How to wire LED tail lights

Anyone ever used SPIDERLITE led 3157 bulbs? and Andrizzle did you use white led tails or buy the red leds?
 
ebay has them for 24.99 for 2...so go with the white you say? because im going to tint the tails also just want light to show clearly when its all done.
 
but since im tinting pretty dark would white make more sence? thanks for your info.
 
If it's a different color, it will show through less. If it's the same color, it will let more light of that color out. Red lens, stick with red
 
Maybe a dumb question, but I assume you'd need 8 resistors if you were doing the brake lamps and rear turn lamps? Same procedure with the turn lamps? Thanks.
 
You dont need resistors for the turb bulbs if you install all 4 of them, 2 in the front and 2 in the rear. You only need resistors for the brake bulbs
 
This must be the results of physics 2!?!?!? Hahaha, we just finished doing resistor/capacitor work. Least I know people do use this sh!t in real life!
 
I got the resistors at radio shack. They are 100 ohm 10 watt and white/rectangular. I first put the one in series; the LED is now properly dimmed when the lights are on, and gets brighter when pushing the brake pedal. Second, I put the additional resistor in parallel *after* the the resistor in series. However, the bulb out warning still comes on. I've tried resetting it, but it always comes back. Alax, I remember you saying in another thread that you had this problem, but you said you had the second resistor in parallel before the first one in series *and* the wrong resistor (even though ou described it being the 100 ohm 10 watt white/rectangular resistor). Are the white/rectangular resistors from radioshack not the right ones for the bulb out message?

Edit: I even tried the 6 ohm 50 watt resistor that I bought from v-led.
 
One thing I just noticed is that if I clear the warning, and turn everything off and then back on again, it doesn't display the warning until I press the brake pedal (which triggers the high/brake wire). This is a Gen I (2002) LS; should the resistor in parallel be going to the high/brake wire instead of the low/running wire like your diagram shows?
 
I used the little cylinder resistors, not the white rectangle ceramic ones.
 
I dont know the difference between gen1 and gen2 tail lights wiring, but 2 100 ohm resistors is how I got mine to work properly. I'm pretty sure someone got gen1 LED's wired in with, it might have been bearsfan, pm him or wait for him to chime in. The 6 ohm resistors from v-led wont work.

Make sure you wired the resistors just like pictured for it to work. Also, until you find a way to fix it, another temporary quick fix for the warning is to press the brake pedal and hold it, then press and hold the reset button for a second or two. This will stop the warning lights from coming off until next time you turn the car on, you'll have to do this little process again. It's just to get rid of the annoying warning noise you get every time you step on the brake.
 
So I doubled-checked the way I had the resistors wired up, and everything is wired according to the diagram. And I noticed that the "Check Brake Lamps" warning only comes on if the car is not running. If I start the car, I never see the warning.

If I get some time here, I will run out and come up with a procedure to replicate it, and maybe someone could check on their car. It's not really a big deal, because the only time I push the brake pedal with the car off was for testing the install.
 
The warning light should only come on when the running light are on. That is the wire where a bulb out is detected
 
Alax7 said:
The warning light should only come on when the running light are on. That is the wire where a bulb out is detected
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OK. I just went out and tested. This is the procedure to replicate the warning message, and it works every time.

1. Insert the keys, and turn to the "On" position, but do not start the car.

2. Turn the lights to the "Parking Lamp" or completely "On" positions (either/or).

3. Depress the brake pedal, and the "Check Brake Lamps" will appear as soon as you do.

Now, if the above steps are done with the car running, the warning message does not appear. Not quite sure what causes this, but like I said, it's not a huge deal to me since I always start and drive the car. I was just curious if anyone else who performed the LED upgrade and resistor install experienced the same thing.
 
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so i have a 2001 Lincoln ls and am having the same problem with my tail light and i don't know if my car is a 1st gen or 2nd gen if i do the same setup will that fix the problem and how hot those resisters get
 
Alax7 said:
You dont need resistors for the turb bulbs if you install all 4 of them, 2 in the front and 2 in the rear. You only need resistors for the brake bulbs
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Does this apply to 1st Gens? I bought a pair of front turn bulbs from V-leds, but I get a front bulb error. They blink as long as all the lights are off. As soon as I turn the lights on I get an error on my dash, and they won't blink. 180755124017
 
silverbucket said:
Does this apply to 1st Gens? I bought a pair of front turn bulbs from V-leds, but I get a front bulb error. They blink as long as all the lights are off. As soon as I turn the lights on I get an error on my dash, and they won't blink. 180755124017
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The LS is a "negative trigger" setup. Most LED replacement bulbs with dual function (parking light and turn signal, for example) will not work correctly with the LS.
 
skizot722 said:
OK. I just went out and tested. This is the procedure to replicate the warning message, and it works every time.

1. Insert the keys, and turn to the "On" position, but do not start the car.

2. Turn the lights to the "Parking Lamp" or completely "On" positions (either/or).3. Depress the brake pedal, and the "Check Brake Lamps" will appear as soon as you do.

Now, if the above steps are done with the car running, the warning message does not appear. Not quite sure what causes this, but like I said, it's not a huge deal to me since I always start and drive the car. I was just curious if anyone else who performed the LED upgrade and resistor install experienced the same thing.
Click to expand...


Like I said, you will only get the bulb out message when the running/parking/amber lights are on. They are on when you turn the parking lights on or when you have the low beams on. In the day, if you dont have the running lights or low beams on, the parking/running/amber lights in the headlights are off and you dont get the bulb out message.



Go out and press the brake without turning the parking lights on and check it out.

Dont know if it works for gen1's, but for gen2's, if you want a temporary fix so you dont get an annoying "BEEP" everytime you brake, start the car, press and HOLD the brake so the bulb out message comes on, while still holding the brake down, press the clear or reset buttom on the message center buttons and the bulb out message wont come on again until the car is turned off, then it will reset and the bulb out message will come on again next time you start the car.
 
My problem isn't just with the message coming up, its that the lights don't blink if the parking lights are in the on position, if everything is off and I put the turn signal or hazards on they will work but as soon as I turn on the parking lights they no longer blink and I get an error on the dash.
 
silverbucket said:
My problem isn't just with the message coming up, its that the lights don't blink if the parking lights are in the on position, if everything is off and I put the turn signal or hazards on they will work but as soon as I turn on the parking lights they no longer blink and I get an error on the dash.
Click to expand...

Your problem is having an LED bulb that doesn't support negative trigger, but I think I said that already. If you search, there are some posts on the electronic or relay circuits that you can rig to make it work.
 
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