Buy all your VW California Accessories at the Club Shop Visit Shop

LEDs

Matthew Mills

Matthew Mills

Living the dream...
Messages
68
Location
Somerset
Vehicle
T5 SE 180
Hi All

I recently went too my first Dub event - Dorset Dub Fest... Great fun event, very friendly and a number of compliments for 'Ruby' in particular the Deep Wood colour - much to Mrs Ms annoyance as she really dislikes the colour - it's all i could get and I 'now' like it...

Anyway I saw a pop top with multi colour multi effect LEDs fitted under the lip of the roof... Maybe not very 'Cali' but for events like this I like it... Having been looking at LEDs and think that the wiring can be done relatively easily...

Anyone done it to there's, thoughts? comments and views?

Matt
 
The first item on the page looks interesting - replacement LED headlight bulb replacements. Anyone tried those?
 
The Cali uses H7 headlight bulb
 
Shucks! :(
 
Calikev said:
The Cali uses H7 headlight bulb
Click to expand...

Dubflecta do an LED H4. Is there an LED H7 anywhere?

Ah - just come across many similar explanations of why the concept of a drop in LED H7 replacement should not /could not work. The principal reason being that the optics supporting the single very small H7 incandescent piece of wire will not support the spatially distributed different LED sources that would drop in. Lighting on the road would simply be poorer not better (and by a LONG way).
Huh!
 
Last edited:
Be careful Fred, in order to pass the MOT, HiD lights now have to have a working washer system and be self leveling.

This is all possible at a cost. Have a look at the Hazzy Dayz site.

http://tinyurl.com/ohldhvp

Alan
 
fred said:
What a minefield. thanks for the warning, have done a bit of research now.

so.. HID definitely to be avoided unless spending £3,300 to do it properly
LED lights possible, but need CANBUS integration (anyone know why?)

@barry is this what you're looking for? http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014A9NRUQ/?tag=eliteelect-21
Click to expand...
The CANBUS monitors the current used by the vehicle road lights. When a bulb fails a warning light appears on the Dashboard. LED bulbs use less current than normal filament bulbs so each LED bulb fitted will trigger a warning light, unless it is CANBUS compatible.
To get round this you can fit a resistor to each LED bulb to raise the current used so that the CANBUS thinks a filament bulb is fitted. However, the resistor converts this extra current to heat, a lot of heat, so it is very important where this resistor is placed as it gets so hot it can burn through any wire it is touching. Also, the light fittings are E marked for filament bulbs and fitting LED bulbs can be a MOT failure if noted by the tester.
There are E marked rear light fittings with built in LED but they are not without problems, some causing significant radio interference when on.
 
I bought some Cree bulbs for the reversing lights on our Cali. They work perfectly, very bright and help when reversing into our dark parking space no end.

So I bought another pair for my wife's Saab for the same reason. Only this is a 2006 car and both bulbs flashed once a second when the ignition was off and the car was locked. They came on fully when the ignition was on and in reverse. Apparently the Saab computer talks to the lights all of the time and the cure is to put a resister in series with them.

In a past life this would have been easy, but my access to electronics is now limited, so I returned the bulbs.

Shame, they are very good as reversing lights.

Have a look at the Night Breaker range of headlight bulbs from Osram. A cheaper alternative to HiDs.

Alan
 
I have extra bright LED bulb in the reversing light on the California. Apparently that is NOT CANBUS monitored. Also. I believe, the rear Number plate bulbs can be replaced with LED.
But road lights i.e.: side,stop/tail,rear fog and headlights are as these are MOT requirements.
 
That would make sense as there are many ads about for LED P21W bulbs which are the reversing lights on a Cali.

Shame Saab didn't do the same thing.

Alan
 
Any information on changing out the plate lights for LED's? I just prefer a whiter light on the plate. Bulb types and any impact on the CAMBUS output? Thanks.
 
I have these fitted after having to replace the standard bulbs twice, due I think to the vibration of shutting the boot. Not sure about canbus though- I got no dash indication when the original bulbs had blown.
 
Larkrise said:
I have these fitted after having to replace the standard bulbs twice, due I think to the vibration of shutting the boot. Not sure about canbus though- I got no dash indication when the original bulbs had blown.
Click to expand...
I don't think these bulbs are monitored as they are only 5w as against brakes/indicators etc: which are 21w.
 
WelshGas said:
I have extra bright LED bulb in the reversing light on the California. Apparently that is NOT CANBUS monitored. Also. I believe, the rear Number plate bulbs can be replaced with LED.
But road lights i.e.: side,stop/tail,rear fog and headlights are as these are MOT requirements.
Click to expand...

Hi WelshGas Which bulbs did you buy??
 
Have used those LED bulbs on the Cali reverse lights, P21W. No problem with the CanBus on the Cali.

However I bought the same for our Saab reversing lights and it didn't like them. Had to send them back.

Apparently you need to add a resister to the circuit to stop the bulbs flashing once a second all of the time. The computer monitors them, even when the ignition is off.

Alan
 
AlanC said:
Have used those LED bulbs on the Cali reverse lights, P21W. No problem with the CanBus on the Cali.

However I bought the same for our Saab reversing lights and it didn't like them. Had to send them back.

Apparently you need to add a resister to the circuit to stop the bulbs flashing once a second all of the time. The computer monitors them, even when the ignition is off.

Alan
Click to expand...
There are 2 types of Monitoring systems you have to be aware of when fitting LED bulbs.
1. Indicator bulbs - The Indicator Flash Relay flashes at the correct rate when using Filament Bulbs. LED bulbs require less current so the relay will flash faster and this can be overcome by fitting an Electronic LED compatable relay. The indicators will then flash at the correct rate. I did this on my Land Rover Defender.
2. The CANBUS system monitors the current requirements of the Legally required Road Lights. If the current required drops below a certain level it presumes the bulb has failed and lights up a Dashboard warning light. This system can be fooled by fitting an in-line resistor to the light in question to make it use more current to fool the CANBUS,. However this extra current used is converted into heat. The resistor gets Very,Very hot so you have to be careful where it is positioned.
 
Van just back from service; I have had a dash bulb warning light only when first starting; switch off and on again and it clears. They diagnosed the issue as the number plate leds that I had fitted, so they took them out and put oe bulbs back in.
 
Larkrise said:
Van just back from service; I have had a dash bulb warning light only when first starting; switch off and on again and it clears. They diagnosed the issue as the number plate leds that I had fitted, so they took them out and put oe bulbs back in.
Click to expand...
Did you tell them off?
You'll need to get Canbus compatible bulbs. The problem is, although the light might be a different colour they will probably use the same amps as an OE bulb.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Useful links

VW California Club

  • Comfort Insurance
  • VIP Membership
  • Comfort Insurance
  • CampervanBits Accessories
  • Conquest
  • Hire a Vw California

About us

The VW California Club is the worlds largest resource for all owners and enthusiasts of VW California campervans.

Our Partners

Our Partners

Back
Top