As a public service announcement to the Countryman owners here, don't be stupid like I was.

Our front turn signal bulbs are 2357 bulbs. Yes, they will fit a 1156 or 1157, and a variety of other bulbs. However, I never noticed that the front signal lamps do not illuminate when the lights are on, nor when the car is in running lamp mode.

To the best of my understanding, both of the terminals go live when the signal or flasher is demanded, causing both filaments to spark (hence the higher 28W draw of the 2357 bulb). Bottom line, this acts just like an 1156 bulb - ON and OFF only.

Therefore, a switchback bulb (runs as a white marker, switched to amber when a signal is commanded) will not function. The only option would be to run a constant power feed from the side marker bulb below the lights (just to the side of the bumper) since these do not signal flash. That's a lot of work and requires drilling into both the 2357 socket and the moisture cover. Because of that, I could see them voiding the headlamp warranty based on moisture or voltage feedback concerns. I'm going to skip that and just run high-current amber LEDs up there.

I thought I'd let all of you know just in case someone else had this idea. Don't waste the money - they cost quite a bit.

 

Thanks Theta, i purchased some 1157 invisibulbs from bimmian and they worked fine, but were not invisible at all. i started looking at the white/amber changing bulbs but figured it would light up white and amber together. im wanting some super bright front led amber turn signals, but i cannot find the wires to add load resistors. the bulbs i have found with built in load resistors are around $30.00 a piece. what did you end up getting? and how do you like them?

 

Super busy at work right now, but I have all of my LEDs installed now, and they're ridiculously bright. I will hook you up with pictures later today!

For the front turns, rear turns, rear brakes, etc. I used 30-SMD 5mm - they're wonderfully (perhaps stupidly) bright. In fact, they're bright enough that I used an amber in the rear, and now my rear turn signals light up yellow even under the red lens. I think it's safer that way, honestly - too much red back there with brakes, etc. to have a signal also be red.

If you're going to code, don't screw with the load resistors - they're not needed if you code the errors out, and all they do is generate heat.

 

Alright, here are a few views of the LEDs I ended up using.

Front w/ LED Running Lights (Double-Blink Enabled)


Front w/ HID Fogs and LED Running Lights (Double-Blink Enabled)


Rear Amber LED w/o Running Lights


Rear Amber LED w/ Red LED Running Lights

 

WOW!!!! that looks awesome! i have got to get set up for coding out the lights, ect..... not sure about the double blink though. how long have you had the front turn signals done? i'm hearing that the heat from the headlight is a problem for led front turn signals. love the amber in the taillights. i agree about it being a safety issue and too much red. those led front turn signals are much brighter than chome painted bulbs. soooo much better.

 

Hey Theta did you use the 45 towers and if you did, did you throw errors before coding them out or had you already coded out the errors? Thanks! Looks awesome.

 

Sorry for the delay - been really busy lately.

The double-blink is kinda cool, but it's easily changed back and forth.

When people warn of heat and LEDs, they're not talking about the setup we have. First, the HID bulbs run extremely cool compared to halogen bulbs. Second, the turn signals are in their own encapsulated enclosure. This keeps the heat out, as it doesn't share an airspace with the rest of the light assembly.

I also used chromed amber bulbs, and I can estimate that these produce somewhere in the area of 3x - 4x the lumens.

Geoffrey, I had already coded out the errors, but I can guarantee you'd throw codes without coding.

I used the 30-SMD 5mm bulbs. Those are the huge LEDs that are 3x brighter than the 3528 SMDs. So, basically, you've got approximately the same brightness as the 80+ tower bulbs sold by some of the sites out there.

 

I put in the 45's to replace my 18's and removed my resistors on the reverse lights(I did my LEDS before I learned NCSExpert) and the 45's didn't throw codes there. Siriuszero told me he found the same thing. I bought all 18's so I have to by a whole new round if I'm going to test the theory anymore, but I like the idea of having the computer keep track if it does work. I may be convinced to try the amber turns now that I've seen it and heard your argument for the lack of heat. Keep posting your mods!!

 

Hmm, might be that those bulbs had active mosfets or some sort of load generators (that's what you normally find in the so-called 'CANBUS' bulbs they sell on eBay).

The 18s use the same size LEDs as the 30s, so you could probably guess at the difference in brightness - it's certainly worth it.

 

Hey GeoffreyM. let me know what you find on those 45's. i also like the idea of the computer letting me know what lights are out. you could just put your 45's in different locations on the countryman to test your theory instead of buying others since they are not cheap. then buy amber or white later once you know for sure. i asked the guys at superbrightleds about this and they said i would still need resistors. if no codes, 45's everywhere!!!

 

You mentioned white, but there's nowhere on this car you'd use white (except reverse, and DO NOT USE LED FOR REVERSE). I, myself, use 55 watt halogen reverse lights because I can't see for crap behind me at night with my dark (factory) tint.

You must use RED LED bulbs for the brake lights. It's a light filtering issue - you'll kill a lot of your lumens by using white bulbs.

Just wanted to get that out there before anybody ordered anything!

 

I'm sorry to make another reply - I hate when people do that - but there's something I want to point out.

