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ctgilles eyelid LED feedback thread.

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Old 07-21-2009, 01:50 PM
  #151  
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Originally Posted by Azn_C300
Screwing the organizer will end up hurting the community in the long run as no one will want to host something like this anymore and bring products or deals to you.
I totally agree. GBs are completely different animals from normal "store" purchases. It's an "implied gamble" on everyone's behalf.

If Amazon had sent me bulbs that turned blue, I would have been all over a refund. But never with a GB organizer. The amount of work that goes into managing a hundred orders and packaging them all is not to be discounted lightly.

You guys do everyone a service and it sucks that sometimes things don't work out as planned. But either way, it's certainly not the organizer's fault.
Old 07-21-2009, 02:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Azn_C300
but to stick him with credit disputes with BS claims like "your card used without your authorization" is stupid and a flat lie.
That in itself is embarrassing . . .
Old 07-21-2009, 02:23 PM
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On another note, I noticed the Blesk ones from Azn's GB is getting less and less purple! Last night, after driving 30 minutes, it looked 5000k which is a huge difference compared to how purple/blue it was before. Normally after 30 minutes, it was basically borderline illegal blue.
Old 07-21-2009, 04:14 PM
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I have done some lighter testing now, the LED.s wont turn color at all if you leave the brows on without turning the engine on, the feed voltage is consistant at 11.9V.

However when turning the engine on, the voltage increases to ~12.9V, I measured the voltage directly after turning the engine on, and also after 10 minutes after the LED.s had turned blue, voltage was the same @ 12.9V.

My theory is that the slight over voltage (0.9-1V) causes the LED.s to overheat, when this happens something is causing the LED to change color.
This explains why the LED.s will stay blue for a while even if the car is turned off and brows left on.
Old 07-21-2009, 05:16 PM
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Easy LED color fix!!!

I received by LED bulbs yesterday and installed them today.
They did turn blue after 10 minutes, but they were not as blue or purple as the bulbs from the other group buys.

I found a way of making the bulbs less blue, and it's really easy to do:
I took a yellow Sharpie marker and made a stripe (covering about 1/3 of the LED) down the middle. The yellow ink will better neutralize the blueness.
The result is a whiter light even after having it on for 10 minutes.
As the LED is very bright, I think you could even color half or even the entire LED with the yellow Sharpie to make it as white as you want. I will probably experiment with this later this week.
If you put too much yellow marker on the light, you could easily remove the ink with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip.

I don't know if the marker on the LED will fade over time, but you could always reapply the yellow again.
Old 07-21-2009, 05:51 PM
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Originally Posted by aowhaus
I found a way of making the bulbs less blue, and it's really easy to do:
I took a yellow Sharpie marker and made a stripe (covering about 1/3 of the LED) down the middle. The yellow ink will better neutralize the blueness.
The result is a whiter light even after having it on for 10 minutes.
As the LED is very bright, I think you could even color half or even the entire LED with the yellow Sharpie to make it as white as you want. I will probably experiment with this later this week.
If you put too much yellow marker on the light, you could easily remove the ink with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip.
I don't know if the marker on the LED will fade over time, but you could always reapply the yellow again.
the marker/color will fade. i used to do this with the bulbs in my instrument cluster - coloring them blue. the color would last a few months only tho.
Old 07-21-2009, 06:59 PM
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I'm not home, so posting from my BB so I'll keep it short.

First of all a big thanks to AZN, the second person I informed about the chargeback when I got the mail. What he said is what I was trying to say.

Second of all: the chargeback done by a member was -luckily- an error by a family member when reviewing his or her account. It's not fun and I thought it was for real, because said member had already suggested a chargeback. But it wasn't his or hers fault and we'll correct the problem. Also a thanks to that member for not being a dick


I'm not home so only a short reply... Life's too short to argue!


