The Ultimate LED Q&A Thread
#121
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
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i wish the pics in the initial post worked
what do you guys think of these bulbs: 10x White Ceramics T10 5 SMD 5050 Car LED W5W 194 168 2825 158 192 Light Bulb US | eBay
will they work in my interior?
what do you guys think of these bulbs: 10x White Ceramics T10 5 SMD 5050 Car LED W5W 194 168 2825 158 192 Light Bulb US | eBay
will they work in my interior?
However I recommend you try T10 COB (Chip On Board) instead, for example see here: 10x T10 W5W LED COB White Car Light Fog Lamp Interior Canbus Error Free Bulb 12V | eBay
I have tried all sorts of T10 LEDs on many cars in many places (map lights, other interior lights, parker/side lights, number plate lights etc), including multi-chip SMT, Cree and COB, and IMHO COB is the best for colour, light intensity, ease of fitment, reliability and longevity.
#123
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Shot Gun Shack Queensland
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Hmmm. OK so I started to do LED replacement today on the front map/ courtesy lights.
Took a bit of levering with a wide plastic trim tool but that was OK.
Put three LEDs in and they all came on immediately.
(the console still hanging down).
Tried touching them to turn off, the left and centre one went off but the right one wouldn't respond.
I noticed the black plastic cover (which fits around the bulb sockets and clips over the circuit board) was out of place - must have displaced it levering the console out. So snapped that back into place.
The touch function is unresponsive.
I put the whole console back in place to test, making sure all the wiring looked in place.
Now I have no touch function. None of the lights come on except the centre one when the door is opened.
I really don't know how the touch function works or what to look for to fault find.
Any ideas?
Took a bit of levering with a wide plastic trim tool but that was OK.
Put three LEDs in and they all came on immediately.
(the console still hanging down).
Tried touching them to turn off, the left and centre one went off but the right one wouldn't respond.
I noticed the black plastic cover (which fits around the bulb sockets and clips over the circuit board) was out of place - must have displaced it levering the console out. So snapped that back into place.
The touch function is unresponsive.
I put the whole console back in place to test, making sure all the wiring looked in place.
Now I have no touch function. None of the lights come on except the centre one when the door is opened.
I really don't know how the touch function works or what to look for to fault find.
Any ideas?
#124
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#125
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Shot Gun Shack Queensland
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Unfortunately I did that and nothing. At one stage when I put the console back the right light wouldn't go out.
I tried the reset, the centre light flashed but the right one still wouldn't go out.
I pulled it and tweaked the bulbs again and now it's back in the touch function doesn't work at all.
I tried the reset, the centre light flashed but the right one still wouldn't go out.
I pulled it and tweaked the bulbs again and now it's back in the touch function doesn't work at all.
#126
Join Date: Apr 2016
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Problem solved.
Another 20 mins in daylight I noticed the circuit board has location ramps on either side it's meant to sit on. It wasn't. Removed the black cover again and carefully relocated the circuit board, then clipped the black cover back in place.
Cleaned a fly out on the inside of the lens (heard this can throw the sensor too).
Plugged back in and all working as it should.
Phew.
Just be extra careful when you take the console out. Especially it it's the first time. With the amount of force needed, it's not hard to put something out of place.
Another 20 mins in daylight I noticed the circuit board has location ramps on either side it's meant to sit on. It wasn't. Removed the black cover again and carefully relocated the circuit board, then clipped the black cover back in place.
Cleaned a fly out on the inside of the lens (heard this can throw the sensor too).
Plugged back in and all working as it should.
Phew.
Just be extra careful when you take the console out. Especially it it's the first time. With the amount of force needed, it's not hard to put something out of place.
#127
Anyone have pictures of how to remove the front map lights? The pictures did not work on the original posts. Also there were two different answers given, some said to pry from windshield side, some from sunroof. I'm scared to damage the alcantara headliner but really want to change the lights. Same goes for the rear. Great thread by the way!
#129
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Yep, it's the sunroof side.
If you look very closely, maybe with a torch, you will see two small slots or gaps on the edges of the console where it tucks into the roof lining, from memory about 6 mm long and .5 mm wide. That is where you lever/pry. Once you get the back edge down about 1 or 2 cm you can just get you fingers in there and pull the whole console down. Four rather tight metal clips, you have to pull down with a fair bit of force.
If you look very closely, maybe with a torch, you will see two small slots or gaps on the edges of the console where it tucks into the roof lining, from memory about 6 mm long and .5 mm wide. That is where you lever/pry. Once you get the back edge down about 1 or 2 cm you can just get you fingers in there and pull the whole console down. Four rather tight metal clips, you have to pull down with a fair bit of force.
#132
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Yep, done it so many times on both of my XFs I lost count!
And yes the headlight assembly needs to come out of the car, not that hard, two 10 mm bolts on top and one in the wheel well, then a fair bit of wiggling to clear the bumper/grille, unplug the big round power connector and (if you have HID lights with headlight washers) disconnect the washer hose.
