New LEDs. Wow! Bright!
09-01-2009, 01:31 PM
#576
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I just don't understand how you guys were able to get that metal cap out of the fog light housing! No matter how much I squeezed on that cap I could just never get the damn thing out! Ended up having to modify my own fog lights 
09-01-2009, 01:45 PM
#577
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It is kind of hard to get the cap out and at first does not seem possible. I used a set of small needle nose pliers to start since the larger ones won't open enough in the small hole to grab the cap. After than I used a larger set to partially crush it. Once it is crushed a bit you can start to pull it out of the hole and through a "precision process" that is best described as just twisting and pulling it pops out. It took about 10 minutes the first time and 5 for the second.
09-01-2009, 02:35 PM
#578
You have to shoehorn it out. Once you've sqeezed it, you will only have changed the dimentions in one direction to make it small enough to fit out... but the depth of the cap is short enough to fit out of the hole. So while holding the stalk you have to turn it so it comes out sideways. Kind of hard to explain.
09-01-2009, 07:47 PM
#579
2005 Black RX-8 GT 6M
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Thanks for your advice - am going to test the bulbs in a bit and will update.
09-02-2009, 06:57 PM
#580
2005 Black RX-8 GT 6M
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So it ended up being one bad bulb from my tests. I sent both of them back to V-LED though, because I'd prefer to get a brand new pair and they seem to come in sealed pair packages.
Crossing my fingers. Thanks for everyone's help.
Crossing my fingers. Thanks for everyone's help.
09-14-2009, 12:06 AM
#581
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Do the high power fogs or parking lights bother oncoming drivers? I guess they don't since no one has mentioned it.
I don't want to change my factory HID bulbs. Most of the pics I saw with this setup still look good to me. No one thinks it's worse than stock at least, right?
It's so hard to gauge light output/looks through pictures!
Thanks
edit - Will the V-Stars fit in our brake lights? Are they durable? http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/B...-p6472892.html
I don't want to change my factory HID bulbs. Most of the pics I saw with this setup still look good to me. No one thinks it's worse than stock at least, right?
It's so hard to gauge light output/looks through pictures!
Thanks
edit - Will the V-Stars fit in our brake lights? Are they durable? http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/B...-p6472892.html
Last edited by map; 09-14-2009 at 12:50 AM.
09-14-2009, 06:46 PM
#582
2005 Black RX-8 GT 6M
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Has anyone exchanged defective bulbs at VLEDs? I sent back the bulbs and they want to charge me for shipping new bulbs back.
*I sent them a message and mentioned this. They have shipped them out. Hopefully, 2nd time is a charm.
*I sent them a message and mentioned this. They have shipped them out. Hopefully, 2nd time is a charm.
Last edited by CarAndDriver; 09-16-2009 at 12:34 PM.
09-14-2009, 08:29 PM
#583
Do the high power fogs or parking lights bother oncoming drivers? I guess they don't since no one has mentioned it.
I don't want to change my factory HID bulbs. Most of the pics I saw with this setup still look good to me. No one thinks it's worse than stock at least, right?
It's so hard to gauge light output/looks through pictures!
Thanks
edit - Will the V-Stars fit in our brake lights? Are they durable? http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/B...-p6472892.html
I don't want to change my factory HID bulbs. Most of the pics I saw with this setup still look good to me. No one thinks it's worse than stock at least, right?
It's so hard to gauge light output/looks through pictures!
Thanks
edit - Will the V-Stars fit in our brake lights? Are they durable? http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/B...-p6472892.html
09-19-2009, 01:28 PM
#584
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okay. im planning to do the same with the fogs on mine and is it easy? im 17 btw. and never did this type of stuff on my car. do i just take the stock ones out and slap on the leds or is there some "Conversion" that i need to do?
09-19-2009, 01:31 PM
#585
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Yup that's it, the new LED bulbs have all the resistors built in and are made to fit into stock sockets. The only thing that you might run into with the LED vs stock bulbs is they are a differant size so sometimes you have to kinda wedge(?) them into the housing just be careful and don't put too much pressure on the bulb.
