Tried this in the Tech section and got no response.....
OK, I'm about to pull the trigger on a set of LED's. I Know they're obnoxiously expensive but I love the look. I currently have flush mounts and the sequential module from WebElectric
My questions:
First, does anything else have to go in the line when converting to LED's? When I converted my Harley I recall havking to plugging in a resistor module.
Second, does anyone have experience with the WebElectric sequential module driving the LED set-up? Will it worK?
Thanks, all.......

 

I tried the LED's with the sequential tail lights ...doesn't work. I got them to operate with two load equalizers on each LED but as soon as you put your turn signal on it starts throwing codes in the DIC.

 

One of the big differences between a regular light bulb an LED, is the voltage drop across the device. An LED only uses .7 volts where a light bulb uses all 13 volts. If you were to try adding a resistor in series with the LED, it should work. I don't know what exact value you should use, but I would start with a 10 watt resistor at around 10,000 ohms. If it flashes really fast, add more resistance and if it flashes really slow, remove some, but stay with 10 watt resistors. If the resistor feels really warm, you might need a larger wattage resistor. I hope this works for you. I don't use LEDs in my coupe, so I don't have any first hand experience with them in my car, but I do understand electronic theory. Worse case scenario is you pop a fuse in your fuse panel, but I doubt it. Good luck.

 

Thanks, I sure don't want to start throwing codes or create electrical problems.

 

Using a bunch of resistors is really only necessary in the stop/tail/turn-signal area and is really very primitive and a PITA too. I contacted Adjure, Inc and was able to buy one of their adapter harness' for C5's seperately. It is truly a plug-n-play with the correct plugs on each end. What it does is provide a bypass circuit for your tail lights that lets you use a seperate electronic flasher for them. Your front lights continue going through the factory flasher circuit and operate normally, but now you can install LED tail lights that flash normally. (No "rapid fire" flashing). Another nice thing is that if you decide to go back to the stock set-up and re-install incandescent bulbs, etc you just unplug the adapter harness and re-plug the original factory harness back together. No soldering/unsoldering, cutting, splicing involved at all.

Oh yeah BTW, no codes either.

 

Thanks, sounds promising. I really prefer plug and play. That's why I started with the WebElectric sequential turn signal unit.

 

Got to thinking about my post and just wanted to correct one little detail. Adjure's harness bypasses the factory flasher for both the front and the rear light circuit. The electronic variable load flasher, that plugs into the pigtail socket that is part of Adjure's harness, is an EL12 (Tridon, I believe) and sold by many auto parts stores. After the harness install, the factory (inside the dash assembly) flasher only controls the 4-way emergency flashers, and the LED's that were installed still flash in unison with the front incandescent bulbs just like the original factory set-up when you push the 4-way button.
As I said earlier, this set-up completely eliminates the "rapid flash" problem when you use your regular turn signals. The main thing I like about my LED rear lights is the extremely rapid turn on/turn off time of the lights themselves when the brakes are applied or the turn signal is used. HTH

 

Check out www.superlumination.com for load equalizers. Those may do the trick and they're about 6 bucks.

Dave Q.

 

Interesting thread as I'm thinking about replacing my rear bulbs (just the bulbs) with the new LED bulbs (much brighter, much less voltage). Most likely an in-line resistor will be needed as already stated. No big deal, here's a good/informative link:
http://www.eautoworks.com/html/ord-L...bs-1-33226.htm

Let us know how it turns out!

 

Good stuff Java Can you look at www.superlumination.com and see if their load equalizers are pretty much the same? I'd like to get someone else's opinion since they're a little cheaper. TIA.

 

Looks identical! They must buy theirs from superlumination and tack-on a few bucks. superlumination's shipping is better too! Thanks for the link!

 

Dave, I looked all over their web site and I don't see anything called a load equalizer. It would have to be the same thing, just called a different name. The electronic principals are still the same, you just need to increase the load, or resistance the flasher circuit sees to simulate a regular light bulb. Happy 4th.

 

Just an update. I've gotten a couple of notes from Lawrence at WebElectric Products (very helpful, this is where I bought my plug-in sequencers) and I've sent an email to Eckler's tech support regarding the LED units that they sell. I expect ot hear back from Eckler's by the 5th and then will make the decision. If I can avoid the electrical/code issues and use the sequencing I'll probably go the more expensive units rather than the bulbs only. I tried the bulbs on my Harley and was really happier once I installed the units witlh the LED boards. Thanks for all the helpful comments and interest. It's a great mod......

 

Can you recommend an online source for this Adjure bypass harness?

Thanks!

 

You could just paint your stk. bulb black and wire it in parallel with the LED bulb, then your flasher would never know the difference.

 

Thanks Dwayne! Same to you sir .. have a safe and happy one.

Actually, since I have the euro tails, I don't need to mess with the LE's. My tail/brakes are LED's, no problems. It's when those dag gone signals get involved, that people start having issues.

Java - Good to know. Like I said to Dwayne, I don't need those ... yet.

 

Does the third brake light require it's own load equalizer (resistor)?

Happy 4th!!

 

www.adjureinc.com

These folks are the manufacturer for the LED tail light kits for the C4's and C5's that are offered by some of the forum vendors. The adapter harness I mentioned, comes with the LED lighting kit they sell. I read a nice write-up last year (I think) in one of the Corvette magazines. Can't remember right offhand if it was Corvette Fever or Vette. If memory serves, it was Corvette Fever. The article was a step-by-step install of Adjure's LED kit into a C5.
I contacted them to see if I could purchase the adapter harness seperately. It is only about 5 or 6 inches long, (and has a male plug on one end and a female on the other) and they were kind enough to do so. I think they charged me $25-$30 if I recall. There are two additional wires that are attached to one end of the adapter's plugs that lead into a standard two-pin flasher plug socket. This is what provides the plug socket for the electronic (variable load) flasher. I picked up my flasher at Auto Zone.
The additional benefit of doing things this way is the fact there is now a significantly lower load being placed on the alternator and electrical system as the LED's draw a great deal less current than incandescent
bulbs, not to mention there are no heat issues of any kind to deal with.
Additionally there is no soldering, crimping and/or splicing involved, and can easily be returned to stock if desired.
I'm using Ledtronics' LED bulbs in the rear and they incorporate 24 LED's in each one. They simply plug into the stock tail light sockets.

HTH,
Robert

 

I've got Webelctric's sequentials too and when I put LEDs in they flashed so fast you really could tell what was going on. You certainly couldn't see the sequence. I have a feeling that the extra load that is needed will bugger everything else up with the sequencers.