09W211

Ok, so I've been having a problem with my license plate lamps and aftermarket LED's. I was told by the LED vendor that it could be that my car has voltage problems or some other electrical problem. Well my car's out of warranty now, and I have no idea how to diagnose something like that on my own, nor do I know where to take the car to for that type of service.

My question is, would something like this, MTEC Voltage Stabilizer, possibly fix my problem? I was thinking about going with full license plate lamp replacements, but I dont think that's going to fix the problem either since I've already had my stock housings replaced by the dealer and that didn't seem to fix the problem.

MTEC Voltage Stabilizer
http://www.mteclighting.com/product_d.php?id=4&pid=6

Any help is appreciated!

apl175

What problems are you having exactly? The way I read your post it's:
- You have non-standard aftermarket electrical parts on your vehicle.
- You are having electrical issues with those aftermarket parts
- The vendor of said parts says your car must have an electrical issue
- You propose perhaps fixing the "issues" with another non-standard aftermarket electrical part

Please give us more information on symptoms and other observations.

N_Jay

That box is mostly solidified snake oil!

There are three things that can cause "Voltage Problems";
A bad battery
A bad voltage regulator
Bad or loose grounds.

Find a shop that understands car electronics and have them take a quick look.

Probably worth the hour.

Of course an hour or two of labor is most of a new battery, so if you are hand it may pay to replace the battery yourself, and while you are at it check the condition of the battery cables (both ends), the engine ground strap, and the wiring and mounts of the alternator and voltage regulator (looking for anything loose or corroded.)

09W211

Thanks for your response. My answers are in red.
If that's the case, I'll just check for all of the possible issues that you had mentioned myself. If that doesn't fix it, then I guess I'll have to pay to get my car checked for any electrical problems...

AMGAffalterbach

Please let me know how you work this out, I was considering doing the LED swap for my rear license plate since it looks very high-end but I know several forum members have had issues with this conversion.

What exactly is the issue? Are the LEDs burning out often or something?

apl175

I wonder if the confined space of the license plate LEDs is causing heat buildup issues that cause them to burn out.

I really am bothered by the way some vendors describe their lights as "CANbus LEDs" or "CANbus Lights". What exactly does that mean? Do the lights somehow communicate as a registered device on the CAN-high or CAN-low data bus? If so, what information do they communicate?

Or is it more appropriate to say "compatible with electronic filament monitoring systems"?

N_Jay

"Carefully designed to waste enough extra energy to look like incandescent bulbs to the monitoring system

AMGAffalterbach

->Probably why heat would become an issue.

09W211

to get full replacement lamps or try these voltage stabilizers..

AMGAffalterbach

Did you have any electrical issues previously? Because I doubt you have a problem with your 2009 magically after you installed these unrelated to the LEDs themselves. Do the voltage stabilizers have a type of return policy or warranty you can take advantage of? If they don't help and do what they advertise, then return the unit simple as that.

forcefed4door

It's the LEDs... Some cars such as my s4 will not work/ light up led festoon bulbs for the rear. You will have to add second resistor to them on the wires going to the bulb holder.

09W211

@AMG: No electrical problems prior to installation of license plate LED's that I know of. It's not that I'm having problemS out of the blue, the only problem I'm having is with my license plate LED. As far as the warranty/return policy, I haven't looked into it, so I wouldn't know. That is something to consider though.

@force: Have you tried different brand of LED's? Also, which gen S4 do you have? I've seen plenty of S4's with updated license plate LED's.

I think I should mention that the vendor is AZN Optics. I'm not trying to put AZN Optics or Mike on blast here at all. He went out of his way to take care of me and provided me with options and replacement bulbs without questioning me. I just don't want him to have to keep sending me replacements and warrantying the faulty ones. I'm also running his LED city lights and those work flawlessly. Perfectly color matched, no error, works as advertised, and I'm more than satisfied with that set.

Perhaps Mike can jump in and shed some light on the matter. Maybe he came up with another possible solution.

AMGAffalterbach

Did you also get your city lights through AZN optics? If so do you have link? I'm considering the HID conversion and probably going with 6000ks

forcefed4door

Well from my previous statement. I have a b7 s4. And its a hit or miss with liscence plate LEDs. Some people can use the same brand as another guy on same year car and one works the other doesn't. It's very simple to add a resistor to trick the system a bit more than the error free bulbs do. I got lucky on my 05 e55. I ordered the eBay 18pc led kit and the festoon bulbs provided did not creat bulb out warning. The same ones do in my s4 so I added resistors.

09W211

@AMG: http://aznoptics.com/index.php?main_...ndex&cPath=1_4 one of those, I forget which one I got. Just don't get anything too blue...looks way too ricey. Stick with a 5000k or 5500k if you can.

@force: well i would add load resistors but my problem isn't that it's throwing error codes. it's burning out or something. it just goes out. do you think resistors would help dissipate the heat (if that is indeed what the problem is)?

AMGAffalterbach

I hate the really blue look also, thanks for the link. I don't mind the 6000k though I think it's a nice balance - almost an icy light blue.

pinebaron

LEDs will last almost a lifetime (I meant a dogs lifetime, 10-14 years). Low output LEDs, such as indicators will almost never burn out. High output LEDs, such as ones you are using, are frequently mounted on a heatsink for heat dissipation.
Some of the following may sound complicated to few, but I can explain in detail should anyone want to know.
1. Check air flow around the LEDs/heatsink (improve air flow if possible)
2. Measure inline current draw (unless this is stated on the product), or watts stated and not driving too hard (in watts or current)
3. Last Resort (assuming 1 & 2 are fine or unknown or cannot be determined), install a series resistor (current limiting power resistor). Do you know how many LEDs are there in your circuit?
4. A Suggestion: Install a 20-30ohm 3W-10 Watt resistor. I gave that range because you may find it easier to get 3 Watt Silicone-coated Wirewound resistors from Radio Shack for a buck something each. I think they sell 3,5,15,20,25 ohm resistors. If you cannot measure the LED current draw (let me know if it was on the packet) then start with say 20 ohm series resistor. If resistor heats up (to burning point) but light output looks good, you need to double the resistor watts; take two 20 ohm resistors in series, then parallel with another two 20 ohm resistors in series; equals one 20 ohm 6 watt resistor.
Use a lower value resistor (series/parallel combination) if light output drops too much.
You get the idea. The above is a cheap an easy option to try out.

5. Lastly you could use a voltage regulator (probably costs more)

Let me know if you have any questions, need more information or if anyone needs formulae etc.

AMGAffalterbach

Pinebaron where have you been all my life (time in this thread) lol. My question though i that will any of those methods cause a warning because of lowered current?