14 replies to this topic

[matt050990]

Hey all

I recently swapped my interior lighting for brighter LED units.

Ever since doing this they seem to stay on.

When the door shuts they dim right down but never seem to be 100% off.

I have played with the door switches but doesn't seem to make a difference.

Is there something obvious that could cause this?

Would it be a massive drain on the battery if left?

Much ta
Matt

[petey81]

Smack it ha ha
Pull the casing out and check the connections and switch.
It will seriously drain it.

[matt050990]

I think it may be a trace the wires job.

Joys.

[Twincam]

I've got the same in my Focus - the LED boot light remains on ever so slightly when I turn the car off - I haven't however checked the next morning but I was told it was due to the LED bulbs not having much resistance (standard halogen bulbs have resistance thus don't light up - I'm unsure if there is milli/micro volts going through it?)

[pusb]

When you changed the bulb did you snag any wires against the metal body?

[petey81]

I had dodgy wires behind the casing as mine wouldn't turn off and had to slowly play with the switch.

[alex-95]

Stick the old bulb back in if you can, the wireing needs to be changed for LEDs don't they? If it goes off then you know it's the led if not then some wiring fault.

[cal844]

Stick the old bulb back in if you can, the wireing needs to be changed for LEDs don't they? If it goes off then you know it's the led if not then some wiring fault.

Yes, most LEDs only need 0.7 volts to power them.
But it does sound like a live wire fault

[Miniminx71]

All the ceiling lighting in my house is LED and, when they're off, they still appear to have a blue glow if you look directly into them. I even went into the loft to make sure I hadn't left a light on up there that was somehow shining through but there wasn't. I think it's just what (some) LEDs do ...    

[matt050990]

I think it will be a tracing the wires job to see if there is a fault.
I'll pop into the garage this morning going to see if they are still lightly glowing in a bit.

Much ta for the responses.

[matt050990]

Went out this morning to check, Lights are still on very dim.

 

The odd thing is that only 1 stays on even though they are both off the same wiring.

 

Will have a fiddle when I get time and update.....

[woodley miniman]

If thats the case maybe it's a faulty led bulb. Swop the led bulb around and see if the same one still stays on, if it does then you know it's faulty.

[Rog46]

It sounds to me as if there is a fault in the wiring leaking a very high resistance feed to the light. This might always have been there, but the resulting feed to the lamp whilst being enough to just start to power the LED is way too low to light a bulb. In this case the drain will be no worse than it was when you had bulbs and didn't know that you had a fault.

I would suspect that the most likely fault area would be damp in the door switches. If you can pull them out and disconnect does the LED still stay on?

Edited by Rog46, 17 January 2015 - 08:49 PM.

[KernowCooper]

Most likely a bit of capacitive coupling because the leds take so little to light them, a resistor in the 12v feed wire would sort it, its common on all leds including the ones in your home.

[PaulColeman]

Yes, most LEDs only need 0.7 volts to power them.
But it does sound like a live wire fault

 

LEDs usually need about 1.7 to 2V for red or green. Blue ones can need as much as 3.5V.

 

A regular silicon diode will have a volt drop of about 0.7V

 

Paul.

Edited by PaulColeman, 17 January 2015 - 10:35 PM.