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Which 3157 Leds Should I get?
For
best results, match the led color to the lens color (ie: use red leds in red
lenses, amber leds in amber lenses and white leds in clear lenses.
Led
brightness and performance will vary depending on the housing and lens
design. Leds are not always brighter than stock glass bulbs. For
best performance in most housings, use the tower style leds. The more
expensive ones are brighter.
Leds
are preferred ,mainly for the vivid colors, low current draw (power
consumption 90% less than glass bulbs) and instant on capability. The
instant on and off capability can be quite dramatic at highway speeds for
brake and turn signal detection at higher speeds.
Check
here for the stopping distance comparisons for led bulbs compared to
incandescent bulbs:
http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/chemistry/chemconnections/BlueLight/pages/hp/an1155-3.pdf
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Which Type of 3157 Sockets do you Have?
Most vehicles will require a conventionally wired 3157 led
bulb. If you are not sure, you may have to use an ohmmeter meter to
check which two terminals in your socket are connected to the -
Ground.
As you can see in the image to the right,
a conventionally wired socket will have two - ground contacts positioned on
either side of the wedge base. If your socket is wired this way, use the
conventionally wired 3157 led bulbs.
There are some vehicles which are wired in
a non-conventional manner. These are wired in a "CK"
manner. As you can see in the image to the right, the CK sockets have the
two - ground contacts side by side on the same side of the wedge base. If
your socket is wired this way, you will need to use the specially wired 3157 CK
bulbs.
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How to determine if the
bulb is faulty or the vehicle circuitry is just not functioning with the led
bulbs in place.
Installing led bulbs
is not always a "plug and play" operation. Although we have
devised our patented circuitry with as much logic as possible to allow it to
plug and play in many vehicles, it is not possible to design the 3157 led bulbs to plug and play in 100% of all vehicles.
In order to properly diagnose
and fix problems, it is essential to isolate bulb related problems from
circuit related problems. It is never a good idea to plug and
led bulb into a vehicles circuit to test the led bulb. This is testing
both the led bulb and the circuit at the same time. This method of
testing will make it impossible to isolate problems with the bulb from
problems with the circuit.
It is always
recommended that if the bulb is not working in the circuit, test the led bulb
using two wires connected direct to battery or any other known 12 volt DC
power source. This is the only way an led bulb can be isolated from
the circuit related problems and properly tested.
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How to fix circuit related
problems.
OK you plugged your new led
bulbs in and they "don't work". The bulb must be defective,
right? WRONG!
First... Did you test the
bulbs as described above? If not, you need to test the bulbs only.
Use the diagrams shown above to test the bulbs. It is best to use two
wires that are connected direct to battery to test the bulbs. If you did
not test the bulb as prescribed, you will never figure out if the problem is
with the bulb or the circuit or the installation. Never assume the bulb
must be bad. 99.8% of the time, the led bulbs are working as they
should, but the circuitry is just not set up to operate properly with an led
bulb. The odds that you received a non-functional LED bulb is very unlikely....less
that 1 in 500.
99% of the time, the
circuit related issues can be overcome, but it may take some extra effort
and/or some minor wiring changes to get the 3157 led bulbs to work in some
vehicles.
Here is a list of
some common symptoms
and fixes for automotive circuitry:
| Symptom |
Fix |
| The 3157 led bulb causes a
fuse to pop whenever I switch on the lights or when I switch on the turn
signal or when I apply the brake pedal. As soon as I remove the led bulbs, the fuses do not
pop. |
You are using the
conventionally wired 3157 led bulbs in a CK socket. You can either
swap the wires to the socket or use the specially wires CK led bulbs.
Don't forget to replace the
fuse! |
| The glass filament style
bulbs light fine, but the 3157 led bulb will not light when I switch on the
headlights. |
A. The led bulb may
be inserted backwards. Remove the bulb, rotate 180 degrees and
reinsert.
B. The led bulb contacts may
not be making solid electric contact with metal contacts in the
socket. Check the contacts on the bulbs and socket. Realign or
adjust as needed. Reseat the bulb.
C. Are you sure the filament
bulb still works? Often in the process of installing, you can pop a
fuse or lose a wire/connection to the socket. Always use the glass
bulb or a voltage meter to verify there is at least +12 volts to the
socket.
