I am trying to add LED stop/tail/indicator lamps in a higher position on my van. Have wired them up in conjunction with the original incandescent lamps.
The Tail light works, The Indicators work but when you apply the brake instead of shining brighter the brake light dims.
If I connect the LED lamps direct to the plug on the tow vehicle everything works as it should.
I have an old kitcar. I went to the expense of replacing old bulbs with LED bulbs. Then few worked. You have to add a certain electronic item to the loom to do it. Might need to do more research.
eg from a www forum I have just had the same problem with some g4 LED bulbs. I ordered 3.5w (equivalent to 35w halogen) and put 2 in and they worked fine. Proceeded to put all 5 in and the light would turn off instantly. I left 3 in and they turned off after 5 seconds and buzzed whilst they were on. On the light fitting I noticed it said max 20w bulbs. I presume as they are equivalent to 35w they are too powerful for the fitting. Will be getting some 2w ones and trying that.
Hopefully this helps someone else in the future and they don't make the silly mistake I did of thinking that as they are 3.5w they will work in a max 20w fitting. Do not take this as gospel though, its just an assumption.
Tony
-- Edited by Eaglemax on Thursday 12th of October 2023 03:40:24 PM
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Be nice... if I wanted my school teacher here I would have invited him...
Hello Keith N; could it be that the ground and chassis are not electrically continuous; when you say it worked fine on the car plug; did you mean for all the lights eg. brake light, clearance light and indicators tested separately at the car plug, if so, it would appear an earth return path is the issue, could be a simple as a corroded earth connection somewhere, hopes this helps
Kind Regards Redjo
Some LEDs are more reactive to voltage drop. Have you tested the voltage at the rear of your tug and compared it with that at where you are connecting the LEDs?
I installed some LED lights high up, just as you are proposing. I used some old telephone cable as the wiring, tapping into the stop, tail and indicator lights on each corner. I ran the cable up beside the moulding plastic, and the wiring is almost invisible.
I used the telephone cable, being well aware that the LED lights draw minimal current, so voltage drop will be minimal. Wrong! I finished up having to double up the wiring on the earth section (returning the current back to the main lights on the van), and the the lights worked OK.
Hi folk's Ideally it is wise to install a wire wound Led resistor in - series / in line with the positive supply voltage wire which is otherwise allocated to the 12 volt dc globes via the harness ( just prior to the led globe. Even in such cases where as the led replacement globe alleges to have an adequate inbuilt resistor.
Ideally the alloy housed wire would resistor provides appropriate stable inductance to effectively stabilise the required voltage drop.
Rather than reliance on sending the excess neutral voltage to ground.
I have never really trusted those little toothpick inbuilt resistors in Led globes & or even complete replacement lamps.
Note exactly the same method can be applied to post flasher relay wired led replacement indicators
Cheers
Hi folk's Ideally it is wise to install a wire wound Led resistor in - series / in line with the positive supply voltage wire ......
Are you talking about solving the Canbus issues with modern vehicles where the LED lights don't draw enough power, so the system thinks a globe is blown? The solution for that is to parallel connect a resistor with the light .... i.e. between positive and negative/earth. This causes more current to flow (yes, wasted) and the vehicle sees this as equivalent to an incandescent globe. These are a very common solution and available from any motor accessories shop. You can probably save $5 -10 or so by buying resistors from Jaycar but I prefer the solution that looks like it belongs.
If you connect a resistor in series, less current will flow, potentially triggering the Canbus issue I described. Can you explain more, and the ohms of the resistor you would use.
-- Edited by Are We Lost on Wednesday 22nd of November 2023 05:31:16 PM
