, endless searching for good reviews, higher than 95% feedback on ebay....it took nearly days to find. And, less than a year use already had one side marker break from heat. Question though, do they make LED headlight replacements that don't have those stupid fans on the back of them? With high and low beams.
I've had the best luck with Lumenex and Lasfit. I tried to go the cheap route, and they would last for maybe a month or two before they started dimming out. Buy once, cry once is the best way to go about buying good LEDs
I have interior and exterior LEDs in 2 cars. And have been for at least four years without problems. I live in New England. We have 2 very extreme seasons called Brutal cold and Swamp-Ass Hot. I bought mine on SuperBrightLED.com I’m not affiliated with them just a fact of where I got them. It was a toss up between them and CarID. Also keep in mind, you can’t just plug “replacement LED bulbs. Turn signals will hyper flash due to lower voltage and the car thinks the bulb is out. And God Sake! Please calibrate your headlights if you install them yourself. They need to be pitched lower or they will look like hi-beams even when on low. So if your brights are off and people keep flashing their lights at you, well there you go.
Great Comparison! I'd like to install in the gauge cluster, but still need the ability to use the dimmer as well, so they aren't Eye Piercing bright. Did you by chance do a test to see how they do while using the dimmer function of the light switch?
Good info Jimmy. Google LEDs and you will understand why they actually fail. I think with your inquisitive mind that you will appreciate the read. The bad connections are not shorts. A short is like when your jumper cables touch and sparks fly an open is when you have no contact like a switch when you turn it off. As before keep up the good work. You are appreciated.
I have a Chevrolet 2003 suburban and I replaced all of the lights to led but the LEDs I installed I built to my liking so they are very bright and they look great.
I like the LEDs from the brand Auxito. I've bought a variety of their different bulbs for different applications and after more than a year, I have yet to see one go bad. Overall excellent quality and price
Diode dynamics are the only ones I use and trust. Used them on the license plate , cargo , 3rd brake light, and interior on my 15 Ram . 5 years running strong.
Same! The Phillips bulbs seem to be good so far ... I’ve had some almost 2 years now.. no flickering or dead bulbs yet but yes there pricey$$$$. The 194 wedge led bulb is even the same dimensions as the glass incandescent ones. I currently use them for side running lights and license plate lights.
I have tried Zevos, but they cost just a little shorter of a Philips LED, and are (way) dimmer. Go for the Philips, they're just better overall, light output is FANTASTIC, most of the philips will obey the focal point of a traditional incadescent bulb, so they won't glare other drivers even if you use them outside. I have been using them since they came out, It's been 5 years now, and my WHOLE CAR uses philips (headlights, tail lights, license plate, the whole interior), and NONE has failed so far!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I went with little more expensive ones from a longstanding well reviewed brand. 2 years so far no fit or function issues. Don't cheap out on LEDs of any kind, like you note they aren't all made equal.
Lasfit bulbs have worked phenomenal for me I have them on my ram for a little over a year on a projector headlight conversion and man I’ve had no issues looking to upgrade my interior lights from them.
I just installed some Lasfit bulbs on my 2020 F150. 7440 reverse lights, and 7443 amber front turn signals. So far, no issues. The 7443s are marketed as can-bus compliant, and I haven't noticed any hyperflash at all. From what I can see on the amazon reviews, they have a fairly good reputation. A bit more expensive than the competition, but if they hold up, I'll consider it a good investment.
Jim, I converted almost all of my lights to led, my dash stars to flicker, is the similar bulb with black one you showed in the vid, 4:47. This is great lesson! I really need to know what make and style is really good and lasts long time. I have 99 GMC Suburban k1500 and 98 Chevy Blazer ls. Most are already converted to LED.
I swapped all my builbs 8 years ago. (I did headlights but had to switch back couldn't align correctly) . Including brake and signal lights, reverse. They all still work great ! None of them have burned out. Maybe the earlier versions are better ? Reverse is much brighter than stock.
I've always sourced my LEDs from "superbrightleds" been using their 194, 74 and a 578 bulb in my truck for over a year. the 194 and 74 are in the dash andare just as bright as the day I put them in. The only thing I'm not too happy with is the 194 bulbs do not work with the dimmer, but the 74 bulbs do.
You should have went to Precision LED or JDM ASTAR. Both have complete sets of Interior Bulbs for both of your SUVs . My interior lights are 3 years old ..... No problems at all . Exterior all good .
One MUST be sure the (LED) light source lands in the same place the incandescent filament would be . To short or long and engineered focus will scatter the light instead of the designed collimation . Good layman's video , Thanks.
I've been dabbling with LED bulbs for over 10 years now and I think this may be the best real life review and information video I've seen to date. Well done and thank you for taking the time to post it!
Hey man. I'm an electronics engineer whom designed led lighting fixtures. You're totally right. The problem about replacement led bulbs is that the original housing is not designed to dissipate heat so, the LEDs work harder. The heat is an enemy of LEDs. Other than that's these cinese bulbs uses crappy LEDs, so they will color shift and loose loose luminous flux very rapidly with the time. Ok, it costs 1 dollar anyway. A decent led costs one dollar itself. Unfortunate there's no miracle. All these retrofit LEDs suffer from the lack of dissipation by design. Be ready to replace it in a medium therm. Keep the good working. Peace brow.
