Nissan LEAF Light Bulb Mods: LEDs Anyone?

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Anyone install LED bulbs for the signals? Do I need resistors for every corner (4)? Or could I just install a set of 2 for the left and right side?
 
here is a question I have regarding load resistors.

do they have to be on all the time?

for example. I engage the turn signal. the lamps illuminate. if the load is too low (such as if a bulb is out) it hyper flashes.

now. what happens NEXT?

I am pulling numbers out of my butt here but bear with me. lets say it needs to see 20 watts per bulb. so 40 watts per side (front and rear turn signal)

If I put 2 LED's in it might only use 5 watts. so I need to add X watts load balancer lets say 35 watts to bring it back to 40.

now. lets say the light is illuminated for 1 second.

do I have to consume 40 watts for 1 second or would consuming 40watts for say .05 seconds be enough to trigger the ok all good flash normally then disengage the load balance and just have the LED connected?

when it goes off and comes back on do the same thing?

IE what about a chip that engages the load balancer for a fraction of a second long enough (if possible) to avoid triggering the hyper flash error out.

this way I will still get 90 to 95% of the energy savings of using an LED bulb over the incan.

this is a shiggles option. IE for the fun of it.

possible? anyone familiar enough with these systems to know?
 
Eggroller said:
Anyone install LED bulbs for the signals? Do I need resistors for every corner (4)? Or could I just install a set of 2 for the left and right side?
You need resistors for all four corners. I have LEDs all around. What irritates me is that they flash at the correct speed with the hazard lights and no resistors. The turn signals, however, require the resistors to flash at the correct speed. :evil:
 
The resistors aren't in use when the turn lights aren't flashing. They only trick the car into thinking there's a higher draw when you use the turn signals. In parking light mode, the resistors aren't used. I use dual colour bulbs in mine, white when the low beams are on, amber when turning. When on white, the resistors are cold to the touch (i.e. not used). They're very hot when the turn signal is on for more than a minute. The power consumption isn't significant.

The only annoyance is the housings have the bulbs pointing upwards for some reason, instead of parallel to the ground. So my whites aim into the sky :/

Chiv.

nerys said:
here is a question I have regarding load resistors.

do they have to be on all the time?

for example. I engage the turn signal. the lamps illuminate. if the load is too low (such as if a bulb is out) it hyper flashes.

now. what happens NEXT?

I am pulling numbers out of my butt here but bear with me. lets say it needs to see 20 watts per bulb. so 40 watts per side (front and rear turn signal)

If I put 2 LED's in it might only use 5 watts. so I need to add X watts load balancer lets say 35 watts to bring it back to 40.

now. lets say the light is illuminated for 1 second.

do I have to consume 40 watts for 1 second or would consuming 40watts for say .05 seconds be enough to trigger the ok all good flash normally then disengage the load balance and just have the LED connected?

when it goes off and comes back on do the same thing?

IE what about a chip that engages the load balancer for a fraction of a second long enough (if possible) to avoid triggering the hyper flash error out.

this way I will still get 90 to 95% of the energy savings of using an LED bulb over the incan.

this is a shiggles option. IE for the fun of it.

possible? anyone familiar enough with these systems to know?
 
You only need resistors on the turn bulbs you switch over. So if you only do the front bulbs, you only need 2. If you do the rears, you need 4.

Chiv.

Eggroller said:
Anyone install LED bulbs for the signals? Do I need resistors for every corner (4)? Or could I just install a set of 2 for the left and right side?
 
the power consumption is actually quite significant. its 27watts per bulb (for 1157's for example)

for 4 of them that is 108 watts. 4 led's are 2 watts. if that. maybe 10 if you use the really crazy bright ones. (total not each)

the resistors would take it back up around 100 watts.

now the question is this. I am going to make up some numbers for numbers sake.

lets say the bulb flashes every 2 seconds. 1 second on 1 second off.

if I turn on the load resistor for .1 seconds and then have it OFF for the last .9 seconds that the bulb is illuminated. is that enough to trick the system to flash normally? IE do I have to draw 27watts for the full seconds or just "initially" if only initially how long?

if yes and for a short time. what might be the process to design such a circuit to do that?
 
has anyone found reverse LEDs that put out more light than the stock incandescent 921 bulbs ? all the ones ive tried so far have been inferior to stock.

