Instrument LEDs - full beam

[ghost123uk]

OK, 8:25pm and back from the pub (Ah, Hobgoblin )

So is it an LED or a bulb The clear one in the pic looks like a bulb, but the plastic one on the left is undistinguishable

[slippy8v]

right original bulb still worked but very dim, left new VW LED nice and bright when fitted

[keytouch]

right original bulb still worked but very dim, left new VW LED nice and bright when fitted

I hate to disagree but they are both bulbs. Yes it is a very unusual bulb, but there is still a filament.



On mine the resistor with this bulb is 120 ohms.

For an LED you'd need 570 ohms, 680 ohms or even higher depending on the LED and how much you need to "turn down" the brightness.

[slippy8v]

I sit corrected lol

[jamesc76]

One thing no one has said, if you fit a blue led, in the dark its like some one shining a torch in your face! I havent done it but heard from those who thought it was an led and did fit one!!!

[ghost123uk]

Well at least we know now

[MidLifeCrisis]

One thing no one has said, if you fit a blue led, in the dark its like some one shining a torch in your face! I havent done it but heard from those who thought it was an led and did fit one!!!

Agreed! I fitted a blue LED in my hardwired setup and it lit up the inside of the van better than the high beams light up the outside of the van !!
My solution (mentioned elsewhere somewhere) was to lightly sand the exterior of the LED - this really helps to scatter the light and make it much more usable. Just make sure you do a good job and evenly sand the lense - any little missed out areas will shine through and be very obvious.

[ghost123uk]

In conclusion ( ) If you fit an LED in place of a bulb, the existing 120 Ohm resistor (mentioned above) is likely to be over fuelling the LED. It would be very prudent to either swap that resistor to around a 1 Watt 820 Ohm (or try a 1000 Ohm, they are pennies) resistor. (Or add another resistor in circuit to add to the 120 Ohm to give aprox 700 to 1000 ohms total). This will give a dimmer and softer light from the LED.

[keytouch]

Typical high brightness LEDs are about 6,000-10,000mcd (milli candela).
If you look properly then you can source much less bright ones.

These blue 5mm LEDs are only 68mcd
http://bit.ly/1dqbSD2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Westy End]

Agree with all that is said here - I looked at my high beam light and thought "that looks a bit dim - needs replacing". Then I drove it in the dark and used the full beam and realised that it was probably by design of those clever VW people - you dont want a bright LED shining at you when you have your full beams on - invariably in the dark....

[keytouch]

I have a problem

I fitted the new LED and a 680 ohm resistor. For some reason now, the LED lights up when full beam is not on, and goes off when it is on. This is confusing me a lot, admittedly I am very tired at the moment.

[MidLifeCrisis]

I have a problem

I fitted the new LED and a 680 ohm resistor. For some reason now, the LED lights up when full beam is not on, and goes off when it is on. This is confusing me a lot, admittedly I am very tired at the moment.

Not quite sure how that can be happening but have you tried swapping the LED leads over in their connector (it's possible you've got the LED in backwards and it's somehow finding a voltage to drive it when the high beam is off)