Tremor_Brad
Member
Can anyone tell/show me how to remove the license plate bulbs? I got the housing removed, and the bulb socket out of the housing. I just can’t get the bulbs to budge. I broke one trying to pull it out. Thanks in advance.
License Plate Bulbs…
- Thread starter Tremor_Brad
- Start date
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OP
OP
Tremor_Brad
Member
They are not. It’s funny cause the owners manual has a list of all exterior lights and they’re all LED except these.
Some people like to run all LEDs.
On the F150s they were getting very hot turning the bulb socket black so I would expect the same thing here.
That’s crazy on a $80K they still do this on the license plate bulb.
BigOleFordFan
Zoom Zoom goes da "Tang" !
For getting the old-style bulbs out of the socket, you could try spraying on some electrical contact cleaner, let it sit for a while then start carefully wiggling the bulb back & forth to see if it comes loose...
But as rsupak said, I find it hard to believe that Ford chose that area to pull an el-cheapo, ass-wipe move....I guess they figured nobody would notice....shame on them !
This kind of crap just makes me even more appreciative of the fact that my '011 is still running so well, with mostly OEM/factory parts, which were obviously made way better back then....
I've put LED's everywhere else, but now that I think about it, the license plate shiners are the ONLY ones that I haven't changed over, but I will when the OEM ones eventually burn out
But as rsupak said, I find it hard to believe that Ford chose that area to pull an el-cheapo, ass-wipe move....I guess they figured nobody would notice....shame on them !
This kind of crap just makes me even more appreciative of the fact that my '011 is still running so well, with mostly OEM/factory parts, which were obviously made way better back then....
I've put LED's everywhere else, but now that I think about it, the license plate shiners are the ONLY ones that I haven't changed over, but I will when the OEM ones eventually burn out
OP
OP
Tremor_Brad
Member
LED looks better, lasts longer.
Armin
Active Member
What LED's did you get? I've been looking at LED, but the issue is that considering they get the same voltage, all the ones I found were too bright. Some make it almost look like you are backing up.
As a fun fact, I only noticed both of mine went out because my father in law drove behind me at some point. They may have died years earlier. Replacing them is a pain, as the older the car gets the less flexible the plastic and just as the OP, I broke one of my casings making it an expensive replacement. Hence. LED would be nice if not more bright so I never have to worry again.
As a fun fact, I only noticed both of mine went out because my father in law drove behind me at some point. They may have died years earlier. Replacing them is a pain, as the older the car gets the less flexible the plastic and just as the OP, I broke one of my casings making it an expensive replacement. Hence. LED would be nice if not more bright so I never have to worry again.
BigOleFordFan
Zoom Zoom goes da "Tang" !
Well, at least for all the other LED's I've installed, there are normally a few choices of the number of "Lumens" which mostly correlates to their brightness & output strength, like 3k, 5, 10k etc, and some even offer varying shades of whiteness, which translates into soft white, blue-ish white, or clear & bright(est) white....
IIRC, for the headlights, I chose the brightest ones I could find (13K ?), as my goal there was not only additional overall brightness, but also longer down-road range & clarity...
Of course, for the license part, all you need is just enough light to illuminate the plates so the cops can see them (which is what most state laws dictate), so lower-spec'd bulbs would do just fine, especially if there are 2 of them close together....
Note that I got most of my bulbs from da Zon, where they are usually less $$ than other places, with free 2-day shipping & returns (for prime members) if needed...
Some of the other e-tailers had them too, but wanted as much or more for shipping than the bulbs cost, and you have to pay for returns too....nope, not doin that
5280tunage
Full Access Members
I agree with the looks and light level being better, but not last longer. So many LED's these days die faster than incandescent, both automotive and residential. Now I suppose if you find a Cree based LED bulb for license plates, maybe they would be better, but most Amazon-esque-chinese brands die so fast. I've had to replace my LED puddle lights 3 times in 6 years.
BigOleFordFan
Zoom Zoom goes da "Tang" !
Well, I must be one lucky person then, cause the LED headlight, turn, fog, brake and back-up bulbs I installed over 4 years ago are still just as bright as they were on day 1.....
It's usually not the LEDs that go bad, it's often the electronic circuit being used to drive the LED.
LEDs generally don't want to see much more than 5 volts and they generally need limiters to keep them from drawing too much current. Your automobile provides anywhere from 12 to 15 volts DC. LEDs don't like that. So, these LED lamp modules include voltage dividers or bucking circuits to drop the voltage. The circuitry also provides current limiting. If any of those resistors, capacitors, or semi-conductors go bad, the LED module fails.
LEDs generally don't want to see much more than 5 volts and they generally need limiters to keep them from drawing too much current. Your automobile provides anywhere from 12 to 15 volts DC. LEDs don't like that. So, these LED lamp modules include voltage dividers or bucking circuits to drop the voltage. The circuitry also provides current limiting. If any of those resistors, capacitors, or semi-conductors go bad, the LED module fails.
5280tunage
Full Access Members
@bb37 completely agree, but since those are all integral parts of the product, to me it doesn't matter if its a cap that dies, the led is dead. And yeah @BigOleFordFan, you may be quite lucky. there are good brands and bad brands, the trouble these days is that even when you think you're buying a good brand, you crack open a product and find that maybe only the diode itself is a well known brand, but the IC's are junk. There are also lots of cases of inferior IC's overheating, causing damage to housings etc. Heck, the number of Ford manufactured 3rd brake lights which are LED that is see with at least one dead LED... Don't get me started how many LED bulbs I was mandated to buy for my house, that brag about $45 savings over 7 years, but they only last 1 year, regardless of brand.
BigOleFordFan
Zoom Zoom goes da "Tang" !
Well, once again, I must be lucky, since I went LED's everywhere in my house since they first became available, with the oldest being ~10 yrs old & still shining bright, although I did have to replace the one in my fridge after about 5 years
This is the biggest reason that I swapped out every one I could in my Expy shortly after I got it....