Thank you for the details.
Replace the resistor so they run cool and don't get hot. They will also last a long time without losing any brightness you will notice. They are all overdriven so they die quickly. See Big clives demonstrations. I did this to all bulbs in my house and car 5 years ago and have only had to swap 2 bulbs.
@@Mr.Unacceptable what does replacing the resistor mean?
sir thanks for this video, so informative, can i ask is ok to put double contact to a single contact LED signal light. i have hyperflash priblem.. thanks for the reply
What do you recommend? Are the lights in the video good?
Hi dear!
I am Prasad 64, from India. Recently through my son, I too process a car. I wanted to replace most of the old generation bulbs in the indian built car. Your video taught me so many interesting things about car lighting. Hope with these fundamentals, I can proceed further. Thanks a lot.
Oh THAT"S how you get those overhead map lights out!! THANK YOU! Been trying to figure it out for years!
I bought the same LED bulbs, all I need now is a car.
Haha!
Nah man, just mount them to your bike.
This comment made me smile 😅
b r u h
Broke down crying lmao.
I agree man! I bought a pack of 30 green led (194s) for my 1971 C/20 Chevrolet. About a yr later I started getting a flicker from random LEDs that I installed. I've added a few autometer gauges that offer led upgraded bulb replacements. They were way more expensive, about $15 each. Butt wow, they've lasted twice as long, no issues, no problem or flicker thus far
I've had similar problems. I replaced them with the newer style 4014/3014 bulbs. I think yours are 3535, these bulbs also have resistors built-in them to avoid hyper flashing or canbus errors. One has to bear in mind that these bulbs are evolving quite rapidly as opposed to the old style tungsten/halogen bulbs which were unchanged for almost a 100 years. Thank you for sharing your findings.
LEDs won't heat up but resistors will heat up if they're included in the circuitry. There are better ways to deal with hyper flashing than installing heat-dissipating resistors. The other day on Amazon I saw some of these LEDs drawing 0.5 watts. That's zero point five watts or less than a watt.
From Amazon. JDM Astar. Bright. No shorts. Backup lights, cargo lights. 2 years. Love them.
Jeff Collins wow I just or them and they are nice
I have jdm astar on my 2017 wrx for about 2 years now and i have had no issues. Bright, work, last.
I agree I got my headlight bulbs 9006 style from them installed in September 2016 still going strong. I also got the flat all solid state state 194 bulbs from them for the interior so far no failures
JDM reverse lights, Yorkim internal and tag lights. All fine 2 years too.
Im using lasfit works amazing looks great and high quality feels better than jdmastar
Thanks for the video, very helpful, very clear voice, no profanity used, subscribed, never ashamed of the Gospel, love it.
Solution for the square plugin...take a hobby file, gently taper the plugin end to a slight v, the sides are ellectricaly connected thru the via's on the board (small gold holes) and the tiny bit on the very end won't matter...but will make it 100x easier to insert
Thanks for the video and link!!!!
Diode Dynamic bulbs are one of the best and have a 3 year warranty. Sylvania 194's are a great product as well.
Have you tried their led headlights if so how do you like them
I’ve got 10 of the “newer” board style 194’s spread over three vehicles, none have failed. For backup/tail/turn signals, the brand Luyed has been great. I’ve also got one pair of SeaLight LED headlight bulbs in our Ford Ranger; again, no problems. The maker of this video is correct, there’s a ton of cheap junk out there; guess I just got lucky with Luyed & SeaLight. I can’t overstate how great the change is with new LED interior lights, literally like night & day. Cheers, safe motoring.
The main issue with a lot of the older bulbs (and some new ones) is that the manufacturer used the cheapest LED's they could get away with. They then overdrive them to make the light brighter than they're rated for. And that's why you get the excess heat and high failure rate. Or if you're lucky the bulb lasts a while, but the heat gradually damages the LED's and changes the color tone a bit
Well said
this is true in every led-driver electronic devices
You should google datasheets on leds and electrical parts look for 1 with different tempretures but yes i have seen a few at 20-30 deg c perfectly cooled some can last 25 years , 30 - 40 - 10years 45deg- 5 years . dont qoute me on this but look for data sheets
Went with known brand name Philips. Definitely not the brightest and tend to pinpoint rather than flood for running light which disappointed. I did notice these sealight leds. Quite honestly the low price sent me packing. Look into Ludyn. Not cheap much like your dud bulbs in shape but at price for Ludyn one might anticipate better build quality.
One thing no one mentions when you go to LED's (mine at least) needed a different relay for lower operating voltage. This fast indicator symptom might be causing these heat problems. Just a thought. Thanks for video Sealights look interesting no question.
@@Richibald1 No it is caused by replacement bulbs having a lower wattage they are not drawing enough electrisity therefore your car thinks a bulb has blown and therefore it hyper flashes to inform you that the bulbs are not working properly.
I been having the sealight for 2 and a half years with no problem at all, live those LED’s
Well... I WAS going to order the LED bulbs to replace my map lights and others in the Nissan Titan until I stumbled upon your post. THANK YOU!!!!
