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Hi all,

I just ordered replacement globe kit for the interior of my R33 - it comes with boot, dome, and both map light globes in LED.

Put the dome in no issue, nice and bright all is well. Put the drivers side map light in, (pain in the butt to be honest, big hand tiny space etc) all good nice and bright. as i place the passenger side one in, I think I half pressed the button with a knuckle, and then all of a sudden the dome light went to about 1/10 brightness.

I tried the already installed drivers side map light and same thing 1/10 what it was.

I finally got the other globe in. And this is what i get:

- When one map light is on (1/10 brightness) and I switch the other one on, the brightness drops even further

- I can toggle between left and right sides, and no matter which way i do it, 2 on gives less output than an individual one on.

- When the dome light is on NEITHER map light powers on at all.

First thing i thought was fuse, even though I figured they shouldn't work AT ALL if i blew a fuse but i thought I would check anyway.

I have only check the ones under the steering wheel so far (electrics - both, and room) they seem intact (the little loop between the 2 sides of the fuse was in tact so that would mean it hasn't blown? - please correct if wrong)

Have any of you guys n gals seen this before?

Please Help!!

Thanks in advance for your time!

Tys

Did you start and run the car and try them out?

Start simple, check voltages at the lights. Remove them one by one to see if it is just one in particular that causes the issue or if it is an issue when they are all in at once

Being LED's they draw next to no current so if your halogen lights worked then LED's should ASSUMING they are the right ones for the job. They arent 24v LED's or something silly?

Did you start and run the car and try them out?

Start simple, check voltages at the lights. Remove them one by one to see if it is just one in particular that causes the issue or if it is an issue when they are all in at once

Being LED's they draw next to no current so if your halogen lights worked then LED's should ASSUMING they are the right ones for the job. They arent 24v LED's or something silly?

Hi.

Thanks for the reply. They are 12v designed as a direct replacement.

I did start the car to see if the brightness returned but to no avail.

I have swapped and removed the map light but not the dome.I'm well aware that these should have bugger all draw. That's why I'm surprised!

My concern is more that it was fine with 2. On my attempt of the third globe it made everything dull. Even after removing the third globe again. Like I'd caused damage (why I thought fuse)

Will do it in the morning and advise.

Appreciate it!

Did you start and run the car and try them out?

Start simple, check voltages at the lights. Remove them one by one to see if it is just one in particular that causes the issue or if it is an issue when they are all in at once

Being LED's they draw next to no current so if your halogen lights worked then LED's should ASSUMING they are the right ones for the job. They arent 24v LED's or something silly?

Ok,

Didn't actually have a chance this morning, however i noticed all my radio stations had been reset. Could this be a result of what happened, or because i pulled the fuse out?

Thanks.

OK took the LED's out one by one and put them back in in different orders etc still no good. Same symptoms.

I then put in the spare dome / boot LED that hasn't been taken out of the box yet to see if perhaps I just buggered all the LEDs at once and the fresh globe is still ultra dull like the rest.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Put your old ones back in and test with them

Sorry for the delay but all the obvious stuff like switching, removing, replacing etc has all been tried.

Is it possible a fuse is bad. Even though it looks in tact could it still be "bad"?

Thanks

Well what did the old globes do? Dull or normal?

The 3 interior lights and the boot light all come from the same fuse, also shared with the ignition switch light. Have you tried the dome light in on, off and door to see if any setting makes a difference (besides on not letting the other 2 come on)

Check your boot light and ignition switch light when the LED's are on and off to see if they dull at all. Report back then. To me it seems like the LED's are dodgy (or are they installed the wrong way around? worth a try turning them around. Being a diode they should only work one way but if it has something to correct this it might be faulty)

Other then that the circuit is a bit to basic for it to be anything but fuse, LED's or wiring. Replace the fuse anyway, I doubt that will be it but they arent exactly expensive

Well what did the old globes do? Dull or normal?

The 3 interior lights and the boot light all come from the same fuse, also shared with the ignition switch light. Have you tried the dome light in on, off and door to see if any setting makes a difference (besides on not letting the other 2 come on)

Check your boot light and ignition switch light when the LED's are on and off to see if they dull at all. Report back then. To me it seems like the LED's are dodgy (or are they installed the wrong way around? worth a try turning them around. Being a diode they should only work one way but if it has something to correct this it might be faulty)

Other then that the circuit is a bit to basic for it to be anything but fuse, LED's or wiring. Replace the fuse anyway, I doubt that will be it but they arent exactly expensive

Thanks for the response. I have tried door and on. Dome still dull. When I swapped back to the old globes they were still dull. The map lights only fit one way and the dome light doesn't power when the wrong way.

The LEDs were absolutely bright and perfect. Until they flickered and stayed dull on installation of the 3rd and final led (lhs map light). In case they all got cooked at once I put the boot led into the dome slot as they are the same and I hadn't installed the boot one yet. And they were still dull.

Only thing left is to swap the "room" fuse. As you said. Cheap and easy to do.

I'll report back once that is done.

CHEERS!

  • 1 month later...

OK guys big delay sorry was busy as hell.

Even though the room fuse didn't appear blown I swapped it anyway. And problem solved.

Is it possible for a fuse to blow higher up where you can't see? I personally have never seen this.

I put the old one back in in case it wasn't seated correctly etc and the lights stopped working again. Very odd.

So for now I'm calling this one fixed!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

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