Hi,
Updating my 2001 Swift Challenger 530se. If I put replacement LED bulbs in the caravan running (sidelights) it immediately blows the internal caravan fuse coming off the 12 N wire, when I revert to normal filament bulbs this does not happen. Anyone know why this is??
Quote: Originally posted by trog100 on 25/5/2021
all i can think of is the led bulbs dont fit properly..
the leds should draw less current which dosnt fit with blown fuses..
trog
I quite agree.
First thing I thought of was reversed polarity, but that is probably not possible if they fit the existing holders, and in any case they would simply not work, they wouldn't blow fuses. I'm still curious as to how come running lights are blowing fuses in the caravan. They aren't usually fused through the caravan's internal wiring.
Quote: Originally posted by KBTCvan on 25/5/2021
Hi There ia a fuse internally in caravan under front drawers that covers Lh indicator RH indicator and tail/sidelights.
Hi, is that a standard fitting or has the wiring been modified by a previous owner, as caravan running lights are normally only fused through the car's fuses. If it's original it is really unusual, I have never seen one like it and I can't quite see the point. The running lights are supplied by the car's electrics, through the car's fuses. The caravan's internal 12 volt systems are supplied by the caravan's internal battery or from the EHU, and these are obviously fused internally.
Just checked on a Swift handbook, and much to my surprise too Colin21 (no road light fuses in my 2016 Lunar!) there is indeed a standard fuse box for road lights in the van!
If system normally OK with standard bulbs, then two scenarios come immediately to mind, as mentioned before, the LED bulb itself is shorting terminals in lamp fitting, the other is that the LED bulb pushes the moving contact at base of lamp holder further in than old filament bulb did, and this is causing a internal short within the lamp housing.
I suppose it's not completely out of the question that the new LED bulb itself is faulty with an internal short! Have you tried a different LED bulb in lamp?
Slightly off topic but relevant, to the best of my knowledge, retrofit LED bulbs are not legal on road lights! Retailers, at least the reputable ones, sell them with a disclaimer of "for internal or off road use only". There is certainly no shortage of them available, and no doubt in use, but unless it is 'E' marked (A capital 'E' followed by a number, all within a circle) then it's not approved for use on road lights, and as far as I know, none are, because I don't think the regulation even exists to approve them to, it's never been updated from filament bulbs! OEM lamps with integrated LED illuminators fall under different regulations and can be approved. Like most things, you've got to get caught first, but no defence if you are. I wish they were legal, I'd swap mine over.
all my van light have been swapped over to leds there are logical reasons to do this.. but i have left the running lights alone i cant see a gain from doing this..
Quote: Originally posted by Monty15 on 25/5/2021
Just checked on a Swift handbook, and much to my surprise too Colin21 (no road light fuses in my 2016 Lunar!) there is indeed a standard fuse box for road lights in the van!
If system normally OK with standard bulbs, then two scenarios come immediately to mind, as mentioned before, the LED bulb itself is shorting terminals in lamp fitting, the other is that the LED bulb pushes the moving contact at base of lamp holder further in than old filament bulb did, and this is causing a internal short within the lamp housing.
I suppose it's not completely out of the question that the new LED bulb itself is faulty with an internal short! Have you tried a different LED bulb in lamp?
Well that certainly comes as a surprise to me Monty15. I've never heard of that before and I really can't see the point. I wonder why they did that?
I'm inclined to agree that the LED bulbs are somehow causing a short in the fitting, and it is that which is causing the fuse to blow. Unless, as you say, the LED bulb itself is faulty.
What type of bulbs are they? I ordered some LED daytime bulbs for the car and they blew the fuse because the common for both LEDs was configured wrong for the bulbholder
Just out of curiosity I wonder why you want to change to LED bulbs on the road lights. I can understand why you would change the interior lights to save electricity but there is nothing to be saved on the running lighting.
DaveS1
my advice in this case is simple.. the gains from led running lights are not worth the hassle.. put the original bulbs back and forget about the led conversion.. :)
A quick Google shows that blown fuses (on cars) when changing to 5W wedge LED bulbs is quite a common problem!
Didn't find a definitive solution, other than different (brand/type) bulb often worked OK, but suggestion construction of some bulbs caused a dead short in bulb holder!
You may find the bulbs you have just wont work in your lamps, new different brand/type bulbs may be a solution other than carry on with old filament bulbs. Or if you are thinking of swapping to new lamps, you might as well go to integrated LED illuminator type as factory fitted on my van and dispense with separate bulbs.
If you are changing to LEDs to improve reliability (avoiding blown bulbs), you may actually find that is not the way it turns out, LEDs draw such low current that they don't have any 'self cleaning' effect on contacts and corrosion/oxidation can eventually stop them working, filament bulbs have a high start up surge current and a high enough running current that it often 'blasts' it's way through any corrosion build up. Also they run hot enough to drive any corrosion causing moisture out of the lamp and that helps keep corrosion at bay, LEDs run pretty cool and won't have that drying effect.
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Topic: LED bulbs and blown fuses
via mobile 26/5/2021 at 6:39am