I will now order the correct ones for my truck
Andrew
I use those Sylvania 194 bulbs in my conversion van and love them. They have not let me down for the last year and a half and still going strong. They're pricey but looks like a lightbulb rather than a circuit board. I still kept one incandescent in one lamp for warmth. One thing I would never do is modify any of my lampholder to accommodate odd shape bulb. If it don't fit, I don't use them and move on to looking for other options. You would not have had to modify any of your lamps with those Sylvanias.
Hey, I hope you might be able to help me or point me in the right direction, I have an 1980 chevy van that I have done a partial restore on, engine, trans. Lighting, and such,, my problem is that when turning on my blinkers they both flash, in fact all of my exterior lighting flashes except head lights,,,, ??
@@stevegalchutt9201 - If I understood you correctly, it sounds like you have a 3 way flasher. That is front and back flash the same time and side markers interval flashing in conjunction to front and back while using hazard. GM used them. If your turn signal works on appropriate side, you should be fine.
@@cheath8705 how are the LED lights holding up?
@@rendiewmit86 - They still works for the last 4-5 years and going strong. I only used then for the interior lighting. One of them gets used a lot and still works.
@@cheath8705 thanks. I'm looking to replace the map lights (T10) and some lights (T15) in my wife's pt cruiser convertible. I've heard some have issues with the cheaper bulbs. Thinking about trying the ones you mentioned.
LED bulbs also attract less bugs, flies, insects. Keep up your excellent research and reporting. I definitely like the white light. The white light is much brighter and looks more like natural sunlight. God Bless, Prost
Sylvania Zevo leds are amazing I have them for all my outside lights and inside lights on 2 different trucks and have had them installed for several years now
Did you have any fast blink or bulb error issues with the bulbs used for the blinker function?
How are the led bulbs holding up? I thinking of switching mine in my 02 tahoe.
I've done a few teardowns of these cheap LED bulbs, and more often than not I always find the same common problem with them: small 1/4-watt resistors that become scaldingly hot the moment 12 volts are pumped through them. These basically act as heating coils that slowly roast the LED chips to death.
On the PCB bulbs, the 3 resistors in between the connectors (see 4:19) are there only to draw more current (and thus creates extra heat) in order to satisfy bulb monitoring systems.
If you use the bulb in a not monitored position, you can desolder them (or snip them off with sharp sidecutters) to reduce current draw/heat generation - or buy the same style bulb, but ones that don't claim to be CAN-bus safe/compatible to start with...
@@michaeltempsch5282what would you be snipping off exactly?
Snip (or solder off) the resistors going directly between the connector terminals on the bulb (not in series with the LEDs)
Their only purpose is to increase the current draw from the car, hoping to satisfy any bulb monitoring function.
Without them the LED bulb draws less current and the car, expecting the draw of an incandescent bulb, might think the bulb is out.
We have fitted dozens of cars with LED bulbs and have not had any issues. I did my personal car about 10 years ago, and still going strong. Not had a single failure, interior, indicators, sidelights, did the headlights about 2 years ago, reversing lights all good, no issues.
I've had these Sealight 194 bulbs installed in my 2005 Chevy Malibu Maxx for over a year now and I can safely say that they are a huge upgrade from the other 194 LEDs you've shown. One of my favorite differences - the Sealight bulbs don't care about polarity! The crappier 194 LEDs need to be installed with the proper polarity otherwise they won't light up - the extra circuitry that's visible between the contacts takes care of the polarity preference that LEDs have on their own. Very, very useful feature when installing a large number of bulbs - nothing is worse than plugging them in, reinstalling your trim, then realizing you've got the polarity wrong! The Sealight LEDs are the closest things I've seen to direct replacement for 194 incandescents on the market thus far. Great summary video!
You mean you don't test them before reassembling the trim?!
Does this along with the "polarity" part of your comment show me how valuable your opinion really isn't? Yes, I do believe it does.
But at least you didn't say you drilled out the housings to make them fit like this video yutz did!
@@tomnovak7731 Man, I hope you have a better day, Tom. Must be having a rough one to lash out in the comments section of a UA-cam video. Take it easy, friend.
The new bulbs you purchased are definitely the way to go... for two important reasons. I had those types with the thin wires as contacts to the socket. What I experienced were dimmed lights after the normal 15 - 30 secs most vehicle allow after exiting the car. Due to the poor connectivity and shielding, any residual current caused the bulbs to remain in.. ever do slightly. The residual current is normal in cars and is not enough to light up factory halogen bulbs. Some suggested using the resistor technique to eliminate dimming, but I first researched different designs. The design that eliminated the dimming, are the ones you switched to. The metal ( or whatever it is) shields the residual current picked up by the little wires of the first led set you showed. The second reason is simple the build, more solid and the thicker base (I found) makes a more secure connection. Bottom line they just seat better than the wiggly older led types. Great video btw 👍
i have used the flatones for 1 year now and i have not been needing to replace one yet and still going strong.
Nice!! I like to hear that.
