AuthorTopic: Are LED bulbs (brakes/indicators, etc) road legal? Do they need extra resistors?  (Read 9016 times)

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Offline auf_wiedersehen_pet

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Are LED bulbs for brake lights & indicators road legal? Do they need extra resistors?
Rob Steele

1995 Land Rover Discovery 300 TDi - Everyday Car (Ex Jap)
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Offline maggers

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I seem to remember that the official line is that if you fit a complete LED lamp they are legal, however if you fit an LED bulb to a lamp designed to use normal bulbs that's a no-no. ;)
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Offline Rossko

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Are LED bulbs for brake lights & indicators road legal? Do they need extra resistors?

Yes and No.

All LEDs require a series resistor to limit the running current.  This is usually built in and isn't what is normally meant when describing an automotive LED package as having a 'resistor'.

LED replacements for indicators will almost always need to have power-wasting parallel resistors to take enough current to fool the flasher unit that a regular bulb is in use, else it won't flash properly.
LED replacements for other bulbs may also need parallel resistors to dump enough current to fool any bulb-fail detection circuits that all is well.

Legal situation is unclear.  The UK laws don't mention LEDs at all, but specify bulbs of whatever wattage.   So in theory retrofitting a car with LED mandatory lights is illegal.   Many of course do pass MoTs with these units fitted.   A consideration though is that LED units tend to have 'beam' type pattern ; when used with lenses designed for real bulbs the viewing angles will be wrong.  A sharp-eyed traffic cop or MoT tester could just pick this up.
New cars are type-approved as a whole item, including any LED lamps factory fitted, so they don't have to comply with the older laws.
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Offline MaxMarshall

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I seem to remember that the official line is that if you fit a complete led lighting they are legal, however if you fit an LED bulb to a lamp designed to use normal bulbs that's a no-no. ;)
There is plenty of talks about these bulbs are real or not.. I have seen many individuals using them so they must be legal
« Last Edit: July 30, 2013, 17:27:49 by MaxMarshall »

Offline trecfive

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I seem to remember that the official line is that if you fit a complete LED lamp they are legal, however if you fit an LED bulb to a lamp designed to use normal bulbs that's a no-no. ;)
There is plenty of talks about these bulbs are real or not.. I have seen many individuals using them so they must be legal
I have seen many individuals smoking dope, thats not legal, but they do it.
1. Range Rover Classic 300tdi SE Auto Softdash
2. Range Rover Classic 300tdi SE Auto Softdash, apparently very rare.

 






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