Hey everyone, I recently switched my map lights out to leds and it looks great. Only problem is when i row down my window, when i release the button, the map lights flicker once and its very annoying. I heard installing resistors would help the problem. However the map light connector has 4 wires and 3 are all stripped so i have no idea which is the ground and which is the power wire. I thing the only solid color is a brown one. Anyone have any idea what to connect this to?

 

Several members have done this mod there is a sticky in the light section of the forum that covers all the map light led etc,,,,, good luck


Howard.

 

I too have the led dome light flicker. Do yours appear to stay on really low all the time?

 

thanks but that sticky only covers the resistor install on the license plate. I have searched for resistors on the map lights and can not find anything. As for the dome lights flickering i am pretty sure resistors would fix this. I just need to figure out which wire is what. I might take a multimeter later today and try to figure it out. Would have been nice if there was one solid to one stripped wire

 

Just remember that those load resistors get HOT..... watch out where you mount it so you dont catch your headliner on fire, melt your map lights or discolor your roof.....

 

I have a sick feeling that we (I have these too) don't need load resistors. We need current limiting resistors. 99% of these little LED replacement bulbs we use for interior lighting are not "Pre-wired". Meaning they don't have limiters installed as bought.
I recently installed a red LED in the little panel in the map light assembly. My daughter has a 2009 VW Rabbit and when driving at night, there is a very subtle glow illuminating the center console. I like it. I bought a 12VDC "Pre-Wired" LED, low LUX, and installed it. The Chinese LED's in the overhead lights I have blink when I open/close the windows. The new one doesn't.

(OperatingVoltage - ForwardVoltage) / Current = ResistorValue

Example:
(13.5 - 9.1) / 0.5 = 8.8
13.5 volts was used as the Supply Voltage,
9.1 Volts was used as the Forward Voltage, of the LED module I'm using,
0.5 was used as the LED operating current,
8.8 Ohms was the resulting value of the current limiting resistor.


Try a 10 ohm-2 watt resistor. Should limit it to ~25 mAmps.

BTW-the very low red "wash" on the center console is perfect. Doesn't affect night vision, but lets one see where everything is. Just what I wanted.

 

Thanks Max, Any way you could send me a link to ones that do not blink? Also i took a multimeter to the map light socket. The outer two are grounds and inner two are power. So:

X= Ground
O= Power
R = Where to place each resistor

[ X O O X ]
|__| |__|
-R----- R-


However on the second R, I could not get the resistor to become hot. I used the same 25amp resitor that can is used to keep the license plate lights from sending a bulb out icon. When i placed the resistors the first R was hot, but it had no affect on anything. What would be the best solution to stop this. Im very **** about small stuff like this lol

 

Without pulling the thing apart-again-I think the second hot land is for the ON/OFF switch. Did you try that?

A current limiting resistor must be mounted "in series" with the LED. That would mean determining which wire provides power for just those lights and clipping the wire and installing the resistor. You would not be able to go back to the regular incandescent lamps.

Not too easy with the distribution lands we have.

The pre-wired LED I used is a panel mount. Like you would see on an electronic component. TV or stereo. I got it at Allied Elec. for ~ $14.

 

Hey Max, Thanks a ton for the info. One more quesiton, how did you wire in the panel mount. What did you attach to the two wires of each panel mount to?

 

I installed dim red LED's in the footwells and behind the seats. I wired them all to the doorswitch via the wires in the passenger (U.S.) A pillar. I made a twisted pair of 16 awg and pulled one pair all the way across the front overhead (I have a roadster) and down the driver's A pillar for the drivers footwell. I couldn't find an easy way to poke wires across under the dash. And it was easier to do it this way alone.

The panel mount is on all of the time. (Ignition on, of course!) I stole power for that and the hardwire radar detector from the HomeLink harness.

I seem to be having some computer problems. I'll post a couple of pics soon.

Footwells and center wash.

All lit up-door open.

Center wash only (Night Driving)

 

Install of the panel mount LED

 

Just installed some LEDs in my map lights about a week ago and now the driver's side is not wanting to light up. I do have the "flickering" when operating the window switches, but today is the first day the drivers side map light would not function. Any ideas? Bad light maybe?

 

For what it is worth leds are low voltage items. Red is about 2.2 volts per led, green is higher at about 3.5 volts and white which is really red/blue/ green in one package needs about 4.5 volts to light. Blue lights at about 4.5 volts.

Leds draw about 0.020 up to about 0.08 amps per bulb depending on the intensity. Some packaged leds are an array and can draw the sum of all the parts. If there are several in a string they have the same current going thru the string - and the voltage drops are added up. Thus 3 red leds draw about 2.2 volts each or 6.6 volts (for the string example) to light and have a demand of current of about 0.02 or higher current depending on the capacity

Most car lights are a string with a current limiting resistor. As the led wants to see some voltage to light, they do not allow more voltage drop without overheating and shorting into a blown led. The series limiting resistor DROPS or wastes the excess voltage and allows their operation over the varying voltage within our automobile systems.

If the example of three leds are used and the car is at a nominal of 13.2 volts, the dropping resistor would have to drop 6.6 volts and at 0.020 amps the resistor would be 6.6/0.020 or 330 ohms. The resistors heating would be 6.6 volts x 0.020 amps or about 132milliwatts or 0.132 watts of power. Not enough to warm your fingers. 0.020 amps of current is very low power led, like the one that shows you your tv or audio system is on.

A Maglight has about a 3 watt led and for 2 cell operation they draw about a full AMP of current to light the yellow led array at the end of the flashlight.


More trivia......Why do they call it a flashlight?????????????


Way back when the battery was so weak that you flashed it on to see and did not leave the light on, thats why they had the little button to blink or flash it on..like a strobe. How we have grown.

Woody Enjoy.

 

My guess is a bad contact