LED bulb question

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Old 07-15-2011, 12:30 AM
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LED bulb question

I'm considering LED bulbs on my RL... and while I"m at it, my wife's MDX..

i had been toying with sellkng the RL and getting a sporty 2+2... but let's just say that that is looking like less and les of a possibility...

so wheels/tires/etc are on my horizon... i'm going to upgrade my Rl as I can't tolerate it stock...

LEDs would make it look cooler... anyone have a good source for LED bulbs online where I can get good LED bulbs that willw ork in the license plate lights, interior, etc...

i'll likelh order abunch.. both for my RL and MDX..

thanks.
Old 07-15-2011, 04:43 AM
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I did a full interior LED swap. I got all my bulbs from superbrightleds.com and ebay. Use the guide here http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...RG-Results.htm. Sorry I'm too lazy right now to tell you exactly which bulbs you will need. Hope this helps.
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Old 07-15-2011, 07:09 AM
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I bought LEDs for my licence plate from TMart (http://www.tmart.com/). They're inexpensive, arrived very quickly (shipped from NY), and with free shipping. So far, no problems. Not sure if they have all of the LEDs you're looking for but can't be beat for the price.

LL
Old 07-15-2011, 07:20 AM
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I got all of my leds (full led swap) from vleds.com. A little pricier than other places but if you have a problem with a bulb they will send you new ones with no haggle and they're quality is top notch.

Had their leds in my Accord for 2 years with not even a flicker
Old 07-15-2011, 08:11 AM
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I also replaced mine using leds from vleds.com and am pleased with the quality and brightness of their lights. I chose the 6k color and it looks great. I bought these to replace a different brand of leds which just didn't seem very bright at all.
Old 07-15-2011, 08:35 AM
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You can get super cheap ones on eBay. Just don't get any that have less than 4 SMDs (Surface Mount Diodes). I bought a bunch of ten that only had one SMD, and they are not bright. Overall, I have probably bought 30 bulbs (different colors) and spent less than $12.
Old 07-15-2011, 09:35 AM
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Good point from 007spy, most REALLY cheap LED bulbs have too few SMD. If you're going to do your turn signals - there are bulbs that have 96smd (and they are still not quite as bright as the OEM bulb).

If you're doing just your interior, get all the bulbs from the same place if possible. Otherwise your rear dome lights might not have the same color temperature as the front dome lights, etc.
Old 07-15-2011, 10:09 AM
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Originally Posted by lland
I bought LEDs for my licence plate from TMart (http://www.tmart.com/). They're inexpensive, arrived very quickly (shipped from NY), and with free shipping. So far, no problems. Not sure if they have all of the LEDs you're looking for but can't be beat for the price.

LL
I went on TMart's site but don't know which bulb to get, so I initiated customer chat, and she said they have nothing for a 2007 Acura RL. Do you have a RL?
Old 07-15-2011, 10:46 AM
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T10 is the size for the front dome, door puddle, trunk, and license plate lights. The rear dome is 31 mm festoon light. The vanity lights are 29mm festoon with 6mm diameter. The vanities are the hardest to find. The Sylvania site gives names that aren't as common as these, but I promise these are the right bulbs.
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Old 07-15-2011, 10:57 AM
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Do VLeds. Also do a google search for coupon codes from them prior to purchasing. You should at least be able to get free shipping. I've gotten bulbs from every site mentioned in this thread (except Tmart) and VLeds offers good prices for the best quality bulbs I have seen. Some of the bulbs I've gotten on eBay and Amazon had cheap plastic bases that easily came loose from the socket and became virtually useless. My trunk and license plate lights are so f***ing bright that I often wonder if I could see further ahead if I drove backwards with the trunk open...
Old 07-15-2011, 11:02 AM
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See the Lighting thread "G." in the 2G RL Garage. This is really a good resource.

