eBay LED Taillight pics
08-20-2017, 03:55 PM
#31
Nordschleife Master
I did some swapping around of the wiring and the sections of the tail light that are used for the different functions. The two large LED sections on the outside are blinker (top) which turn red when illuminated, and brakes/driving lights on the bottom. I used the old bulbs on the inside sections for the reverse lights (top clear) and the fog lights (botton red).
The user manual says that a P21W bulb (which I believe is also an 1156 bulb) is used for the Rear fog and reverse lights - these are the bulbs that the Spyder taillamp appears to preserve and I'm looking to also convert them to LED. What LED equivalents have people used?
I'm looking to see the brand, specification, etc. I find the incandescent to LED switch to be very confusing when you get into discussion of #SMG, lumens, etc. I was just hoping to see what others had used and how well it worked.
Thanks!
08-21-2017, 10:32 PM
#34
Intermediate
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Saw someone posted a link to xxxgym. Not sure if you guys r aware, their reputation sucks back in Hong Kong by using cheap materials in the old days and everything would not fit. Their garage is crappy and staff are no mechanic at all. Purely auto parts merchants.
08-21-2017, 11:41 PM
#35
Burning Brakes
I've been running the Spyder (eBay) red/smoked LED tails for a few years now. No issues at all. The long skinny wire can be connected successfully if you pay attention to polarity. Easier just to leave it disconnected.
996.1 cars are pre-CAN bus, so they don't have some of the issues that later cars can have with LED bulbs.
996.1 cars are pre-CAN bus, so they don't have some of the issues that later cars can have with LED bulbs.
08-23-2017, 06:47 PM
#36
Nordschleife Master
My lights arrived yesterday and I did the install last night - really easy install, took around 30 minutes. No problems. They look great and worked great first time. If I'd know how easy and how good this looked I would have done it long ago - a nice update to the look of the lights.
08-23-2017, 10:53 PM
#37
Rennlist Member
08-24-2017, 01:34 PM
#38
Rennlist Member
^definitely an upgraded look, but I lean towards the Ebay look.
I'd do the mod in a minute, but I am concerned about CEL and fuse popping issues in my cars. I went thru that on an 05 Cherokee so now I'm semi-traumatized
I'd do the mod in a minute, but I am concerned about CEL and fuse popping issues in my cars. I went thru that on an 05 Cherokee so now I'm semi-traumatized
08-24-2017, 02:19 PM
#39
Burning Brakes
I've done headlight / taillight swaps on a couple cars with Ebay variants and have never had an issue. Japanese and German, haven't installed on American however.
08-24-2017, 04:50 PM
#40
Racer
Join Date: Jul 2016
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So, I'm anxiously awaiting for Monday to take ownership of my new 1999 996! It's an early build with black exterior, full leather beige interior and PSM. It does have the early taillights with the orange turn indicator and wanted to update these. I've seen plenty of pics of the DEPO style ones, but honestly don't want to drop the 600-800 bucks.
I was thinking of the $300 ones on eBay, but could not find many pics them them installed. Does anyone have these? I'd also consider the OE ones with the clear indicator, but the recyclers want too much for those as well.
These are the ones I'm referring to:
I was thinking of the $300 ones on eBay, but could not find many pics them them installed. Does anyone have these? I'd also consider the OE ones with the clear indicator, but the recyclers want too much for those as well.
These are the ones I'm referring to:
08-24-2017, 06:28 PM
#41
Nordschleife Master
Yeah, I went with the Spyder Auto lights (bought off Amazon), as they claim to make their own lights to a high quality, but I'll be honest, I can't really tell the difference between them and anything else I've seen on eBay. I think they're all made out of the same supplier in Taiwan. The quality is really good, so based on what I've seen you can probably go with the sets you see on eBay. I was going to buy the Del Rey Customs lights, as I read good things about them also and they claim to be high quality - again, as far as I can tell they're the same as the Spyder Auto lights, just priced higher.
I'm not a fan of the Dectane lights at all - they're not close to matching the original style of the 996 and look out of place on our cars. They don't match the 991 lights and don't match the 996, so end up just looking nothing like anything Porsche and not really at home. At least with this style, they're about as close as you'll get to matching the original euro style taillights that came with my car and I'm really happy with that - they look good in daylight and light up nicely after dark.
As for the install, don't fear - it's not so bad. The reason I waited so long to do mine was because I read so many horror stories of check engine lights and having to solder resistors to make it work, but this set is really close to plug and play - I was done in 30 mins.
Here's the video on how to do it:
it's really not a big deal to switch the wiring harnesses, the resistors are built in, so no issues there. The only point to be careful on is the little peanut lights at the side - double and triple check that you're lining red wire to red wire so that you match polarity and don't blow the fuse, but that's the only touchy bit. The way I did it was to look at the position of the red wire relative to the tab on the wiring harness, then ensure I connected the new LED onto the same side.
I promise if you do the upgrade you'll be happy with what you see.
08-25-2017, 02:17 AM
#42
Pro
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i love me LED tails from eBay. Not a fan of the 997 looking ones. And the old tail lights sold already.
