Can it be this complicated?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
From: Bolingbrook Illinois
Can it be this complicated?
I had some Bubba light sockets for my taillights. I switched all four to new ones and put in LED bulbs. The wife took the car to work Friday and she had a bunch of folks yelling at her for no tail lights.
First thing I found out is LEDs are sensitive. They were shot, no idea why. I replaced them with std incandescent and here is what is happening. With the headlights OFF, brakelights and turn signals work. With headlights ON, the taillights come on in the "brakes on" mode (bright) and no turnsignals and no difference when stepping on the brake pedal (still blinking on the dash). Reverse lights are funtioning normally.
Of course they worked great before I fixed them (except when it rained, the bubba sockets leaked).
I tried searching threads but there are too many!
Appreciate any ideas
First thing I found out is LEDs are sensitive. They were shot, no idea why. I replaced them with std incandescent and here is what is happening. With the headlights OFF, brakelights and turn signals work. With headlights ON, the taillights come on in the "brakes on" mode (bright) and no turnsignals and no difference when stepping on the brake pedal (still blinking on the dash). Reverse lights are funtioning normally.
Of course they worked great before I fixed them (except when it rained, the bubba sockets leaked).
I tried searching threads but there are too many!
Appreciate any ideas
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
From: Bolingbrook Illinois
I checked the wiring diagram and everything matches. I have gone back to regular incandescent bulbs; the LED's worked OK with stock flasher.
Is it feaseable that I got two miswired new sockets? They were from a vendor, not OEM.
Is it feaseable that I got two miswired new sockets? They were from a vendor, not OEM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 857
Likes: 1
From: Morrisonville Illinios
The LED's take so little current that they can give the feedback to the flasher that the bulbs are burnt out. We have had this trouble off and on on some of the bikes and cars we have worked on and have had to put some resitors in to help out(some of the led bulbs they are built in). It does sound like you have a bubba on the wiring mismatch (bad ground?). Good luck and let us know how it works out. wro87
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
I always put bulbs in new sockets, and test with a car battery which wire is for which intensity. The socket may be correct but that doesn't mean the bulb is matched to it. The LED bulbs could have been backwards from incandescents so when you installed the LEDs they didn't work properly.