Here is the Garage Links, scroll down to G and look for the interior LED thread
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/2nd-gen-rl-garage-listing-topics%2Alook-here-before-posting%2A-789279/
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Old 07-15-2011, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by tnobori1
Do VLeds. Also do a google search for coupon codes from them prior to purchasing. You should at least be able to get free shipping. I've gotten bulbs from every site mentioned in this thread (except Tmart) and VLeds offers good prices for the best quality bulbs I have seen. Some of the bulbs I've gotten on eBay and Amazon had cheap plastic bases that easily came loose from the socket and became virtually useless. My trunk and license plate lights are so f***ing bright that I often wonder if I could see further ahead if I drove backwards with the trunk open...
I agree on VLEDs. I have bought from a variety of sources and been disappointed with them all except the VLEDs for brightness and color. I have had quality issues with VLED, but they replace them with little hassle. I have also had quality issues with everyone else.

Even more expensive than VLED, but nice and bright, and good color is Putco LEDs. No quality issues to date.
http://www.putco.com/
Old 07-15-2011, 12:20 PM
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Thanks, guys!!!!!
Old 07-15-2011, 01:53 PM
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What type of bulb is in the lower part of the doors? The one that turns on when you open the door and illuminates the ground.
Old 07-15-2011, 01:54 PM
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I think I have just answered my own questions. Is it also known as the "door puddle" light mentioned by oo7.
Old 07-15-2011, 02:24 PM
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Si guey.

Last edited by oo7spy; 07-15-2011 at 02:26 PM.
Old 07-15-2011, 02:45 PM
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I give up! I can't keep up these numbers and sizing... I'll just keep the oem lights. ;-P
Old 07-15-2011, 02:53 PM
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"T10 led" and "31mm Festoon" are all you need to search with. You need 10 T10 bulbs and 2 31mm Festoon bulbs.
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Old 07-18-2011, 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by oo7spy
"T10 led" and "31mm Festoon" are all you need to search with. You need 10 T10 bulbs and 2 31mm Festoon bulbs.
The 31mm replaces the two front interior map lights, right?

Where do all 10 T10's go?

2 in the rear interior
2 in the two front doors
2 in the two rear doors
2 - License plate

2 more in the trunk?
Old 07-18-2011, 04:38 PM
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That's right except for the map/dome lights. T10s in front, festoons in the back. Two T10s in the trunk.
Old 07-19-2011, 11:29 AM
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So, I noticed there are different sizes within the T10 category, will this fit?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...%2FWLED-x5.htm

24mm(L)
14mm(W)
14mm(H)

How about this: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...on_3022-xx.htm

30mm(L)
11mm(W)
11mm(H)
Old 07-19-2011, 11:36 AM
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Just so you know, you will be losing the fading feature when you switch to LEDs for the interior lights.
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Old 07-19-2011, 12:12 PM
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Originally Posted by tnobori1
Just so you know, you will be losing the fading feature when you switch to LEDs for the interior lights.
My lights still fade with leds. Did on my Accord too.
Old 07-19-2011, 12:19 PM
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Got two of these for the rear dome V-LEDS 6K WHITE 2W 4 LED HIGH POWER DOME LIGHT BULB 3022 3021 DE3175

These for the reverse 2 WHITE V-LEDS M-SMT 27 LED PARKING LIGHT BULBS 7440 7443

And these for map lights, door puddle lights, tag lights, and trunk lights 2 HID 6K WHITE SMT 5 LED LIGHT BULBS 194 168 158 2821

It turns to daylight in my car when all of these light up. My tag light is bright as hell too, so is my reverse lights. All of these bulbs still dim when I lock the car too.
Old 07-19-2011, 12:38 PM
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So, can anyone confirm that these bulbs will fit?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...%2FWLED-x5.htm

24mm(L)
14mm(W)
14mm(H)

How about this: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...on_3022-xx.htm

30mm(L)
11mm(W)
11mm(H)
Old 07-19-2011, 01:00 PM
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Just a warning phantom, I bought from Superbrightleds.com and was thoroughly disappointed! L's TL, that's great news! I have read that we lose that function when we switch to LED. I'll probably do the swap now.
Old 07-19-2011, 01:15 PM
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Originally Posted by thephantom
So, can anyone confirm that these bulbs will fit?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...%2FWLED-x5.htm

24mm(L)
14mm(W)
14mm(H)

How about this: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...on_3022-xx.htm

30mm(L)
11mm(W)
11mm(H)
Phantom, yes. These are the bulbs you need.


