Lighting!!!

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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 03:22 PM
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Lighting!!!

I have the 4g tl black on black and was looking to change the high beams/drl and fogs to HIDs. I wasnt sure what the deal would be with changing the daytime running lights/high beams to an HID because it takes a while to warm up. But if the ballast overrides the acura curcuit and leaves them on full strength as a drl during the day that would be sick. I am very confused as to what to do to get rid of the stock halogen look on the drl's/high beams. I was looking to change the yellow light next to the fogs to leds also. Anyone know anything about this and bulb sizes? I recently added 35% tints, 2 alpine type-r's with a 1000 watt alpine amp, led license plate lights, and an E&G grille. Any help is appreciated. Your help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 04:18 PM
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2009 ACURA TL

Low beam headlamp
HID-D2S

High beam headlamp
9005

Parking light
1157A

Front turn signal
1157A

Rear turn signal
992 (7440A)

Tail light
LED

Stop light
LED

High mount stop light
Assembly

Fog/Driving light
H11

License plate
168

Back up light
921

Front sidemarker
168

Rear sidemarker
168

Step/Courtesy light
158

Trunk/Cargo area
168

Daytime running light
9005

Those are the replacement bulb numbers for the 09 TL. If your talking about the front turn signal next to the fog lights, I have changed mine out to Led switchbacks, so they run white when the lights are on, and switch to amber when you signal. You can get these on V-Leds.com. If you change the turn signal bulbs to LED you will have to install resistors to avoid hyperblinking, do a search there are a few DIY on here. I am not sure about changing out the DRL's, I was interested in this as well, but almost everything I read in different threads people were having issues with the DRL warning light coming on.
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 04:41 PM
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Hey Buck, thanks for posting this, I appreciate your time and contribution, and it should be sticky'd by a mod. What is the inside vanity mirrors. I've been wanting to change those as I hate the yellow, and so does the girlfriend when checking her makeup?
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 04:52 PM
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Originally Posted by bmode
Hey Buck, thanks for posting this, I appreciate your time and contribution, and it should be sticky'd by a mod. What is the inside vanity mirrors. I've been wanting to change those as I hate the yellow, and so does the girlfriend when checking her makeup?
Hey no problem, I have spent too much money on lights lately. I also hated the yellow vanity lights, so I changed them out for these, they fit perfectly and give you that nice white LED.

http://v-leds.com/Interior-LED/Vanit...-p7114848.html

speaking of girlfriends and vanity mirrors, I found make-up finger stains on the visor the other day. Some soap and water took it right out...Her excuse..."dont you want me to look nice when we go out." yes but get ready before we leave..
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 04:54 PM
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oh yeah, i forgot if you order from v-leds use the coupon code clublexus, I believe it still gets you either 10%-15% off your total. If that one doesnt work use acurazine as the code, I think that one is only 10% if I remember correctly. You will need to order 4 of the vanity bulb replacements..
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 05:25 PM
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thanks for this but i believe the trunk cargo light is a festoon bulb.. im unsure of the mm but i believe it is the medium sized one, 38mm.
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 07:24 PM
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buck- nice post. garage worthy.
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 08:15 PM
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Originally Posted by DJcamp5
thanks for this but i believe the trunk cargo light is a festoon bulb.. im unsure of the mm but i believe it is the medium sized one, 38mm.

Here is a picture of something similiar to what I ordered for my trunk. It came with like 4 or 5 different socket bases, then you plug the circuit board into the base. Fits like a glove!



http://www.v-leds.com/Interior-LED/D...40471-1-2.html
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 09:02 PM
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that big light fit in the housing? lol looks like that would light up a room in my house ahahahha!
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 09:53 PM
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Thanks again Buck, the clublexus code got me 15% percent off, so basically free shipping. I'm gonna switch out the vanity and courtesy lights for starters, and play it by rear.
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Old Apr 19, 2009 | 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by DJcamp5
that big light fit in the housing? lol looks like that would light up a room in my house ahahahha!

