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LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression.
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Dogberry
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 4:23 pm    Post subject: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

I had a trailer harness already installed and knew going in there could be issues. There were and the trailer harness is deleted for now. The installation went fine till upon finishing I noted drivers side low beam was dim. Put a new ground to it and it was OK. Otherwise, I'm very impressed and especially that I have backups that work.

I do wonder about longevity but wasn't the whole point not to change bulbs so often? Curious if anyone has had LED bulb failures.
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IdahoDoug
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 6:18 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

What LED bulbs are you talking about here? No idea what's being asked or even what lights - dashboard? Low beams? Trailer harness implies tail lights?? Eh?
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IdahoDoug
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 6:37 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

Eh?
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raoul mitgong
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 8:26 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

Where do I find these reverse lights with high and low beams? Sound sweet.
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elizer Premium Member
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:17 am    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

Gowesty sells an interior and exterior led bulb kit. but you can buy it from superbrightled or amazon. I used to like superbrightled they were really cheap and affordable, but it seems like they bumped up their prices 20-30%
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shagginwagon83
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 6:53 am    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

LED relay for Turn Signal

Turn Signal
Buy 2 pairs of brake lights

Reverse Lights

The seller of the LED lamps is from over seas, but shipping is quick (like 10 days). The reverse lights took like a month to get to me. But all is very cheap, and very bright!

If the ebay pages expire inspect the url and find new listing of the items.
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raoul mitgong
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 8:10 am    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

Thanks for the links Brandon. Those are inexpensive. I'll find out soon enough if they are cheap too.
-d
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Pcforno
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:06 am    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

I had the LED set from GW and on a whim decided to try a bulb from superbright LEDs. Way brighter, so I bought the whole set and replaced the GW bulbs. All the bulbs from superbright LEDs are brighter. I didn’t add up the cost, but I think it’s probably comparable.
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Paulbeard
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:03 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

Pcforno wrote:
I had the LED set from GW and on a whim decided to try a bulb from superbright LEDs. Way brighter, so I bought the whole set and replaced the GW bulbs. All the bulbs from superbright LEDs are brighter. I didn’t add up the cost, but I think it’s probably comparable.


does superbright package a kit or do you have to find them all? My dash lights are deadly dim.
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Pcforno
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:09 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

No it’s pretty easy on their website - enter vanagon and year in their “vehicle finder” and it will take you through all the bulbs needed. Incidentally, their courtesy light LEDs are brighter than the GW and vancafe’s as well.
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Paulbeard
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:58 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

Pcforno wrote:
No it’s pretty easy on their website - enter vanagon and year in their “vehicle finder” and it will take you through all the bulbs needed. Incidentally, their courtesy light LEDs are brighter than the GW and vancafe’s as well.


I see that it's a lot better than last I looked. I think i need three bulbs? Not going out to check in this weather. And of course, looking at that stuff makes me want to explore footwell lighting…
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ThankYouJerry
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:13 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

Paulbeard wrote:
... And of course, looking at that stuff makes me want to explore footwell lighting…


These are GREAT:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1695181
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oldskewlsk8ter
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:40 am    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

ThankYouJerry wrote:
Paulbeard wrote:
... And of course, looking at that stuff makes me want to explore footwell lighting…


These are GREAT:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1695181


If you're planning on doing any other LED strip lighting just buy a cheap roll off Amazon. The sticky backing on most of the stuff I've bought is crap no matter where it comes from, and I wound up siliconing it in place.
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Paulbeard
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 5:07 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

oldskewlsk8ter wrote:


If you're planning on doing any other LED strip lighting just buy a cheap roll off Amazon. The sticky backing on most of the stuff I've bought is crap no matter where it comes from, and I wound up siliconing it in place.


Meh. I'm done with cheap stuff off Amazon. Plus if this guy has gone to the trouble of making a kit, I like to support that kind of thing.
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Paulbeard
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 5:54 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

I guess I'm just lucky but my new LEDs arrived today and I thought it would be nice to install them. An easy job with a nice payoff.

Walked away with the old bulbs in two of the sockets and burnt foil running to the right hand pod over the tach. A perfect ending to this particular work day.

None of them worked. Even the center one that is easily visible. Maybe the pins don't press down hard enough against the foil. They seemed to seat OK but didn't revolve far enough to contact the exposed parts of the foil. SuperBrightLEDS replied to my request for an return thusly:

Quote:
A cross reference number from your stock bulbs, our bulb finder states its not 100% and to check the stock bulbs to determine the bulbs types.


Trouble is, you can't know if they fit until you fit them. And if the next thing you see is smoke, that's it. You're out more than the cost of a bulb. So caveat emptor and maybe check the alignment before you apply power. Not sure how one of these could short in that way. One of the damn things fell behind the console so I'll have to find it at some point.
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Dogberry
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 5:47 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

My original post was a bit obtuse and I apologize for that. I've been really busy and only now have I found the time to clarify. I installed the GW LED kit. The OEM headlights were not touched but I do have a high power relay kit installed for them. The driver's side headlight was dimmed out after the LEDs went in. The problem of the LEDs not returning a ground path somewhere. I simply installed a separate ground wire on that headlight and it works fine.

And I did go ahead and get turn signal and brake light spares... cheap insurance.

However, after posting that message and just prior to returning to Thailand (the van is in storage again) I noticed what I'd call a ghost flash. If the R turn signal is on the left signal fainty flashes and vice versa. It's un-noticeable in daylight. There is a lot of chatter about this phenomenon on the internet and it seems it's a fairly common issue. I'll tackle that one next time I get back to the states. For now, I'm thinking that running separate grounds on all my exterior lights might solve the problem.
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Last edited by Dogberry on Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:20 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Dogberry
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:07 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

shagginwagon83, thanks for the links Sir, made it easy and affordable to get spares...
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jwallis
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:04 pm    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

shagginwagon83 wrote:
...
If the ebay pages expire inspect the url and find new listing of the items.


Thanks man. The bulb seller's name is
3c-made-in-china
https://www.ebay.com/usr/3c-made-in-china

and I don't think they're going anywhere soon. Relay seller is
dt-autotech
https://www.ebay.com/usr/dt-autotech

Has anyone else tried these lights? I'm about to pull the trigger on a few. Specifically, better reverse lights would be great.
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jwallis
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PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2018 12:42 am    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

Is there any harm in NOT installing the relay? I prefer a faster blink and don't want to jack with the relay panel.
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PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2018 9:17 am    Post subject: Re: LED bulb kit, install issues, one month impression. Reply with quote

It's not a bad idea to get a couple extra. All the ones I got work, but a couple have a chunk of something rattling around inside them. Also they took about a month to get here.
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