# List of light bulg types



## misterwes (Feb 2, 2012)

For those who haven't started taking apart and putting together their amazing machine we call the Beetle!
I wanted to know what kind of bulbs we had for LED conversion so here you are!

Headlight - H4
DRL - 7443 
Fog - H8
Blinker (above fog)- 880
Side blinker (on fender) - 194/168
Dome (map light) - 194
Trunk - 44mm Festoon (fuse type)
License plate - 194/168

194/168 wedge type LED replacements are same and will work in either socket  hope this is the start to more tech talk and less complaints 

-Wes

*edit* trunk festoon is 44mm x 10mm


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## UTE (Nov 12, 2011)

Nice work, Wes. 

Thank you. 

Bill


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## misterwes (Feb 2, 2012)

I live to serve the VW community


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## ridgemanron (Sep 27, 2011)

misterwes said:


> I live to serve the VW community


Mr. Wes ! Can you supply 'Moody Lucy' with any information concerning her ordering
the smaller rear headrests that are on the European Beetles? Her Beetle has the Black
Leatherette and she is trying to find out a ' Part Number', estimated cost, and how she
might order them through a U.S. dealer or direct to a dealer in the euro zone?


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## misterwes (Feb 2, 2012)

Hmm I'm at the dealer right now... Are they Beetle specific or leatherette specific?


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## ridgemanron (Sep 27, 2011)

misterwes said:


> Hmm I'm at the dealer right now... Are they Beetle specific or leatherette specific?


 They are the plain black OEM leatherette rear headrests for the 2012 Beetle.


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## misterwes (Feb 2, 2012)

Are the smaller ones beetle specific is what I meant


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## ridgemanron (Sep 27, 2011)

misterwes said:


> Are the smaller ones beetle specific is what I meant


 Of course they are 'Beetle Specific'. What else would they be if they come as OEM with the 
cars? Because there are different materials used by VW for the Beetle, the type 'Moody Lucy' 
is looking for are Black Leatherette (simulated leather) and not actual leather. They will 
have a much lower profile in height than the ones VW affixes to U.S. Beetles. It's possible 
they are not called 'Leatherette' in Europe but whatever they might be called, you need only 
tell them, 'Made of Black synthetic vinyl ' (resembles the same pebbly texture as the real leather 
ones.)


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## jwcardy (Feb 22, 2012)

props to you my dude. thanks for this. 

-wes


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## vdub10golf (Jan 23, 2010)

x2, this will come in handy


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## Babie (Jul 22, 2012)

Now,mark which bulbs create errors and which to not would be super, anyone.


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## Babie (Jul 22, 2012)

They have new h8 led fog bulbs that are super bright, would this cause a error on the fogs.


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## Farnsworth (Jan 26, 2010)

misterwes said:


> Blinker (above fog)- 880


Can you verify this please? It seems like an odd bulb for a turn signal. I'd also like to find some with mirror-finish but still amber-light get rid of the fried-egg look.


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## Farnsworth (Jan 26, 2010)

Also, any idea of the bulb type for the reverse lights?


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## misterwes (Feb 2, 2012)

Sorry haven't taken the rear apart yet.. And haven't had the balls to take apart the mirror covers... 880 is the bulb type. Take it out and read it


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## Farnsworth (Jan 26, 2010)

misterwes said:


> 880 is the bulb type. Take it out and read it


I believe you, it's just odd that 880 is typically a fog/driving light bulb.


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## cdotr (Dec 26, 2007)

The tail lamp of my 2012 Beetle from Canada has a 7443, P21/5W, and a 194 bulb in it. At least as memory serves it was a 194.


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## vdubbugman53 (Nov 7, 2006)

What bulb is the DRL in non HID obviously. I'd like to get them in LED.

Sent from my XT912 using Tapatalk 4


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## KCXTWO (Apr 27, 2013)

On US 2012, The reverse bulbs are T15 wedge. Rear turn signal are 1156 and brake/parking are 7443. Licence plate bulbs are T10s.


