Rigging LEDs for vanity light.. fuse keeps blowing
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,186
Likes: 67
From: Reno, NV
Rigging LEDs for vanity light.. fuse keeps blowing
So I'm doing the vanity mirror mod and cutting out the old bulb and replacing it with a 3 SMT LED light from v-leds.com... I managed to get the light and board out of the glass casing and soldered it to the substrate, however whenever I go and test the light, one of the fuses keeps blowing on me. The passenger side light works perfectly fine but the driver side one keeps causing the fuse to break. The light I'm using doesn't exceed the power limit of the original bulb so that's not the problem.. I didn't connect the wrong sides because it lights up when I use my tester... My interior lights are off as my doors are closed to insure the lights aren't on when I plug the thing in... I'm not an electrical engineer or anything but I do know how to connect things properly and solder and work with some simple circuits, but I don't know why the fuse keeps going out when I try to connect the light into the mirror. Do I have to disconnect the battery? I didn't think it would require that.. It's a simple tiny bulb 
. Can someone please explain? Thanks!
. Can someone please explain? Thanks!
not sure how much help i will be, but i am currently running 3 smt bulbs as well from vled, and i did not have to solder anything or mess with the boards...once you remove the oem bulbs you may notice that the vled bulbs are slightly longer, but will still make contact with both sides...the problem is there is a little piece of plastic next to the contact point that will need to be trimmed (i was able to do this with the tip of a pair of scissors i had in the car), just snip enough to get the bulb in place....if you are still having trouble i'll see if i can snap a couple pics for you after work
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,186
Likes: 67
From: Reno, NV
Really? I have the same bulbs you had but I couldn't imagine them fitting in without taking them out of the glass casing.. If you could show me some pictures, that would be awesome! Thanks =)
not sure how much help i will be, but i am currently running 3 smt bulbs as well from vled, and i did not have to solder anything or mess with the boards...once you remove the oem bulbs you may notice that the vled bulbs are slightly longer, but will still make contact with both sides...the problem is there is a little piece of plastic next to the contact point that will need to be trimmed (i was able to do this with the tip of a pair of scissors i had in the car), just snip enough to get the bulb in place....if you are still having trouble i'll see if i can snap a couple pics for you after work
i have an 06 and mine is not a plug and play bulb. mine looks like a new bulb would have to be soldered in. the op is trying to do this i believe.
https://g35driver.com/forums/body-in...sion-04-a.html
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,186
Likes: 67
From: Reno, NV
Ohh I didn't see if there was DIY on this.. but that's exactly what I did... Pulled the 3 LED board out of the glass casing and soldered it in place of the OEM bulb before it. But that's not the problem... The solder job was clean and everything works well for the passenger side, but when I go to plug it into the driver side, it blows the fuse.. I made sure the lights were all deactivated, but as soon as I go to flip up the mirror to turn the light on, everything goes out.
not sure how much help i will be, but i am currently running 3 smt bulbs as well from vled, and i did not have to solder anything or mess with the boards...once you remove the oem bulbs you may notice that the vled bulbs are slightly longer, but will still make contact with both sides...the problem is there is a little piece of plastic next to the contact point that will need to be trimmed (i was able to do this with the tip of a pair of scissors i had in the car), just snip enough to get the bulb in place....if you are still having trouble i'll see if i can snap a couple pics for you after work
sorry guys/gals i passed out last night before snapping anypics...but i'll shoot some up later tonight...really surprised everyone had done it the way you posted cal, mine were in in about 10 mins
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^^^it's weird 'cause i asked to of my other friends with 06 coupes and theirs has to be done the same way that DIY i posted says to do it. i've never seen anyone on here with direct replacement vanity lights. 
make sure the board is not touching that plate or the solder joints will ground out with it causing a blown fuse or resetting the bcm.i put double sided tape then the board on top leaving a small gap.
sorry guys, completely forgot about the pics...will post them when i get home tonight (i know said that before...my bad)
....just to clarify i have an 06 coupe, not 100% sure these work the same for the earlier models
....just to clarify i have an 06 coupe, not 100% sure these work the same for the earlier models
Just check my vanity and they are like the ones that DrewTheSuit posted (I have an 06 coupe)
I have been getting alot of request on offering LEDs for the Vanity but always assumed they werent a simple plug and play. I will see if I can find a bulb that will work in there and if so, offer them to those that have this style vanity mirrors...
I have been getting alot of request on offering LEDs for the Vanity but always assumed they werent a simple plug and play. I will see if I can find a bulb that will work in there and if so, offer them to those that have this style vanity mirrors...