I replace my interior dome light with an LED a year or so ago, and, man, has it made a big difference! I work out of my car and often need to flip it on at night (while parked, of course). The brighter, whiter light helps a ton. It's like the Sun shining in through a hole in the roof, good stuff. My next step is to replace the anemic reverse lights (or maybe wire up a light bar, instead).
2 problems with LEDs. 1. They are over driven which in return blow the IC or blow the led. 2. Lead free solder. Lead free solder cannot take vibration which causes the solder joints to crack.
overdriven..yes, get more light from a cheap or undersized chip...lead free, that's becoming a huge issue for military equipment.
agreed, ( enf n ROHS!! ) . . . another issue if your upgrading to LED lamps for signaling, Mfgs have added a low ohm resistor in the circuit so the LED lamps can blink w/same timing as with incandescent lamp(s), because the mechanical turn signal relay uses a bimetal that heats up to work, ~3 amps or more/bulb , so no real energy savings + they are expensive...
100% agree lead free solder has no place in automotive anything. 63/37 kester for the win.
@@robozstarrr8930 only the older cars have mechanical flashers, the rest are all electronic and can spit bulb out errors with the low load of LED's....
yep, over driven and lack of substrate, which provides cooling. people don't listen when I tell them no don't bother unless you pay for higher end items, even then it's a crap-shoot.
problem is, standard "filament" bulbs have been so "cheapified" they don't last either, nothing does in fact.
planned obsolescence at it's finest, whilst the top pyramid fat cats make big $$$. all us peons get hosed whilst China and every other country ALL of the production went to wins ten fold. #WINNING?
You guys realize that with 800K+ views (as of now), UA-cam just probably paid for both his cars with this one posting. Thank you, 1Road, for an interesting video, though!
Jimmy you DO have your priorities in order my friend. Enjoy the videos.
very rerefreshing
Man, I just spent over $450 on my 2015 Ford F150, getting new LED lights from a certain Ford LED website and honestly, they all worked and worked great EXCEPT for my Cargo Brake Lights on my back window. The new bulbs, 2 of them worked, but the 1 started smoking when it plugged it in. I plugged into another socket and that started smoking now NONE of my Cargo Brake Lights work. I just ordered the AUXITO 194 LED Bulb 6000K White 168 2825 W5W T10 Wedge 14-SMD LED Interior Car Light Bulbs Replacement for Dome Map Door Courtesy Trunk Parking License Plate Lights, 10 PCS and I really think cause your great video, it is going to work great. Thanks for the great videos and keep up the great work.
Lasfit brand makes the best led bulbs. Crazy bright and they warranty them. Great customer service as well ❤
The first LED you showed looked like a 912/921 bulb rather than a 194. They both have the same base, but a larger filament end more commonly used as a back-up bulb.
I love car videos, and I’ve been watching a lot of yours lately, but the ending just makes me want to watch even more. 🙌🏼
1 Road - Appreciate the video! Have you by chance run across any "warm light" LED upgrade options, in the same "wafer" thin design seen in the video? Not really into the super bright blue-ish LED's currently saturating the market, especially for interior lighting. Actually, someone really needs to come out with a interior LED map light upgrade that can cycle between "warm white" and "red Light"!! Rather surprised no one has done this yet...
THIS! I am currently upgrading all my interior lights in my 1997 GMC K2500 Suburban from the incandescent halogen bulbs to LEDs. I find the bright white/xenon white too harsh, and have gotten headaches/migraines from the household LED light bulbs that are the 'daylight' color. I use GE Reveal bulbs in my house. However, the warm white LED bulbs for car interiors are a nice, warm shade of white, without being too yellow. I found LED dome lights with the right warm white, but am still searching for the map light LEDs. My map light bulbs are actually 168, not 192. I know a 192 bulb will work though.
@@b.j.wheeler-hikes - It is a bit frustrating how so many after market interior automotive LEDs produce such harsh white light + there’s the electrical system compatibility issues w/dimming, flickering and turn signal LEDs that flash crazy fast…lol. I’ve returned more automotive LEDs over the yrs than any other consumer product. That said/on a side note, couldn’t help but notice the coincidence re your initials, I’ve actually gone by the same initials all thru childhood/most of my adult life, aside from formal situations. All the best and thx for posting the info re the LEDs.
Did you have any problems with the 03 suburban where the map lights are dim until you use the mirror light and then they come on full power?
Best part of the video, last 4 seconds. 😎
David Chenault definitely
True. God bless you, Jimmy. Good channel.
Thanks Jimmy for being up front honest about your video. What you do know is that the bulbs you tried in the past didn't work so you are trying something different. Also you are asking for feedback on a subject that isn't covered. You have started a conversation, that needed to be started. I read many of the comments and they vary from very helpful to sarcastic. I like a person that has the courage to ask for help, so I subscribed.
Panasonic led bulbs come with a 12 year warranty and have never let me down once!
colintx800 would you happen to have a link to where you purchased them? I love Panasonic products and searched and could not find any Panasonic led auto lights. Thanks!
@@psuave1210 @Peter Suarez If you go on Amazon or eBay and type philips X-tremeVision LED they will come up. I use the 8000k which have a hint of blue but they also come in 4000k and 6000k Hope that helps :)
That's because you're the Terminator. They know what happens when you come back.
