Hello all,

I did a quick search and didn't see anything on CL about Think Design's LED conversion kit for turn signals.

Here is the URL to the product in question: HI-LUMINANCE LED WINKER BULB+CONVERTER UNIT

Here is a video of it in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEBs_...eature=related

I can't read Japanese, but from what I can gather, the whole front/rear set with relay and converter unit is 18,900 yen (approx. $215 USD).

What is the purpose of the relay and the converter unit in this kit? Is the relay the same thing as the flasher that I see on various websites (e.g. v-leds.com, etc)? What is the converter unit used for then?

The LED bulbs from the youtube video appear to be quite bright, almost stock-like. I know many LED bulbs generally have lower light output than the stock halogens. Does anyone have any experience using LED bulbs for turn signals? Which ones did you use? What did you do to get rid of the fast blinking of the LED bulbs? Load resistor(s)? Electronic flasher replacement?

P.S. Too bad our mirrors don't automatically fold/unfold when you press the lock/unlock button, although I could see that being a problem in a very tight parking spot...

 

Siiiiet, never knew you needed a relay and converter if you put LED for turn signals lol,I was going to swap them this week tooo!...so what about reverse lights and trunk lights, do I need converter to put LED in those?

 

Guys, all you need to get convert your turn signals to LED are the following:

1. 2 set of LED (four total), cost varies, $1.00~$20.00 per bulb (brighter = higher cost)

2. if it flash really fast then you will need to get 2 set of "25 w 8 Ohm Load Resistor", usually cost less than $10.00 per set.


Hope this helps,

SLK

 

I'm not sure what the converter/relay do but they probably make it so that the turn signal doesn't blink quickly. LED bulbs are low-draw so the car thinks the bulb is out (hence the fast blinking). So for reverse/trunk lights, you just need to swap the bulbs and that's it.

Thanks for your input. I just want to make sure that the LED I get is equal in light output as stock. I don't want to sacrifice the light output for the instant on/instant off look of LED.

Also, with regards to the resistor wired in series, ideally I don't want extra heat generated. I know that the LEDs generate less heat due, but again, I don't know if I want the heat generated from a resistor to be relocated to another area, possibly outside the light cluster area. Are my concerns unfounded? I just want to see what other people have done...

 

just putting in led might trigger "bulb out" warning light on the dash too. putting in resistor is a way to go, but that will generate heat and imho that's can be a safety issue in the trunk with all those lining

the same thing happened for 2gs folks, a lot of them started going with led on the taillights. first it was the warning light on dash, and then later on it's the heat problem from resistors

 

Is there a practical reason why LED bulbs that may be used in a turn signal application aren't designed with a resistor built-in? Are the LEDs sensitive to the extra heat that would be generated by a resistor so close to the LEDs?

From the link I provided in the first post, are one of those things essentially a resistor (i.e. the "converter")? I'm trying to figure out what this company is selling. I'm thinking it might be the bulbs, an electronic flasher and a load to mimic halogen bulbs. (Wouldn't the use of a non-oem electronic flasher and load resistors be redundant?)

Also, from the youtube video, it appears that with this setup, the lights will blink even when you press the lock/unlock button from the keyfob. There are reports that with the electronic flashers from v-leds.com, the lights will not blink when locking/unlocking the doors.

 

If you do decide to do this, can you show pictures of the install please?? =)

 

too much for too little gain.

And I hate those blinding brake light.

 

can't say exactly why they don't have those resistors built in, but i say heat can be a problem. considering how hot the resistors can get (yup, felt with my hand before), last thing i want is it melting any of the harness or the housing. even when blinking for 2 mins (not untypical at some traffic lights) the resistor gets pretty darn warm.

 

So the ones that dont need converters are reverse light and parking light right?(simply plug and play?), and since trunk led might be a heating issue I guess I'll pass on that.

 

LEDs produce less heat than halogen bulbs. The only reason we were talking about heat in the trunk was because of the resistors one would need to trick the car into thinking you had halogen signal bulbs instead of LED bulbs.

You can use LED bulbs for the trunk lighting no problem. In fact, you can use LED lighting anywhere. It's just that for the turn signal, you might have to modify it a bit to get rid of the fast blinking..

 

If they built LED bulbs with built-in resistors to mimic a halogen filament, it shouldn't get hotter theoretically than a halogen bulb, no? And the reason why the resistor gets so hot is probably because it is the equivalent to two halogen filaments, not one.

I'm really curious about the Think Design set. Anyone able to read Japanese?

 

Looks like a waist of time and money for barely any better light output.

 

If you are only looking for better output than stock, then I agree, this is not worth it. I just really prefer the instant on/off that LED lights provide. I'd be happy with as-bright-as-stock-halogen-bulbs luminance with the added benefit of the instant on/off that LEDs provide. But in doing so, I don't want to lose any functionality (e.g. fast blinking, lights not blinking when locking/unlocking doors). It'd also be nicer if this could be done without using resistors.

 

Anyone catch the side mirrors close and open upon unlock/lock of key fob? It can be done