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Is there any real "functional" advantage in changing every single bulb to a LED?

S

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
I light bulb recently burnt out within my instrument cluster. I was able to remove it and found all of the bulbs are within "twist off sockets". While looking for a replacement, I noticed they sell LED replacement bulbs that replace all 30 bulbs within my cluster. I also noticed that I could get replacement brake, stop, signal and license plate bulbs. I even saw headlamps (although I don't think they are dot compliant). I guess I was wondering if there are any real advantages to this?

1. Lower power consumption (alternator has less load)
2. Less Delay between ON/OFF as with incandescent bulbs. I read in a sudden stop the rear driver may have more stop time?????
3. Last longer.
 
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Auto lights don't use that much power so doubt your Alt would notice unless you are running a disco out of your car.

Good for longer life if you plan on keeping it and also the look. (i.e. preferance)
 
externals look alot better than bulb lights as well..
most European higher end cars are all LED

my G35 is mostly LED but going to replace the rest all with LEDs
 
Also, if you go to LED dome lights and leave them on overnight, your battery might not be dead in the morning. 😛
 
Won't make a damned bit of difference. Might be a little brighter but on your dash that might be too distracting at night.
 
jlee said:
Also, if you go to LED dome lights and leave them on overnight, your battery might not be dead in the morning. 😛
Click to expand...

I just bought a LED dome light it was 1.40 on ebay. It uses several rows of SMTs, yes I have left my dome light on and it drained the battery low enough to prevent start. I think it does drain enough battery.
 
steppinthrax said:
I just bought a LED dome light it was 1.40 on ebay. It uses several rows of SMTs, yes I have left my dome light on and it drained the battery low enough to prevent start. I think it does drain enough battery.
Click to expand...

Well if you leave it on long enough, anything will drain it. 😛

I've left my MR2's LED dome lights (each has..12 LEDs, maybe?) on for extended periods of time and it started just fine. I killed my Subaru COMPLETELY with the regular dome light when I left it on for 3 days (oops)..not sure if an LED would've saved that or not. /shrug

Ahwell.
 
I've replaced all of the interior lamps (and there are loads on the E46) with bright white LED replacement. Not only do they look good, but are brighter and won't blow.

I've also got a set of license plate SMD LED lamps with circuitry to prevent the OBC Lamp Failure error.
 
1) LED bulbs are typically not dimmable. So they don't work well for gauge lights unless you leave them on full brightness all the time. Some people do this, but I tend to keep my instrument lights dimmed to about 50% all the time, which means LEDs would not work for me in a dashboard setup.

2) The LED setups designed to "drop in" to standard brake/turn/marker sockets don't always put out the same lumens as the standard bulbs and sometimes even when the lumen output is the same, the way the LEDs are arranged throws the light differently, so it's important to make sure that you're still getting the appropriate visibility from brake/turn/marker lights if you go LED.

ZV
 
The LEDs I fitted to the interior dim when opening and locking the car just as the tungsten ones did, but you're right about the 'drop ins'.
 
DivideBYZero said:
The LEDs I fitted to the interior dim when opening and locking the car just as the tungsten ones did, but you're right about the 'drop ins'.
Click to expand...

It's been a while since I looked at them for the instrument cluster, it would make sense that there would be at least some setups on the market now with a module to allow dimming.

ZV
 
Zenmervolt said:
It's been a while since I looked at them for the instrument cluster, it would make sense that there would be at least some setups on the market now with a module to allow dimming.

ZV
Click to expand...

I have aftermarket LED dash lighting in my MR2 and they are dimmable.
 
Zenmervolt said:
It's been a while since I looked at them for the instrument cluster, it would make sense that there would be at least some setups on the market now with a module to allow dimming.

ZV
Click to expand...

Yeah, there must be. I'm pretty sure the e46 has all LED dash lighting as I've never had a 'bulb' blow or a dim area like you used to get with tungsten based cars.

Actually thinking about it, my 1 Series has the exterior lighting pack with the bright white LEDs on the door handles that flood the floor as your approach, and they dim up and down, too.
 
Another potential issue is how the light is directed out of the bulb...

LED tends to shoot light 'straight out', so when they're used in dashboard type applications the light might not spread as much... So instead of 30 bulbs all lit where the light 'mushes' together you would have 30 ultra bright little pinpricks of light with dark spaces inbetween
 
I switched to LED interior lighting and left my lights on over night and my car started fine. Granted it was only 12-14 hours that I left them on, not 3 days *cough*JLeederp*cough*
 
DivideBYZero said:
Yeah, there must be. I'm pretty sure the e46 has all LED dash lighting as I've never had a 'bulb' blow or a dim area like you used to get with tungsten based cars.

Actually thinking about it, my 1 Series has the exterior lighting pack with the bright white LEDs on the door handles that flood the floor as your approach, and they dim up and down, too.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know it can be done, but IIRC it is (or was at the time) more complex than the traditional rheostatic dimmer used for tungsten bulbs.

ZV
 
Power draw on alternator won't be significant enough to make a difference but might when running on the battery.

Much brighter and whiter light than regular bulbs but light is more directional so you'll need more LEDs to create same light dispersion.

More resistant to extreme weather, shock and vibrations so they'll last much longer
 
Nope. My wife prefers "white" color lights so I changed all her interior lights out with white LEDs. Other than the color, it offers no benefits.
 
Zenmervolt said:
Yeah, I know it can be done, but IIRC it is (or was at the time) more complex than the traditional rheostatic dimmer used for tungsten bulbs.

ZV
Click to expand...

Yeah. It's not all flowers and rainbows on the e46. The LCM(Light Control Module) essentially 'pings' every external bulb for detecting failure. If you change to LEDs on older cars or cars where the newer LCM hasn't been flashed to deal with LEDs you'll get a light out error on the dash. I had to get special units to eliminate this issue as it was way cheaper than a new LCM...!
 
I've got an LED dome light in my Subaru. It's way brighter than any other bulbs. And since the only ceiling light is at the front, it also lights up the back of the car.

I left it on all night once and my car still started fine.
 
Zenmervolt said:
1) LED bulbs are typically not dimmable. So they don't work well for gauge lights unless you leave them on full brightness all the time. Some people do this, but I tend to keep my instrument lights dimmed to about 50% all the time, which means LEDs would not work for me in a dashboard setup.

2) The LED setups designed to "drop in" to standard brake/turn/marker sockets don't always put out the same lumens as the standard bulbs and sometimes even when the lumen output is the same, the way the LEDs are arranged throws the light differently, so it's important to make sure that you're still getting the appropriate visibility from brake/turn/marker lights if you go LED.

ZV
Click to expand...

1) They do make dimmable one's. However, I usually leave the knob on my dash on the highest setting.
 
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