Thats not the exact size i used, but a similar circuit board style light. The truck housing is pretty big and I wanted to be able to light up my basketball court by popping my trunk. j/k
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Old Apr 20, 2009 | 12:31 AM
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buckvegas thanks for listing the lights.
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Old Apr 23, 2009 | 11:15 PM
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Thanks again Buck, here are some pics of the vanity light switch out. I left the passenger side in for comparison. It took me longer to get the bulbs out of the plastic bags from V-Leds than switch them out. LOL. I didn't take pics of the door courtesy lights as they're not that bright, but at least they're not yellow now!




By the way, I recommend V-Leds too! Very quick on the delivery and processing! Thank you.
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Old Apr 24, 2009 | 12:37 AM
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Nice job, bmode.........just need to clean-up that garage now.........how do you park with all that crap? (It looks like it's on your hood!)
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Old Apr 24, 2009 | 08:27 AM
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DRL is actually high beam running at low voltage. So it won't have enough power to kick start your ballast.
If you run the power from the battery, running DRL is now just like running high beam which you will be stopped by cops.
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Old Apr 24, 2009 | 08:04 PM
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Originally Posted by PetesTL
Nice job, bmode.........just need to clean-up that garage now.........how do you park with all that crap? (It looks like it's on your hood!)
Smart ass. I'm looking for the garage forum to find a cross reference number for "crap in garage". Actually that's cleaned up from last weeks disaster. I'm telling when people pass on, they pass on their crap to you!!! Notice the record collection on the far right, that's just 1600 of 4800! Plus I'd rather spend money on rims instead of a new garage.
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Old Apr 24, 2009 | 10:37 PM
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looks good bmode, let me know if you need the two license plate LED, I accidently ordered too many, I will just give them away to a fellow Californian.
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Old Apr 24, 2009 | 11:40 PM
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I'd gladly reciprocate Buck, let's move to PM's.
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 07:00 AM
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Are those (great looking LED's) the same wattage/voltage (or whatever) as the stock yellowish vanity lights? No problem with messing up the car's electrical system or overloading it?
Can you provide a link to the specific bulbs you bought from the LED place?
TIA

Last edited by PsychDoc; Apr 25, 2009 at 07:03 AM.
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 07:56 AM
  #20  
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Originally Posted by PsychDoc
Are those (great looking LED's) the same wattage/voltage (or whatever) as the stock yellowish vanity lights? No problem with messing up the car's electrical system or overloading it?
Can you provide a link to the specific bulbs you bought from the LED place?
TIA
These are the vanity led's he used.

http://v-leds.com/Interior-LED/Vanit...-p7114848.html

LED's use less power than stock bulbs, so you cant overload the system.
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 08:10 AM
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Originally Posted by buckvegas
These are the vanity led's he used.

http://v-leds.com/Interior-LED/Vanit...-p7114848.html

LED's use less power than stock bulbs, so you cant overload the system.
Thanks, I just ordered four. I think they really improve the appearance of the interior. They match so well with the rest of the interior lights. Hard to imagine why Acura wouldn't have equipped the cars with these as OEM. It's not like they're expensive.
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 09:22 AM
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Will I be able to replace the vanity lights myself?

Anyone have any hints or directions re: how to do this?

TIA
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 11:34 AM
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Originally Posted by PsychDoc
Will I be able to replace the vanity lights myself?

Anyone have any hints or directions re: how to do this?

