# For 2010+ only: Which LED License Plate Bulbs Works?



## best8845 (May 24, 2010)

Anyone got a LED plate bulbs working without throwing codes on a 2010+ A3?


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## icegrill (Nov 10, 2009)

none i know of


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## daniel.ramirez (Nov 24, 2001)

not even the zizas?

crazy idea... dissasembly the rear lid, connect a 5W incandescent bulb in paralell with the license plate cabling, insert any LED bulb in the license plate light recess: no error codes & LED lighting


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## MisterJJ (Jul 28, 2005)

Just add a load resistor. 10 ohm, 25 watt or higher would likely do the trick.

TMI: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4747076


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## FullP (Apr 28, 2007)

I have tried the racing dash assemblies without luck. Also the ebay error free bulbs don't work. Must open the trunk liner and install some cancellers (not sure which one, but racing dash sent me two and they worked) the instructions were wrong, but the guy who did it for me works at Mercedes and got it right.


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## best8845 (May 24, 2010)

So you have a MY2010+?

And you have a racing dash unit that is not designed for A3, but it works?


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## FullP (Apr 28, 2007)

I have a 2010. Racing Dash sent me two additional pieces to install. If you ask them they will send it to you with instructions. You have to find the wires that provide power to the license plate lights and install it before the lights. That's the only way you will get rid of the code ... UNLESS someones creates a new bulb that will work for our cars ...


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## Wkbrdfiend (Dec 3, 2008)

the ziza bulbs don't throw codes BUT, burn up within a month like my first set did. ECS Tuning sent me a replacement set and the first bulb has already burnt up after 2 weeks... shouldn't be long before the second goes


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## BDI (Nov 7, 2002)

Wkbrdfiend said:


> the ziza bulbs don't throw codes BUT, burn up within a month like my first set did. ECS Tuning sent me a replacement set and the first bulb has already burnt up after 2 weeks... shouldn't be long before the second goes


Ziza's DO throw codes on 2010+ models.


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## 3waygeek (Jan 21, 2010)

If your LEDs throw a code, you might try soldering a power resistor in parallel to the LED -- attach the leads somewhere on the socket where it won't interfere with the connection to the car. 100 ohm, 10W should do nicely -- something like Radio Shack p/n 271-135. Most R/S stores carry them; they'll set you back about $1 per resistor.

I picked up a set the other day & will give them a try next week when I get back home from FL.


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## elpaisacq (Jul 1, 2004)

We need a test car in Miami.. any one up for it??? we are developint LED festoon type bulbs for VW/Audi ... we now have a solution for the MKV, working on mk6 .... any one in the area interested email me to [email protected] 

thank you 

P.s: Just to clarify this will be at your own risk


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## dzd_ (Dec 16, 2010)

Spoke with Eric at PYSpeed via email (stockist of Racing Dash) and the 2010 A3/S3 models should not throw an error code as a heat socket is now included to get rid of the error light. Has anybody tried these units and can confirm they work without throwing an error light?


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## best8845 (May 24, 2010)

Tried the much praised BLESK Festoon from HID Concept. Error Code appears. So no go for this one...


RE: PYSpeed/Racing Dash version, I do see extra "module" attached to some of their LED light assembly, but not for A3. What is the part number he is referring?


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## poli84 (Dec 15, 2009)

What specifically do you mean by 2010+?

Mine is a 2009 MY10.
Is it just the 2010 MY11 that the LEDs are not working on or am I going to have problems also?


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## best8845 (May 24, 2010)

As of model year...


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## icegrill (Nov 10, 2009)

Any answers yet?


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## bmw511 (Jul 16, 2010)

I want to know too, the regular bulbs in the license plate are killing me!


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## xnox202 (May 18, 2009)

Just place the resistor somewhere safe as it gets really hot.


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## bnegri10 (Oct 25, 2009)

Same for an 09?


