The CX-5 LED Lighting Thread

djsiva said:
Getting ready to get some LEDs for DRL and fog lights, but I'm going to have to spread out my purchases because I just bought a house and had buy a ton of stuff for it.. Which one should I buy first?

DRL:
http://store.ijdmtoy.com/Chevy-Camaro-Mazda-CX-5-Toyota-Highlander-P13W-LED-p/sku-4y.htm

Fog light:
http://www.diodedynamics.com/store/led-bulbs/listed-by-size/h11/h11-80w-hi-power-leds-pair.html
Click to expand...

$90 is a rip off. Fancy heatsink is not worth $50 lol. I have a same style cree led fogs I paid $40 over a yr ago working great.
 
I bought my P13W DRL LEDs from vleds when they were $40. Now back to $60.
They're brighter than high beams so it's like I'm driving with high beams on. I can see the refraction from the trunk of the car in front of me at stop lights in broad daylight.
 
My LED brake lights as promised. As you can tell in the close up pics. The LED bulb is mounted diagonally in the housing just like the OEM filament bulb. Fortunately, the LED bulbs work fine at any angle and the diagonal placement is unnoticeable unless you put your face in front of the light housing. Like I said in my previous posts, these LED bulbs emit as much light as the OEM filament bulbs (if not better) in the brake light housing. I tried another pair in the rear turn signal housings, I cannot recommend them for that applications. Posted the reasoning in the previous page's posts.

This is with the parking light on only. Didn't have anyone to help me engage the brakes at the time. Got my cell camera to shoot at low ISO to reduce glare.


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OK SayNo, your pics look good, but what was your circuit solution (and what was the original problem)? And what bulbs did you actually use/buy?
 
The only problem I see being it's spotty. You can clearly see the hot spots on the reflector. Seeing these in broad daylight though would be the true test. Personally not a fan of tower style radially mounted bulbs but whatever works for you
 
So, for those who are looking for links (ie , easy ordering), I just put these in today (all 5K temp which is what I'm going for all white lights):

5 of these (overhead interior x4 lights plus cargo space)
Overhead lights
Only note is that when the front lights dim out, they seem a little flicker-y while the rear seat lights seem to dim smoother. Not a major issue and love the brightness (no need for floor lights.) The light housings do have a minor amount of reflective housing so the multiple SMD do reflect back down. The cargo light is the hardest fit (other than leaving no tool marks when prying the top light lenses off.)

2 of these (vanity x2)
Vanity Lights

1 of these (pair for lights for license plate)
License Lights
Once again, great lights. Easiest to swap but you have to re-bend the connectors. As delivered, either side has the contact wire flipped both sides. If you compare to OEM, they need to be flipped opposite to each other. It's an easy bend and then they fit perfectly.

Crisp and clean. Not overly bright.

For all of the above, you need to check if each works as you go on. Polarity (which is practically invisible on the OEM bulbs) is a huge issue. I plugged each one in one at a time, tested, and if it didn't work, flipped the bulb. That fixed it each time.


1 of these (pair of lights for DRL with HID/Tech Package)
DRL Lights
These are the only ones giving me a bit of grief. They are easy enough to plugin (can orient only in one way) but I can't get the cable to lock. I've tried trimming the connections down with this cutter:http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-5-in-Lightweight-Flush-Cutter-D275-5/100647983
However, I think I've gotten to the point the light socket matches OEM and the cable still doesn't lock. I'm wondering if the glue base is preventing a secure connection (OEM has no glue there). I'm going to mark the glue with dry markers to see if that is the limiting factor (transfer to connector plug) -- if not, I'll trim the leads more. Any words of advice would be appreciated. I think I took an 1/8" off to make it match the OEM plugs.

Once I get this all working it'll be to deciding LED or HID Foglights.
 
ErgoZoom said:
So, for those who are looking for links (ie , easy ordering), I just put these in today (all 5K temp which is what I'm going for all white lights):

5 of these (overhead interior x4 lights plus cargo space)
Overhead lights
Only note is that when the front lights dim out, they seem a little flicker-y while the rear seat lights seem to dim smoother. Not a major issue and love the brightness (no need for floor lights.) The light housings do have a minor amount of reflective housing so the multiple SMD do reflect back down. The cargo light is the hardest fit (other than leaving no tool marks when prying the top light lenses off.)

2 of these (vanity x2)
Vanity Lights

1 of these (pair for lights for license plate)
License Lights
Once again, great lights. Easiest to swap but you have to re-bend the connectors. As delivered, either side has the contact wire flipped both sides. If you compare to OEM, they need to be flipped opposite to each other. It's an easy bend and then they fit perfectly.

Crisp and clean. Not overly bright.

For all of the above, you need to check if each works as you go on. Polarity (which is practically invisible on the OEM bulbs) is a huge issue. I plugged each one in one at a time, tested, and if it didn't work, flipped the bulb. That fixed it each time.