I used iBrightstar for my dome and map lights and soon license plate lights and they are cheap but good quality and are still going with no problems at all
@@BigBlock632 Yes and they are still working 😁😁
i bought 1 year ago Precision Led kit for my Toyota 4Runner, Still works fine. A little expensive but that kit have everything what you need. Amazon was my solution
I switched all of my 99 Jeep Cherokee interiors bulbs to LED last year and still no issues. Just nice and bright and easy to find stuff at night. I also did the reverse lights and license plate light. I did do the brake lights and turn signals but had to switch them back as one was causing flicker. I'm fine just having the reverse lights as LED's making visibility great. I have the One Way Light brand from Amazon.
I think they make in-line adapters (resistors?) that can help reduce or eliminate flickering by smoothing out the power supply.
They are called LED Equalizers and they stop "hyper flashing". AutoZone carries them
@@ChrisMartinScruffy Nice. Easy enough to grab some there.
I'm about to do this with my 06 Wrangler. The back-up lights have infuriated me since I bought the thing in 06 and I can't believe I've waited so long. So you've had them in for awhile now...still doing okay with them?
@@angieemm Yes. No issues.
Hey Brother. First time that i watched a video from your channel. I like the way you explained your point of view about the LEDs. But you trapped me at the very End with the most important thing in this life. The Word of Jesus. God bless you brother!
I'd probably stick with the classic incandescent until they get some out with a warmer color temperature. The ones in this example are still too blue. (Technically they should be available, but what's on the shelves varies still.)
pauljs75 I drive a modern BMW and At first I thought the interior lighting was incandescent because it was warm. But I noticed they’re all just warm LEDs. Warm interior lighting reduces eye strain.
A number of LED brands do have both warm and cool white available. Just have to be careful with the un-named ones, they tend to be different color temperature than what the labeling states...or actually have multiple color temperatures listed in the specs without having different models available.
Prefer the warmer light as well! Someone really should make/invent replacement LED map lights that cycle from warm white to RED!! Rather surprised nobody has done this yet!
I bought a pack of 18 Auxbeam 194 bulbs that are made like these. Been using them for parking and tag lamps. Six months, still work great, and I have plenty of spares. Was 12 bucks on Amazon.
Had issues with all the eBay unknown brand LEDs that I’ve bought. Switched to Osram and Philips T10 LEDs for a little more money and they’ve been solid. I also thought the color on these branded ones were more visually pleasing as they are close to, if not actually, neutral white (not too cool and not too warm).
I don't know about automotive Osram bulbs, but I have had a lot of Osram E27 bulbs fail on me.
The Chinese ones FAIL. Go with Sylvania LED's. Yeah,they are expensive.
@@ddd228 - At a $1 a bulb (as stated in the video) think I'll roll the dice in favor of the less expensive LED wafers and if they fail, I'll switch over to the higher priced name brands.
Orly, Jr. Palomar bought LED for my wrx from eBay and works perfectly. Got buy LED bulbs with good reviews.
Especially appreciate that you showed how to remove the map lights, how to reinstall the door courtesy light -- I need an a to z where and how-to on removing interior lights so don't BREAK them!! Thanks for video, informative and very helpful!
Sylvania osram and Philippines make some of the best when it comes to OE led replacements
got osram led's here, well impressed,over a year later they still work fine
Philippines is really stepping up their game in technology.
I have Osram headlights in 7 Peterbilt, kenoworth dump trucks and still fine
I bought LEDs that are almost identical as what you just bought 10 yrs ago and they are still working great
Have you seen the "RGB 194" versions of these bulbs, quite a bit longer than the original but would fit in the door perfectly.
As the name suggests these can have their colour changed by remote, and even better be made to flash (saves last mode after power off) good as a safety flasher when doors get opened.
Silvania led bulbs work pretty well and the quality is great, I’ve had the cool white and super bright versions and their the same size as the originals, I’ve had them for 2 years now on my 01 Chevy Silverado
They look great with black or gray interiors, but I changed back to regular bulbs in my light tan leather Grand Cherokee. They made my tan interior look like crap at night. I've also had many of them fail in my other two cars, but regular 194s failed sometimes too
I did my 92 suburban and after only 2 or 3 months one headlight was out on low beam. So much for buying the cheapest ones I could find. Now I have to start all over again. They are not the easiest to get to, not like the 2001 yukon. Thanks for the info on better led's.
One thing to note about LEDs, they are diodes. They behave different electrically than an incandescent bulb. If you expect the LED to dim from a controller, they may behave very differently than the original incandescent bulb. If the original bulb has one brightness-level (for example, function is just an "on/off" -type of light), you will have no problems with a good quality LED mentioned below or in the video. Dimming of LEDs can be a major concern for retrofits... It just depends on the dimming circuit.
Yeah I've had good luck with led but i can see how they would get to hot in that plastic under the sun in the dash. But now those new ones i think will work fine and i am going to try them. Thanks for the link
I changed to LEDs the first week I got my new car, back in 2011. And back then, there wasn't so much of a variety of LED equivalents to chose from.
