LED's on a 2003

[COBRAJET]

Well I have been wanting to try these because I like the way they look. I loaded up the right rear tail light assembly and got a big surprise... no light period on the right side of the truck. I reinstalled the originals and have a rear brake light only. The signals front and rear, the parking light and the backup light do not work on the right side. My fog lights in the Buckstop which were relayed off the parking lights now do not work either. What a mess... . any suggestions???... CJ

 

[y-knot]

Coba J,



Led's are very, very polarity sensitive. They should only be installed ONE at a time. Before the install, (say we are working on the parking lights) turn on the circuit and make sure all the lights are lite to begin with. Then open one light and replace just that lamp, If it does not light, reverse polarity, it should lite. Now go to the next, repeat till finished. If you just open all the lights and throw in new lamps, it can and will make for a mess. It this is what has happened, I would go back and put all the original lamps back in, and start over.

 

[nickleinonen]

Led's are very, very polarity sensitive

that is very true, and is the nature of the led... some led lamps have a built in rectifier which will allow the led to light up no matter which end is getting power, others do not. the led functions just like any diode, but they produce light [light emitting diode]



for those who do not quite know what a diode is, think of it as a checkvalve for electricity. they have a cracking pressure [usually around 1. 2v] and if you run too much current through, they can be damaged, also, if you try to run too much current through them backwards, you can blow them up internally and the current will flow backwards, but the diode will be toast...



howstuffworks.com's led explaination

 

[sdaves]

FYI

I received an order of bulbs with 19 LED's per bulb from www.superbrightleds.com. Granted, I own a Toyota and not a dodge. The bulbs themselves are MUCH brighter than the OEM bulbs, but when placed on the stock housings they are NO WHERE near as bright. This is due to the housing designed to reflect and diffuse the light from the stock bulb. Our fire apparatus have total led's, and they are awesome, but they are designed for this and pretty pricey. DOnt expect a $5-15 bulb to provide the desired results.



Just trying to save someone else some money. I am returning the bulbs tomorrow.

 

[COBRAJET]

The 03's have a complete different set up than the Gen2's. I have a master plug on both rear housings which plugs into a strip which contains three bulbs... tail, brake/turn and backup. The brake/turn work fine and so does the backup light. When the tail light bulb is plugged into the same strip it blows the right side tailight fuse everytime. . this is a 10 amp fuse. When I try the left side it does the exact same thing... it blows the fuse. The polarity can be changed with the same results. It all plays havoc with the "light out" idiot light in the dash as well. The big question is has anyone got these working on a 03/04? I have not given up... just resting and reloading... . CJ