I'm a new member, but not new to the site. I've been browsing around here for a few months now, but just got around to signing up.

Anyway, I've got a question about the license plate lights on the 05 TL. I have some blue LEDs on the way to replace the two bulbs over the plate. I got the covers loose, but it seems like there isn't enough clearance to get them to come out far enough to replace the bulbs. Any help would be appreciated!!

 

Welcome aboard, TheLT!

Seems like you're trying to replace them from the outside.

I would go the other route and take out the trunk liner to get to the bulbs.

All you do is pop some clips off, unscrew this one thing, and slide to rubber things to get the trunk liner off.

After the trunk liner is off, you have all the room you want to install the new LEDs.

Also, I would have went with white LEDs because you'll get WAY better output from them (not that it matters when you're driving lol). They could also be illegal, so cops might give you a hard time if they feel like it.

Oh, the look blue license plate lights looks ricey to me lol

LMAO at preparing to mod before the parts come in.

 

Alright, sounds good man. Thanks. I went with some pretty dim LEDs to try to avoid looking too ricer, just wanted to give it a slight blue glow. And I know, I was just antsy to see what it would take, the LEDs were supposed to be here yesterday, so I been dying to see what it looks like.

 

Blue & Red lights = cop magnet.


From the inside is the way to go though.

 

ey no problem man.

This is what my license plate looks like:

I believe they are "6k" so you still get a bright white with a slight blue.





I think this picture shows the best (true) colour:

 

Yeah I went with I believe 5K and do one at a time to make sure you have a good one to look at in case you get flustered. check your lights before putting everything back together so you make sure they work first.

I go direct firing lights? instead of the 5 smt or whatever to help out with my rear camera close range they compliment the cree reverse bulbs very well.

 

^ Also the same lights I have on my car. Just swapped them out from red... coloured LED's are far too ricey. The white LEDs have a blue hue to them, and look far classier.

 

got my white ones of v-leds and they're badass

 

Go inside to get to the bulbs, it easier. I think white would look better, but interested to see how the blu turns out. I have been looking to change out mine, havent decide on with leds yet. Post pics once you install them.

has anyone tried these
http://www.v-leds.com/Interior-LED-B...61053-1-2.html

 

if you want a sample i have an extra one just to see if you would like the white over the blue bulbs. just a little helper. PM me, no charge just trying to help a dude out or chick which ever you are haha

 

Those will be overkill. Brighter isn't better when it comes to plate lights IMO. I have these and they put out more than enough light:

 

I installed mine awhile back and to be honest I'm not sure where I even got them from, but mine look nearly identical to the v-led's and cost about the same (~$20). Anyway, I think they look great! Very pure-bright white light. I swapped 'em out for some cheaper ones I had in there and these are much brighter. I'll take pics tonight and post for you.

To OP: like they all said...go from inside. It's a very simply install that has a pretty decent payoff. Good luck...

 

Thanks everyone. I must say, after seeing more pictures of the white, I do regret my blue purchase. I'll probably end up immediately ordering some whites to replace it with. Guitarplayer, thats a super clean look, I'll post up here with the results of the blue, but I'm sure I'm going to switch them out.


PJILLTA, good looks man. Thanks, you have a PM. And I'm more than willing to Paypal you a few bucks if you want.

 

I guarantee you will...I have blue led's throughout my interior and thought I'd throw in some blue bulbs for my license plate just to see how they looked (prior to putting my white ones in) and I gotta say...pure white is the way to go

 

mannn dont go with blue LED license plate lights. That sticks out like a sore thumb and just says ricer. Doesnt look right on a nicer car like the TL anyway. If you want to do it the right way and classy way, get a pure white LED that closest represents the LED lights on newer cars that come stock. Blue LED lights is something for a 500 dollar civic, not a nice TL.

 

it is mailed out!, let me know how it turns out

 

speaking of lights JTS have you received that payment yet? sorry for thread jacking!

 

Nope I have not :-( Not a big deal but I hoped to have it so that I could have shipped them out with a couple other packages I had to send out today. I will keep checking though.

 

Although I regret the choice of blue for the LEDs, I installed them today, just to give it a shot before I order white replacements. I'll throw up some pics when it gets dark enough outside to get a good shot. Thanks for the tips on the install. Going from the inside was definitely the way to go. Only took 10-15 minutes.

 

Glad to hear! =)

Looking forward to see some pics.

The second time doing it is actually really quick lol

In case you wanted to know, these are the bulbs I have:

http://www.v-leds.com/Interior-LED/D...-p6691894.html

A bunch of members and I have concluded this is one of the "best" bulbs for our license plates.

It's as close to Cold Cathodes as LEDs can get.

 

It looks clean wt leds ,thats what I have . Has anyone used the spray over the plates wt bulbs ? I was wondering if it would still clear the cameras ?

 

I'm so getting these lol.

 

May not be for everyone. But I have to say, I actually like it. I think they're dim enough that they don't look too bad. We'll see what I decide in the next couple days. But for now, I like them

 

 

Honestly it doesn't look bad at all. I have a white TL and the blue light just drowned the entire ass end on my car, but on a darker TL like yours, it doesn't look bad whatsoever. I'm still afraid that it may be kind of a cop magnet though. Either way...

 

I got my lights from JDMtoy when I was ordering my LED DRL.

I recommend going from the inside. It is super easy. Read the instructions, and when you open the trunk, look at the trunk and you will see pretty much everything you need to work with. Other than a screwdriver, you don't need much else. I was lucky that my 08 TL had screw-based clips so that it was easy to remove all the clips.

 

I think red LED's would flow better with the tails, but then again, probably a huge cop magnet.

Edit: I tried Photoshop red LED's and looks good... Hope you don't mind I'm using your image TheLT

 

Yeah, I think that's way more of a cop magnet than the blue. But I know colors tend to attract cop attention, but the cops in my area couldn't care any less. There's a pretty big car scene around here. They've been known to show up to some of the late-night meets just to check out the cars. I should be ok.
But no problem using the pic. I wish I had photoshop skills like that everytime I use photoshop it looks like I edited the photo in MS Paint

 

All about the layers in Photoshop - http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/layers/intro.htm

 

The red looks way better than the blue. Still not as nice as white.

 

yeah that's what I got and I'm not real happy with the output. Get that other thing he said....