My changed view on LED's for the Maverick

[A.Bursell]

Some rambling thoughts on LED's in the Maverick:

I LOVE LED's. I have had them in several vehicles now, and the benefits are hard to argue. I knew I wanted them in my Maverick, so I had a full set of Lasfits before my Lariat even arrived. I bought Lasfit because that seems to be the overwhelmingly popular choice on here and the idea that they were plug-and-play seemed ideal. I did not/do not want to cut into my wiring by adding resistors, especially with tap-in connectors.

I started with the front signals, installing them as soon as my truck came in, and was initially kind of mixed. They are really bright. I couldn't help but think that the signals in the front were really too bright. And this is with the T3's that are supposed to be less bright than the originals. I decided to try it for a while. The rear bulbs were also bright, but not as blinding. By the time I installed them, it was pretty well known that the Ford lighting update essentially "broke" the plug-and-play of the bulbs, and one of the temporary fixes was to disable the bulb out warning in Forscan (which I already had on hand for other uses).

Between the two issues, this really got me thinking and wondering if there really was a benefit to the plug-and-play nature of these bulbs and if they were right for me. If they are functioning by just having a built-in resistor and the newer T3's are using some type of circuitry to learn from the computer or some such stuff, that's a lot involved that can go wrong.

The truck seems to decide if a bulb is out the way they have for a long time, which is why resistors work as a fix. That leads me to believe that the only way the truck will know if these type of bulbs are out is if the actual resistor goes out (unlikely?). If one or more of the LED's fail, it won't know, and potentially if the circuitry in there fails it may not know either. I don't think there's a benefit except that you don't get hyperflashing - whether they are working or not (maybe?).

So I sent back my Lasfit and I decided to try Diode Dynamics. No extra computer-fooling stuff or resistors or fans or any other stuff I have seen on various bulbs. If they fail, I will know the same way as with the Lasfit - by seeing them fail. I see them every time I walk up to my truck, so that's not a big deal. But I think they are much less likely to fail with less components inside them. I got to pick my level of brightness that I wanted. I selected the HP11 models, which are a step up from stock, but not eye-burning, nor the brightest bulbs they offer. Similar price-point I would say. If you opt for the brightest bulbs they offer, it is more expensive. I received them promptly. I did have to nip off a little piece of plastic on the sides of each bulb, but I knew that going in. Took a few seconds to do that, popped them in, turned off the front and rear bulb out notification in Forscan, and have been a happy camper ever since. Rather than change bulbs in the third-brake light, I opted to install an OEM F150 model light - and that is a perfect match to these bulbs for the brake, and the cargo is a perfect match to the bed light. They even dim exactly the same way. Diode Dynamics, in my opinion: Great products, fantastic customer support, 3-year warranty, and a great return policy if you change your mind.

This is not a shot at Lasfit, actually the opposite. They initially refunded my purchase of the bulbs that failed when the software update came out, and they did take the bulbs back after I used them. That is saying something for sure. I just wanted to go a different direction.

I believe you could even get away with $15 no-name eBay bulbs and not have any issues as long as you also have Forscan. But I'd like to believe DD has done some optical engineering and put higher quality materials into their bulbs, so that's the reason I went that direction along with the aforementioned benefits.

Feel free to add your thoughts as well.

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[The Real Maverick]

I was behind a car tonight with "upgraded" red tail lamps.

Looked stupid and was unsafe.
Looked like brake lights were on 100% of the time. Greatly reduced the effectiveness of having brake lamps.
Driver knowingly (or unknowingly) will have to rely on following traffic to notice the center third brake lamp.

I have no idea the brand of bulbs.
That poor soul made a poor choice.

 

[The Real Maverick]

As for turn signals.

Have you HONESTLY ever not noticed someone's blinker was on? No? Then THEY CAN SEE YOURS!

There is no need for "brighter". Really.
HONESTLY there is not.

 

[A.Bursell]

I was behind a car tonight with "upgraded" red tail lamps.

Looked stupid and was unsafe.
Looked like brake lights were on 100% of the time. Greatly reduced the effectiveness of having brake lamps.
Driver knowingly (or unknowingly) will have to rely on following traffic to notice the center third brake lamp.

I have no idea the brand of bulbs.
That poor soul made a poor choice.

As for turn signals.

Have you HONESTLY ever not noticed someone's blinker was on? No? Then THEY CAN SEE YOURS!

There is no need for "brighter". Really.
HONESTLY there is not.

