SuperBrightLED's

[Berkel]

Anyone ever have problems with theirs before? I ordered a set for my license plate lights and both have 1 or 2 leds burnt out already so they strobe. I've only had these for maybe 6 months :blackeye:

Where could I get reliable LED's :shrug:

[CSVT1214]

This has happened to a bunch of people already.

Just go with some Polarg incandescent bulbs instead.

[Black 98 CSVT]

i bought my festoons from them about 3 months ago. they're still working great

[hotdimmes]

I hear using Load resistors seems to fix the problem. Unfortunately at that point, the inexpensive nature of an LED bulb is lost.

[Goonz SVT]

I had a problem with them as well with my first pair for my G35's lisence plate bulbs. They started to strobe after a month so I had to get a new batch, so far so good, its been 3 months..

[BigBEN]

could the problem be that you are touched them with your bare hands while installing them. I was told that by doing that, they go out much quicker and it just ruins the light...

[Goonz SVT]

could the problem be that you are touched them with your bare hands while installing them. I was told that by doing that, they go out much quicker and it just ruins the light...


no, its heat related problems

[dyaballikl]

could the problem be that you are touched them with your bare hands while installing them. I was told that by doing that, they go out much quicker and it just ruins the light...
pretty sure that only affects light bulbs, led's don't get affected by that.

[striker2]

try these (http://autolumination.com/festoon.htm). i have never had a problem with any LEDs from them

[Loco4G63]

Never had any probs with any of the LED bulbs I bought from superbrightleds.com.:cool:

[hetfield]

My interior LEDs have all held up for over three years now, except for one light in the gauge cluster which went out after a month. I've just been too lazy to replace it since it only illuminates the gas gauge.

[hotdimmes]

It's definitely a problem with whatever they are doing in that little bulb and not just "using LED's." I have almost 30 LED's for my hvac/hl/gauge cluster/clock and I've never had any problems with them. I wire them up in series, pick the resistor that will work(if I even need one) given a few different voltages i.e. engine on/off.

I'm about to just buy 8 white superbright led's and just hardwire them in!

[Berkel]

Damn thanks for the help guys. I'm using the 4 led ones btw if anyone else uses those.

I'm gonna email them up to see what they have to say :)

[hotdimmes]

Damn thanks for the help guys. I'm using the 4 led ones btw if anyone else uses those.

I'm gonna email them up to see what they have to say :)

I'll tell you what they are gonna say:

All of our 12 Volt car bulbs are designed to operate up to
>>> 14.8VDC.
>>>
>>> I think we may have gotten a bad batch of festoon bults at some
>>> point because I have been hearing this a lot lately.
>>>
>>> What is the part number of the bulbs that keep failing in your
>>> license place illuminator ?
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>> Greg
>>> Super Bright LEDs, Inc.
>>> superbrightleds.com

[Berkel]

I'll tell you what they are gonna say:

All of our 12 Volt car bulbs are designed to operate up to
>>> 14.8VDC.
>>>
>>> I think we may have gotten a bad batch of festoon bults at some
>>> point because I have been hearing this a lot lately.
>>>
>>> What is the part number of the bulbs that keep failing in your
>>> license place illuminator ?
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>> Greg
>>> Super Bright LEDs, Inc.
>>> superbrightleds.com
Dammit. I don't think I saved the invoice for the warranty. :rolleyes:

[mjwood0]

Good to know. Mine started blinking and then just died too. Purchased in December of 06. What's the warranty on these?

[hotdimmes]

Good to know. Mine started blinking and then just died too. Purchased in December of 06. What's the warranty on these?

1 year I believe. But I've already gone through 2 sets so I think I'm done with these.

[Berkel]

We are unable to determine why these bulbs failed so quickly in
your application, but will be happy to test and replace.
Return to:
100 Washington St.
Florissant, MO 63031
attn. returns
Include a copy of your confirming email with instructions for
replacement.

Thank You,
Sondra
Super Bright LEDs

I could probably just buy a new set of bulbs.. IIRC shipping was more expensive than the bulbs :laugh: Sucks though I'll get pulled over if I don't fix these damn things :rolleyes:

[Sl33stak]

My interior LEDs have all held up for over three years now, except for one light in the gauge cluster which went out after a month. I've just been too lazy to replace it since it only illuminates the gas gauge.

Same here, got em from superbrightleds.com too. I can't imagine why all the problems.

[99SEsport2K4]

Same here, got em from superbrightleds.com too. I can't imagine why all the problems.

Same here. I got the 25 LED tail light bulbs. Only thing I don't like is the load resistors heat up so much you can't touch them if they have been on for a bit. I was lazy when I installed them and just set them on the floor of the trunk under the carpet and one has melted a hole in the carpet....

[genesis14]

Leds don't die from someone touching the bulb. Your thinnking of a filament type bulb (like a headlight bulb) Leds are a semiconductor diode that emits incoherent narrow-spectrum light when electrically biased in the forward direction of the positive-negative junction. This effect is a form of electroluminescence.(thanks wikipedia)

They are HIGHLY voltage sesitive. If you are unsure of how many volts it takes to light an led, FIND OUT. If you don't find out, even 1 volt over the recommended voltage will burn out the led. Sure it will look bright, but for only a second or two (or worst case ... not at all) for a 12 volt system you should use a 470 ohm (or higher) resistor. for a 15 volt system (because or cars can get up to 14.8) you should be using a 680 ohm resistor. this is based on an led with ratings of 3.2 volts and 20 ma of current on a 15 volt system

simply led calculator http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz
I buy my leds from www.besthongkong.com because they give me specs right on the site.

