LED Puddle Lamps Installed

[thavil]

Not much talk here about swapping out the yellow puddle lamps under the outside mirrors for LED's but plenty of talk on blueovalforums. For those that don't know, something electrical is different on the 2013 Fusions that cause LED puddle lamps to flicker.

 

For anyone interested in this mod, http://www.daytimebrightlites.com now sells the LED puddle lamps that do not flicker. Attached is an attempt to show the light output but the photo does not do justice. Very bright white light now coming out from under the mirrors.

 

 

 

The removal of the existing puddle lamps were not easy since our mirrors are painted. Below are additional instructions that the owner Dan emailed me.

 

"Does your Fusion have body colored painted mirrors or the unpainted black plastic? I found that the puddle lights on the painted mirrors are more difficult to remove. This is due to the added thickness of the paint inside the pud light opening. I was able to get it out by doing the following:

1) pry out the mounting tab end of the light as you have done.

2) then push the puddle light back up into the hole as far as you can and just before the mounting tab snaps back into the slot. You may want to stuff a little piece of crumpled tape into the gap between the pud lens and the surface of the mirror to keep the pud from snapping back in. But don't allow the tape to get inside the hole. You want as much room as possible between the pud housing and the edge of the mirror opening to allow the pud to slide horizontally inside the opening.

3) Take a second screw driver and from the opposite side from the monuting tab, pry the light towards the mounting tab and at the same time prying the light downward.

 

Having the pud light up in the hole more, allows more room for the light to move and disengage. I hope this makes sense. Let me know how it goes. Feel free to call me at the number below if you need to. Good luck."

Edited July 25, 2013 by thavil

[gkinla]

An excellent video showing removal of puddle lights with painted mirrors.

 

 

I also received a email from Dan similar to the one above regarding difficult removal of the puddle lights. Using the written directions and watching the video helped.

 

 

I changed my pud lights after watching this video I got from Jamers on the BOF, it just took 10 minutes after knowing the trick.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHAvY39UERo&feature=player_embedded

Edited July 25, 2013 by gkinla

[Da0ne]

Not much talk here about swapping out the yellow puddle lamps under the outside mirrors for LED's but plenty of talk on blueovalforums. For those that don't know, something electrical is different on the 2013 Fusions that cause LED puddle lamps to flicker.

 

For anyone interested in this mod, http://www.daytimebrightlites.com now sells the LED puddle lamps that do not flicker. Attached is an attempt to show the light output but the photo does not do justice. Very bright white light now coming out from under the mirrors.

 

thanks i was wondering when they will have these available this is the only thing im missing to change so i have white lights all around

[Da0ne]

got my puddle lights in and installed the next day

 

 

[BrightLites]

Glad your liking the new lights. They look great and your daytime photos are great. I think you would agree DaOne, that the LED color is much whiter than the bluish color your night photos show, wouldn't you say? It's pretty hard getting a good camera setting to show the true color at night.

[Da0ne]

Glad your liking the new lights. They look great and your daytime photos are great. I think you would agree DaOne, that the LED color is much whiter than the bluish color your night photos show, wouldn't you say? It's pretty hard getting a good camera setting to show the true color at night.

 

yes you are right at night it will come out blueish on photo but trust me its white

[Eddie Sessum]

Can I ask here how come you guys dont just put in the MKZ led setup?

[SteveB_TX]

Can I ask here how come you guys dont just put in the MKZ led setup?

 

My Z doesn't have LED puddle lights, which irritates me since all other exterior lights are LED. :(

[djminfll]

Did you all install the lights yourself? I'm afraid of doing my own electrical work on a car, especially a hybrid.

I want to install DRL and the Titanium taillights, but I don't know who to take it to.

[Eddie Sessum]

 

My Z doesn't have LED puddle lights, which irritates me since all other exterior lights are LED. :(

Ill have to look at mine tonite. The color and everything made me think LED. But than again I do have almost a fully loaded one compared to most ive even seen on the lots (was a special order for someone who died before it came in)

[thavil]

Can I ask here how come you guys dont just put in the MKZ led setup?

 

Don't know anything about the MKZ so that wasn't even in my thoughts when I wanted LED puddle lamps.

[thavil]

Did you all install the lights yourself? I'm afraid of doing my own electrical work on a car, especially a hybrid.

I want to install DRL and the Titanium taillights, but I don't know who to take it to.

Yes, I did the actual install of the lights but DaytimeBrightLights does all of the hard work. They open up the puddle lamp cores and add both the LED and the resistor that is needed for our Fusions. Without the resistor, the LED would flicker on our car.

 

When you order, they will charge an extra $56 that will be credited back to your card once you return your puddle lamp cores. They will in turn use your cores for the next customer.

[Eddie Sessum]

I checked my car and it appears to have halogen bulbs (just glass top bulbs). Didnt try to remove or even look into it. If it is a direct plug in halogen like it looks couldnt you buy the led setup from homedepot and install it? (12v model that is).

 

Havent looked at a fusion to see if the bulb setup is different.

[thavil]

If it is a direct plug in halogen like it looks couldnt you buy the led setup from homedepot and install it? (12v model that is).

