Trouble with LED Fog Lamps

[etlsport]

i did try xenon bulbs, they were still a bit yellow compared to my hids.. then tried a xenon bulb with a blue coating.. that was the right color, but very dim

[vt_maverick]

What K HIDs do you have?

[Buffy]

[QUOTE=vt_maverick;218230]LEDs were fully illuminated with headlights, parking lights, and remote lock/unlock.

When I left work today I clicked the fob button and immediately noticed that the driver's side lamp was about half the intensity of the passenger side. QUOTE]

I wonder if flashing the fog lights when you hit the fob caused the problem. Seems like it would be sending a surge of current to the lights thus causing the failure. If I understand correctly the lights flash when you hit the fob. Just a theory though.

[mdwyer]

I wonder if flashing the fog lights when you hit the fob caused the problem. Seems like it would be sending a surge of current to the lights thus causing the failure. If I understand correctly the lights flash when you hit the fob. Just a theory though.

Although I can't speak for the surge issue, there should be no problems at all with flashing an LED. Flashing IS generally bad for HID bulbs, especially if the ballast doesn't support hot-restrike.

I'm leaning towards the "Cheaply Made" thing, myself, although I will give some credit to the heat issue, too, though I also find it surprising that they would heat up so much while in place like that.

[etlsport]

Only running 6k hid lamps.. Just can't find any regular bulbs that match! After repairing my led bulbs, I'm happy

[vt_maverick]

Installed both the 18W bulb types (Malibu incandescent and No-Name xenon) tonight for comparison and took a ton of pics that I'll post tomorrow. Summary is that with the naked eye I couldn't see much difference between the two, but either one is amazingly better than stock. For anyone reading this thread thinking about whether to upgrade their fog lamps, I think it's a no-brainer to at least upgrade to one of these 18W bulbs. If Mark is correct (in his post from another thread), the OEM bulbs are only ~4W, so you're theoretically getting 4 1/2 times the brightness. The Malibu incandescents are $5 for a 4-pack, while the xenons are $5 each. Contrast that with 25-LED "towers" that run $11 each, plus LED "protectors" than run $2 each, plus shipping, and the LED option costs around $30. Having installed all three options in the last two days I have to say that I like the cleanliness/color of the LED light best, but honestly I don't believe they're any brighter than the Malibu/xenon bulbs.

Meanwhile, I haven't yet received a response from Autoillumination...

[Grif]

I had the Malibu bulbs installed for about a week, and was a fantastic improvement over stock. I still have those bulbs to fall back on, but the LED towers were even brighter and much closer color match to my 6000K HID headlight set. So when working properly the LED towers are preferred, for my setup at least. YMMV.

[etlsport]

Sylvania also has a 921 bulb thats fits our housing that is made to imitate their silverstar headlights. They are about 10 bucks a pair

[vt_maverick]

I wonder if that's the same bulb Mark (deermagnet) criticized in the other thread? He said he got an equivalent Sylvania bulb from Lowe's but it only lasted a year.

Silverstar is supposed to be as white as you can get without going HID/LED right?

[etlsport]

wouldnt surprise me.. my silverstar 9003 bulbs (headlights) would go after 9 months to a year when i was using them.. which is part of why i went to HID. yes they are about as white as i have ever seen from a traditional style bulb. Wagner TruView bulbs are pretty good too, but i dont think quite as good as the silverstars, not sure about longevity

one thing to note is that i always have my headlights on, no matter what.. and im on the road about 1.5 to 2 hours a day. iirc deermagnet has a long daily commute too, so possibly they just dont react well to being left on constantly

[Mile High VX]

I'm stinkin' with the Malibu's.

Mark

That's what she said...

We love you Mark!

I've got the Malibu's also and ther're great!

[Mile High VX]

[vt_maverick]

How much do the Silverstar Ultra's run?

Comparison pics on the way, just trying to paste them into a single side-by-side picture.

[vt_maverick]

Comparison pics as promised...



It was kind of weird, with the naked eye I couldn't tell much difference between the xenons and the Malibus (incandescent), but you can see the difference in the photos. I went with the xenons for now because they're supposed to run cooler and look whiter than incandescent bulbs. If/when I go to HIDs I'll give the LED route another go; there's just no question that LEDs look better with HIDs. In the interim I may try the Silverstar Ultra headlight bulbs that Mile High and etlsport suggested.

Summary: The OEM fog lamp bulbs are terrible and should be replaced as a matter of general maintenance/up keep IMHO. If you don't plan on going HID pick Malibu or xenon, if you are going HID pick a LED bulb. If you do go with LEDs, learn the lesson from my purchase and make sure you buy a voltage regulator/protector/equalizer if one isn't integrated into the bulb.

EDIT: Forgot to add prices. I got both the Malibu and xenon bulbs at Home Depot. The xenon bulbs were made by "Feit Electric" and cost $4.95 each (ouch). The Malibu's were $4.95 for a 4-pack (xenon cost hurts even more now). Depending on vendor, the LED + protector solution will probably run around $30.

[vt_maverick]

Oh and STILL waiting for a response from Autolumination. Grrrrr...