Has anyone changed their lic. plate bulbs to LED>>>

[MCF_TTSHO]

Wondering if my father's 2010 SHO would be the same bulb as my Explorer Sport - the SMD 194 as shown here: http://www.lightdepot.ca/product_info.php?cPath=28_36&products_id=117
Want to be a good son and get him a set as well.

Advice appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren

 

[SHOdded]

IIRC, 2010 license plate bulb is a type 168. Since it is an interchange with 194, I believe that SMD you linked to should work. I think the Ford part number is 13466D.

Now it may or may not fit perfectly, depending on how well the bulb base and socket mate. Some mfrs have a wedge coming out of the base of the bulb, some have a rounded/halfmoon housing, etc. May have to flip bulb in socket if it does not light up.

 

[QwikEVO]

I changed mine to LED's from www.superbrightleds.com

They are brighter than my reverse lights. It makes it nice when I'm backing up with the camera at night.

(for a 2013 SHO)

 

[MCF_TTSHO]

Did you use the SMD 194 5 LED or 9 LED units?

Thanks very much. Want to surprised dad.

 

[QwikEVO]

http://www.superbrightleds.com/more...lbs/3710-led-bulb-3-smd-led-festoon/239/1135/

 

[SHOdded]

Probably not a good idea for license plate lights:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OSRAM-CHIP-...R-DOME-GLOVE-FESTOON-LIGHT-BULB-/321230115012

but thought I'd post it just for grins

 

[MCF_TTSHO]

I do not think the festoon style will fit. I am just not sure if the 9 light will fit or if I should go with the 5 for the SHO.

 

[SHOdded]

This should fit too:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/more...194-led-bulb-15-smd-led-wedge-base-tower/910/

and light dispersion looks to be good.

But if you really want to be sure, you will have to pull the bulb in your dad's SHO, unfortunately.

 

[briggsworth]

I've changed all of my bulbs with LEDs. The interior looks so much better with LEDs then the old bulbs. The only ones i haven't changed yet were the puddle lights. They are a sealed unit so not sure if i want to mess with it yet.

 

[ruhurt]

This was the closest thread I could find, so going to use it instead of starting a new one. Has anyone had issues with flickering license plate LEDs? I received a pair when I ordered my puddle lights from drivebright. I installed the original set in Apr '16, had to replace them in Sep '16 due to flickering (Dan at drivebright sent replacements at no cost), but now the new set is flickering (it's only been a month and can't get a response from drivebright on new replacements).

Is there something specific with the car that may be causing this? Or does it come down to quality of the LED?

 

[SHOdded]

Usually if the LEDs are listed as CANbus compliant, they will have resistors built in to stop the flickering. Alternatively, if you splice in resistors on the circuits, you should be able to use any LED afterwards.

 

[SHOrod]

License plate bulbs should not require external load resistors, nor are they likely to be on the CAN bus. I'd have to suspect that either the connection is poor or the LEDs have a wiring issue. Since the bulbs don't flicker when new, I'd be most suspicious of the solder quality of the bulbs.

 

[ruhurt]

Thanks for the info. Since I've had two bad pairs from drivebright, I will not go with them again. Any recommendations for where to get quality LEDs?

 

[SHOdded]

Diode Dynamics, SuperBrightLEDs, vLEDs, JDM are the top 4 that come to mind.
http://www.diodedynamics.com/store/...011-2015-ford-taurus-license-plate-leds-pair/
http://www.vleds.com/shop-application/license-plate-lights/6418/6418-10-w-ll-c.html?___SID=U
http://store.ijdmtoy.com/Ford-Mustang-Focus-LED-License-Plate-Lights-p/10-092-ford.htm

BTW, some cars will resistors, some won't, there is enough variability in the same model, same model year line.

 

[Mdrew]

Thanks for the info. Since I've had two bad pairs from drivebright, I will not go with them again. Any recommendations for where to get quality LEDs?

38 mm festoon bulbs are the size you need btw.
Also, the license plate bulbs from drive bright are no good. I've tried numerous different brands and I finally found one to work well for a long time...

 

[SHOdded]

Philips bulbs do work very well, and the color is also pleasing to the eye, no glare. In some applications though, I have found them to be oversized, look fine here.

 

[ruhurt]

Thanks for the info guys. I ordered from Diode Dynamics (SMF4 cool white) before I saw the post on the Philips LEDs. If for some reason they don't work out, I will order the Philips.

 

[SHOdded]

Please let us know how the DD bulbs work out.

 

[lepak91]

I had swapped out all the lights that I could on my Focus ST to Diode Dynamics and the light output was great. Quality is top notch! I'm in the process of swapping out all the lights I can on the SHO to Diode Dynamics.

 

[ruhurt]

Got the Diode Dynamics LEDs in today and swapped out the old flickering drivebright LEDs. I think they look great....time will tell....it only took a month for the others to flicker. The quality of the Diode Dynamics looks much better, so my hopes are high. Thanks for the help from the group.