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Water inside LED Indicators


Prith

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Hi! Guys one of my rear LED Brake light & Parking lights is busted. Just noticed it had water inside. It was supposed to be a sealed unit . Dont remember the place I got it from. It there any place where I can just but a replacement rather than the whole kit as I just need one unit. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

Looks like I will either have to drill a single small hole in each of the remaining LED indicators so that the water does not stay? What about a small bead of silicon between the black plastic and the clear cover?

 

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I've said it before.....why would you want to fit LED lamps on a Defender? It was not designed for LED lamps and you are just adding complication that was not there before.

What's wrong with a bulb and holder? Easy to fix in the middle of nowhere, just carry a couple of spare bulbs....rarely gives trouble....been lighting up the front and rear of Defenders perfectly well since 1949.

Edited by Lightning
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2 hours ago, Lightning said:

I've said it before.....why would you want to fit LED lamps on a Defender? It was not designed for LED lamps and you are just adding complication that was not there before.

What's wrong with a bulb and holder? Easy to fix in the middle of nowhere, just carry a couple of spare bulbs....rarely gives trouble....been lighting up the front and rear of Defenders perfectly well since 1949.

...and they've been filling up with water since then too.

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On 24/09/2017 at 5:17 PM, Lightning said:

I've said it before.....why would you want to fit LED lamps on a Defender? It was not designed for LED lamps and you are just adding complication that was not there before.

What's wrong with a bulb and holder? Easy to fix in the middle of nowhere, just carry a couple of spare bulbs....rarely gives trouble....been lighting up the front and rear of Defenders perfectly well since 1949.

Its not adding complication, its adding something that's far more reliable than the rubbish standard bulbs and holders which soon corrode, let water in and stop working. The added bonus of LEDs being much brighter and more easily seen.

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On 24/09/2017 at 5:17 PM, Lightning said:

I've said it before.....why would you want to fit LED lamps on a Defender? It was not designed for LED lamps and you are just adding complication that was not there before.

What's wrong with a bulb and holder? Easy to fix in the middle of nowhere, just carry a couple of spare bulbs....rarely gives trouble....been lighting up the front and rear of Defenders perfectly well since 1949.

Nonsense! The LED is a fit and forget unit which doesn't corrode, doesn't suffer ingress, draws fewer amps and I don't know what LEDs you've been looking at but they are far simpler! The whole "it was what they used for years" argument means nothing because if they were available they probibly would have fitted them..... like most other manafacturers do now, including landrover

 

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LEDs - cannot fail unless you do something stupid, and they are probably protected against that sort of thing nowadays

LEDs are inherently sealed, so you only need to seal the box around the connections to make them water tight.

LED units don't have a stupid screw thread or bayonet that goes rusty and loses connection

There are half as many connections made to fit an LED unit compared to a normal bulb -less connections = less points of failure.

LEDs are brighter than the old lamps, meaning likelihood of you being rear-ended is slimmer.

LEDs were only not used before because of the whole e-mark thing, they weren't legal. They are now as they are an improvement in road safety.

With LED units you don't even need to carry a spare bulb, they just 'work'.

I will say though, that a set of cheap and nasty LED units will give you problems every day, so buy a reasonable set and they should outlast the car, or at least until you drive into a tree.

 

P.s. 'Defenders' haven't been made since 1949 ;)

 

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Ok I'll wade in...

I had a full set of LED lamps [Bolton Bits IIRC] that I fitted to my first new Puma and then took off at trade in time and fitted to the new vehicle, I think that makes four vehicles they served absolutely faultlessly on and they are now sat in my garage waiting for a new home. They were indistinguishable in looks from the originals from a foot or two away yet gave out a far crisper light. Ok later Defenders do have the sealed lens bulb in the back lamps but the LED's proved far more dependable than bulbs and certainly a world away from and far, far better than earlier lamps with separate lenses and front accessible bulbs.

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On 25/09/2017 at 12:55 PM, Prith said:

THanks guys I have ordered a single stop/tail LED from Paddocks. Looks like I will have to remove each of the indicators and seal them with transparent silicon paste so that no water gets in.

 

Use a neutral cure sealant , not some stuff from B&Q designed for windows.

 

HTH

 

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Sorry, you've not changed my mind.

l've had three Defenders and done over 100,000 miles in that time l've never had a faulty bulb holder or one fill with water.

l'm all for technology, it's my job....l worked on the development of switch mode power supplies that are now fitted in everything. 

But l for me LED lamps on a Defender just don't do it. l'll save them for my BMW thank you.

That's the great thing about Defenders though, each to their own. You fit your LED's and l'll stay with my regular lamps.

 

Edited by Lightning
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Well you did ask the question as to why, so we supplied our reasons. As you say each to their own, although most owners try to improve upon Rover/BLs finest penny pinching when it came to lighting and wiring applications throughout the various incarnations of Series and Defenders.

sealed beam units anyone? Lol

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I find the standard Defender TD5 headlights OK but there would always be an advantage with more light.

However l don't like the look of the LED headlamps, l think they spoil the look of the front of the vehicle.

But l can't deny the advantages. I do a lot of mountain biking and LED lights have transformed night riding. I have a light no bigger than a toilet roll centre that puts out 120w of light, and will do it for two hours with the built in battery.

 

IMAG0806.jpg

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The funny thing is, tonight the missus got home (in her 2003 SW) and said she'd been told one of her brake lights was not working.

l took the lamp out and it was 1/3 full of water. The bulb had blown and the bulb contacts were rusted.

l fitted a spare lamp unit but it makes a bit of a mockery of my previous comments about having no trouble with water in the lamps.

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Doug,

Your headlamps look great...but your bonnet is missing!

I used the H4 LED replacement bulbs to keep the 'original look' for the headlights and purchased the LED replacements light units from Bolt on Bits for the rest of the lights (turn signals, driving, brakes) as the old units were corroded and needing replacement.

I like to be seen when I am driving on the street and the original units are a bit small and dim (if you want to attract the attention of the distracted 'texting teens'!) I am even going to attached a raised third brake light for above the rear door. 

Cheers,

Colin

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That's just sod's law regarding that brake light!

I can see both sides.  The LEDs should be brighter and more reliable, as well as less of a drain on the electrical system, but they just don't look quite right to me either.  Most also seem far to directional, focusing far too much of their light along their axis and spreading far to little for omni-directional visibility.

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