Marko
 
nerys said:
if I turn on the load resistor for .1 seconds and then have it OFF for the last .9 seconds that the bulb is illuminated. is that enough to trick the system to flash normally? IE do I have to draw 27watts for the full seconds or just "initially" if only initially how long?

This is a very valid question, and I’m willing to bet it’s not doing the bulb check 100% of the time. You may be able to fool it with a simple arduino, a mosfet and load resistor. When the arduino detects current, it can leave the load resistor on by means of the mosfet gate for whatever time frame fools the computer, then shut down. I think the only way to discover this is by actually experimenting with it. I’ve got some load resistors on order, and an arduino.

I may just have to try this myself. I think I may try this by wiring the load resistor as normal, then experiment with manually switching it off and on.
 
is the flasher relay on this car a discrete component or part of the cars central control system? might be able to change the load it is looking for in the Canbus if it is the latter, or modify the relay like on older cars if it is the former. who has time to dig into it? :)

Marko
 
First time Leaf owner and first time poster. I just purchased my 2014 Nissan LEAF SL Premium at the end of September. It replaced my gas-guzzling old 2003 GMC Envoy SLT 4x4. My car payment on the LEAF worked out to be $5/month LESS than my fuel bill for the Envoy, including a 5 year/60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty!

So far, I love my LEAF, which I have nicknamed "Blue Reticent" or "BR". My original choice was "Blue Silence"...but "BS" didn't sound like a good abbreviation to my wife. LOL! I have a 40 mile round trip commute each day...mostly Interstate. I arrive home each night with 30-40% SOC. I decided to swap out all of my interior, parking, and license plate bulbs for LEDs, as I generally do on all of my vehicles.

The Parking Lights (2825 Bulbs) and the License Plate Lights (2825 Bulbs) were all swapped out with these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DE7UC6C

I have had great success with these bulbs from JDM on my 2003 GMC Envoy and my 2015 Chevrolet Equinox. The High Beam parking lights were also included in the swap and look MUCH better now! The JDM bulbs are probably around twice as bright as the bulbs they replaced.

The interior light bulbs (DE3175 Bulbs) were both swapped out with these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013TWUVMM/

Again, deciding to go with with JDM, I thought these were worth the few extra dollars. They are easily twice as bright as the original dome and cargo light bulbs, if not more!

I am very happy with the bulb swap thus far! I have these guys on deck to be ordered and swapped in the near future:
Reverse Lights: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CRGU91Y/
Fog Lights: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IMVQWDM/
 
Hey, congrats! Most of the time, I see folks with large 4x4 gas guzzlers trying to run us Leafs off the road, lol. I’m glad to see that there’s others discovering these cars for more than just green cars, but also as extremely cost efficient.
 
Thanks! I've been highly impressed with my Leaf these last few weeks! It makes driving to work fun...I'm trying to figure out just how long it takes me to come to a stop in different areas along my route using B Mode regenerative braking only all the way down to 2-3mph. I try to use the brakes only to stop the car those last few feet. It's like a game...that I often fail at! LOL! Fun times!
 
I would advise against swapping your fog lights bulbs with LEDs. For lights are engineered so as the beam focuses very low; if you put LEDs in there, the focal point will change and you’ll most probably get a random spotlight result.
 
thanar said:
I would advise against swapping your fog lights bulbs with LEDs. For lights are engineered so as the beam focuses very low; if you put LEDs in there, the focal point will change and you’ll most probably get a random spotlight result.

While I understand what you are saying, if you clock the LEDs correctly (aim them also) and then make sure the housing is correctly aimed you should get the same effect as incandescent bulbs, my Jeep had all LEDs for the fogs, headlamps, and tail lamps and markers and reverse lamps, and I made sure that both headlamps and fogs were properly adjusted for max distance/visibility but also ensured for safety that they were aimed as to prevent my self from bling other oncoming drivers (I hate those who drive with high beams on and can't be arsed to dim them) so I try not to be that idiot.
 
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