Backlit window switch

[hippieman9]

So, When I purchased my Delorean a few weeks ago I noticed that the PO updated the Window Switches with The DMC back lit ones. I noticed that the driver side switch is about half as bright as the passenger. are there removable bulbs or LEDs in these switches? Just curious before I pull the switches out if any one knows. They are green when lit. Thanks for any advise.

[Chris 16409]

Some of the switches were fitted with incandescent bulbs and some were sold with an LED light upgrade. You may have one of each type. Bitsyncmaster (Dave M.) on the forum was doing the LED light upgrade. He would be able to fix them if one is going out. I would feel both switches once they've been on a for a while. If either is warm to the touch then it would indicate an incandescent bulb. I don't the believe the bulbs are socketed.

[dodint]

There is a thread on here where someone bought an LED upgrade switch kit and was sent one of each, an LED and incandescent.

[Bitsyncmaster]

The switch cap will pop off pushing or pulling on one side at a time. The incandescent bulbs are not in a socket, wires are wrapped around a plastic case. The LEDs are a circuit board soldered into the switch.

[hippieman9]

The switch cap will pop off pushing or pulling on one side at a time. The incandescent bulbs are not in a socket, wires are wrapped around a plastic case. The LEDs are a circuit board soldered into the switch.

OH ok, So if the light goes out you pretty much have to have it rewired or replace the switch.

[Bitsyncmaster]

OH ok, So if the light goes out you pretty much have to have it rewired or replace the switch.

The LEDs never burn out. The incandescent seem to break the plastic that holds the wires onto the connections.

[Shep]

LED's don't burn out but they do have "half-lives". Basically, after a certain period of time, they get half as bright, similar to how radioactivity works just with light. I'm sure I've shared this pic before given it was already in my attachments folder:

LED_Half_Life.jpg

This is the front of my parents' fridge after about 5 straight years of use. The big numbers at the center only come on when you press a button, and have probably only been on for a sum of less than 30 minutes over the course of their life (pushing it really). The smaller, dimmer blue ones (the "eco cord saver" one, the audio icon, filter indicator, and water) on the upper and lower edges are on 24/7 as long as the fridge has power. While LED's can be notoriously hard to photograph if you don't get the settings just right, looking just at the thumbnail does it proper justice -- the difference is that stark and that much of a contrast in person.

Keep in mind: this is 24 hours a day for 5+ years, but to save you the math, what's your daily commute to work in hours one way? Multiply by 520 for each year of ownership (two ways * five days a week * 52 weeks a year) and compare to the 43,800 hours it took until the above picture was taken, it's easy to see why most people don't even see it as an issue with cars (I personally don't). But on occasion, if an LED swap was spaced too far apart, a brightness difference might be discernible.

Naturally if one switch is incandescent and one LED that alone answers your question, but if they are both LED's, then I suspect the driver's switch was replaced first, and the passenger switch was replaced only after lots of runtime and miles and likely done to match the driver's side, which is now bugging you. Just here to prevent major head scratching if they turn out to both be LED's

[Bitsyncmaster]

The window switch LEDs are rated to run 20 ma. but they only run at 1.6 ma. So I don't think you will ever see any light change as long as the car lives.

[hippieman9]

Ok so what I found is I have one LED switch and one incandescent switch. The incandescent seems to have bit the dust... so I just ordered a new LED from DMCH. Then they will match and all is good in the world. From the PO history looks as if they were installed when new window regulators were installed at DMC C.