LED reverse lights causing problems?

I put in some led reverse lights on my 96 and shortly thereafter both lights went out.

I've had this problem before on my old jetta and fixed it by simply replacing the reverse light switch.

I'm wondering though if the LEDs directly caused the switch to burn out on the taco and if so I would just be better off replacing both bulbs back to incandescent while replacing the switch.

I know nothing about voltage, amperage, wattage, etc so alot of things I've been reading on here have gone over my head.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Myself, and many others here, have put LED bulbs in for reverse lights and have had no issues.

I have a 1998 FWIW

 

Some LED lights don't have enough resistance and will essentially short out the circuits very quickly. There are resistors that you can add to the ground side that will compensate for this. Google "LED Light Resistor" for ideas or information.

 

But how would less resistance be an issue for a switch? More resistance = more heat, more draw, more watts. Resistors can help fix hyper flashing led turn signals and make the thermal flasher work properly but I don't see how it would make any difference with 12 V reverse lights.

OP, get even a cheap multimeter or check the light ratings to see what the current draw (amps) is (it's easy). Your new led lights, depending on what they are, may be drawing more current than incandescent bulbs and overloading the switch rating. Depending on the bulb, 1156 incadescents draw around 2 or so amps. If your LEDs draw more, it might be too much for the circuit.

Until you verify the switch is bad, the LEDs might also be suspect. LEDs are very intolerant of over voltage and could fry if voltage is too high. They will only draw the current they need, though.

 

too many amps will blow a fuse. that's all. you touch any power wire to the ground, whatever fuse it's connected to will blow. LED has so little resistance that it allows too much power to pass through and essentially short the circuit.

LEDs have very little draw, that's why they are so energy efficient.

 

^I don't think that's how it works. Barring a manufacturing defect, an LED bulb has higher resistance than a filament bulb of the same socket size. Remember the voltage is constant, so high resistance = low current, so low heat.

The LED "bulb" assembly isn't just a diode. There's a small board inside with regulation circuitry and resistors.

 

So if you take a 12 v LED and connect it to a 12 v battery (with correct polarity, of course) it will short out the battery/wires?

That's just not how electricity works...

 

no, it will short out the LED. that's what fuses are for, they are supposed to blow before the component blows. did you really read what I posted? "whatever fuse it's connected to will blow"

 

Correct.

 

And yes, if you short the positive directly to the negative, it will not only melt the wire, but it will probably melt your hand.

 

A 12 v LED connected to a 12 v power source will not short out the led. It will illuminate until the battery dies.

 

The "hyperblink" problem with LEDs in turn signals is because the LED has too high of a resistance (i.e. too little current), so the car thinks it has a burned out filament (i.e. open circuit). When you add load resistors, you are actually adding a low-resistance element in parallel with the LED to reduce circuit resistance, increase current draw, and increase power/heat.

 

Did you read what I wrote "(with correct polarity, of course)."

 

That's exactly correct. Adding low value resistors (I think they're about 6 ohms?..but several watts) lowers resistance in the circuit and makes the thermal flasher work normally. The thermal flasher is just like the ones in your Christmas lights. When it heats up, it moves the contacts apart and turns the circuit off momentarily until the filament cools and it touches again.

 

^That is false. If you install the LED in reverse polarity it just won't light up, in which case you pull the LED out, flip it around and insert it back in. Since the 921 bulb interface is symmetrical, there's always a 50/50 chance you'll insert it in reverse polarity the first time. The circuit won't be damaged by it.

@Fujimori17: The reverse light filament bulb size is 921 and draws 16W. If you get a 921-size LED from a reputable source, such as http://www.vleds.com/bulb-type/reve...bulbs-917-918-920-921-922-923-579-1-pair.html, it'll draw about half as much power. The switch would not be damaged.

 

Alright thanks guys. I think I'm going to go buy some regular incandescent bulbs and see if that fixes the problem, if not I'll replace the switch and just keep the incandescent bulbs in there to be safe. A lot of the replies went over my head again lol but I appreciate the help

 

Oh you have to love the misinformation you can find on the internet!!!
So the reason the LEDs have issues in the turn singnal is because it runs thru a relay. ( a little magnetic switch). The reaverse lights go thru a macanical switch, not a relay!!

Ok so I have seen the switch at the trans mis adjusted and I have seen the rear lights not fully grounded. I would look at your grounding first. My 04 worked great after I added a ground wire.
You can get away with roaming ground with filiment lights but it will fry LEDs.
I added a switch in front and a roadmaster towing diode so I can use the reverse lights as camping / tailgating lights.

Good luck

 

Ok update, I put in some regular incandescent bulbs but to no avail. I'm thinking it must be the switch then right? I looked at all the fuses and they looked good.

 

The switch is suspect but it could be anything. If you can pick up or borrow a multimeter, you can start checking the circuit. Harbor Freight has them for $3 or even free sometimes. If you replace the switch and that's not the problem, you just wasted money. Is this a MT or AT?

 

It's a manual