LED Bulbs

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smwalker
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Re: LED Bulbs

Post by smwalker »

You know just realized there is a vendor that has been on the G8 board for a while that has some pretty good stuff. May want to contact them to see if they would add a Caprice bulb line up to their offering:

Diode Dynamics - G8 offering
Steve Walker
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Fudgehog
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Re: LED Bulbs

Post by Fudgehog »

xcidmigs wrote:I don't know if you understood what I meant about the LED tail light bulbs, the bulbs I had purchased did not burn out themselves, they were working just fine, the actual plug in housing the wiring connects to was melting to the point that smoke was being generated. I ended up having to cut out and replace after realizing this was due to the way the OEM connector is set up. Good luck
No I definitely understand, I will let you know if I have any issues. Although there could be several different causes to that problem. Everything from wrong resistance readings, to too much voltage, or simply swapping the fuse for a lower amperage. But I totally understand and I will definitely keep your personal experience in mind.
13 Caprice 6.0L, Solo catback exhaust, 3.27 diff, VCM OTR and Volant throttle spacer, MSD coils plugs wires, transmission pan upgrade and widemouth filter. Camaro 18" rims.

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Fudgehog
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Re: LED Bulbs

Post by Fudgehog »

Okay so I just came to this conclusion. Quality of the bulbs themselves. The ones I linked that claimed to be error free were not, and of course came from China. I know the bulb base is the same as a 3157 so I might try one of those error free.

Conclusion: the brand new bulbs when I started the blinker, contacts started melting immediately. The bulbs never functioned either. However the bulbs I previously had from Partsam which were not error free, did not burn up at all and they hyper flashed but no melting. I think it has to do with quality of the product.

Also, the driver side parking lamp 10 amp fuse controls the side marker, parking lamp (obviously) and the taillight at regular on position.
Last edited by Fudgehog on Tue Aug 29, 2017 11:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
13 Caprice 6.0L, Solo catback exhaust, 3.27 diff, VCM OTR and Volant throttle spacer, MSD coils plugs wires, transmission pan upgrade and widemouth filter. Camaro 18" rims.

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xcidmigs
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Re: LED Bulbs

Post by xcidmigs »

I'm pretty much convinced all LED's are coming from china and that you are experiencing the same things i was that the wiring on these cars tail lights is not the same as a standard US car with 3157 bulbs.

Again good luck
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Fudgehog
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Re: LED Bulbs

Post by Fudgehog »

xcidmigs wrote:I'm pretty much convinced all LED's are coming from china and that you are experiencing the same things i was that the wiring on these cars tail lights is not the same as a standard US car with 3157 bulbs.

Again good luck
Yeah I believe that but please explain to me why the other (Partsam) LEDs didn't fry in a heartbeat? While these did? And you've said good luck three times now. Of course its possible without a resistor wired in or a LED relay. Anything is possible.

Since the Partsam bulbs did not blow my fuse and the contacts didn't start to melt, yet they still worked, I will be ordering their error free 7443s (W21).
13 Caprice 6.0L, Solo catback exhaust, 3.27 diff, VCM OTR and Volant throttle spacer, MSD coils plugs wires, transmission pan upgrade and widemouth filter. Camaro 18" rims.

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Re: LED Bulbs

Post by Fudgehog »

As I expected, the error free W21's did not blow the fuse or melt. However even though they are advertised as "error-free" they are not for our Caprices. They did cause hyperflash. I contacted Partsam about the issue, and we are working on it. I will wire in resistors if I have to, however the nice thing about resistors is that you only have to wire in 1 for each side, they can both be in front, or in back, or 1 each. It seems this is not the case, and I might need to tap into the signal wires themselves if they run in conjunction with the front signals. Ideally, the rear would be the best because there is more room and they would not be exposed to the elements.

I have not bought error-frees for the front signals yet.

I have bought LED low beam and high beam headlights for the car. The only thing I've noticed is that with the low beams installed, they stay on when you activate the high beams, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am getting a set of error free low beams and will be seeing if they make a difference/change that.

All interior bulbs and exterior 194s are still going strong.
Last edited by Fudgehog on Sat Sep 30, 2017 1:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
13 Caprice 6.0L, Solo catback exhaust, 3.27 diff, VCM OTR and Volant throttle spacer, MSD coils plugs wires, transmission pan upgrade and widemouth filter. Camaro 18" rims.

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Re: LED Bulbs

Post by Fudgehog »

It seems CANBUS LED bulbs do not work for this car. I have successfully wired in a resistor and so far have 1 LED taillight/signal (ran out of time). With an "error free" bulb in the front, it still caused hyperflash. I'm going to figure out how to make resistors work with the front bulbs as well. It seems that thanks to the repeaters thread I can wire my resistors in for the front signals below the glove box.

I have not yet installed my pair of low beams that claim to be error free to see if they still stay on with my high beams.
13 Caprice 6.0L, Solo catback exhaust, 3.27 diff, VCM OTR and Volant throttle spacer, MSD coils plugs wires, transmission pan upgrade and widemouth filter. Camaro 18" rims.

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