I agree - I thought the originals from Lasfit were too bright. I like the benefits of LEDs - the quicker reaction, longer lasting, etc. And I do like that these seem a little brighter than the stock incandescent, without burning your eyes.

The real turning point for me was that I was in front of a truck that had some type of LED turn signals. They were so bright that it was like someone flashing their high beams at me in the mirrors. It was really ridiculous. There is such a thing as too bright...

 

[Maverstang]

I’ve come to the conclusion that changing the cab mounted bed lights, reverse lights, and maybe even the side markers to LED is worth the effort. The incandescent bed lights in particular look so dingy, they’re much better as an LED. And the backup camera night vision is much improved with LED backup lights.

But with all the baggage that comes with changing out the turn signal and brake lights, it’s not really worth the trouble or the cost. The factory bulbs work fine and they are fully DoT compliant, including failure detection.

Just one opinion, but I think a rational one.

 

[fossil]

I like LEDs. The only incandescent bulbs in my home are inside the oven and microwave, even the fridge is LED. They pay for themselves every day in reduced utility costs unlike car LEDs.
Love the LED headlights in my Tremor but the old fashion backups are bright enough even for my ancient eyes and the bargain basement rear cam. IMO all the lights are plenty bright enough and don't give small town Deputy Dog any excuse to pull me over or to even notice.

 

[SLH13]

My husband and I drive OTR team. He drives the night shift. He absolutely hates vehicles with LED's. He says driving all night with those super bright tail lights, break lights and directionals is awful. Some of the headlights are even worse.
I think the LED's look good during the day. They are a little more visible. Not enough to make a difference if a driver is paying attention. At night? Just too much. Especially for those of us who drive a lot. If it's raining, they are completely blinding.
For those that say LED's are so you don't get rearended, the only way your gonna stop that is by getting people to put their phones down. People run into emergency vehicles with lights flashing on the side of the road. A couple LED's won't make a difference.

 

[Tim d]

Some rambling thoughts on LED's in the Maverick:

I LOVE LED's. I have had them in several vehicles now, and the benefits are hard to argue. I knew I wanted them in my Maverick, so I had a full set of Lasfits before my Lariat even arrived. I bought Lasfit because that seems to be the overwhelmingly popular choice on here and the idea that they were plug-and-play seemed ideal. I did not/do not want to cut into my wiring by adding resistors, especially with tap-in connectors.

I started with the front signals, installing them as soon as my truck came in, and was initially kind of mixed. They are really bright. I couldn't help but think that the signals in the front were really too bright. And this is with the T3's that are supposed to be less bright than the originals. I decided to try it for a while. The rear bulbs were also bright, but not as blinding. By the time I installed them, it was pretty well known that the Ford lighting update essentially "broke" the plug-and-play of the bulbs, and one of the temporary fixes was to disable the bulb out warning in Forscan (which I already had on hand for other uses).

Between the two issues, this really got me thinking and wondering if there really was a benefit to the plug-and-play nature of these bulbs and if they were right for me. If they are functioning by just having a built-in resistor and the newer T3's are using some type of circuitry to learn from the computer or some such stuff, that's a lot involved that can go wrong.

The truck seems to decide if a bulb is out the way they have for a long time, which is why resistors work as a fix. That leads me to believe that the only way the truck will know if these type of bulbs are out is if the actual resistor goes out (unlikely?). If one or more of the LED's fail, it won't know, and potentially if the circuitry in there fails it may not know either. I don't think there's a benefit except that you don't get hyperflashing - whether they are working or not (maybe?).

So I sent back my Lasfit and I decided to try Diode Dynamics. No extra computer-fooling stuff or resistors or fans or any other stuff I have seen on various bulbs. If they fail, I will know the same way as with the Lasfit - by seeing them fail. I see them every time I walk up to my truck, so that's not a big deal. But I think they are much less likely to fail with less components inside them. I got to pick my level of brightness that I wanted. I selected the HP11 models, which are a step up from stock, but not eye-burning, nor the brightest bulbs they offer. Similar price-point I would say. If you opt for the brightest bulbs they offer, it is more expensive. I received them promptly. I did have to nip off a little piece of plastic on the sides of each bulb, but I knew that going in. Took a few seconds to do that, popped them in, turned off the front and rear bulb out notification in Forscan, and have been a happy camper ever since. Rather than change bulbs in the third-brake light, I opted to install an OEM F150 model light - and that is a perfect match to these bulbs for the brake, and the cargo is a perfect match to the bed light. They even dim exactly the same way. Diode Dynamics, in my opinion: Great products, fantastic customer support, 3-year warranty, and a great return policy if you change your mind.