The "trick" with those lights (we in Oz call them "parking lights" or "parkers", those in Blighty call them "side lights", I have no idea what they are called in North America!) is to get skinny ones, no more than 11 mm in diameter, as the mounting holes they fit in are fairly tight and most T10 wedge LED globes are 12 mm in diameter and simply will not fit, well at least not without trying to force them in which usually breaks them.
Even 11 mm wide ones are a tightish fit.
Also, the access from the back of the light is a little tricky as the mounting hole is not directly behind the access hole but a bit offset, so you can't go "straight" in and you have to go at a bit of an angle to start with. The globe sits in a longish holder which you pull out, swap globes then re-insert, and you need to re-insert it as straight as you can. There is not a lot of room to move and I found the easiest way to do this is to use a small to medium pair of angled needle nosed pliers. Or else find a helper with long and skinny fingers!
I also lost count of how many of those globes conked out and had to be replaced, and it didn't matter whether I used multi-chip SMD, Cree or Chip On Board (COB), they all eventually conked. Some within a few days, others after a few weeks or months. Sometimes they came out easy, other times they fell apart (or had already fallen apart), and often those parts were damn near impossible to get out. I had to hold the light assembly above my head and gently shake it until the part(s) lodged in the mounting hole, and then hope and pray that with some tapping they/it would fall straight out. Sometimes they fell out, sometimes they didn't and remained in the light cluster for the life of the car!
And yes the headlight assembly needs to come out of the car, not that hard, two 10 mm bolts on top and one in the wheel well, then a fair bit of wiggling to clear the bumper/grille, unplug the big round power connector and (if you have HID lights with headlight washers) disconnect the washer hose.
The "trick" with those lights (we in Oz call them "parking lights" or "parkers", those in Blighty call them "side lights", I have no idea what they are called in North America!) is to get skinny ones, no more than 11 mm in diameter, as the mounting holes they fit in are fairly tight and most T10 wedge LED globes are 12 mm in diameter and simply will not fit, well at least not without trying to force them in which usually breaks them.
Even 11 mm wide ones are a tightish fit.
Also, the access from the back of the light is a little tricky as the mounting hole is not directly behind the access hole but a bit offset, so you can't go "straight" in and you have to go at a bit of an angle to start with. The globe sits in a longish holder which you pull out, swap globes then re-insert, and you need to re-insert it as straight as you can. There is not a lot of room to move and I found the easiest way to do this is to use a small to medium pair of angled needle nosed pliers. Or else find a helper with long and skinny fingers!
I also lost count of how many of those globes conked out and had to be replaced, and it didn't matter whether I used multi-chip SMD, Cree or Chip On Board (COB), they all eventually conked. Some within a few days, others after a few weeks or months. Sometimes they came out easy, other times they fell apart (or had already fallen apart), and often those parts were damn near impossible to get out. I had to hold the light assembly above my head and gently shake it until the part(s) lodged in the mounting hole, and then hope and pray that with some tapping they/it would fall straight out. Sometimes they fell out, sometimes they didn't and remained in the light cluster for the life of the car!
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IppoJ (08-24-2018)
#134
...yes the headlight assembly needs to come out of the car, not that hard, two 10 mm bolts on top and one in the wheel well, then a fair bit of wiggling to clear the bumper/grille, unplug the big round power connector and (if you have HID lights with headlight washers) disconnect the washer hose....
On a vaguely unrelated note, the headlight assys on a Range Rover are stupendously easy to remove. They literally have a lever to pull, and then the whole thing easily pulls out.
#135
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
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Excellent, thank you. Is there a bulb you've found that works best? I have a couple Osrams that I was going to try.
On a vaguely unrelated note, the headlight assys on a Range Rover are stupendously easy to remove. They literally have a lever to pull, and then the whole thing easily pulls out.
On a vaguely unrelated note, the headlight assys on a Range Rover are stupendously easy to remove. They literally have a lever to pull, and then the whole thing easily pulls out.
I recall reading or seeing somewhere that you can now get ordinary halogen T10 wedge globes that are a nice bright white (as opposed to the stock dull and sickly yellow), if so they would be a much better bet than LEDs.
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IppoJ (08-27-2018)
#136
Hey everyone,
I've replaced my XF 2010's interior(glovebox excluded), high beams and reverse thanks to your information, it helped a lot. I'll replace mirror lights soon. I want to to replace all headlights with LED ones but I don't know what are those called. Any idea? I guess blue arrow is parking light but what's other one called and which type LED should I buy?
Thanks in advance.
I've replaced my XF 2010's interior(glovebox excluded), high beams and reverse thanks to your information, it helped a lot. I'll replace mirror lights soon. I want to to replace all headlights with LED ones but I don't know what are those called. Any idea? I guess blue arrow is parking light but what's other one called and which type LED should I buy?
Thanks in advance.
#138
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denemekullanici (09-29-2019)
#139
Does it change with models, years or facelift ones? Because I've search a little and someone said it's H8, some H7 and you're saying H4. I'm going to buy them from China and have to wait 1-2 months so I have to be sure.