The 45-SMD LED bulbs you guys are referring to are quite a bit dimmer than the 30-SMD 5mm LED bulbs. The bulbs I use look like this:





They put out around double the lumens as the bulbs you're looking at. Just a friendly warning - I've used many types of LED bulbs in my cars, and felt that I should point this out!

Specs:

45-SMD 2538: 110 Lumens Amber / 120 Lumens Red (These are the bulbs you were speaking of at SBLEDs)
30-SMD 5050: 230 Lumens Amber / 260 Lumens Red

 

theta where are you shopping for your led's? those specs are alot better. i thought they used the same led elements. they look the same. thanks for pointing out the white led issue with the brake lights and reverse lights. does the led in the picture light up amber or red? im trying to get the eggyoke look out of my front lights and worried about the yellow on those led's pictured. post as much as you like, knowledge is power!

 

I do a lot of research on these types of products before executing them. After all, I'm **** like that (electrical engineer/IT engineer).

These types of bulbs can be found under all sorts of brand names - the manufacturer is usually not an issue. Keep in mind that I live in St. Louis (that's where SuperBrightLEDs is based out of), yet I still order elsewhere after a few experiences. Regardless, that's for another time.

Here's a quick lesson on SMD LEDs that you guys will want to pay attention to. These are the two types we're going to be focusing on (bulbs are usually these two types - nobody buys the old types anymore):

1) 3528 SMD: Current: 20-25 mA, Consumption: 0.08W, Size: 3.5x2.8mm, 2500 mcd, 9 Lumens (Max)

2) 5050 SMD: Current: 50-60 mA, Consumption: 0.24W, Size: 5mmx5mm, 6000 mcd, 19 Lumens (Max)

This is a picture from my workbench just now.



The top bulb is a 60-SMD 3528 LED switchback bulb. The bottom bulb us a 9-SMD LED 5050 white LED bulb. Notice the length is nearly the same. Odd, eh?

Below the bulbs are two de-soldered SMD LEDs. The left is a 3528. The right is a 5050. See a difference? Yep.

Please forgive the condition of the 'bulbs' - I'm just testing and harvesting off of a few here. The point is as follows:

The 5050 SMD LEDs dwarf the 3528 LEDs in size and brightness. They put out over 200% of the MCD/lumens chip-for-chip. Usually, I calculate them as 2.5x brightness. We can get technical here, but let's just leave this as it is.

As per your question, the amber SMD LEDs are usually yellow in color. Red SMD LEDs are always clear. Warm and cool white SMD LEDs are sometimes yellow and sometimes clear.

The 30-SMD bulbs I use are roughly equivalent to 75-SMD 3528 bulbs. They sell 80 or 90-SMD 3528s, and those are just a tad brighter than even these.

 

Well, i have just been schooled. thank you, i feel alittle smarter now about led's. most of my led shopping doesnt have lumen specs. does you front turn signals still have that eggyoke look? now time to start shopping for 5050 led's!

 

The good part is that you can look at a picture and know immediately what LEDs a bulb uses. The 5050 are square and large. The 3528 are rectangular and small.

I'll PM you with where I got my turn/brake bulbs, and a pic is incoming of my front turn. Spent under $60 for 4 sets (front turn, rear turn, rear brake, rear running).

 

No yellow whatsoever. Oddly, these bulbs use clear elements for both the amber and red.









Yes, I know the washer caps are missing!

 

perrrrrfect, thats what im looking for. You are sooo much help, thank you.

 

Of course, my friend.

 

theta, been following you guys for a while with interest in some of the bulb mods.
Just getting my CM back in a day or two after being vandalized at the dealers, being serviced for a high speed vibration issue. Would like to continue with change outs. The previous posts of the missing egg yolks look awesome. Would you be kind enough to post/pm me with the ordering info. as well. Thanks in advance for your time and the wealth of information provided here

 

Sure thing!

 

I just ordered some LED's for the interior bulbs, but I'm still doing some research on exterior options. These look like a great option for the turn signals! I'd appreciate info on ordering these as well.

Thanks!

 

I don't have a problem posting the eBay link where I bought mine, but I don't want to mess around and get banned.

It's obviously not me selling them, and I don't have any interest in them, etc. I'll post the links where I bought mine, and you can see I was the buyer:

Front Amber Signals (1157)
Rear Amber Signals (1156)
Rear Brake Lights (need 2 sets) (1156)

If a mod sees this and doesn't like it, PLEASE remove the links or PM me before killing me.

 

Thanks! I don't see how that could be a problem. You are obviously not selling this stuff, and everybody else posts links to "here's where I got x".

 

THANK YOU THETA!!!!! i put the bulbs in the other day and they are perfect! finally done with all the lights on the front now. i had to put resistors on because my car is not coded yet. it worked out fine. now my car is de-yoked and has bright leds. so much better than any of the chrome bulbs i tried!!! the wires for front blinkers are the small blue and brown that are next to each other to anyone needing to add resistors. i got them on ebay also. sooo well worth it. i spent probably $30.00 total for led's and resistors shipped, plus what i wasted on several manufactures of chrome bulbs.the chrome bulbs were alot more dim than originals and still showed yellow, these leds are as bright or brighter than original and zero yellow from any angle