Last edited by Wheeldog; 09-19-2009 at 01:34 PM.
09-19-2009, 02:29 PM
#586
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Yup that's it, the new LED bulbs have all the resistors built in and are made to fit into stock sockets. The only thing that you might run into with the LED vs stock bulbs is they are a differant size so sometimes you have to kinda wedge(?) them into the housing just be careful and don't put too much pressure on the bulb.
10-04-2009, 07:54 PM
#588
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Yep, I've removed the metal dome/reflector/cap from my housings. It's not terribly difficult but does require removing the foglight housing from the car. I'm pretty good at doing things by feel, so I was able to do it without removing the bumper, but just taking a few undertray clips out and reaching my arm up inside. Taking the front bumper off is easy also, so going that route may save some frustration.
You only need to remove the metal housing, not the plastic shroud around it. There are two screws holding each housing in, one on the underside and one and the side closest to the center air dam. Once you have the housing removed, you simply reach in with your finger and move the metal cap up and down. The stalk that it's on will bend right at the base. Keep moving it up and down until it breaks. Now the cap will be loose in the headlight housing, but will not come out because it is slightly larger than the opening. While holding the stalk, reach in with a needlenose plyers and squeeze the cap. Now you should be able to remove it.
Most likely there will be sooty, flaky residue from the halogen bulb on the inside of the cap, and now all over the inside of the housing from your finger. Wash the housing out with water and then let it dry completely (you don't want condensation in the housing). put everything back together and the bulb should fit nicely.
Post some pics when you get everything working!
You only need to remove the metal housing, not the plastic shroud around it. There are two screws holding each housing in, one on the underside and one and the side closest to the center air dam. Once you have the housing removed, you simply reach in with your finger and move the metal cap up and down. The stalk that it's on will bend right at the base. Keep moving it up and down until it breaks. Now the cap will be loose in the headlight housing, but will not come out because it is slightly larger than the opening. While holding the stalk, reach in with a needlenose plyers and squeeze the cap. Now you should be able to remove it.
Most likely there will be sooty, flaky residue from the halogen bulb on the inside of the cap, and now all over the inside of the housing from your finger. Wash the housing out with water and then let it dry completely (you don't want condensation in the housing). put everything back together and the bulb should fit nicely.
Post some pics when you get everything working!
notes:
-There is no need to remove the bumper at all. Use ramps or jack + stands. Take out the three screws and two clips on the bottom of the pieces at the front corners (they are part under tray/wheel well liner). I also removed the bottom two clips on that piece in the wheel well. This makes it easy to pull back and see the light above.
-unhook the wires to the bulb before taking out the housing. There's a clip. It comes off easy.
- The light housing is held in by two screws as Aipex said. The first is easy, it's on the bottom and you can see it from below. You'll need a very short screwdriver to get the second screw on the side. There is only about 3 or 4 inches in there. I used a small socket wrench with a phillips head adapter to get up there.
- The metal dome breaks off easily. Getting it out of the hole is much harder. I squeezed the sides of the cap together as instructed first. If you can't get it then try this move- think of the dome as a hat with ear flaps. With the tab sticking out the hole, grab the end of one ear flap with the pliers and twist towards the inside of the 'hat'. Gently pull out of the hole as you do this, the cap will wedge itself a bit to give leverage to bend it. Grab the other flap and do the same to that one. I did this and it did not take long to pull out at all. I hope this explanation makes sense. Grab the flap, twist and pull outwards at the same time basically.
My fogs looks sweet. Thanks again for all the info/support you've given for this mod Aipex.
10-05-2009, 10:31 AM
#591
Quoting this because it was extremely helpful when putting my fogs in today. Getting the cap out was a bitch! The first one took me like half an hour. I guess i learned something from that because I had the second one out in 3 min.
notes:
-There is no need to remove the bumper at all. Use ramps or jack + stands. Take out the three screws and two clips on the bottom of the pieces at the front corners (they are part under tray/wheel well liner). I also removed the bottom two clips on that piece in the wheel well. This makes it easy to pull back and see the light above.
