LED festoon bulbs that finally work for my S500
05-25-2007, 02:42 PM
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Mercedes S500 Sport
LED festoon bulbs that finally work for my S500
Hey guys,
After several hundred dollars ordering various LEDs to light up my license plate like the ones on the Lexus I finally found one that actually stays on without blinking every 5 seconds and without the need for a resistor. There is a good and bad. The good is that the festoon bulb that I am using is an 18LED and it is crazy bright and if you have a silver or white car is probably even brighter than the one Lexus uses for their rear license illumination. The bad thing is that there is still a blown bulb indicator but I can live with.for now till I find a way to solder a resistor to the connector, which I'll probably need to take apart the inside trunk door. Anyways, I ordered the previous 9 LED 39mm bulb from the same guy that was recommended on this forum (warden_jp) and I read that most had to install a resistor to even keep it on, but the problem end up being a overheated resistor and melted LED bulb. Well, I ordered an 18 LED 39mm from the same guy and almost hesistated to put it on (was going to use it for the interior) but tried it and I was blown away that it stayed on. The 18 LED is unbelivably bright and for $6.00 each, you cannot complain. Let me know if any of you guys need a pic of my car illuminated. I'll take one tonight. Here is a link to the bulb. Tell Warden_jp that you heard it from me. Let me know how it works out for those seeking this mod! I loved it so much that I ordered like 12 more for the interior of my S500 and X5.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...7174102&rd=1,1
I also order this for the four rear map lights. Mercedes uses a 194 bulb but the problem with using LEDs is that it's directional and the housing positions the bulb horizontally so the LED would shine horizontally and not directly down. I notice that Warden_jp just released this flank 194 LED so it should work perfectly for the rear map lights.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-...7284QQtcZphoto
----Phil
After several hundred dollars ordering various LEDs to light up my license plate like the ones on the Lexus I finally found one that actually stays on without blinking every 5 seconds and without the need for a resistor. There is a good and bad. The good is that the festoon bulb that I am using is an 18LED and it is crazy bright and if you have a silver or white car is probably even brighter than the one Lexus uses for their rear license illumination. The bad thing is that there is still a blown bulb indicator but I can live with.for now till I find a way to solder a resistor to the connector, which I'll probably need to take apart the inside trunk door. Anyways, I ordered the previous 9 LED 39mm bulb from the same guy that was recommended on this forum (warden_jp) and I read that most had to install a resistor to even keep it on, but the problem end up being a overheated resistor and melted LED bulb. Well, I ordered an 18 LED 39mm from the same guy and almost hesistated to put it on (was going to use it for the interior) but tried it and I was blown away that it stayed on. The 18 LED is unbelivably bright and for $6.00 each, you cannot complain. Let me know if any of you guys need a pic of my car illuminated. I'll take one tonight. Here is a link to the bulb. Tell Warden_jp that you heard it from me. Let me know how it works out for those seeking this mod! I loved it so much that I ordered like 12 more for the interior of my S500 and X5.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...7174102&rd=1,1
I also order this for the four rear map lights. Mercedes uses a 194 bulb but the problem with using LEDs is that it's directional and the housing positions the bulb horizontally so the LED would shine horizontally and not directly down. I notice that Warden_jp just released this flank 194 LED so it should work perfectly for the rear map lights.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-...7284QQtcZphoto
----Phil
05-25-2007, 02:55 PM
#2
This is good but from past experiences, these festoons burn at a higher temp and they tend to fry the wire harness so be careful and keep checking your harness. Post some pics at night.
05-25-2007, 03:25 PM
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Mercedes S500 Sport
Good point. I left it on for several hours (connected battery to charger) and no increase in temp so I am assuming because of a lack of a resistor or low ohm resistor, there is virtually no heat. I'll take some pics tonight but it looks awesome. I keep staring at it at night and every time I get out of my car. Makes a big visual difference.
