Someone Explain to Me - LED Lights

unit731 · February 6, 2014

OK.

I know what LED light bulbs are.

Got some of them in the house to save electricity.

But on any vehicle. Why?

If one tiny LED goes out - do you have to replace the whole unit/housing?

I was at Mr. Goodwrench dealership - that also sells Cadillac. In waiting room. Nice elderly lady had brought in her Cadillac as one of the multiple LED on the trunk (3rd brake light) went out. The dealership had to replace the entire unit at a sizeable amount of money. This 3rd red brake light was glued on (I think).

Can't just replace one light bulb. The whole thing had to be replaced.

Is this true for all of these new fancy front and rear lights? Can a single LED (out of multiple in a unit/housing) be replaced?

Or does the whole unit have to be replaced?

Anyone?

Chris · February 6, 2014

Depends on how they are wired. If wired in parallel one will burn out and the rest be fine. If in series if one goes out it interrupt s the circuit. As far as replacement if they are sealed in one assembly then the assembly has to be replaced

mike94silverado · February 16, 2014

Depends on how they are wired. If wired in parallel one will burn out and the rest be fine. If in series if one goes out it interrupt s the circuit. As far as replacement if they are sealed in one assembly then the assembly has to be replaced

exactly..... In the example stated GM is just going to replace the assembly rather than have a tech take it apart and replace one LED

MikeNH · February 16, 2014

They're more compact and can be worked more easily to meet aerodynamic needs, lighter weight and the reduced energy usage means less stress on the alternator and thus higher efficiency. It's all fractions of a mile per gallon but the manufacturers will do whatever they can to maximize CAFE numbers.

waumo1 · February 16, 2014

Yes replace a $50 unit instead of a $2 bulb once every 20 years. Makes a lot of sense to me.

Carder09 · February 16, 2014

Yeah I wondered this for my car. It has DRL's as the outer LED lighting in the housing. Not sure how long they will last but I might look into them being they look to be individual bulb placements.

GasHog369 · February 16, 2014

Led's give off a ton of light at a fraction of power draw. Also a great example, one of the most popular mods for truck owners is to replace the backup bulb with a cree led unit. Gives off a ton of light and no worry about melting the lense.

Another good example are the led light bars that are becoming the go to thing for offroad lighting. I have 1-20" led bar on the front of my truck that gives off so much more light and equally than my old kc 6" round could have dreamed of.