So, last night I bought a set of Pilot LED license plate bulbs & installed them, only to find that unless my headlights are ON, they just sit there & flicker. The only way to get them to stop flickering is to arm the alarm, in which case they sit there & glow very dim. Thinking this was my fault for not springing for the nicer Sylvania LEDs, I returned to the APS, exchanged them for the nicer Sylvanias, and to my dismay, the symptoms are identical. Is there something else in the electrical system that may be causing this?

 

Bulbs that don't have resistors do this....
Thing stray voltages in the wire is enough to light the LED's...but do nothing for a regular bulb...
Think about it this way...
The r53/50/52 uses a BCM, body control module, is a computer...and basicly uses tiny amplifiers to convert the CPU's instructions to the signal to light the bulb...the flickering is basicly like static or pops on an amp....
Best option...
Only buy bulbs with built in resistors to simulate the load of a regular bulb...

 

We have the bulbs you need here in ZIZa brand , no flickering after BCM does a quick bulb check at start up (say a couple second), which you cant see with standard filament bulbs. Then they are bright and steady. They have the built in resistors.

R50 R52 R53 plate light leds

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/ES2598621/





Also before you install any bulbs check the prongs for the tube bulbs , the lens can fall off and then water can corrode the prongs making the signal / connection weak.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t-housing.html

 

I get LED's for all lights except the License Plate, why illuminate the plate? Lots of people buy those darkening anti photo screens to hide the fact that they just blasted through a red light. If you must I'd go with the ZiZa.

 

Illegal in many states to not illuminate them. You fail inspection in NY for example without them.

 

I don't like the dull yellow light...makes it look old. LEDs look cleaner and more modern IMO.

 

I meant making them brighter with LED's , not going dark!

 

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I decided to cheap out for the time being & go with regular bulbs. Working like a charm

 

You are welcome.