Regards my friends
Old 07-21-2009, 08:01 PM
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2008 Black Out C350 Saks Edition / 87 VW GTI
Originally Posted by Azn_C300
I know some of you have made threats to get a refund and one of you already is trying. I just want to voice my opinion that doing so is total BS. Even though it wasn't my GB, I've held one before and we're going out on a limb to help the forum community. We're not turning profit and trust me, there's a lot of work that goes into keeping track of orders, repackaging, and mailing back out. If you do charge backs, the GB organizer is the one eating the charge, NOT the manufacturer. When you buy from these forum community group buys, you're taking a risk as we're just forum car enthusiasts like you, not a business. CTGilles is already trying to get warranty replacements and fighting for you, but to stick him with credit disputes with BS claims like "your card used without your authorization" is stupid and a flat lie. I know who the person is and don't want to make your name public, but seriously, your actions are really selfish. I know you can all argue that he claimed these LEDs are white with no color change, but until anything has been confirmed by more than one source on more than one test vehicle, you should obviously take that claim with a grain of salt. Heck, do you also believe those ads that claim they can make you "bigger" down there or lose 100lbs in 5 days? Claims need to be verified obviously and what works for one, might not for another. This is a process that we've all been going through together, trying to find the best solution to something that obviously bothers all of us. If you don't want to be a part of the process, then don't participate and wait till a solution has been found and verified. There's always a risk in being among the first and if you don't want to assume that risk, sit out.

Screwing the organizer will end up hurting the community in the long run as no one will want to host something like this anymore and bring products or deals to you.


Originally Posted by ctgilles
I'm not home, so posting from my BB so I'll keep it short.

First of all a big thanks to AZN, the second person I informed about the chargeback when I got the mail. What he said is what I was trying to say.

Second of all: the chargeback done by a member was -luckily- an error by a family member when reviewing his or her account. It's not fun and I thought it was for real, because said member had already suggested a chargeback. But it wasn't his or hers fault and we'll correct the problem. Also a thanks to that member for not being a dick


I'm not home so only a short reply... Life's too short to argue!


Regards my friends

That Member it’s me, first I apologize to Gills, it was a miscommunication on my side, just to make a story short, I place my order on June 30th at the very last minute, my card wasn’t working so I used my wife’s card and I forgot to tell her, she got her monthly statement and there was a charge she did not made (she got scam once and what a headache that was) she cancel her card and reported fraudulent charges.

Gills hope everything is square out by now.
Old 07-21-2009, 09:43 PM
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Well, after only 2 days of installing the leds, one of my left eyelid leds went out and had to go bak to stock on that side... I am now running stock yellow eyelids on the inner parts and leds on the outer. It actually doesnt look bad at all. I am very frustrated at the fact that this thing only lasted me 2 days.. I was actually happy with the light blue color.

EDIT: The led appeared like it overheated and also the light socket looked like some overheat issue took place causing the LED to stop working!

Last edited by soldier2304; 07-21-2009 at 09:46 PM.
Old 07-21-2009, 09:53 PM
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Originally Posted by soldier2304
EDIT: The led appeared like it overheated and also the light socket looked like some overheat issue took place causing the LED to stop working!

gah.. that makes me cautious about installing them on the eyelids. especially with the summer weather hovering around the high 90's here.
Old 07-21-2009, 10:12 PM
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gah.. that makes me cautious about installing them on the eyelids. especially with the summer weather hovering around the high 90's here.
Are we now saying that these LEDs can overheat? Anyone else experiencing these issues?
Old 07-22-2009, 12:13 AM
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Originally Posted by kaku
gah.. that makes me cautious about installing them on the eyelids. especially with the summer weather hovering around the high 90's here.
I've been running them all summer here in Hawaii and they are fine.

I will try to tonight remove the cover plugs to the eyelids and see if the ventilation helps with the color change.

