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  • Problem with colored LED festoon bulbs

    I just installed red colored interior dome lights. I have the 4-LED 194s in the front lights, and for the center light, I have a festoon-style bulb with LEDs in it. Problem is, when all the lights go off, that center bulb stays slightly lit. Nowhere near as bright as when it's on, but the LEDs are still getting a little power and light up faintly, almost like a glow. If I turn the switch to the off position, they go off. But in the center position (for door open), they stay dimly lit.

    I swapped it out with a hyperwhite festoon LED bulb I have, and that turns completely off. Nothing stays lit. Just the red one stays lit.

    Will this cause any problems like burning, killing the battery, or dying sooner? I know LEDs take up hardly any power, but...
    -Mike #1

    ||2006 GTP Coupe - Gone but not forgotten||

    'Black cars denote an aggressive personality or someone who's an outsider or rebel.'

    Current Ride: 2009 White Hot Pontiac G8 GT with Onyx/Red Interior

  • #2
    LoJac had the same problem, turns out since LEDs take very little power to turn them on, you have to put a resistor before it. All the dome lights get constant power but the bulbs filament prevents them from coming on prematurely whereas the LED just flips on
    2005 G6 V6 in granite metallic, Kenwood DDX6019 touch screen DVD radio, 2 12" Kicker Solo-Baric L7s, Dynamat, Orion 2400 amp, Power Acoustik 4F cap, XBOX 360, Chrome window trim, Quicklift kit

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    • #3
      Yeah I did have the same problem, the first resistor I used was a 15ohm and it burned like the car was gonna catch fire. I replaced that with a 22ohm resistor and that one burned also but it fixed the problem so I just left it in. The only thing you have to do is I would say buy a pack of 30ohm resistors from RadioShack for 0.99 cents and solder each end to each side of the light on the terminals and that will take care of the problem. Let me know if it works for you, if you need pics I can pop my light out and take a couple.
      TRADED IN BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN: 2006 GT Coupe in granite metallic, 15/5% tint, vinyl side marker deletes, Doctor Speed Stage 3 CAI, RED calipers by DupliColor, RED LED interior lights, 45 LED tail lights, WideView 8000K HID coversion kit, Nokya Artic White fogs installed, running MoBil 1, FIRST ever granite metallic color matched headlights!! Color matched eyelids just finished! GT-R Exhaust installed. R1 Concepts drilled and slotted zinc plated front rotors.

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      • #4
        Yea that's what I thought, but why does it only happen with the colored LED bulb? The hyperwhite one is the same exact bulb, just white instead of red, and it shuts completely off....
        -Mike #1

        ||2006 GTP Coupe - Gone but not forgotten||

        'Black cars denote an aggressive personality or someone who's an outsider or rebel.'

        Current Ride: 2009 White Hot Pontiac G8 GT with Onyx/Red Interior

        Comment


        • #5
          Perhaps the white has a built in resistor? Some LED bulbs have bulb in resistors and others don't so I'm not sure exactly why the white would shut off completely when the colord ones don't.
          TRADED IN BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN: 2006 GT Coupe in granite metallic, 15/5% tint, vinyl side marker deletes, Doctor Speed Stage 3 CAI, RED calipers by DupliColor, RED LED interior lights, 45 LED tail lights, WideView 8000K HID coversion kit, Nokya Artic White fogs installed, running MoBil 1, FIRST ever granite metallic color matched headlights!! Color matched eyelids just finished! GT-R Exhaust installed. R1 Concepts drilled and slotted zinc plated front rotors.

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          • #6
            They all should have built-in resistors because the 12V supplied to them would burn them out if they didn't. 12V is too much for an LED like this to handle for more than a few seconds.
            -Mike #1

            ||2006 GTP Coupe - Gone but not forgotten||

            'Black cars denote an aggressive personality or someone who's an outsider or rebel.'

            Current Ride: 2009 White Hot Pontiac G8 GT with Onyx/Red Interior

            Comment


            • #7
              Maybe nothing more than a company using cheap parts?
              Originally posted by Toyz
              Originally posted by simplyred
              what do you guys think about switching up the teams again?!
              As long as i dont have to catch, i am all for it!

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              • #8
                LoJac: ok I soldered in a resistor, and it fixed the problem. But the resistor gets really hot when the lights are on, is that what happened to you? They cool down once the light goes off, so as long as the lights go on for small amounts of time, I guess I should be fine? I'm not sure what the resistance is lol. I just found some resistors I had lying around when I used to do LED projects on my other car, and I tested them until I found one that fixed my problem But do you think 30Ohm ones would not get hot?
                -Mike #1

                ||2006 GTP Coupe - Gone but not forgotten||

                'Black cars denote an aggressive personality or someone who's an outsider or rebel.'

                Current Ride: 2009 White Hot Pontiac G8 GT with Onyx/Red Interior

                Comment


                • #9
                  yeah if it got too hot it might melt through that plastic and that wouldnt be good
                  2005 G6 V6 in granite metallic, Kenwood DDX6019 touch screen DVD radio, 2 12" Kicker Solo-Baric L7s, Dynamat, Orion 2400 amp, Power Acoustik 4F cap, XBOX 360, Chrome window trim, Quicklift kit

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    The first resistor I tried was a 15 ohm and it basically burned my finger and turned into a poof of smoke when I turned the lights on. The second resistor I tried was a 22 ohm and it burned black and smoked but didn't completely burn like the 15 ohm did. However once it cooled down I turned the lights back on and they turned completely off-this is with the blackened/white 22 ohm resistor installed. I just left that 22 ohm in the car since it fixed the problem. There's no chance on fires or anything because, it doesn't get hot enough, there's metal above the light, plus the resistor is no where near any of the dome light housing. Problem solved, I guess I should prolly buy some higher ohm resistors and do it right but the 22 ohm fixed the problem. The seller of the bulb told me to use a resistor in the range of 15-30 ohm, like I said I tried the 15 and 22 ohm and they both burned. Let me know if you have any more questions.
                    TRADED IN BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN: 2006 GT Coupe in granite metallic, 15/5% tint, vinyl side marker deletes, Doctor Speed Stage 3 CAI, RED calipers by DupliColor, RED LED interior lights, 45 LED tail lights, WideView 8000K HID coversion kit, Nokya Artic White fogs installed, running MoBil 1, FIRST ever granite metallic color matched headlights!! Color matched eyelids just finished! GT-R Exhaust installed. R1 Concepts drilled and slotted zinc plated front rotors.

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