Retroplay

So, today I started to work on replacing the reverse lights with a pair of 7.5W CREE LEDs.

1. The LED base is too thin. Would not stay in the socket (Fixed by wrapping a few layers of electrical tape under the contacts to thicken it.)
2. The LEDs are designed to fit in either way. However, I found that two of the contacts are not equal. One will draw 230mA (which BTW is only .276W) and the other only draws 80mA. The arrangement of the wires also didn't line up with the contacts. Either way you flipped it, One of the contacts wouldn't touch.

Chalking the above up to poor quality LEDs. I did buy them for only $12. You get what you pay for, I guess.

I removed the lens assemblies because they were very cloudy. The amount of encrusted sand all over it makes me wonder if the previous owner lived on a dirt road! Anyway, scrubbed them up really good. Filled the lenses with water and Oxi-Clean dishwasher additive. Sloshed it around and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then sloshed it around vigorously and dumped it. The lenses are now sparkly clean. Yay! They are sitting on the furnace register drying now.

So, I saw the other mods which drilled out a hole in the internal lens to fit the longer LED. I really wanted to take the lens assembly apart. So I tried the baking method. 200 degrees in the oven for 10 minutes. This did soften the tape (looks like 3M foam tape all around the edges) a little, but it also made the plastic very soft. Deformed it quite a bit trying to dig the tape out. Not successful.

Anyone have any other tips to get that tape out of there?

A. I really don't want to drill out the internal lens (actually I would like to just remove it.
B. The housing is so huge, I think I could come up with a much better light inside the housing if I can get it apart.

Retroplay

I also swapped out the license plate lights with LEDs. Really not impressed with it at all. The OEM lights are worse, of course. But the lights are just very uneven (huge gap in the middle and shadows.)

Overall, not a very successful day.

Coleroad

Would the backup bulbs be the same as these on rock auto?http://www.rockauto.com/info/42/7440W-SMD-007__ra_p.jpg

Coleroad

Would there be a way to make the BMW license plate light work.

OBP

Did you need to use the 7.5W Cree LEDs ? I did the swap and used compatible LEDs with the exact correct size fitting base - cannot remember what the bulb code is - maybe 7440 or something like that. No mods to the lens needed. I just flipped the bulb the other way if it did not light up. They were honey comb style LEDs with the compatible base for the socket and fitted into the lens perfectly.

For your license plate bulbs, I did those too and my lighting is pretty decent. Did you use 5 SMD LEDs - one on the tip and four around the vertical parts of the bulb ? Those do a pretty decent job of scattering good white light all around. I also have single SMD LED bulbs I used in another car but those are not nearly as bright and can cause a pretty directional light beam that will only partly light up the license plate area.

Retroplay

These are the bulbs I purchased (hate to link to eBay, but I'm sure they will be up for a while) to save others from buying them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/361457196485?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
They said in the listing that they were compatible with the 7440. Just poor quality, I think. But when you get the right lead, they are really bright. I'd say about 5 times brighter than the OEM bulb.

They just required some modding to get them to work (had to flip some leads around, add the tape, etc..) I guess they will work for now.

I did see the honeycomb bulbs, but the type of LEDs they were using didn't look like it would be very bright. Maybe I'll pick up a couple.

What I really want to do with reverse lights is make them wider angle since when I am reversing, I am more interested in what is on either side of the car than directly behind.

For the license plate light, yes. I picked up the 5 LED bulbs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330959161886?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I think the problem with the license plate is that there is no reflector inside the housing.

I just sprayed the lenses with a frosting spray to help disperse the light a little bit more. Ultimately I am thinking of using a light bar if I can find one that would fit and look good.

Retroplay

If I could pop the lens out, it would easy to just install an LED board like that.

SlvBullet

iTrader: (8)

I installed the 10 W Crees and drilled through the lens are you saw in my thread. They are very bright with a good wide angle. Lights up everything behind the car.

OBP

You are right, the honey comb LEDs I have are not exactly super bright. Perhaps better than regular bulbs with nice white light but not 5x better. Feels like 1.5x better or so.

Retroplay

In the meantime, I picked up some LED lights at Autozone this morning since I had to stop there for something else. They are Sylvania 7443 size Ultrabright Cool White LEDs. Can't find them on their website to show them.

Looks like 18 COB style LEDs arranged in groups of three around the sides. No LEDs on the front. They are short and snapped in with no modifications.

Whenever I look up 7440 bulbs online (and Autozone doesn't even have 7440 bulbs) , I always get 3157 as the part. The 3157 lamps will not work in the back-up lights.

These 7443 bulbs have a bump down the middle, and these LEDs have a little clip on the side that locks into the socket. The 3157 lights have no sort of locking mechanism and just push back out under the tension of the contacts.

So the back-up lights are done. They are pretty bright during the day. I will take pictures when it is dark out. I'll come back with a review of these.

Cost was only $9.99 for a set of two bulbs and are readily available at your local Autozone.

Summary: Don't buy 3157s, and 7443s work just fine

Retroplay

These look very effective, but they are $50 for just one bulb! I bet they would be like fog lights in the rear.

mandyfig

This is a good development! I shall go shopping. Any pics of the bulb-packaging?

Retroplay

Of course. I wish I could provide a link, but I can't seem to find the exact part anywhere online.





It says 2.5W on the packaging, but this would be a good time to point out that manufacturers use this term very differently. In some cases, they are actually talking about the actual electrical wattage (as is this case) other manufacturers of LED products use the term to refer to their equivalency to incandescent bulbs. Even worse, some make up their own measurement system to refer to the measured power output. Basically, most will use whatever number makes it look bigger. The actual design of the LED unit and the type of LEDs used are the most important factors to consider.

The really expensive ones in the amazon link I posted previously use only 5 LEDs, but the packaging of the light is what makes them so powerful. That is why I am completely satisfied with just plopping in an aftermarket bulb if I want certain characteristics of the cast light.

Coleroad

They are on Amazon eBay do on.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page...3%20led%20bulb


In A 30 watt.

Retroplay

None of those look anything like this bulb, unfortunately.

I'll pop one out and take a picture later.