Replacing Stock Amber Halogen Turn Signal/DRL Bulb with LED Switchback in 2015 Sedan 5.0

[surprisinguy]

I couldn't even get my hand into the opening to undo the the white clip

Well that def posed a problem

 

[inmanlanier]

Well - today I noted my RF turn lamp is not working. It appears the correct bulb is the 2357 despite the fact that my owner's manual says 28W LEDs.

I'm a little confused... The OP said the LED bulbs he recommended don't work long term. Then Ronin Genesis purchased some LED bulbs (the same bad ones?) and tried them out.

I like the idea of going to LEDs, but I see that as a waste to go with low wattage bulbs then throw 50W heaters back in there - kind of crazy if you ask me.

Ronin Genesis, which bulbs did you use and are they still fine? those were installed with no resistors, correct? You have no hyper flash, correct?

thanks in advance​

 

[The White Shadow]

Well - today I noted my RF turn lamp is not working. It appears the correct bulb is the 2357 despite the fact that my owner's manual says 28W LEDs.

I'm a little confused... The OP said the LED bulbs he recommended don't work long term. Then Ronin Genesis purchased some LED bulbs (the same bad ones?) and tried them out.

I like the idea of going to LEDs, but I see that as a waste to go with low wattage bulbs then throw 50W heaters back in there - kind of crazy if you ask me.

Ronin Genesis, which bulbs did you use and are they still fine? those were installed with no resistors, correct? You have no hyper flash, correct?

thanks in advance​

So far my lights have been working great. No resistors and no hyper flash. I believe it's because the LED specs are almost identical to the OEM incandescent bulbs. I posted pics and a link to the Sirius LEDs earlier in the thread, but here is the link again. They are the 1157s, as stated in my signature.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SH1MXZD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_zFF2Fb3RZCB0F?tag=salsbloofnot-20

 

[inmanlanier]

Thanks!

 

[2015g5.0]

So far my lights have been working great. No resistors and no hyper flash. I believe it's because the LED specs are almost identical to the OEM incandescent bulbs. I posted pics and a link to the Sirius LEDs earlier in the thread, but here is the link again. They are the 1157s, as stated in my signature.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SH1MXZD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_zFF2Fb3RZCB0F?tag=salsbloofnot-20

So these bulbs are "plug and play"? No re-wiring required? Thanks,

 

[inmanlanier]

I think as has been pointed out - the only issue is polarity. If your polarity is correct, yes it is plug and play. Ronin Genesis was not lucky, so he had to flip the wires.

It appears to be somewhat random in that in some cars the car wiring polarity needs to be reversed. By that I mean there are two wires that connect to the car's bulb socket. One is + (positive), the other - (ground or negative). LEDs are an actual electronic circuit connected to an emitter so they need the proper polarity. Incandescent bulbs don't care which way the current flows through the filament, so the wiring doesn't need a preferential connection.

If you plug the bulb in and it does not light, you simple do one of tow things:
reverse the wires going into the pins of the bulb connector as described above in this post (surprisinguy), OR
cut the wires in a place where you have room. Stip the ends, swap the wire connections and secure (tape) (Ronin Genesis)

Then they should work.

 

[inmanlanier]

Bulbs arrived and I just completed installation on the RF. Just putting the bulb in the socket did not work. I needed to swap the conductors. It's a little tedious to remove the bulb socket, short wire segment, and it's side of the connector that's inside the headlamp assembly. With some beefy needle nose pliers, some force and wiggling, I finally separated it from the mount inside the headlamp assembly.

I did attempt to remove the pins from the white connector - no luck. I looked at the bulb socket and simply decided to cut and re-splice. I used butt connectors and reinstalled.

It was interesting upon initial testing that the car/light got a bit confused. There were very brief flickers. After a few bulb removals and re-insertions - they ultimately they danced the same dance.

Thank you all for the guidance. The tools and tips were spot on. One note, there are two types of removable 'plastic nuts'. The larger ones I simply pry up the center piece, then use needle nose plyers to insert the tips under the top of the center, then squeeze the center underneath. With wiggling they will then come up. With the smaller ones, its a different technique. You need to push the center down just a little - don't press hard or you'll drive it all the way through and it's likely to disappear (one of the times I pressed down too hard and lost the center piece). After a gentle pop down into the outer piece, you then use a small flathead to raise the outer piece. Once high enough up - with needle nose pliers underneath and a squeeze it will come right up. Good luck.

