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LED fog light bulb upgrade

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by F8L, Jan 8, 2011.

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  1. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    *UPDATE* The driver side LED is failing already. I would not recommend this mod. Look into an HID kit instead.

    I decided to change out my fog light bulbs to LEDs to better match the color of my HID headlights. The fog lights are pretty useless so reducing light output for the sake of aesthetics is fine with me. We'll see if they last the week or burn out like my taillights did. lol
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 F8L, Jan 8, 2011
  2. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    Hey that matches pretty well! Yeah, you don't get the wall light like you do with HIDs or the practicality of halogens, but you'll be saving power and heat. Definitely let us know if they last!
     
    #2 macmaster05, Jan 8, 2011
  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Definitely! The lights are a tad more blue than the headlights but I intend to change the HID bulbs to 6k bulbs eventually and they should match well. What you see in the pictures above are only half warmed up bulbs so after a minute or two the headlights may be a but more yellow.
     
    #3 F8L, Jan 8, 2011
  4. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    oh what bulbs did u use btw?
     
    #4 macmaster05, Jan 8, 2011
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I apologize for not including the bulb info. I'm at my GFs and don't "have the info with me. I'll amend my post when I get home on Monday. :)
     
    #5 F8L, Jan 8, 2011
  6. PhazonPhobe

    PhazonPhobe His name is Sora

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    Ohhh. I quite like that. I had just posted a thread about whether or not to replace mine with LEDs. That's almost exactly what I was looking for too. Fogs are just a bit bluer than the headlights. I'm assuming you have 6000k's?
     
    #6 PhazonPhobe, Jan 9, 2011
  7. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Sora, I am still using the stock HIDs which are 4k or so. I plan on changing to 6k as soon as I can afford it though. Wait a few weeks and see if my LEDs last before trying this mod though. :)
     
    #7 F8L, Jan 9, 2011
  8. PhazonPhobe

    PhazonPhobe His name is Sora

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    Ahh. That would explain the slight color difference. It really is difficult to catch the full intensity of HIDs on a camera.
     
    #8 PhazonPhobe, Jan 10, 2011
  9. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I think the driver side bulb may have burned out already. It worked fine after a long drive back from SF but later I made a quick run to Target, which has hybrid and electric only parking btw, and noticed one bulb was out. I'll check it again in the morn.
     
    #9 F8L, Jan 10, 2011
  10. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    Doh! Do you check to see that your fogs still work by looking at the reflections in other people's bumpers? Lol, cause I do.
     
    #10 macmaster05, Jan 10, 2011
  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Nice mod. The short life of the LEDs are a concern. Is it b/c of the lack of a heat sink?
     
    #11 Tideland Prius, Jan 10, 2011
  12. AkustaVirtaa

    AkustaVirtaa Sähköistäjä

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    Mine DIY LED bulbs worked about 1 month with very heavy heat sink (All resistors also outside lamp).

    I think, that air space for cooling is not enough inside lamp, even this my DIY project heat sink was transferring heat outside to lamp, but apparently not enough…
     
    #12 AkustaVirtaa, Jan 10, 2011
  13. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I do! lol

    I checked the lights this morning and they were both working. I wonder if they just don't like being cycled on and off because when I stopped last night I turned off the car then remembered to check the fog lights so I turned them back on.
     
    #13 F8L, Jan 10, 2011
  14. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I'm guessing that heat dissipation is the main problem but the LED heat tolerance must be very low because the housing nor the bulbs feel very hot. I wonder if there could be an issue with voltage/current fluctuation.
     
    #14 F8L, Jan 10, 2011
  15. Simtronic

    Simtronic Active Member

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    2004 and 2005 Prius don't require resistors (no can monitoring) thus don't get hot and seem to last mine have been trouble free for over a year now. I have noticed some LED's have resistors right on top of the LED part of the lamp and I think this could cause thermal issues.
     
    #15 Simtronic, Jan 10, 2011
  16. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    What lights did you replace with LEDs that have been trouble free? So far it seems like the interior lights are fine but the tail lights are problematic and time will tell on the fog lights. I hope the tail lights are the only problem.
     
    #16 F8L, Jan 10, 2011
  17. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    It seems like any LED that is on for an extended amount of time (parking lights, fogs, tails, etc) might give issues. That's why the license plate LEDs worry me at times. But then I feel better after I put my car in reverse and see the blinding light in my rear view camera. :)
     
    #17 macmaster05, Jan 10, 2011
  18. PhazonPhobe

    PhazonPhobe His name is Sora

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    I still think you should just splurge and go for the HIDs. They come in all kinds of flavors, so you can get which ever you fancy.
     
    #18 PhazonPhobe, Jan 13, 2011
  19. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    phazon, did you install your HIDs yet?
     
    #19 macmaster05, Jan 13, 2011
  20. PhazonPhobe

    PhazonPhobe His name is Sora

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    #20 PhazonPhobe, Jan 13, 2011
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