1 of these (pair of lights for DRL with HID/Tech Package)
DRL Lights
These are the only ones giving me a bit of grief. They are easy enough to plugin (can orient only in one way) but I can't get the cable to lock. I've tried trimming the connections down with this cutter:http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-5-in-Lightweight-Flush-Cutter-D275-5/100647983
However, I think I've gotten to the point the light socket matches OEM and the cable still doesn't lock. I'm wondering if the glue base is preventing a secure connection (OEM has no glue there). I'm going to mark the glue with dry markers to see if that is the limiting factor (transfer to connector plug) -- if not, I'll trim the leads more. Any words of advice would be appreciated. I think I took an 1/8" off to make it match the OEM plugs.

Once I get this all working it'll be to deciding LED or HID Foglights.
Click to expand...


Any pictures of the car w/ LED? How much did you spend on LED upgrades? I've been wanting to do it for a long time now just can't justify paying near $70 for interior LED + license.
 
Total was $163.50 with shipping to CA (Los Angeles) UPS ground (it took 3 days) for all of the above. The most expensive were the DRL at $59.99 for the pair. The total would be a lot cheaper with the 3 LED dome lights instead of the 6 LED I purchased (9.99 x 5 verses 14.99 x 5.)

I'll take pictures once night falls though I don't know how I'll get a shot of the DRL since that takes two people to have someone hold the car in gear. I
 
Last edited:
runtohell121 said:
Any pictures of the car w/ LED? How much did you spend on LED upgrades? I've been wanting to do it for a long time now just can't justify paying near $70 for interior LED + license.
Click to expand...

If you've waited this long, I would suggest waiting for the next coupon code from VLED's. They typically have them during U.S. holidays and they are usually good for 25% off, I only tend to make most of my purchases when they have an active coupon code.
 
CX-5tormtrooper said:
If you've waited this long, I would suggest waiting for the next coupon code from VLED's. They typically have them during U.S. holidays and they are usually good for 25% off, I only tend to make most of my purchases when they have an active coupon code.
Click to expand...

I know that. I'm probably waiting for 25% if they do have it as Valentines day coupon was only 15% if I remember correctly.
 
Pictures of the LEDs in action

runtohell121 said:
Any pictures of the car w/ LED? How much did you spend on LED upgrades? I've been wanting to do it for a long time now just can't justify paying near $70 for interior LED + license.
Click to expand...
Sorry about how grainy they are (iPhone pics -- any purple fringing is due to that.) Here are pics of everything but the DRL (since I didn't have anyone to put it in gear.)

Cargo Area:
uc


Cargo Area wiith cargo cover retracted (and Travall pet barrier):
uc


Front Seats with Vanity and Map Lights:
uc


Front Seats with Vanity Lights Only:
uc


Rear Seats with Map Lights from front area and Dome Lights (bit of iPhone purple fringing):
uc


Exterior shot of Interior with Map and Dome Lights on:
uc


Exterior shot of Interior with Map and Dome Lights on and HID and Halogen Fogs:
uc
 
Finally received my 68-SMD LED Bulbs for the DRLs. Here is a pic of my LED conversion.

1rspy1.jpg
 
So, it finally got dark outside and I decided to go take a look at the new LED bulbs I just installed. When I put my CX-5 to neutral, I get the full 6000K Xenon White shine 68 SMD LED. However, when I turn the park light on (hand brake on), I notice that the LED's are still running, but only 26 of the 68 were running.. not bright, but still running (shown below).

23uwmd2.jpg


2mfg4zq.jpg


I then turned off the CX-5 and walked away, I noticed it was still on. It stayed on for approximately 1 minute and 38 seconds before shutting off. After it had completely shut off, I decided to lock it with the key fob (even though it had automatically locked as I walked away) and noticed it turned back on again (shown below).

14bqky1.jpg


Anyone else notice this? Is that common for these LED's?
 
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There's no reflector in the housing so the 360 won't help--just a diffuser cover.
I remember those were pointed out as being too long. I picked up:
http://www.vleds.com/bulb-type/license-plate-lights/194-158-168/5k-white-4-led-2w-high-power-bulbs-194-168-158-1-pair.html
(there's a 6k version too)

They are 2W total putting out 115 lumen. And fit perfectly (there's little to no room to be longer than these.) Only thing is they come with the contact wires flipped up/down on both sides. They need to be adjusted so the contacts are both up on one side and both down on the other. 5 second fix with fingernails.

The ones you are looking at are 3W total putting out 170 lumen.
The 115 are really bright -- I don't know if 170 would have a point.
 
ErgoZoom said:
There's no reflector in the housing so the 360 won't help--just a diffuser cover.
I remember those were pointed out as being too long. I picked up:
http://www.vleds.com/bulb-type/license-plate-lights/194-158-168/5k-white-4-led-2w-high-power-bulbs-194-168-158-1-pair.html
(there's a 6k version too)

They are 2W total putting out 115 lumen. And fit perfectly (there's little to no room to be longer than these.) Only thing is they come with the contact wires flipped up/down on both sides. They need to be adjusted so the contacts are both up on one side and both down on the other. 5 second fix with fingernails.

The ones you are looking at are 3W total putting out 170 lumen.
The 115 are really bright -- I don't know if 170 would have a point.
Click to expand...

Any chance you have a pic of those installed?
 
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