TIA

Yeah its quite possibly the easiest mod to do. Just use a small flat head screw driver ( I actually used a metal collar stay, for a dress shirt as I couldnt find my flat head), and put the flat head in between the the casing and the bulb cover. It just pops right off, you dont really have to force it. Then remove the bulb and replace with the LED. If the LED doesnt work the first time, turn it around, it will work.
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 11:45 AM
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Originally Posted by buckvegas
Yeah its quite possibly the easiest mod to do. Just use a small flat head screw driver ( I actually used a metal collar stay, for a dress shirt as I couldnt find my flat head), and put the flat head in between the the casing and the bulb cover. It just pops right off, you dont really have to force it. Then remove the bulb and replace with the LED. If the LED doesnt work the first time, turn it around, it will work.
Thank you. I figure they should be in later this week so I'll just pop them in as you suggested. It'll give the interior lighting a really nice unified look.
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 11:48 AM
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Originally Posted by PsychDoc
Thank you. I figure they should be in later this week so I'll just pop them in as you suggested. It'll give the interior lighting a really nice unified look.
Yeah your going to love it, V-LEDs is a very good company, they usually ship very quickly.
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 02:48 PM
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Here's some quick images to help you, I forgot to auto focus sorry. It's beyond easy, but the important thing to remember is do not touch the circuitry with a metal screwdriver, use a plastic flathead if you have it, you could short the multiplex or circuit. This very much like switching out a fuse, and the new LED housing is almost identical to the original factory bulb's. The contacts are top and bottom metal conductors, you'll see. Oh, the LED's are directional, make sure the 3 led's face outward. Hope this puts your mind at ease.






I agree, this is rather silly, why wouldn't a $40K car have these done already? C'mon Acura, get with the times on this matter...

Last edited by bmode; Apr 25, 2009 at 02:52 PM.
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by bmode
Here's some quick images to help you, I forgot to auto focus sorry. It's beyond easy, but the important thing to remember is do not touch the circuitry with a metal screwdriver, use a plastic flathead if you have it, you could short the multiplex or circuit. This very much like switching out a fuse, and the new LED housing is almost identical to the original factory bulb's. The contacts are top and bottom metal conductors, you'll see. Oh, the LED's are directional, make sure the 3 led's face outward. Hope this puts your mind at ease.






I agree, this is rather silly, why wouldn't a $40K car have these done already? C'mon Acura, get with the times on this matter...
TYVM for those pics, they really do make it look pretty straightforward. And because I don't usually tinker with my cars, it puts my mind at rest, too.
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Old Apr 25, 2009 | 11:58 PM
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I am thinking about trying to hook up some LED's along the front bumper fog light area, kind of like what Audi is doing. Here is a pic of my car, I just used a white line to show the area where I would be installing the led strip. Thoughts??? I think I could make it look good, just not sure if it would be too much going on with fogs, turn signal, headlights and LED strip.



This is the look from Audi that I like


This would be the LED but in white.

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Old Apr 26, 2009 | 03:01 AM
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The front of the Audi is the most aggressive and advanced looking vehicle in this price range at this time for me. It's just so distinctive too! I love it. I'd probably be in an Audi right now but it's a crap shoot for what type of car your gonna get, and I didn't like the interior. My best friends Audi was literally in the shop once a month, NO LIE. So when I hear people say Audi's suck for mechanical reasons, I completely understand. This grill looks like it belongs to the Olympics? LOL.

That would be sick mod Buck!
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Old Apr 26, 2009 | 07:47 AM
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Originally Posted by buckvegas
I am thinking about trying to hook up some LED's along the front bumper fog light area, kind of like what Audi is doing. Here is a pic of my car, I just used a white line to show the area where I would be installing the led strip. Thoughts??? I think I could make it look good, just not sure if it would be too much going on with fogs, turn signal, headlights and LED strip.



This is the look from Audi that I like


This would be the LED but in white.

Wow, very, very interesting idea, Buck. I'm thinking it could be amazingly cool or an unmitigated disaster, tending toward the former. If you don't mind tinkering, I'd say it's a go. The TL's front end (especially in the FWD car with the trapazoidal reflectors below the headlights) really make that application of LED's look to me like they could be a perfect fit.

Great thought (Acura should hire you).
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Old Apr 26, 2009 | 08:55 AM
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I am going to give it a shot, if it turns into a disaster I will just take it off and send them back. Ordering today, will install as a weekend project next week. I think I might wire them to a seperate switch so I can turn it off and on.