[Matt R]

I've had problems with the quality of their stuff. I've bought probably 20 of the little LEDs that plug into the instrument cluster. About 4 have gone bad quickly (20% are bad??!!). And I bought festoon bulbs... 4 total, and 2 went bad. I don't recommend their site. Plus the shipping is a rip-off.

[genesis14]

hmmm, Interesting. I haven't had any problems with their stuff yet. IMHO I don't think shipping is that bad. I mean from hong kong to canda in one week (to the day) is pretty good considering it takes over a month to get stuff from the states. Maybe you should see what your car voltage is. Maybe you are burning them out because your putting to much voltage to them.

[Matt R]

It's $5 shipping even if you order 5 tiny LEDs. The whole package can't weigh more than 2 ounces.

As far as the LEDs failing... it's poor quality. Wiggling them would make them work sometimes, or tipping them a certain way. Whatever they connect the resistors with doesn't hold up to well.

I'd definitely recommend buying a $3 solder gun, 50 cents worth of solder, and $3 of LEDs/resistors from ebay, and doing it yourself.

[genesis14]

11 wedge type Leds from superbrightleds would cost me 43.94 US vs 17.81 US from best hongkong. And I haven't had any problems with them yet. If you are only going to buy 5 leds then it isn't even worth going online. Just go to an electronics store and get them. I mean I bought 500 blue leds and it cost me 40 bucks CA.

[BlackE1]

I have had serious problems with leds in door switches and door handles burning out. I originally calculated based off 12 volt. Then I realized that the cars voltage can spike to 14.8 V. As genesis14 has stated calculate your resistors for 14.8 V and personally I would calculate for 15 mA forward current for a 20 mA forward current diode. In the future I as well will be ordering from besthongkong.

[Matt R]

The nice part is most of their bulbs are plug and go. No soldering for fitment issues.

[Black 98 CSVT]

yeah, one of my festoon bulbs finally burned out a couple days ago after work. a coworker was like "you're so gay. why do you have strobe light license plate lights"

[petar_velichkov]

I bought 2-3 sets of festoon LED bulbs from them and they start strobing in 2-3 months..... :nonono:
I tried ebay and it is the same story...forgot to say that i use them for the license plate

[genesis14]

I bought some white festoon type from them a year ago and they are working fine for me.

[Berkel]

I bought 2-3 sets of festoon LED bulbs from them and they start strobing in 2-3 months..... :nonono:
I tried ebay and it is the same story...forgot to say that i use them for the license plate
I want to buy more but I can't stand replacing these things every few months. Getting pulled over for burnt out license plate bulbs is the last thing I need.

[striker2]

this is why i get my LED bulbs from Autolumination.com. i have never had any LED bulbs go out. i have had a few from superbrightLEDs and they all went out after a few months.

[hotdimmes]

this is why i get my LED bulbs from Autolumination.com. i have never had any LED bulbs go out. i have had a few from superbrightLEDs and they all went out after a few months.

I had really crappy results with their incadescent xenon bulbs. They were all different shades of "xenon" and when I asked them about it they said "that's the way they are because they are all different types of bulbs"

[bxd20]

Which ones are you guys ordering specifically? I want a "cool white" color, and I want the brightness to be about the same as stock or a little brighter. But not so bright anyone looking at it instantly thinks "that's aftermarket lighting". And obviously not so dim you can't read the plate.

I emailed superbrightleds for a recommendation and their answer was completely useless.

And are you guys ordering 42mm x 10mm ?

Thanks!!!

[bxd20]

So no one with LEDs in the license plate knows what they put in? Someone here said they used the 4 LED festoon. I don't even see a 4 LED festoon in this size.

I see a 3 or 6 in the super bright category. 42 x 10mm.

[hotdimmes]

36x10mm IIRC. I'm positive it's been discussed somewhere.

[genesis14]

Sorry about taking so long in replying. I use the 6 led 41mm festoon. You have to email the guy to get them. They aren't listed anymore (they were at one point). They do still make them. They only work one way so test them before final install.

[Matt R]

Just measure the festoon bulbs with a metric ruler, and you'll know what you need.

[Goonz SVT]

I had the festoons on my SVT and NEVER had a problem..

before

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/goonz12/1-23.jpg


with the White LED festoons

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/goonz12/2-17.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/goonz12/3-15.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/goonz12/123-6.jpg

[98TredSVT]

i actually got pulled over for having my license plate lights out, but i got off with a warning, he originally pulled me over for yelling and then asked, "is something wrong with your transmission" when I downshifted from 5th to 4th, to 3rd, to 2nd

[genesis14]

Sounds like the cop was bored. That tends to happen alot to my friend as well, bored cops hassling the general public for no good reason but to pass time and then try to knit-pick your car to find a problem with it and give you a ticket.