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## VWNDAHS (Jun 20, 2002)

I just picked up some 10W LED replacements for the fog lights, anyone had success with other external bulbs like back up or turn signal. From what I've read LED'ing the turn signals is a pain given the way the voltage is modulated to make it blink when turning.


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## cdotr (Dec 26, 2007)

I have purchased a number of LEDs to date. I would really like to switch the 7443 DRL bulbs to LED but have had trouble doing so. The first set I had blew up and blew a fuse. The second set blew the fuse again.

I had purchased the second set through superbrightleds.com and consulted them after this occurred. They indicated to me that the LEDs I had purchased from them are polarized, and the majority of LEDs are polarized. They pointed me to non-polarized LEDs which I have yet to purchase or try.

So far I have been able to swap my trunk light to LED, the overhead console lights to LED, and my license plate lights.


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## Chris659 (Nov 16, 2012)

I switched out my reverse lights to LEd a lil while back and feel they actually produce less visible light. Although the light now being produced is more intense white than the yellow color so I like the look of that color light better (although I never see them). The LEDs are very directional so objects up hi are brighter than before but it doesn't do much out to the side or the bottom.

I can't remember exactly which bulb I used but I looked through every company's specs and bought the one that stated it had the highest lumen output. It also has lights on the sides and end so I figured it would spread light around.*


Untitled by ChrisnAmy1, on Flickr



Untitled by ChrisnAmy1, on Flickr



I left them in because they match the ridiculously bright LED tag lights from ECS Tuning which helps make my backup camera see better at night (No night vision in camera)


Untitled by ChrisnAmy1, on Flickr



While I had the tail lamps apart I swapped out the brake light bulbs and they were significantly DIMMER than the factory bulbs! I tried 4 different pairs both white and red LEDs and some you could barely see. So before you waste your money on brake light bulbs I would reconsider. and I'm not trying cheap eBay products either...


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## SIX SPEED (Apr 27, 2005)

VWNDAHS mentioned he got this H8 bulbs for his fog lights on another thread.

I am trying to find out if they dim still with the cornering feature and how close do they match the LED's on the main headlights also if they are trowing any error codes.... 

Has anyone else found good H8 lights? I would love to change my fogs to the LED and while having them out also at the same time the turn signals 7506 but anyone had success?


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## Chris659 (Nov 16, 2012)

I thought the front turn signals were 7443 like the daytime running and brake lights?


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## iamdsj (Oct 19, 2012)

*replacement bulbs*

I am trying to get some replacement LEDs for all my current stock bulbs.
I'm currently looking at "superbrightleds.com" cause I've heard a lot about them.
I was wondering why is it that the actual h8 bulbs put out the least lumens, and if it actually competes with what is stock.
I have done research but can find nothing.
I found H8s that put out 550 lumens for my fog lights, H4s for my headlights that only put out 380 lumens, and 7443 that put out 480 lumens for my DRLs.
I find it weird that the DRLs and FOGs put out more then the headlight bulbs themselves. Am I the only one?


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## clnilsen (Apr 24, 2014)

Just wanted to give someone a heads up since its sticky in the FAQ, but not all Beetle fog lights are H8. Mine (2013 Turbo Beetle) are 9006. Figured I could save someone else frustration since I just ordered the wrong fog light kit 😡


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## rxlord (Mar 25, 2009)

Anyone successfully change the drl to leds?


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## ecirwin (Feb 27, 2009)

rxlord said:


> Anyone successfully change the drl to leds?


I just put in a set from deAutokey for my wife's '14 Beetle R-line and they look a lot better than the stock ones did. They are a little hard to install, but with some twisting and fiddling they do go in. I did have to pull one back out and flip it around, it was coming on with the headlights, but not on with the other DRL.


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## Doug French (Apr 25, 2017)

do you have a part number for the DRL from deAutokey?