This is not a shot at Lasfit, actually the opposite. They initially refunded my purchase of the bulbs that failed when the software update came out, and they did take the bulbs back after I used them. That is saying something for sure. I just wanted to go a different direction.

I believe you could even get away with $15 no-name eBay bulbs and not have any issues as long as you also have Forscan. But I'd like to believe DD has done some optical engineering and put higher quality materials into their bulbs, so that's the reason I went that direction along with the aforementioned benefits.

Feel free to add your thoughts as well.

Curious,is there an issue with the factory bulbs I'm not aware of?

 

[Ozarkbeard]

There is such a thing as too bright...

Hear here!

Tell that to some of the idiots that buy the damned overly-bright bulbs and think it's cool to annoy, piss off and blind other drivers with disabling glare.

Good lighting usually does not exceed the minimum amount needed for the task. And OEM indicator lamps, whether LED, incandescent or whatever, are engineered to do just that.

 

[Tremor guy]

Diode dynamics is the best period I’ve used them since 2005 on my Mercury Marauder and my 69 Mustang rear taillights plus others Made in USA

 

[OleFordGuy]

Diode dynamics is the best period I’ve used them since 2005 on my Mercury Marauder and my 69 Mustang rear taillights plus others Made in USA

100% agree and made in USA, not china shit from the people that hate our country. Left all mine as factory except installed the LED backup bulbs and 3rd brake light clear bulbs for bed lighting.

 

[fossil]

Here at Diode Dynamics, we're dedicated to providing the best lighting and service possible right here in the USA. We take pride in our quality products, our customer-focused service, and working "against the grain" to assemble products in America.

While I think DD makes/sells a good product, have a pair of their fogs, it doesn't actually say their bulbs are made in USA nor anywhere in their promotion video.
I'd be thrilled to be wrong

 

[A.Bursell]

My husband and I drive OTR team. He drives the night shift. He absolutely hates vehicles with LED's. He says driving all night with those super bright tail lights, break lights and directionals is awful. Some of the headlights are even worse.
I think the LED's look good during the day. They are a little more visible. Not enough to make a difference if a driver is paying attention. At night? Just too much. Especially for those of us who drive a lot. If it's raining, they are completely blinding.
For those that say LED's are so you don't get rearended, the only way your gonna stop that is by getting people to put their phones down. People run into emergency vehicles with lights flashing on the side of the road. A couple LED's won't make a difference.

Your truck doesn't have any LEDs on it? That's where they really became more popular was on trucks, due to all of the aforementioned benefits and longevity. Now many, many cars come standard with them, and trucks as well. I agree with over-bright LEDs though.

Curious,is there an issue with the factory bulbs I'm not aware of?

Are you really still curious after posting this in numerous threads that have to do with LEDs?

 

[Tim d]

Your truck doesn't have any LEDs on it? That's where they really became more popular was on trucks, due to all of the aforementioned benefits and longevity. Now many, many cars come standard with them, and trucks as well. I agree with over-bright LEDs though.



Are you really still curious after posting this in numerous threads that have to do with LEDs?

Yes,I am seeing posts about people replacing their factory bulbs,so if there is something wrong I will do that also. You would think Ford would issue a recall though?

 

[SLH13]

Your truck doesn't have any LEDs on it? That's where they really became more popular was on trucks, due to all of the aforementioned benefits and longevity. Now many, many cars come standard with them, and trucks as well. I agree with over-bright LEDs

Oh yes we have chicken lights!
The LED's on our truck are maybe a little brighter than an normal bulb. The tail lights and directionals do not blind you. The running lights (chicken lights) are small, not large and overly bright. The aftermarket LED's being referred to in the posts on MTC are way brighter. There are many posts photos and video's showing that.
Several comments it is thread mention them being way too bright. LED's come in different brightness, but the ones most are putting in as aftermarket are considerably brightert han the standard bulbs.
In the past couple of years it seems that there are more and more overly bright LED''s on vehicles of all types. Including big trucks.
Most people do not drive for 10 hours in the dark to realize how much that extra brightness really effects someones eyes. I think, especially in the rain, it makes them more likely to be hit. Its hard to judge distance when your squinting or turning you eyes away from the glare.

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