Front LED switchback parking light not staying lit

[Jordan Daleo]

Hello all, Jordan here, new to this forum. Just picked up a 13 Edge SEL and loving it so far! The first thing i wanted to do was make it look better with some nice lighting. Already installed HIDs and Interior LED bulbs, all looks good there.

 

I tried looking around the forum a bit and couldn't find anyone with an issue relating to mine.

 

I purchased: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SFSQ1ZMand i'd hate to say it, but i believe they are TOO bright for the front Parking/Turn Signals, the amber lights aren't too bad, but the white light just glares everywhere behind the "edge" plastic in the housing. I figured i'd probably get pulled over quick for blinding people with those. (I live in Jersey, we get pulled over for breathing too loud.)

 

So i ordered a second pair, in hopes to find something a little bit dimmer, really i just want the turn signal to be noticeable and the parking lights to match the headlights.

The second pair was: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KLSZ632. I plugged them in, turned on the lights, and the white lights turn on for about 1/8 a second and turn off, checked polarity and i'm good there. The turn signal/hazards work with no problem (white-off), but the parking lights will not stay lit.

 

I'm just wondering if they are trash bulbs, or if there is something i should know about the Edge before ordering ANOTHER replacement. Thankfully i have Amazon Prime so it only takes 2 days to get bulbs, and they don't give me trouble returning them, but i don't want to go through like 4 more pairs before finding something that works.

 

Honestly i wish i could find something to perhaps slide over the super bright ones to kind of dim them down a bit because other than how bright they are, they work great.

 

Any ideas or suggestions? I have resistors for the turn signals, so i'm covered there. Oh and i don't have DRL (not sure if that matters at all.)

Edited December 1, 2015 by Jordan Daleo

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

If the Z8 product worked for you, maybe you could tint the lens (with film or sprayon product) so it's only as bright as you prefer it to be? I know it changes the appearance when the bulb is not lit, but ...

 

I continuously point to DriveBright.com/Dan for lighting purposes, so I'll be consistent here as well

 

And welcome to the forum, Jordan, gratz on the new ride!

[Brucifer]

I've had issues with using LED's for my front turn signals, too. I went the EBay route for mine. Long story short, the rear, red bulbs I got work great - front and rear do exactly what I want them to do. The pure ambers I got for the front only seem to work on High. I sent them back and got another set, but had the same issue. I don't know if it's a programming issue on the front or what. I'm not a fan of the switchback, but at least it seems I now have a source for a set if I want. I don't want to go through a bunch of bulbs, trying to find the right set either. I have the factory ones in front for now, but at least it will make it easier setting up the resistors in the rear.

 

Not sure how a spray on tint would work with the heat generated.

 

On a side note, if you have the '07 style tail lights with the red cone, don't forget that you can't go too long with those LED bulbs. These 15w ones are 57mm (2.24 inch) long and have just enough room to fit (which is the seller that I used for the amber fronts):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281482509960?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Ford dealership said my DRL's are programmed on, but they are just not showing for whatever reason. As far as I know, the dealership is the only place that can program them on (at least for my year). I'm thinking of adding bracketed ones at a later point in time. If the '13 has those fake vents in the front, I think these could work, but there might be a cheaper version out there, too:

http://drivebright.com/home/shop/ford-edge-led/

[TheWizard]

If you got the DRLs programmed to the front parking/signal lamps then they will always use the bright "filament" (circuit) - bright flashing for turn signals and bright solid for DRL. The only time they would be dim is with the parking lights on with the ignition off (i.e. when the DRLs are not active). Also, many LED bulbs have very little difference between the dim and bright circuits which may contribute to your issue.