It has been cool at nights the past few days, could explain why I didn't notice them too blue.
Old 07-22-2009, 12:52 PM
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Originally Posted by system7
Are we now saying that these LEDs can overheat? Anyone else experiencing these issues?
Knowing a lot about LED lighting in my field, LEDs are more efficient and work better the colder it is, but the hotter it gets the faster the LEDs will wear out or malfunction.
The issue with these LED bulbs is that it has a built in resistor, which is the primary source of the heat. You could use any kind of LED bulbs and install a resistor further down the wires so that it is not so close to the bulb. Also you could choose a resistor that will keep the voltage to less than 12v so that you won't have the changing color issue.

With that in mind I will probably leave the back covers off so that it is a little cooler -- water rarely gets back in there and I live in a dry climate.

Last edited by aowhaus; 07-22-2009 at 12:54 PM.
Old 07-22-2009, 01:13 PM
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Originally Posted by aowhaus
With that in mind I will probably leave the back covers off so that it is a little cooler -- water rarely gets back in there and I live in a dry climate.
that is excatly what i was thinking to do... others have talked about it fogging up in there... but one of these leds have heated up to the point the solder melted and the resistor moved!... so i definitely need to make a change.
Old 07-22-2009, 10:46 PM
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I'm going to keep a close eye on mine. It gets fairly hot in Toronto during the summer months - although not so much this year. The last thing I need is to melt anything on a leased car, especially since as of late all manufactures have been going over returned cars with a fine tooth comb.
Old 07-27-2009, 10:16 AM
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If anyone has an extra pair of LEDs they want to get rid off PM ME. I will grab it from you. I am currently running one led on each side and one stock bulb on the inner side of my eyelids. It actually doesn'nt look bad but i want to go back to how it was!
Old 07-27-2009, 10:49 AM
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Just found that one of the LEDs from this GB had stopped working. When I took out the malfunctioning LED, here's what I found...





Judging by the feedback on this thread, this is a common problem.

I am just glad that it did not cause any damage to the wiring or the housing.

Starting to think that LEDs are not the way to go for the eyelids.
Old 07-27-2009, 11:00 AM
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wow i am definitely removing the back covers when i get home... these things get wayyy too hot.


hmm both of us are from toronto too... interesting...

Last edited by TB5...; 07-27-2009 at 11:10 AM.
Old 07-27-2009, 11:03 AM
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Out of fear that I might jinx my LEDs, I won't be commenting on the amount of hours I've accidentally left them on.
Old 07-27-2009, 02:19 PM
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removed my back covers right away
Old 07-27-2009, 02:21 PM
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Originally Posted by peabers
Just found that one of the LEDs from this GB had stopped working. When I took out the malfunctioning LED, here's what I found...





Judging by the feedback on this thread, this is a common problem.

I am just glad that it did not cause any damage to the wiring or the housing.

Starting to think that LEDs are not the way to go for the eyelids.

how long did you have those leds installed before that one did burn?
Old 07-27-2009, 02:31 PM
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Originally Posted by peabers
Just found that one of the LEDs from this GB had stopped working. When I took out the malfunctioning LED, here's what I found...





Judging by the feedback on this thread, this is a common problem.
I’m debating on installing them I may use them for dome lights stead, but in the other hand is just a hand full of LED that have failed.

Last edited by tanktube67; 07-27-2009 at 05:22 PM.
Old 07-27-2009, 04:47 PM
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thas true.

out of 200 leds, only 3 or so have failed..
Old 07-27-2009, 05:21 PM
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2008 Black Out C350 Saks Edition / 87 VW GTI
Originally Posted by tanktube67
In the other hand is just a hand full of LED that have failed.
I just installed them, some members are talking about leaving the caps off for cooling/ventilation, I just drilled out a couple 1/4" holes on each side of the caps hopping it may help.
Old 07-27-2009, 11:24 PM
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Originally Posted by whn
how long did you have those leds installed before that one did burn?
@whn -- Installed them on last Monday. Burned out on Saturday. 6 days -- 200km of driving.


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