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Amazon bulbs have been in mine for about 2 years and no issues, and they were considerably cheaper than any specialty bulb store.
Same here...didn't even jack up the car...just reach under the bumper. The wire is too short to pull them out far enough to see, so you'll have to do it by feel (but it's easy). They only work one way, so if you put them in and they don't light up, pull them out and flip 180°.
These pictures show the improved lighting performance you can get with LEDs.
Sharp Lights new 3157 LED on the driver's side, regular incandescent bulb on pass side. Keep in mind this picture was taken in daylight.
The difference is dramatic at night.
Just for fun I tested the new Sharp Lights LEDs against the previous brightest available LEDs I had been using. Sure enough, the Sharp Lights LEDs on the driver's side were brighter, and more importantly, put out more useable light as shown below.
Sharp Lights new 3157 LED bulb on the left, Former brightest available 3157 LED from brand X on the right.
wjnjr - nice post! Always great to see some "photographic evidence" of our opinions. I've always thought the back up lamps were the best canidate for LED's.
However, I have read other posts that bring up concerns with the LED replacement bulbs.
Such as:
Radio interference when the backup lamps are energized (admittedly, a minor problem given the length of time your in reverse)
LED lamps not completely de-energizing (still glowing slightly when "off") and possibly leading to increased parasitic battery drain - this appears to affect interior LED applications most often
Interference with key fobs and TPMS
I would like to hear your experience (as well as others) regarding these concerns. Particularly with the back up lamp application.
And to confirm, I'm not on a witch hunt with LED's - it's hard to argue with their light output, current draw, cool factor, etc.
Just don't want to add on technical glitches when the goal was improvement, if indeed these experiences are common.
I would like to hear your experience (as well as others) regarding these concerns. Particularly with the back up lamp application.
And to confirm, I'm not on a witch hunt with LED's - it's hard to argue with their light output, current draw, cool factor, etc.
Just don't want to add on technical glitches when the goal was improvement, if indeed these experiences are common.
I know that some people have had issues with interference and fobs not working but I have experienced none with the bulbs I have used. Just to break it down I used Auxito for all interior lights, underhood, trunk, side markers, license plate, and reverse lights. I used Underground lighting for the tails and DRLs. I used Vettlights for the fog; I also used Vette lights for the Low HID and converted the high to HID.
wjnjr - nice post! Always great to see some "photographic evidence" of our opinions. I've always thought the back up lamps were the best canidate for LED's.
However, I have read other posts that bring up concerns with the LED replacement bulbs.
Such as:
Radio interference when the backup lamps are energized (admittedly, a minor problem given the length of time your in reverse)
LED lamps not completely de-energizing (still glowing slightly when "off") and possibly leading to increased parasitic battery drain - this appears to affect interior LED applications most often
Interference with key fobs and TPMS
I would like to hear your experience (as well as others) regarding these concerns. Particularly with the back up lamp application.
And to confirm, I'm not on a witch hunt with LED's - it's hard to argue with their light output, current draw, cool factor, etc.
Just don't want to add on technical glitches when the goal was improvement, if indeed these experiences are common.
Some good questions. In my personal experience I did have some problems with RF interference way back in the early days of LEDs - 2009. Static on the radio from my first backup lights. Others reported problems with interior lights, but I never saw that. Since then, I've been through lots of LEDs, some better than others.
For the last several years, my car has had 100% LED lighting inside and out with no problems at all. No static on the radio, no battery drain, my cell phone works OK, and the fobs work as they should. This is with modern high-quality LEDs, not cheapos from eBay, Amazon, AliExpress, or wherever. All LEDs are not the same. Brightness, color, longevity, interference or lack of it can vary widely. And as you would expect, the price increases as the quality improves.
That's been my experience, others will have more to add.
I bought the ones on Amazon. I backed the car up on my wood ramps. I could reach in and release the socket, one handed. It took some tome to get the original bulb out of the socket. My hand strength is not what it used to be. Put socket in turned on car and wow a bright light. The passenger side was easier for some reason. Thanks to all you who gave suggestions!!
05-02-2023, 06:15 PM