So I did my own thing and made custom LED lights for all the interior housings, using LED tape.
Cut to length pieces, stick 'em on a piece of cardboard, small wires for the connections, and 2019......all my interior lights still work perfect, no heating issues, and they turn on and off thousands of times whenever I open and close the doors. Just passed the 100.000 mile mark, and nothing to worry about.
It's an Idea I can safely recomend. Although, it requires a bit more involvement to it, and soldering and all.......but I think the end result is worth it.
You have interiour lights that literally never burn. Problem solved!
I use lasfit led bulbs. They use the same flat blade bulb for the 168/194 bulbs. Very bright and have been working for close to a year now without problems. Little pricey but very well made. Good video.
I gotta say, I like the LED's in the dash, but I still prefer the warmer light of the old incandescent bulbs. LEDs in the cabin feel like the fluorescent lighting in Office Space ...lol.
Yes, those interior shots made me cringe. So sterile and bright. That screws with your eyes after a while. Incandescent for interior all the way. It has a natural feel.
2700 Lumens are warm like the old incancersent
Thank you for the video review. In the end how have the bulbs performed?
What about all the smaller backlighting bulbs that illuminate gauges, switches, and the radio? In my 06 Silverado, my headlights auto on more than I’d like due to probably a slightly faulty light sensor, but anyways the buttons on the radio get so so hot from those incandescent bulbs. Is there an led option for those?
That's a very good question. I'm gonna look into that.
I sent my instrument cluster and auto AC control off to a rebuilder on ebay for my 06 Sierra, since they had to be soldered in. They were able to replace the bulbs with different colored LEDs that are dimmable like stock. They look really good, but it was around $160 for both pieces to be done, and I had to pay shipping to get to them. They even offer a warranty and sent their business card to me in case I had any issues after the sale. Personally, I feel it was worth it. There are sellers that offer DIY kits too for just about any bulb in the dash, switches, or controls in different colors for cheaper if you're handy with a soldering iron.
I'm rebuilding them.
@@1RoadGarage Great video with good info!
Have you figured out a good replacement for the engine compartment bulb mounted under the hood? I have yet to find a sealed BA15S base bulb at a reasonable price. I was thinking of rewiring and installing four LED Daytime Running Light COB Panels wired to a switch which would provide much more light over a larger area in comparison to the single location incandescent.
Also, if you has used the flat LED's shown in your video to begin with, would you have had to modify the door courtesy lights?
@@michaelwaters5168 Check on Ali Express, there are 144led types that are sealed units with load resistors built in. They are the brightest I've seen thus far and costs are about $3 each. I've bought them a few months ago and have had no issues since. If you need, I can send you the link. Good luck with your project.
Nice video, For interior i make my own bulbs, works longer then 6 years already, but I always have the problem with tail led bulbs they never bright enough for my car
Hi, I have to cool down your enthusiasm. If you are using led bulbs with „canbus” description you are not saving any power consumption at all. Bulbs with „canbus” description are designed for cars with bulb malfunction monitoring system (not only can of course). It’s hot and cold system for checking if there is everything ok with wolfram wire inside standard bulb. One is monitoring bulb when its off (resistance of cold wolfram wire) second is monitoring working one (resistance or current of hot wolfram wire). So, to cheat the monitoring system producers of the “canbus” bulbs are using additional resistors and capacitors to achieve same current or same resistance as original wolfram bulb - this is the only way. Finally we have a led bulb with exactly the same power consumption as standard wolfram one...
With exposed diodes like those, you're actually not supposed to touch them with your bare skin hands. The oils from your hands destroy them SUPER fast. It's best to have new clean golves on while handling them. I manufactured leds for two different companies. I was also the lead tech at one company. I actually hand built lights for the boats on the tv show - the worlds deadliest catch. Kinda cool 😎 😅
Well.. A free advice.
If you want some really quality led bulbs, then look for those who have voltage stabilizer. They usually came with load resistors to match the original consumption of the original bulb that you are about to replace. So... you end up with a really good light and with good led bulbs that will last a decade.
I use LED Tops. They seem good, as I have had them in all my Ram truck lights for a year. The interior courtesy lights are awesome, with a remote for about 20 different colors.
Ideally, the LED should align exactly with the filament of the conventional bulb so the light is properly focused by the reflector. I noticed the bottom LEDs put all their light through the holes of the reflector. Maybe you could have had more light.
Got some for my plate lights and reverse lights for my '08 Endeavor. Still working great
Smooth! On to something that really matters in life...yes I was listening,watching...cool brother..amen.
I replaced my bulbs on my 09 Burban ,06 Ram and 82 Buick park avenue with warm white leds and they look great.
What I often notice with LED bulbs is that the LED series resistors are chosen too small - so get the LED's a higher current and burn through it sometime faster.
I am a hobby electronics technician since I was 7 years old. But I've been a trained electronics technician for energy and building technology for 15 years.
I've soldered together an LED bulb for the interior lighting of my car myself. I have deliberately calculated the series resistors for operation at 15V because the on-board voltage can quickly rise to around 14V with the engine running. This self-made replacement bulb has been in the car for almost 10 years without any breakdowns.
