Can you upgrade the internal boot lights to LEDs on a C216 without a Canbus error message?

Submariner1

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having got the boot liner out.
I always found the orangy coloured 5W boot lights quite dingy.
So wondered can one swap them for LEDs ? brighter , dont get hot, and a lot less power consumption.
Or are they also on the Canbus warning system too?
 

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You can in the CLS , with no errors.

Kenny
 

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I've upgraded the interior lights in the Viano with no errror messages, to be sure though if you remove the lamps and there is no message you should be alright.
But beware that nearly all the lamps, the 16 LED type, are now part failed. The individual LED's drop out in pairs or more and a couple of lamps have parts flashing.

I've ordered a slightly different type in hope that they will be more reliable.
 

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I had a spare lamp lying around so i just fitted it and that was that.

Kenny.
 

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having got the boot liner out.
I always found the orangy coloured 5W boot lights quite dingy.
So wondered can one swap them for LEDs ? brighter , dont get hot, and a lot less power consumption.
Or are they also on the Canbus warning system too?



I think interior lights don't show on the dash as a bulb error....

although turning the key on with the interior boot lid open warning (red lights) disconnected adds a stored fault for bulbs failure
 

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Some models they are, some aren’t. Give it a go.
 
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Submariner1

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Ithink interior lights don't show on the dash as a bulb error....
Thanks

although turning the key on with the interior boot lid open warning (red lights) disconnected adds a stored fault for bulbs failure

Hmm I didnt undestand that last sentence.

Did you mean if you turn the key; when the boot lid is open and you have pulled out the interior boot bulbs then it stores a fault on a code reader, or on the dashboard?
 
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Submariner1

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Some models they are, some aren’t. Give it a go.

Will do
Need to read up on these LED bulbs, some say smd .. not sure what that means
And it seems the majority of canbus friendly bulbs seem physically longer so need to work out which will fit in the clear bulb fittings.

I am assuming when they add the resistor to make them Canbus friendly it doesnt increase the power consumption?
One of the attractions apart from a brighter boot and under door puddle lights is the fact it should present for the boot at least, a lower drain on the battery. ( but not too sure ).
 

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Hmm I didnt undestand that last sentence.

Did you mean if you turn the key; when the boot lid is open and you have pulled out the interior boot bulbs then it stores a fault on a code reader, or on the dashboard?


on a code reader
 
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Submariner1

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on a code reader

If it doesnt throw up a dashboard message, does it matter if it stores a fault?
Pretty sure it cant hurt the cars electronics as its much lower amps and heat. Or does it not work like that.
I.e.
does it generate a stored fault everytime you turn the car on?
Does it matter if it has numerous faults , like fill up the capacity to hold other possibly important stored faults ?

I do like the idea of having brighter and lower current consumption internal cabin and boot lights.
 

Craiglxviii

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If it doesnt throw up a dashboard message, does it matter if it stores a fault?
Pretty sure it cant hurt the cars electronics as its much lower amps and heat. Or does it not work like that.
I.e.
does it generate a stored fault everytime you turn the car on?
Does it matter if it has numerous faults , like fill up the capacity to hold other possibly important stored faults ?

I do like the idea of having brighter and lower current consumption internal cabin and boot lights.
Brighter lights are a good thing. Lower current consumption though can hurt if the rest of the system is designed around a certain load being placed on it from that source.
 

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Rearrange...pigeons, cat, among...
 

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Brighter lights are a good thing. Lower current consumption though can hurt if the rest of the system is designed around a certain load being placed on it from that source.
How could replaciing with lower load lamps hurt anything?
If that were the case there would be serious issues everytime a lamp blew.

This idea of lamps that compensate for canbus error has me less than impressed. We put in a lower load lamp that has a resistor in it that brings the load back up to the original load, so the computer is happy with it.
Granted good LED's, or even headlamp HID's (where this compensation thing started) can have an increased light output advantage.

On the Viano I've replaced the reverse lmps with 7.1 watt LED's. When reversng onto the drive the light for the reverse cam is a great advantage. It alarms each time because it thinks a lamps is out, I just let it.
 
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The previous owner of my 451 Smart fitted a led festoon bulb to the courtesy light. While it is significantly brighter in use, it never ever quite switches off, there's always a slight glow from it.
 

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The previous owner of my 451 Smart fitted a led festoon bulb to the courtesy light. While it is significantly brighter in use, it never ever quite switches off, there's always a slight glow from it.
Thus increasing the total energy consumption over time - oh the dilemma
 

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Changed all my interiors on my preface w204 to led without issue.
 
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Submariner1

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Brighter lights are a good thing. Lower current consumption though can hurt if the rest of the system is designed around a certain load being placed on it from that source.

I confess I am puzzled by this whole LED thing.

1. Assuming the whole error reporting on bulbs, is based I guess on resistance? ( is it? )
When you say
“Lower current consumption though can hurt if the rest of the system is designed around a certain load being placed on it from that source.”
In the case of the boot light, I can’t see how this would matter. Most of its life it is off; so the current load should be 0 anyway.
When its on, yes it might be 1/10 of the load for a few minutes.
Or do these Canbus systems cleverly monitor the resistance even when the lamp is off.? If so then I can see its permenantly monitoring a lower resistance of the LED.

( Sadly my lack of electronics knowledge precludes me from understanding how an electrical circuit could ever be damaged by having a lower current ... but interested to learn.) or is it because these LEDs have a lower Resistance? )

2. My interest in LEDs are 2 fold.
A] generally they seem to output a higher power light source .. well a brighter light.
So great for the boot and the underdoor.
B] I see a lower current draw on anything like a boot light as good! Say one is fiddling around in there.
A lower current draw also means a lower level of heat .. so thats positive.

But this is where I struggle with these Can bus friendly bulbs.

Say my boot light is 5W. So on 12V thats 0.41A.
If I=V/R
Thus in my normal W5W bulb R= V/I
R=12/0.41
R = 29.2 Ohms
On a non Canbus friendly LED bulb, Yes it is brighter and develops less heat.
12v 0.5W = 0.041A

But being a LED it doesnt follow the normal, R value increase one would expect.
In fact most have a very small resistance.

Is it this lower resistance that our Canbus monitoring systems dislike and are they damaging to the monotoring systems internal circuits?

Normally the lower the resistance, the more current is passed through, but in this case the current of the LED is circa 1/10 of a normal bulb anyway.

(I did notice Osram don't do these small Can-bus friendly W5W 501 bulbs, and when they do them on bigger bulbs, they supply an external finned resistor? heatsink affair ( I can see the safety logic in that).
 

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