License plate lights - LED bulbs

[gulwng3]

Ok, this is only meant for the truly anal or for those with way too much time on their hands. ;) I changed out my incandescent light bulbs with LED lights over the winter. After hitting several bumps, I noticed the license plate lights were not as bright as they use to be. Unlike incandescent light bulbs which glow 360 degrees around the bulb, LEDs only show bright light in 180 degrees. Either type of bulb can spin freely in the connection. So, I took the lights apart, turned the LED light bulbs down for the most light, and soldered them along with some RTV black to make sure they won't spin in the connection again. I also added a small piece of rubber under one side of the connection to make it hold the bulb tighter. The photos below should be self-explanatory, but please ask if you have any questions. Maybe this will save someone from taking out their taillights and license plate lights twice.

Andy

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[Chris4099]

Interesting. I've had LED bulbs in there for years and they have yet to spin. I'm pretty sure before installing them I bent the pins to hold the bulb as tight as possible. I also gave the lenses a good cleaning as they were pretty dirty on the inside and blocked a bunch of light. Still not a bad idea since the chances of needing to replace those bulbs again for the life of the car are now very slim.

[gulwng3]

Yah, my lenses had accumulated about 1/4" of dirt in them in the last 33 years. I live in the country so the Delorean sees some pretty rough roads and everything gets bounced around alot, which may have contributed to the spinning bulbs.

Andy

[vwdmc16]

I also have those LED lights but have never had issues with them rotating, Just filling with dust. Also I have a license plate frame that gets in the way of the light path to the plate, I still need to figure out something to get a better angle with the LED so my plate frame doesnt block the light.

[jmpdmc]

The idea of using a piece of rubber is great. I had the same problem of rotating LED license plate lights so I replaced them with ones that shine 360 degrees around so it didn't matter if they moved. This idea would have solved problem. Thanks for posting it.



Jeff