-unhook the wires to the bulb before taking out the housing. There's a clip. It comes off easy.
- The light housing is held in by two screws as Aipex said. The first is easy, it's on the bottom and you can see it from below. You'll need a very short screwdriver to get the second screw on the side. There is only about 3 or 4 inches in there. I used a small socket wrench with a phillips head adapter to get up there.
- The metal dome breaks off easily. Getting it out of the hole is much harder. I squeezed the sides of the cap together as instructed first. If you can't get it then try this move- think of the dome as a hat with ear flaps. With the tab sticking out the hole, grab the end of one ear flap with the pliers and twist towards the inside of the 'hat'. Gently pull out of the hole as you do this, the cap will wedge itself a bit to give leverage to bend it. Grab the other flap and do the same to that one. I did this and it did not take long to pull out at all. I hope this explanation makes sense. Grab the flap, twist and pull outwards at the same time basically.
My fogs looks sweet. Thanks again for all the info/support you've given for this mod Aipex.
notes:
-There is no need to remove the bumper at all. Use ramps or jack + stands. Take out the three screws and two clips on the bottom of the pieces at the front corners (they are part under tray/wheel well liner). I also removed the bottom two clips on that piece in the wheel well. This makes it easy to pull back and see the light above.
-unhook the wires to the bulb before taking out the housing. There's a clip. It comes off easy.
- The light housing is held in by two screws as Aipex said. The first is easy, it's on the bottom and you can see it from below. You'll need a very short screwdriver to get the second screw on the side. There is only about 3 or 4 inches in there. I used a small socket wrench with a phillips head adapter to get up there.
- The metal dome breaks off easily. Getting it out of the hole is much harder. I squeezed the sides of the cap together as instructed first. If you can't get it then try this move- think of the dome as a hat with ear flaps. With the tab sticking out the hole, grab the end of one ear flap with the pliers and twist towards the inside of the 'hat'. Gently pull out of the hole as you do this, the cap will wedge itself a bit to give leverage to bend it. Grab the other flap and do the same to that one. I did this and it did not take long to pull out at all. I hope this explanation makes sense. Grab the flap, twist and pull outwards at the same time basically.
My fogs looks sweet. Thanks again for all the info/support you've given for this mod Aipex.
They are the same type of bulb (194), but if you are going for max brightness you may want different types of 194 bulb for each application (see links on first page of this thread).
10-17-2009, 01:30 AM
#593
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So I'm confused what I'd need for a complete lighting overhaul...
1. Fog Lights
2. Parking Lights
3. Corner Lights
4. Taillights
5. Center Brake Light
6. Door Lights
7. Dome Light
8. Map Lights
9. License Plate and Trunk Lights
Can anyone help me fill in the model of lights I'd need for the ones I bolded?
Also am I missing anything?
Thanks
1. Fog Lights
2. Parking Lights
3. Corner Lights
4. Taillights
5. Center Brake Light
6. Door Lights
7. Dome Light
8. Map Lights
9. License Plate and Trunk Lights
Can anyone help me fill in the model of lights I'd need for the ones I bolded?
Also am I missing anything?
Thanks
So has anyone found with any of the above listed lights, that the LED lights are just too narrow? LED's have a 30% spread vs. the 270% spread of most other lights.
10-18-2009, 02:25 PM
#596
Administrator
iTrader: (7)
silly question but what's the trick for getting the license plate bulb out?
does the plastic cover come off or do I need to get my grubby fingers in there and twist the bulb?
does the plastic cover come off or do I need to get my grubby fingers in there and twist the bulb?
10-18-2009, 03:50 PM
#600
Administrator
iTrader: (7)
LED fogs would be easier but HID's would be nicer.
decisions, decisions.
decisions, decisions.