LED lamps
 

Does anybody know of a supplier of CANBUS LED flasher bulbs that wont show an error on my 2004 Tourer?
Tried one that said wouldn't error but surprise/surprise it did! Even more grumpy now!

L.e.d.s
 

I get all mine from CREE, they are quality and canbus friendly, can be sourced on EBay or direct from Cree. Mine were fitted over 3 years ago and are all still fine. Lee.

do you have any links lee.

Not after 3 years mate no :D. If you search EBay using keywords 12v, led, Cree and whatever type/colour bulb your after, then a multitude of choices will pop up.
Lee.

I suspect using LEDs for indicators is more complicated than expected. I don't think it's the same as swapping a side light filament bulb for a CAN-bus LED. Indicators are typically controlled by the power demand of the bulb, which fixes the flashing rate. Even with an electronic flasher module, I think the same holds true. This is where the high power ballast resistors come in. They're needed to provide the correct wattage in the indicator circuit the get the flasher to operate correctly. I never managed it without adding large ballasts as well as the LEDs. Seems rather counter-productive somehow.


Ballast resistors: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_o...stors&_sacat=0

TC

This is true. I had to use inline resistors for the indicators to appease the canbus. They are simple to fit and cheap. I got mine with the bulbs and they have given no problems. All my other led's have built in resistors and are also fine. Lee.

Yes, the CANbus friendly type LEDs are fine for all the normal bulb places, but a CANbus LED on its own won't work as indicators for the reason mentioned. The indicator circuit is unique in this regard. The ballast resistors needed here aren't for fixing the CANbus, they're a 10-20watt heavy duty type that consume the same power as the 21watt indicator bulbs. As a power saver, they're no different from standard bulbs, though I suppose they'll last longer if the resistors don't burn out



TC

Amber led,s look so much better than standard bulbs and they don't peel either. I've had standards last around 5 yrs so time will tell if the led's last longer.
Lee.

The danger of can bus leds as indicators is the led can fail. But the can bus resistance stays in place. So you can have non functioning indicator lamps and no warning at all.. for this reason alone I all ways stick to incandescent bulbs for direction lamps...

I had that with an LED sidelight, no warning that it had failed, just noticed when I went to put the car in the garage one evening.