 

Please read post above about flickering without a resistor.

[Eddie Sessum]

If you use a 12v led bulb it would be plug and play. When you solder leds to make your own setup than yes you would need a resistor depending on voltage of the leds. Thats basicly what I ment.

 

What bulb model does it use? (the standard ones)

[thavil]

If you use a 12v led bulb it would be plug and play. When you solder leds to make your own setup than yes you would need a resistor depending on voltage of the leds. Thats basicly what I ment.

 

What bulb model does it use? (the standard ones)

To be honest, I have no idea what bulb model. The bulb is not accessible without breaking the puddle lamp core housing open. This is why I paid DaytimeBrightLights to do the work for me. The cores they sent me with the led's are then plug and play for me.

[MaineFusion]

Other than the "coolness" of being LED what real advantage is there to swapping out the puddle lights for LEDs (assuming they haven't burned out)? I can't imagine the energy savings would make that big of a difference given how short of a time they are on for. Then again, why didn't Ford make these LED from the get go? All of the FFH's lights possible should have been LED from the factory.

[thavil]

Other than the "coolness" of being LED what real advantage is there to swapping out the puddle lights for LEDs (assuming they haven't burned out)? I can't imagine the energy savings would make that big of a difference given how short of a time they are on for. Then again, why didn't Ford make these LED from the get go? All of the FFH's lights possible should have been LED from the factory.

Coolness sounds about right for me, that's all I was after. Same goes for the LED license plate lights that I only see when I unlock my car early in the morning.

[majorleeslow]

An excellent video showing removal of puddle lights with painted mirrors.

 

 

I also received a email from Dan similar to the one above regarding difficult removal of the puddle lights. Using the written directions and watching the video helped.

 

 

I changed my pud lights after watching this video I got from Jamers on the BOF, it just took 10 minutes after knowing the trick.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHAvY39UERo&feature=player_embedded

thanks for sharing. what's the difference in wattage between the iem and new LED?

[SteveB_TX]

Other than the "coolness" of being LED what real advantage is there to swapping out the puddle lights for LEDs (assuming they haven't burned out)? I can't imagine the energy savings would make that big of a difference given how short of a time they are on for. Then again, why didn't Ford make these LED from the get go? All of the FFH's lights possible should have been LED from the factory.

 

On my MKZ, all exterior lights are LED... except that ugly yellow incandescent puddle lamp. :rant2: I have located the required replacement wedge-type lamp for the little puck thingy. Now I need to figure out how to open the thing up without destroying it. ;)

[gkinla]

thanks for sharing. what's the difference in wattage between the iem and new LED?

 

 

The difference in wattage is probably nil, because Daytime Brightlites uses a resistor in parallel to the LED to increase the watt load to simulate the indcandesent watt load . Something in the way the Fusion electrical system drives the pud lights causes the LEDs to flicker without the resistor. I replaced the backup lights and license plate bulbs with LEDs and they don't flicker, so go figure. BTW, if you buy Daytime Brightlites they will give you free license plate LEDs. I like the way the LEDs brighten up the area under the pud lights with the bright white light.

 

 

Here is what it looks like at night.

 

Edited August 29, 2013 by gkinla

[Eddie Sessum]

The puddle lights dim off thats what causes the flicker because there never actually always on.

 

I have a ceiling fan with the same issue, it came with dimmable bulbs but a weird socket. You cant buy those bulbs nowhere not even online in dimmable. So it flickers when the fan is on.

[majorleeslow]

Nice explanation gkinla. thanks.

[thavil]

An update on my Daytime BrightLites puddle lamps. My wife has been driving my FFH since 10/14/13 because of the 3 bones I broke in my ankle. I am finally cleared by my surgeon to drive short distances. The other morning, I had an appointment for physical therapy and decided to take the FFH instead of our Tahoe. When I unlocked my car, I noticed that my LED puddle lamp on the driver's side was flickering. The passenger side doesn't have a flicker, so I assume the resistor went bad or a wire came loose. I contacted Dan at Daytime Bright Lites http://drivebright.com/home/product-category/puddlelights/ and he is sending me a new set of his brighter CREE LEE's free of charge. Great customer service by standing by his products!

[BrightLites]

Hi thavil, I will be doing an "autopsy" on your bad LED puddle light when I get them back from you. I am almost certain it is the resistor or a bad solder connection that is causing the problem. You are right about us standing by our product. We take a lot of pride in our work and though we don't have many issues like yours, we look at it as an opportunity to improve the quality of our product. I am also looking at this being an opportunity to hear what you think of the new High Power CREE LED puddle lights compared to the standard LED puddle lights you had originally received. Many customers have traded out their standard LED puds with the new H.O. Cree LED puds. They were very happy with the performance of the original standard puds, but every one of them were surprised that the new H.O CREEs could be so much brighter.

 

Wishing you and the rest of the Forum a happy and productive new year!!!

 

Thought I would share this customer's photo that he sent me showing his Fusion with my Standard LED Puddle Lights. Click on the photo and it will take you to our web store,

 

By the way, Sunday is our last day for our Holiday Sales Event. Take advantage of the savings while you can.