On the board there are 16 LEDs, which are interconnected in 4 rows. Each series circuit also has its own series resistor. The power consumption is about 1W. The power loss on the resistors is so low (0,013W) that they heat up only slightly.
But what you can do against destroyed bulbs:
Connect a varistor directly parallel to the battery to prevent voltage spikes. Because I also had problems with often failed low-beam lights. Since I've installed the varistor, the bulbs last almost 2 years and longer.
I also had a car hi-fi system built in with two 1F capacitors. The power amp was a Mac Audio ZX4500 Black Edition with 4x125W / 2x300W RMS at 4 ohms. The power amp was able to pull up to 900W from the electrical system. 3x 25A fuses in the power amp itself and a 80A ANL fuse on the battery. The alternator was designed for a load current up to 120A.
The sound pressure was a few years ago when measured on a dB-drag event in the "Bass race" at 138dB. That was definitely more than enough. I've installed two JBL GT 4-12 Woofers (250W RMS each) in one sealed Box, but separated to each other (2 Chambers) to drive them in stereo. The other 2 Channels were used for two PA-Tweeters with a Power handling of 250W RMS each. I choose the sealed Box because of the relatively linear Frequency response before it goes down. And depending on JBL's schematics and technical data only in the sealed Box the Woofers can be driven at their full RMS Power of 250W without overheating. Actually i use this selfmade-Box at Home in my 7.2Ch Home-Cinema System.
I had paid attention to crystal clear and possible distortion-free audio output. Without the Capacitors the lights are slightly flickering, with the capacitors nothing flickers.
It was an Opel Astra G-CC from 2003.
Despite the additional installations, everything worked flawlessly.
I put resistors on my truck headlights, but I'm still having issues.
@djblackarrow Would you be able to post a few videos on everything you've done for your LEDs that the rest of us could follow?
lol my headlights in my Prius are made by sealight. I got to tell you for me the headlight quality is top-notch. I have the fanless version. they are bright and have been installed for about 2yrs problem free!
I've had my LED headlights installed in 2016, still problem free.
We use LED bulbs (the 6 volt versions generally) in pinball machines. We have lots of failures of the LED bulbs due to vibration. Plus some are dead right out of the package. Sometimes, we revert back to incandescent bulbs on some machines because we don't have many problems with incandescents.
Sounds like total crap to me incandescent bulbs have 4-5% of the lifespan of an LED.
I buy a lot of chinese discrete components and other various parts from mostly overseas. It is much cheaper that way and I buy from a vendor that has been awhile a while and who answers questions about the item I am interested. I mostly do custom projects or repair items that are broken because I hate to waste things and enjoy the challenge of the repair. 1 road makes valid points for the reliability of the lamp design... I have several usb lamps that use the same board design and hold up quite well. I also use 60/40 lead solder because it is much more reliable. The lead free tends to have heat/corrosion issues over the long run.
Keep up the nice videos and ignore the haters. It seems they can get attention that way just like a loud crying kid.
JDM Astar works, super bright. got some amber leds for my turn signals on my 2001 Chevy Suburban C1500
Did you have any issues with brake lights just all of a sudden stop working with the LED turn signal bulbs installed?
I've had sealight bulbs in my old Toyota Camry. They worked awesome! I also bought led headlights from the same company and havent had any issues so far. Hope everything goes as good with you as it did for me
@@parma-sean no damage so far. Even though they have a fan less design they have never overheated or caused me any issues. There's brighter lights out there like the brand fahren that makes some pretty decent lights for a great price. Might wanna give them a look too. I would recommend either about the same
@@parma-seanyou’re one of those people 🤮
Phillips led bulbs are so nice and last long time
Been using them for 5 years, managed to convert my whole car to LEDs, none has failed so far!
Phillips, one of the top brands!
Thank you, the truth has been revealed. I did that same thing, endless searching for good reviews, higher than 95% feedback on ebay....it took nearly days to find. And, less than a year use already had one side marker break from heat. Question though, do they make LED headlight replacements that don't have those stupid fans on the back of them? With high and low beams.
"Something that really matters". You are so right.
I've had the best luck with Lumenex and Lasfit. I tried to go the cheap route, and they would last for maybe a month or two before they started dimming out. Buy once, cry once is the best way to go about buying good LEDs
I’e also had no issue with Phillips/Sylvanias
Me neither. 3 years and no failures with Sylvania bulbs.
I have interior and exterior LEDs in 2 cars. And have been for at least four years without problems. I live in New England. We have 2 very extreme seasons called Brutal cold and Swamp-Ass Hot. I bought mine on SuperBrightLED.com I’m not affiliated with them just a fact of where I got them. It was a toss up between them and CarID. Also keep in mind, you can’t just plug “replacement LED bulbs. Turn signals will hyper flash due to lower voltage and the car thinks the bulb is out. And God Sake! Please calibrate your headlights if you install them yourself. They need to be pitched lower or they will look like hi-beams even when on low. So if your brights are off and people keep flashing their lights at you, well there you go.
Great Comparison! I'd like to install in the gauge cluster, but still need the ability to use the dimmer as well, so they aren't Eye Piercing bright. Did you by chance do a test to see how they do while using the dimmer function of the light switch?
