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LED interior lights never go out

  • 18-06-2010 10:49pm
    #1
    GTE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭


    Hey all,

    Long story short, because this is my second draft of this post and I cant summarise :p

    - I replaced the two rear interior roof lights with LED festoon bulbs ages ago
    - Since fixing up my front roof lights yesterday I have now replaced the normal style bulbs with LEDs. A mix of 2 wedge type and one festoon.

    My problem is when there is a set of ALL LED bulbs in the front.
    When the lights are meant to dim and switch off, such as when you turn the key to start the engine the LEDs go very very dim but they never go out but if I replace just one bulb, say one of the reading light wedges with a normal type bulb then when the lights dim the LED's go completely out. Its only when there is an ALL LED combo in the front lights do they stay very very dim but never go out.

    My question is: Is there a constant current of very low intensity electricity going through that circuit all the time? So low that it cant light up normal style bulbs in but make LED's light up just a tad?
    I think that the current is so low that the resistance of the normal style bulb kills it off totally but the LEDs do not have this resistance. Or maybe the current of electricity is just residual and will eventually die off over a period of time. I havent tested this because I dont want to kill the battery.

    I cant remember what the rear lights did because I was so perplexed with what was going on in the front.

    Any thoughts? Could I add a resistor to the circuit to fix this?


Comments

  • #2
    GTE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭GTE


    Crisis update: :p

    I went out and checked again. With an all LED setup every LED (front and rear) stays very very dim when they should be off. This time I took the keys out and just sat in the car waiting.

    While they were all dim I replaced one bulb with a regular type. The LED's went out but, when I took the bulb out the LEDs relit back to very very dim.

    So, it seems my idea that the regular bulbs resistance kills the residual electricity is BS. =):p


  • #3
    PADRAIC.M
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,189 ✭✭✭PADRAIC.M


    what car and year dude... yeah sounds like a resistance issue, due to the way it lwers the voltage on dim


  • #4
    GTE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭GTE


    PADRAIC.M wrote: »
    what car and year dude... yeah sounds like a resistance issue, due to the way it lwers the voltage on dim

    Mark 4 Golf from 2000.
    Would I have to solder a resistor onto a bulb or two to help?

    EDIT: Did that and it seems to work. I got some resistors from an old car radio. Seems to work well =)


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