D. In some vehicles some
automotive circuits will not fully energize the circuit, or pulse current
to the bulbs to check to see if the bulb is burned out. Since the
leds draw 90% less power than the glass bulbs, these circuits do not
switch on full voltage , or will not stay on when the led bulb is
inserted. This can be corrected by installing one 6 ohm load
equalizer across the circuit at each led bulb. This will add more
load to the circuit and make the full 12 volt power switch on.
In this instance, the glass bulb will make the power switch on, but
the led bulb by itself will not make the full 12 volts switch
on.
This creates the illusion
that the led bulb is at fault when in fact there is not 12 volts at the
connection when the led bulb is inserted. |
| The glass filament style
bulbs work fine, but the 3157 led bulb will not light when I switch on the turn
signals. |
A. The led bulb may
be inserted backwards. Remove the bulb, rotate 180 degrees and
reinsert.
B. The led bulb contacts may not
be making solid electric contact with metal contacts in the socket.
Check the contacts on the bulbs and socket. Realign or adjust as
needed. Reseat the bulb.
C. Are you sure the filament
bulb still works? Often in the process of installing, you can pop a
fuse or lose a wire/connection to the socket. Always use the glass
bulb or a voltage meter to verify there is at least +12 volts to the
socket.
D. In some vehicles some
automotive circuits will not fully energize the circuit, or pulse current to
the bulbs to check to see if the bulb is burned out. Since the leds
draw 90% less power than the glass bulbs, these circuits do not switch on
full voltage , or will not stay on when the led bulb is inserted. This
can be corrected by installing one 6 ohm load equalizer across the circuit
at each led bulb. This will add more load to the circuit and make the
full 12 volt power switch on. In this instance, the glass bulb will
make the power switch on, but the led bulb by itself will not make
the full 12 volts switch on.
This creates the illusion
that the led bulb is at fault when in fact there is not 12 volts at the
connection when the led bulb is inserted. |
| The glass filament style
bulbs work fine, but the led bulb will not blink or blinks rapidly when I
switch on the turn signals. |
With
many flashers, led bulbs will cause the turns signals to flash rapidly, or
not flash at all.
If
using led bulbs for turn signal applications, or in vehicles with bulb-out
warning systems, like Mercedes, BMW and others, you may need to add load
equalizers.
For
led turn signals, you can change the flasher out using one of our new
patented combination led/oem bulb flashers. Most electronic flashers
are not the same as an led flasher. Many electronic flashers do
not necessarily work with led bulbs, unless they are led flashers.
If
we do not have an led flasher that matches your flasher, use two 6 ohm
equalizers for two front, or two rear led turn signal bulbs.
Place
one load equalizer at each led turn signal bulb location.
For turn signal led bulbs, the equalizer must be spliced across
the - ground wire and the + turn signal wire feeding each led bulb.
More
details on load equalizers and led flashers can be found at:
http://superlumination.com/equalizers.htm |
| I get a
bulb-out warning on my dashboard when I install the led bulb. |
If
your vehicle is equipped with an electronic bulb-out warning system, then
any led bulb used in a bulb position that is monitored by the electronic
bulb-out warning system will likely trigger an electronic bulb-out warning.
Not
all bulbs are monitored by the electronic bulb-out warning systems. To test
to see if a bulb is monitored by an electronic bulb-out system, you can
remove the bulb to see if you get a warning,
To
stop the electronic bulb-out warnings, install a load equalizer across the +
and - wires that feed each led bulb that is causing an electronic bulb-out
warning. Use one 6 ohm at each led bulb
that is 3/4" diameter and larger. More
details on load equalizers can be found at:
http://superlumination.com/equalizers.htm
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| I get a ABS
warning light and/or my cruise control is not working after I installed
the led bulb in my brake lights. |
In
some vehicles, any led bulb used in the brake light positions may trigger an
ABS warning light and disable the ABS braking system and or the cruise
control.
To
correct this, install a load equalizer across the + brake light wire and -
ground wire that feed each led brake lights bulb. Use one 6 ohm at
each led bulb
that is 3/4" diameter and larger. More
details on load equalizers can be found at:
http://superlumination.com/equalizers.htm
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