Thanks guys.

Last edited by buckvegas; Apr 26, 2009 at 09:00 AM.
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Old Apr 26, 2009 | 02:58 PM
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What's up with the avatar by the way?
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Old Apr 26, 2009 | 03:34 PM
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Originally Posted by bmode
What's up with the avatar by the way?
ha. It's danny mcbrides character "kenny powers" from the new Hbo show "eastbound and down" produced by will ferrell. It is hilarious you should check it out.
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Old May 2, 2009 | 10:36 PM
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Buck/BMode,

Any concerns with the direct swap of a v-led 9005 high beam/Day Time Light with the new Acura? Heard pros and cons and saw something mentioned above with "power to kick start ballast" Buck, since I believe that you may have pulled the trigger on the 9005 swap, please give me your feed back... Holding out untill I get a response but will then pull the trigger on H11 fogs , 9005 DTL , Four vanity lights and License plate lights... Please let me know at your earliest convenince... Thanks
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Old May 2, 2009 | 10:47 PM
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Originally Posted by ferrcad
Buck/BMode,

Any concerns with the direct swap of a v-led 9005 high beam/Day Time Light with the new Acura? Heard pros and cons and saw something mentioned above with "power to kick start ballast" Buck, since I believe that you may have pulled the trigger on the 9005 swap, please give me your feed back... Holding out untill I get a response but will then pull the trigger on H11 fogs , 9005 DTL , Four vanity lights and License plate lights... Please let me know at your earliest convenince... Thanks
I actually haven't changed out the DRL. I looked into it by reading a lot of threads by 3G owners looking to do the same thing, and it kind shyed me away. A lot of reported issues with the DRL warning light popping up on the dash, and performance issues. I am trying to find the link to the V-LEDS DRL thread in 3G, I just cant find it, I know some people have recently successfully done this.
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Old May 2, 2009 | 11:12 PM
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Found the link to the 3G thread I mentioned above.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/drl-upgrade-kit-v-leds-696284/
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Old May 3, 2009 | 07:55 AM
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Buck,

Thanks for the information and the link... You just sold me not to screw with the 9005 (DRL) bulbs... Were the the other three mods pretty easy? Just pull and swap on the new TL? Vanity seems to be but was wondering if the H11 (Fog) and License plate lights from V-LED were... On the fogs, can you reach under the car to make the swap? Any other LED swaps not mentioned just pull and plug and worth the mod and money... I saw that you did some front markers and others but not sure how I want to go that route at this time... Would be real interested in the light bar mod like the Audi, please post with steps, products and pictures from the mod... Please advise and by the way thanks again....

Last edited by ferrcad; May 3, 2009 at 07:59 AM.
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Old May 3, 2009 | 08:05 AM
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Buck,

Forgot to ask another question, can you specify with a link the H11 and License plate bulbs that you used from V-LED...

Thanks again...
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Old May 3, 2009 | 08:07 AM
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The vanity lights are by far the easiest, the H11 fogs and License plate blubs are easy as well. For the fogs some people have been able just to reach under the car and change out, I just removed the 3 bolts and 1 push plug that attach the plastic under spoiler piece. This gives you more space to get your hand under neath. I unplugged the light and then turned the bulb counter-clockwise 1/4 turn. The License plate bulbs are like the vanity. There is a clear plastic covering that you pop off, just like the vanity. Pull out old bulb and push in new one. For the Audi light bar, thats still a work in progress, you can see check out that thread on the main page of the 4G forum.
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Old May 3, 2009 | 08:09 AM
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Originally Posted by ferrcad
Buck,

Forgot to ask another question, can you specify with a link the H11 and License plate bulbs that you used from V-LED...

Thanks again...
License plate
http://v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/Corne...-p4481133.html

Fog lights.

www.hoen-usa.com

I purchased the endurance yellow H11, thinking about changing to white now. Lol.
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