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$10 LED DRLs

88K views 376 replies 112 participants last post by  WOWucrazy 
#1 ·
Replacing DRL bulbs with LED Lights?

Has anyone done this? I am thinking about replacing the bulbs with LEDs. Would these be bright enough to run as DRL?

 
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#6 ·
i bought some white ones but they just dont fit right, i cant get the locking pins to lock into place, maybe the bulbs were manufactured wrong with the pins being just a millimeter to high from the base.

anyone have a link to where they bought some that did fit?
 
#10 · (Edited)


EDIT: There are some problems with these bulbs. I have found excellent replacements from a non-vendor site. Check out this post or PM me for info.



---OLD POST---

This worked out great for the price and effort. $10 LED DRL bulbs from eBay.

Before:


LED vs. OEM:


Both LEDs:


If you can fit your hands in well enough to do this, the results speak for themselves. Turned out great!

Here's the updated eBay listing for the same bulbs: [Link removed. I do not recommend these LED bulbs]

Shipping took 17 days from Hong Kong. They arrived in a crumpled envelope with a small bubble-wrap bag inside. The bulbs did not look beaten up and I tested them with 12V before installing and they worked fine.
 
#12 ·
I gotta get a set, those look great! You gotta a link to them?
 
#16 ·
What bulb is it?
 
#17 ·
it's likely from under voltage, IIRC our DRLs are 9v, LEDs don't like long term under voltage, if you got a relay with 9v poll you could wire 12v from the battery to them instead ;) If you find a 12v relay with a 9v switch let me know I've been looking for a long time ;) It's that or we custom make the bulbs to a 5v bulb and use an inline resistor ;)
 
#26 · (Edited)
It's simple but there isn't a lot of room for your hands. There's a cap and rubber seal on the back of the DRL housing that opens with about 1/4 turn. Then the bulb socket unscrews from the housing, also with 1/4 turn. You can see how it latches in from the front.

The bulb sits in a bayonet style socket. Push in and turn and it pops right out. Pop in the LED bulb and place it back into the housing. You can look in from the front of the light to make sure you are lining things up. Make sure you don't damage any LEDs when you're putting it back in the housing.

The passenger side has a bit more room so do that one first so you see how it's done. There are some wiring harnesses and a bit of the frame that get in the way on the driver side, but just be patient. I used some needle-nose vice grips (didn't clamp, just used to get leverage on the socket) to start the bulb turning to get it out. I managed to install it with my hand though.

Make sure you get the rear caps and rubber seals on correctly. They'll just fall off if you don't so you'll know when they're on right. You basically have to do everything by feel since you can't see much.

Takes 30 minutes if you're patient. Maybe less if you're especially coordinated.
 
#28 ·
I've had a lot of experience with eBay LEDs in the past. My interior bulbs almost always went to shit (3 yrs). License plate bulbs lasted a bit longer, but went to shit (4 yrs). DTRLs and reverse lights kept their pimp hand way strong, but the DTRLs I swapped out a 16-LED type for a 3-LED type after about 2 years, so each set lasted AT LEAST 2 years.
 
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