Good info Jimmy. Google LEDs and you will understand why they actually fail. I think with your inquisitive mind that you will appreciate the read. The bad connections are not shorts. A short is like when your jumper cables touch and sparks fly an open is when you have no contact like a switch when you turn it off.
As before keep up the good work. You are appreciated.
Love the ending of this Video ✝️
Amen to that.
I have a Chevrolet 2003 suburban and I replaced all of the lights to led but the LEDs I installed I built to my liking so they are very bright and they look great.
I've used JDM's for 3 years now. NEVER had an issue with them.
I used seriusLED flat 194 on amazon. I like them because you don’t have to trim anywhere to fit the bulbs. And they fit in the license plate
Get Zevo LEDs. Great quality and lifetime warranty. Those are made by Osram.
Plug and play application, just like replacing a incandescent bulb.
Osram is not a brand, it's an organization. Search it and read it.
I like the LEDs from the brand Auxito. I've bought a variety of their different bulbs for different applications and after more than a year, I have yet to see one go bad. Overall excellent quality and price
Loved the way your presentation ended great video thank you. Jack
Diode dynamics are the only ones I use and trust. Used them on the license plate , cargo , 3rd brake light, and interior on my 15 Ram . 5 years running strong.
Sylvania zevo. Pricey, little less light. I have ones going for years
Tyler Eifert same here!
Same here. It's higher price but it's been years in my car almost forgot how they look like
Same, 4 years with them. Have switched cars twice and moved them with me, still working. Lifetime warranty with them too.
Same! The Phillips bulbs seem to be good so far ... I’ve had some almost 2 years now.. no flickering or dead bulbs yet but yes there pricey$$$$. The 194 wedge led bulb is even the same dimensions as the glass incandescent ones. I currently use them for side running lights and license plate lights.
I have tried Zevos, but they cost just a little shorter of a Philips LED, and are (way) dimmer.
Go for the Philips, they're just better overall, light output is FANTASTIC, most of the philips will obey the focal point of a traditional incadescent bulb, so they won't glare other drivers even if you use them outside.
I have been using them since they came out, It's been 5 years now, and my WHOLE CAR uses philips (headlights, tail lights, license plate, the whole interior), and NONE has failed so far!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I went with little more expensive ones from a longstanding well reviewed brand. 2 years so far no fit or function issues.
Don't cheap out on LEDs of any kind, like you note they aren't all made equal.
Bless you man! I love Jesus!
Lasfit bulbs have worked phenomenal for me I have them on my ram for a little over a year on a projector headlight conversion and man I’ve had no issues looking to upgrade my interior lights from them.
I just installed some Lasfit bulbs on my 2020 F150. 7440 reverse lights, and 7443 amber front turn signals. So far, no issues. The 7443s are marketed as can-bus compliant, and I haven't noticed any hyperflash at all. From what I can see on the amazon reviews, they have a fairly good reputation. A bit more expensive than the competition, but if they hold up, I'll consider it a good investment.
Thanks Jimmy! Going to have to check some of those LEDs out.
Jim, I converted almost all of my lights to led, my dash stars to flicker, is the similar bulb with black one you showed in the vid, 4:47. This is great lesson! I really need to know what make and style is really good and lasts long time.
I have 99 GMC Suburban k1500 and 98 Chevy Blazer ls. Most are already converted to LED.
I've had the LED get so hot that the solder joints liquified and the LEDs fell off. I was using them in camper lights
I swapped all my builbs 8 years ago. (I did headlights but had to switch back couldn't align correctly) . Including brake and signal lights, reverse. They all still work great ! None of them have burned out. Maybe the earlier versions are better ? Reverse is much brighter than stock.
Every bulb on my 95 Burb still works,never replaced a single one anywhere in 20 years
Haha. I'm kinda starting to think this whole LED thing is a scam.
@Ekim Nonot The LED bulbs run cooler and draw less voltage so you should try them
@Ekim Nonot if they not going hot at 15min they last forever. Just find right resistors for them.
@Ekim Nonot good luck.
Cool story bro
I've always sourced my LEDs from "superbrightleds" been using their 194, 74 and a 578 bulb in my truck for over a year. the 194 and 74 are in the dash andare just as bright as the day I put them in.
The only thing I'm not too happy with is the 194 bulbs do not work with the dimmer, but the 74 bulbs do.
Same. I've tried many LED's and they seem to be the best
Yep. Put all Superbrights in my large motor scooter and use the extra power elsewhere.
You should have went to Precision LED or JDM ASTAR. Both have complete sets of Interior Bulbs for both of your SUVs . My interior lights are 3 years old ..... No problems at all . Exterior all good .
i buy all my led lights from them.i got a set of led headlight bulbs that are going on 3 years old and have been abused.im impressed with jdm astar
weasel884 Great !! I got great customer service from JDM , even when I was just past warranty . I’ve got lots of there bulbs too !!
Info
One MUST be sure the (LED) light source lands in the same place the incandescent filament would be .
To short or long and engineered focus will scatter the light instead of the designed collimation .
Good layman's video , Thanks.