Hi everyone. I am new to my C5 and have been looking into changing the bulbs to leds but am getting confused by the conflicting info out there so I need some guidance. Some sites and sellers are stating I must have led units that are Canbus ready and others that say my 2000 C5 does not need Canbus ready units. And some sellers that say if you install Canbus led units into cars that don’t require it you are creating a problem because they have a higher resistance. So , looking for those with good experience to educate me please. Everyone have a great day.

 

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your Vette. So there are a lot of lighting options out there. Some are MUCH better than others. To clarify here, are we talking about headlight bulbs, interior bulbs, side marker bulbs? I'll just give you a quick general overview.

First, if you're talking about your headlights, please DON"T put LED bulbs in the stock headlight housings. There are a ton of different LED bulbs sold for use in the stock housings. They are ALL a bad idea. Regardless of the type or brand, LEDs in the stock headlight housings will scatter really badly. They may initially appear brighter. However, in addition to blinding the heck out of other drivers (which is rude and unsafe), it will actually make your long distance vision even worse than the stock bulbs. Everything right in front of you will be really well lit, but you won't see it until you're too close to do anything about it. In addition, some Headlight LEDS will not turn off properly. You will have to flash your high beams to create enough resistance for the lights to close and turn off. If you're really looking for a cheaper option that allows you to keep the stock headlight housing you want to use a good quality HIR (not HID) bulb. This is the very best light that you can get with the stock housing.

There are several aftermarket headlight options that are fantastic. The 2 best in IMHO are the ACA Bi-LED headlights from Sharp Light Innovations. I have the ACA headlights in my car, and they are fantastic. It really is a night and day difference over stock. They are a bit pricy, but they are worth it. The other option are any of the "sleepy eye" headlights from KnightDrive TV. These are a bit cheaper, and offer a different look. With both of these options, you are replacing the stock housing, and installing LEDs. However, the kits come with the exact lights that you need as well as any ballasts or other supporting hardware.

Second, now that we've covered the headlights, there are lots of other lights on the car. If you're planning to swap out any of the other lights with LEDs, you're likely going to need a hyperflash harness. This installs in about 10 minutes, and will maintain normal turn signal behavior. Without one, your signals may flash really fast (hyperflash). This is due to the decreased resistance from LEDs over the stock halogen bulbs. For your taillights, you can just swap out the stock bulbs with an appropriate LED bulb. This will make them brighter, and is fine to do in the stock housings. This is true of your side marker and turn signal bulbs as well. However, there are once again aftermarket options that many prefer over a basic bulb swap. Check out Vette Lights and Sharp Light Innovations to see some of the really cool options out there.

Finally, there are the interior lights. There are various LED conversion kits for the various interior lights. In general, they work well. You will not need to worry about any special requirements for these kits, but be aware that installing them can be labor intensive. I hope that this has answered your questions. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask.

 

these cars do not have canbus at all or use can-controlled lights. super-slow j1850 vpw only. You can use regular 12v light bulbs.

Only matrix headlights really use can iirc. Newer lighting systems tend to use lin.
some fords have blis radar in the light but it's not really prt of the lighting system.

 

Well , I asked to be educated and I was, thanks for your input greatly appreciated. 👍🏻👍🏻

 

^which bulbs are you looking to change first? DRL?

 

For the bulbs I wanted or was thinking about , was all of them. Confusing info out there which seems to be the norm on all forums I am on.

 

Sorry if I missed it but did this thread discuss LED fog light swap. I’m looking at some 880 bulbs that say you need an adapter for CANBUS systems.

 

No adapters needed. You just need correct polarity. Thankfully, most aftermarket bulbs allow you to plug them in backwards if they are polarized and they'll work.

We sell fog lights that are direct plug-and-play:
https://sharplightinnovations.com/sh...-light-upgrade