 

[inmanlanier]

Hmmm... Went to put it back together this morning and just before securing the final trim pieces I decided to test it - with the engine off, the light was back to fast blink. I went and got a key to see what happens running, and I could not start the engine - the entire dash did a rapid on/off with a subsequent clicking sound that may have been the starter relay. Very odd.

Since my wife doesn't really understand ACC vs. ON, she may have not turned OFF the car last night (she was my assistant). I did not check for that (would expect it to time out, however). She was the one to again turn on this morning (not running), and did not comment about anything out of sorts.

The car is on a charger now, we'll see what happens when it get's running again.

BTW - the bulb that came out was a 2357. So much for the owner's manual being correct - it says LED 28 Watts.

 

[inmanlanier]

OK - longest light bulb change in my life!

The battery would not charge - it's OEM at 6 years 1 month. The car was placed in service 5/19/15, then sold next January. I'd say end of life for sure. At first I was annoyed then I realized what better place to die than in my garage! New H9 AGM from Advance Auto (boy are they pricey batteries!).

Once replaced, w/o starting, the LED bulb blink was back to normal. Thanks again Ronin Genesis.

 

[The White Shadow]

So these bulbs are "plug and play"? No re-wiring required? Thanks,

So, as was stated above, the wiring is hit and miss with our cars. I knew that going in so it only caught me by surprise for a few minutes when the LEDs didn't work right away. For the reasons stated in my other post, I opted to cut the wires and reverse them before splicing back together. I used electrical tape because that was all I had available. Probably would have gone with the heat shrink if I could go back and do it again. But either way, once the wiring polarity issue was fixed, then the LEDs were plug-n-play. There was no need for resistors. I have checked them since and have not had any problems with overheating like with the incandescent bulbs. Sure wish they could have been like that from the factory, but I'm glad I was able to fix it relatively easy. Hope it helps others.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[inmanlanier]

So... looking at my post date we're coming up on about 2 months. My wife normally drives the car, occasionally I'm a passenger. I've noticed of late perhaps 50% of the time or more, the led bulb I replaced on the right side (SiriusLED KG Serries 2835) starts off the turn signal audible in fast flash mode. After a few seconds it will usually settle down and go to slow flash. Perhaps my testing before (since not at running voltage - i.e. alternator charging) was at a lower voltage that the car processor sensed this as more voltage drop and SAT. Since now when running at higher voltage, it senses a higher voltage on the line thinking that its an open circuit (i.e. no load to drag the line voltage down enought).

It kinda bugs me - I don't like stuff that 'ain't right'.

Anyone else experience this and have a simple solution?

​

 

[The White Shadow]

So... looking at my post date we're coming up on about 2 months. My wife normally drives the car, occasionally I'm a passenger. I've noticed of late perhaps 50% of the time or more, the led bulb I replaced on the right side (SiriusLED KG Serries 2835) starts off the turn signal audible in fast flash mode. After a few seconds it will usually settle down and go to slow flash. Perhaps my testing before (since not at running voltage - i.e. alternator charging) was at a lower voltage that the car processor sensed this as more voltage drop and SAT. Since now when running at higher voltage, it senses a higher voltage on the line thinking that its an open circuit (i.e. no load to drag the line voltage down enought).

It kinda bugs me - I don't like stuff that 'ain't right'.

Anyone else experience this and have a simple solution?

​

I'm not sure if you installed a resistor or not, but I would think that would solve the problem. I didn't need one, and mine are still working fine, but some have said they needed them. I got mine off Amazon for a couple of bucks. Also, I have the Sirius KG Series 1157 LEDs. The rectangular ones, not the round ones.

 

[2015g5.0]

Any tech updates on this DRL Blinker hack?

 

[surprisinguy]

What kind of "update" are you looking for? The DRL led replacement has been discussed in several threads and is likely not going to change.

 

[2015g5.0]

What kind of "update" are you looking for? The DRL led replacement has been discussed in several threads and is likely not going to change.

As to whether or not build tech has eliminated the need for a resistor or other. Thanks. I’m in the club of 8 plus times replacing the DRLs or about ever3 months or so.

 

[surprisinguy]

My leds did not require resistors - I only had to repin one connector. The first set of leds were cheap, got too hot and burnt themselves out in a year. The next set, one bulb burnt out after 3 years. On my 3rd set now - the most expensive as the previous bulbs are discontinued.

 

[The White Shadow]

Any tech updates on this DRL Blinker hack?I've

Any tech updates on this DRL Blinker hack?

I've had mine installed for almost 2 years now with no resistors. No problems so far.

 

[2015g5.0]

I've had mine installed for almost 2 years now with no resistors. No problems so far.

Which make/model bulb are you using?