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Is there a BA15S reversing LED that is confirmed to work in a FL? Specifically, a 2010 vRS wagon.
The reversing lights are the only ones I want to change to LED and I am tired of buying so called canbus friendly LEDs. Every single one tried so far is a fail. Check (L/R) reversing light errors.
I do not want to have to recode. I just want drop in and go.
Are there any out there?
Supernova
Supernova, iilumo or Stedi for good quality LED bulbs.
I am trying to buy some reverse LED's from Supernova for my Mk7 Golf but they are currently out of stock for the ones I need. But recently purchased some T15 LED's for my wifes Audi SQ5 from iilumo and they are great and no errors.
Got onto Supernova and they kindly sent me a pair BA15S LEDs to test. In their words:
We do have a high output BA15S reverse light, our highest to date.
It's generally reserved for the fussiest of CANBUS systems, being a Skoda and part of the VW group I believe (although have not personally tested on this exact model) That we should be able to supply an error-free light.
If for whatever reason it is not error-free we can organize for a full refund upon return ... as we would like to have on record whether or not our latest variant is error-free for this model :)
They do work. However, upon turning the ignition on there are four quick flashes of the left LED then four quick flashes of the right LED.
Again, in their words:
Completely normal for this LED and many of ours when installed on vehicles that have CANBUS systems and bulb check systems (which is pretty much all Euro vehicles post late 90's. A relatively new feature on Japanese, American, Australian built vehicles. When the vehicle starts, it completes a full bulb check of the exterior lighting circuit- it pulses a small amount of power to the circuits, checking resistance and communicating with the computer. A halogen globe takes more power for a longer period to illuminate (even though receiving this power), an LED is far more efficient and sensitive to power input thus the sequenced flashing as it's receiving power from the car during bulb check.
If you plug a halogen globe into a power supply, turn it on you'll notice it takes time to fully illuminate, and LED is almost instant for illumination.
Can look bizarre at first, important to note causes no harm to the vehicle or LED, the LED has inbuilt resistors and naturally draws a higher current than many on the market. The biggest issue with a lot of LEDs, is they initially draw enough current but then drop their power draw, thus an error is registered by the car.
Keep testing, as for the flash startup sequence, some vehicles can have the bulb check disabled via coding, but this means you won't be notified when a globe is not working, not ideal.
Again, if it bothers you, you can ship them back for a refund. But I think it's a small trade-off for an LED that's so far error-free and provides you with increased light output whilst reversing :)
So, they work and they flash on startup. After that, they are fine (and brighter than standard P21S bulbs). I'll keep testing them but unless I go the relayed load route I think this could be the only solution available.
Just a followup: the LEDs are working fine and there are no CANBUS errors. Reversing light is pretty good. Monumentally better than standard.