License Plate Bulb replacement

[Rowlock]

Did the swap last week with the Amazon LEDs linked earlier - looks much better.

Pretty sure the choice of incandescents from the factory is a legal decision. Quite a large number of jurisdictions (particularly overseas) technically forbid pure white lights on the rear of a vehicle, requiring "amber" lights for any rear-facing application. It would be a pain to fit different lights for different shipping locations, so it makes some sense for Tesla to just use one bulb on all the cars that satisfies all these requirements.

Nothing stopping those of us who live elsewhere from swapping in the nicer-looking LEDs, anyway.

 

[Lloyd]

For those of us that also have a Rav 4EV, this LED replacement works great for the plate lights. and are cheap too!! Only .2 watts vs 5 watts for each of the original incandescents

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/194-led-bulb-1-led-wedge-base/197/

 

[AC1K]

How To: License plate bulb replacement

USE A CLOTH or it will scratch your paint

i got these 9x emitter bulbs from ebay (expensive but considering the intensity and temperature its worth it to me)
the seller indicates a "life time warranty" but judging by his feedback i would say his items are of decent quality or i would be seeing alot more returns.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/310345035569?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Best if you use a right angled #2 Philips screw driver
most LED bulbs are polarized (they only go in 1 way or else they wont light up)
just pop the bulb in and see if it turns on, if not flip it around
+ and - are the same orientation on both sides, for my setup i had the diode on the LED bulb closer to the right for both sides but this will differ between LED bulbs

when you are all done, throw out the 2 diseased stock bulbs so that no other vehicles may be harmed

 

[David.Cheney]

It was probably mentioned somewhere earlier in the thread, but you have to watch the polarity on the LED bulbs. I got mine from the ebay store araxara had linked to and the first one I installed didn't light up. I put in the second one and it worked fine so I assumed the first one was bad. I contacted the seller and he encouraged me to try it again and try turning it around if it didn't work. I did just that and sure enough, it lit right up! I didn't realize how bad the incandescents looked until the LEDs were in, what a difference, it looks so much better and goes along with the rest of the lights on the car.

They supplied the following YouTube video:
LED Polarity - LEDs Not lighting Up Solution - YouTube

Let me point out that according to the video, you won't damage the LED if you put in backwards. You'll need to turn it round to get it to light. I hope that's right.. gonna try mine now.

 

[David.Cheney]

Easily installed. Both sides lit first attempt, so either I got the polarity right by luck, or the polarity doesn't matter. Better lucky...

Things are lit quite a lot better for backing up at night too!

 

[tokuro]

I went with these on Amazon, I believe they were the same as those offered on Ebay (manufactured by AGT). They went in flawlessly. Took about 3 minutes to install.

I just got those and they sent me a wrong ones. Box did say correct name/part. what's in the box was 42mm, not 36mm.... crap !!

 

[Hedgehogboy]

This looks really nice, will definitely do the same when I get my MS. Have two 38mm LEDs lying around. To all who already replaced theirs, do you think there's room for two extra millimeters?

 

[EdA]

This looks really nice, will definitely do the same when I get my MS. Have two 38mm LEDs lying around. To all who already replaced theirs, do you think there's room for two extra millimeters?

Nope!

 

[Hedgehogboy]

Nope!

Ok, thanks.

 

[jeffaa]

I installed mine yesterday, the new led look fits in so much better with the car.
The polarity does matter. I thought they shipped bad 'bulbs' to me, and started cursing. Then I remembered to switch them around.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[4SUPER9]

Just did this mod. Somewhere it said 20 minutes. Maybe with putting my clothes on, taking the elevator down, finding some tunes to listen to on Slacker, wiping off some dust, etc. The total time for both bulb replacements is about 5 minutes.

 

[pgiralt]

In case anyone is interested, I used these and they worked great. I was a little scared that they might be too wide and not fit, but they fit just fine. Not bad for $6 for the pair:

Amazon.com: Classy Autos 36mm Festoon 6 LEDs SMD LED Bulb White for 3021 DE3021 6411 6413 6418 DE3423 DE3425 Replacement (A Pair): Automotive

Agree with 4SUPER9 that it's about a 5 minute job.

 

[ABVA]

In case anyone is interested, I used these and they worked great. I was a little scared that they might be too wide and not fit, but they fit just fine. Not bad for $6 for the pair:

Amazon.com: Classy Autos 36mm Festoon 6 LEDs SMD LED Bulb White for 3021 DE3021 6411 6413 6418 DE3423 DE3425 Replacement (A Pair): Automotive

Agree with 4SUPER9 that it's about a 5 minute job.

These are Not 36 mm, these are smaller than described and do not fit. Tried replacing originals with the ones in your link. Or may be they shipped the wrong size. BTW these are not omnidirectional either.

 

[pgiralt]

These are Not 36 mm, these are smaller than described and do not fit. Tried replacing originals with the ones in your link. Or may be they shipped the wrong size. BTW these are not omnidirectional either.

They must have shipped you the wrong part because they definitely fit on mine. If anything they were a little tight to get in, not too small. I would think all LEDs are directional.

 

[liuping]

These are Not 36 mm, these are smaller than described and do not fit. Tried replacing originals with the ones in your link. Or may be they shipped the wrong size. BTW these are not omnidirectional either.

I used these: Amazon.com: AGT 36mm LED Bulbs Pair White 6000K 3423 3425 46413 6418 6423 6451 6461 6475 6476 6461 6486X: Automotive. They fit perfectly.

Install tip: use the key fob to quick test before screwing the covers back on.

 

[redi]

I used these in the 'natural white' color, $3.70 each. The warm white might be closer to the incandescent bulb color if that is what you prefer. They also have a cool white color which would be more blue. The OEM incandescent bulb is on the right in the photo.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...cement-bulbs/3910-led-bulb-6-led-festoon/235/

I think there is a 10% off promo code GIFT13 good through 12/23/13. I have ordered quite a few bulbs from here over the years from this supplier without a problem. Their shipping is cheap and quick, and sometimes free with a promo code.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

New VLED.COM license plate bulbs that generate NO HEAT and throw a lot more lumens than the amazon ones that have a resister and are an ugly Bluish color

5K WHITE 10 LED HIGH OUTPUT DOME LIGHT BULB 240LM 38MM 6411 6418 6423 211 211-2 578.

- - - Updated - - -



Amazon on left and VLED 5000k on right.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

I ordered the superbrightled.com ones- based on the amazon vs VLED comparison photos, the VLED's are much brighter... If they're brighter, and don't have the resistors in them- i say that's a no brainer as long as the price is around the same, which it is after shipping. Will let you guys know if I run into any problems installing, etc.

 

[Ugliest1]

I ordered the AGT ones from Amazon this morning. Since they were only $.99, and the shipping was $16 to Canada, I thought I'd throw in a blue set as well at $1.49. So we'll see how they all look. Thanks for all the info, everyone!

 

[SeminoleFSU]

agreed. thanks for the info- really helped make the decision easier.