Tnobori, the fade will not be the exact same as stock b/c solid state devices are not linear like incandescent bulbs are. However, I can confirm that there is still a fading effect with LEDs. You would not notice a difference unless they were side by side.
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Old 07-19-2011, 01:36 PM
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Originally Posted by tnobori1
Just a warning phantom, I bought from Superbrightleds.com and was thoroughly disappointed! L's TL, that's great news! I have read that we lose that function when we switch to LED. I'll probably do the swap now.
Originally Posted by oo7spy
Tnobori, the fade will not be the exact same as stock b/c solid state devices are not linear like incandescent bulbs are. However, I can confirm that there is still a fading effect with LEDs. You would not notice a difference unless they were side by side.
Correct. It still does fade but the fade is not the same. With the oem bulbs the fade is about 5-6 seconds long while with leds its 4-5 seconds long. Liek 007 said, you really cant tell the difference unless you have the bulbs side by side.
Old 07-19-2011, 02:15 PM
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What about the visor mirror lights? Has anyone replaced those?
Old 07-19-2011, 03:13 PM
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People have. The size is 29 mm long, 6 mm diameter. Sylvania didn't give a part number, but I have confirmed in a thread here this is the size. You can search "vanity bulb" in this forum (advanced search) and probably find it.
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Old 07-20-2011, 07:37 PM
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Anyone have problems with their turn signals after switching to LED bulbs? Instead of blink...blink...blink, I get blink.blink.blink
Old 07-20-2011, 09:00 PM
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Originally Posted by white05rl
Anyone have problems with their turn signals after switching to LED bulbs? Instead of blink...blink...blink, I get blink.blink.blink
It may be likely the voltage is bit OFF - I do not know much about these but let's say your front turn signal is OFF (regular bulb) than same side rear turn signal will blink twice as fast almost because all of the voltage goes towards the one turn signal instead of two. Again, I am not sure if this is the case on LED but that's what experience I had from my previous cars.
Old 07-21-2011, 09:55 AM
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The fact that one bulb is out will not affect the voltage on the other bulbs. The voltage will always be 12 V. The current may increase, but this still will not be the factor that changes the speed.

The bulbs are connected to a counter that regulates the pulses. If one goes out, the counter will change speed (likely double) to indicate to the driver that a signal isn't working. Make sure that all of the bulbs are turning on. Some LEDs are polarized and you may have one in backwards. Switch each one around one at a time to see if it changes speed. If neither of these is the case, then put the old stock bulbs back in and see if it goes back to normal. If it does, then I would put one LED in at a time and check to see if anything changes.
Old 07-21-2011, 11:35 AM
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LEDs use less power than regular bulbs which affects the flasher. You may need to add resistors to get back to the "normal" flash.

LL
Old 07-21-2011, 03:30 PM
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lland is right. The Seller of the bulb just informed me that a resistor (for each bulb) is needed. A quick Google search (it's called hyper flashing) has given me more information too.

thanks for the responses
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Old 07-21-2011, 03:56 PM
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Interesting. Good info. Now I will be up all night trying to figure out how this circuit works. Oh the pitfalls of being a nerd...
Old 07-21-2011, 04:59 PM
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Here is my write-up on my experience...
http://www.socal28.com/rl/interiorled.htm

The only difference in the write-up to what I have now is that I'm using the super bright V-Led's in the front dome/map lights now.
Old 07-21-2011, 07:26 PM
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I just ordered two of these:

http://www.amazon.com/929RR-light-Re...1294299&sr=8-1

I'll let you know how they work out (in about a week).
Old 07-25-2011, 07:26 PM
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Well the resistors arrived and worked exactly as planned (it's nice that something actually did). What's interesting is that nothing was needed for the rear turn signals. I replaced them with LED bulbs weeks ago and everything worked fine. The resistors were required for the front signal bulbs (one for each). It was a little cramped, but otherwise an easy installation.





Old 07-25-2011, 09:19 PM
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So, my bulbs arrived and so far I have figured out how to replace the rear dome lights. I am having a heck of a time figuring out how to remove the map lights, remove the other light covers. E thing I did notice is the led dome lights turn on faster than the OEM map light, and they take longer to fade.


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