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## deAutoLED.com (Jun 1, 2012)

ecirwin said:


> I just put in a set from deAutokey for my wife's '14 Beetle R-line and they look a lot better than the stock ones did. They are a little hard to install, but with some twisting and fiddling they do go in. I did have to pull one back out and flip it around, it was coming on with the headlights, but not on with the other DRL.





Doug French said:


> do you have a part number for the DRL from deAutokey?


Thanks for the feedback.

The Beetle DRLs we sell are made specifically for the BEETLE Electronics so they work, they are the 7443 found here:
http://deautokey.com/product/2012-beetle-day-time-running-lights-drls-cree-bright-white-error-free

ALL LEDs for your car:
http://deautokey.com/category/shop-by-car-model-vw-beetle-all-years-trims

Thank you


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## 5309 (Dec 11, 2002)

ecirwin said:


> I just put in a set from deAutokey for my wife's '14 Beetle R-line and they look a lot better than the stock ones did. They are a little hard to install, but with some twisting and fiddling they do go in. I did have to pull one back out and flip it around, it was coming on with the headlights, but not on with the other DRL.


I picked up some new led DRL and I'm having this problem I'll have to try it in the morning :banghead:


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## deAutoLED.com (Jun 1, 2012)

5309 said:


> I picked up some new led DRL and I'm having this problem I'll have to try it in the morning :banghead:


You can bend and align the metal prongs on the LED which will help create a better connection with the car's adapter, it seems that is the issue we have seen in the past and that helped with customers that contacted us with a similar issue.

They are also polarized, if a function is not working please flip 180 degrees.

Please keep us updated.

Thank you


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## 5309 (Dec 11, 2002)

Took my bulbs out so much and played around my o e m bulbs won't work for the DRL .:banghead:


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## Enricovw (Oct 20, 2017)

deAutoLED.com said:


> Thanks for the feedback.
> 
> The Beetle DRLs we sell are made specifically for the BEETLE Electronics so they work, they are the 7443 found here:
> http://deautokey.com/product/2012-beetle-day-time-running-lights-drls-cree-bright-white-error-free
> ...


I went with CarID, they have three types, I went with the low cost one and work just fine for me...

https://www.carid.com/2017-volkswagen-beetle-led-lights/lumen-led-lights-537300440.html


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## drevaen2 (Nov 22, 2010)

*Brightest backup leds*

For those who want the brightest backup leds, try the Philips 921 http://a.co/8scT9in

I've tried many, many backup leds and these are definitely the brightest ones.


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## deAutoLED.com (Jun 1, 2012)

drevaen2 said:


> For those who want the brightest backup leds, try the Philips 921 http://a.co/8scT9in
> 
> I've tried many, many backup leds and these are definitely the brightest ones.


We normally would not post something like this but we had a customer test those vs ours so we know ours would be a lot brighter - they will light up the driveway:
http://deautokey.com/product/bright...-free-fits-all-volkswagen-beetle-models-years



derekjl said:


> So awhile back I purchased Philips reverse bulbs from Amazon for my GTI. I was looking for something that was an LED, pure white, and had a bit more light output (I park in a very lowly-lit area). I got them, installed them, and quite frankly was not all that impressed. Yes the light was white, they lit up instantly and looked pretty cool. The light output was the same, if not slightly less than the stock incandescent bulbs. I left them in for a few months and then decided to look for something else. I didn't want to go the eBay route, so I turned to deAutoKey. I know they've been around for a bit and cater to the VW/Audi community. I was one of the first to get their front turn signal LEDs and still rave about them and get compliments. I'm really glad I went with their reverse bulbs. I would estimate at LEAST 25% more light output than the Philips versions, great quality, got them in 2 days. These are way more than adequate if you want a pure white LED with more light output for your car. Here is a comparison:
> 
> Philips Reverse LEDs:
> 
> ...


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