[Jordan Daleo]

Thanks for the replies all! DRL is turned off, it's just weird that the white (parking) flash for a quick split second then go out when I turn on the parking/headlights. I ordered another pair of LEDs on amazon, I saw a couple other people had the same problem with the LEDs I bought, hoping it was just crappy bulbs. If the 3rd pair doesn't work, I'm going to dig a bit more into the wiring and see what voltage is going to each wire when switch is in parking and headlights on. Shame the first pair were so bright. I was actually trying to come up with something like a fogged plastic ring to go around the bulb to cut down on the side glare a bit. Hmm, I'll post an update when I get the newest bulbs on Friday just incase others ever have this issue and need to know which bulbs work.

[candurin]

Jordan, I feel your pain. I've been through a number of switchbacks over the years with my Edge. Of all the first half dozen or so that I've tried, only the ones from diode dynamic have lasted (they've been in for a year now). The VLEDs, Amazon, Ebay, superbright, etc. have all failed after a few months (some only a day or so).

 

Yes, the DD ones are pricey, but they've lasted me. The only caveat is that they have popped out of the socket twice and I had to fish them out of the headlight housing. But I put some electrical tape around the socket/bulb junction and they have not budged since.

 

I'm certain you'll find less expensive ones that work, but I bit the bullet and have been happy. Just my $0.02.

[Brucifer]

If you got the DRLs programmed to the front parking/signal lamps then they will always use the bright "filament" (circuit) - bright flashing for turn signals and bright solid for DRL. The only time they would be dim is with the parking lights on with the ignition off (i.e. when the DRLs are not active). Also, many LED bulbs have very little difference between the dim and bright circuits which may contribute to your issue.

 

If you are talking about my DRL's, from what I understand with the 07's, 80% power is sent to the low (high? I have to double check) beams when the switch is in the Off or Parking position. When I got my tranny flashed, I told them to make sure that they turn the DRL's on. They said they are in the ON position, but for whatever reason they are not showing. I normally run in the auto-light mode, but have turned it off to check for DRL's.

[TheWizard]

 

If you are talking about my DRL's, from what I understand with the 07's, 80% power is sent to the low (high? I have to double check) beams when the switch is in the Off or Parking position. When I got my tranny flashed, I told them to make sure that they turn the DRL's on. They said they are in the ON position, but for whatever reason they are not showing. I normally run in the auto-light mode, but have turned it off to check for DRL's.

 

We were talking about turn signals and switchback LED bulbs... unrelated to headlights with or without DRLs.

 

There are two ways that DRLs can be configured. One is to use the headlights at reduced power by Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) which is a method of pulsing the voltage on and off very rapidly using a digital control module. Analog devices such as the filament of a halogen bulb don't react anywhere near quickly enough to respond to the individual pulses so they "see" the overall average voltage and produce a reduced power output. The advantage of doing this is that none of the power is wasted like reducing voltage using resistors does by generating heat.

 

The other option for the DRLs is to use the front amber turn signal bulbs. When those bulbs are used for DRL, they are always run on the bright side (the turn signal circuit rather than the dimmer parking light circuit). This is what I thought you were describing because of the context of the thread.

Edited December 2, 2015 by TheWizard

[Jordan Daleo]

Well, I got the third set of turn signals, not too bright, parking lights white, turn signals amber. I wired in the resistors, everything looked good. Until I made a turn this morning and noticed the turn signals flickered very erratically. So now I have the problem, when the parking or headlights are on, the turn signals work fine, lights are white until I hit a turn signal. But when the headlights or parking lights are off, they flash really strangely. Would this be due to the PWM you mentioned and the lights aren't getting a steady 12v on the turn signal side? Is there a way to bring that to a standard 12v with the headlights off like when they are on? I've never had this problem in any other vehicles that had switchback LEDs. And all of my cars have had LEDs all around.

 

@candurin

The switchback LEDs from diodedynamics.com, are they amber,off or amber, white for the turn signals?

Edited December 6, 2015 by Jordan Daleo

[RickP]

I'm using DiodeDynamics switchbacks on my '12 Fusion Sport, and yes they are a little pricey but do function perfectly. The fit of the bulb to the socket was not as snug as the OEM bulbs, I used heat shrink as a precaution. So far so good.