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## TechnikSLR (Jul 30, 2008)

try golfmk6, many pieces for MY 2010+ cars are brandwide in these vehicles. so it would be an assumtion, albiet possibly safe that MY 2010+ GTI's and A3's have similar plate lights. here is a thread.

http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13166





WARNING: TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. IF YOU MESS UP YOUR CAR ITS NOT MY PROBLEM


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## poli84 (Dec 15, 2009)

TechnikSLR said:


> try golfmk6, many pieces for MY 2010+ cars are brandwide in these vehicles. so it would be an assumtion, albiet possibly safe that MY 2010+ GTI's and A3's have similar plate lights. here is a thread.
> 
> http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13166
> 
> ...


The lights mentioned for the MK6 won't work as they are not Festoon style.
(Unless the MY10+ has changed style? I have not yet taken out to check as I just assumed they were Festoon like my old A3.)


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## gabster (Jan 10, 2011)

Bringing it back from the dead, i'm on the same situation, have tried 3 different LED bulbs with supposedly can bus warning canceler built in and it still gives me lamp out warning, i have a 2011 VW Tiguan, im sure has same or very similar settings as your Audi's, any updates on what bulbs do work? or what resistance can be added to make it work?
thanks in advance :thumbup:


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## audibmi (Aug 10, 2006)

*ksl brand seems to work but ymmv*

i found these at a local tuner car shop and they have worked for months with my 2009 facelift A3 as well as 2010 A4 without throwing a single fault code. 










a google search found they are made in china by kesili international car accessories. they look pretty cheap if you buy in quantities but i'm not going to send any western union payment for 100 units anytime soon to make a quick profit 

http://kslled.en.alibaba.com/product/292357254-209886871/can_bus_Led_led_lamp.html


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## gabster (Jan 10, 2011)

xnox202 said:


> Just place the resistor somewhere safe as it gets really hot.


What resistor was used here? would a 50W 6 Ohm resitor work? (one for each bulb, or 1 for both bulbs?) and i would assume that when using this resistors you would use regular 12v LEDs not LEDs with resistors built in to it, am i correct?



audibmi said:


> i found these at a local tuner car shop and they have worked for months with my 2009 facelift A3 as well as 2010 A4 without throwing a single fault code.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


and Thanks Audibmi, however haven't found anybody that sales these


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## gabster (Jan 10, 2011)

ANybody else has any good results ? 
would a 20W 45 Ohm resistor work? i have these and also 40W 3.4 Ohm ones, im scared to try it and blow the computer...:banghead:


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## bnegri10 (Oct 25, 2009)

anything else come along lately? im still looking


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## SDLEDS (Mar 3, 2011)

gabster said:


> ANybody else has any good results ?
> would a 20W 45 Ohm resistor work? i have these and also 40W 3.4 Ohm ones, im scared to try it and blow the computer...:banghead:


The stock bulbs are 5W each so following the equation Power=Current*Voltage means that they pull roughly .48amps of current. 


Most LED bulbs pull about .1amps of current so we need to add a load to the circuit of .38amps to get the .48 amps the stock bulb draws.

Using Ohms law : current=voltage/resistance we get resistance=12V/.38amps or roughly a 30Ω resistor wired in parallel to each bulb to replicate the stock bulb. A 25W or 50W heat capacity resistor would suffice... the higher the watt the more heat they dissipate.


Don't use that 3.4Ω resistor you have, if you follow the equations you'll find that it would replicate a 42watt bulb which is probably too much for the small license plate bulb circuit.


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## gabster (Jan 10, 2011)

SDLEDS said:


> The stock bulbs are 5W each so following the equation Power=Current*Voltage means that they pull roughly .48amps of current.
> 
> 
> Most LED bulbs pull about .1amps of current so we need to add a load to the circuit of .38amps to get the .48 amps the stock bulb draws.
> ...


Great, simplified information! so... based on your calculations, would you think a 25W 25 Ohm resistor would work? or would a 20W 45 Ohm resistor be better? or it MOST be 30 OHM? (those are the only two i have at reach right now)


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## SDLEDS (Mar 3, 2011)

gabster said:


> Great, simplified information! so... based on your calculations, would you think a 25W 25 Ohm resistor would work? or would a 20W 45 Ohm resistor be better? or it MOST be 30 OHM? (those are the only two i have at reach right now)


30ohm would be as close to replicating the stock bulb as possible but a 25ohm would work just fine. It will pull 1/10 of an amp more than the 30ohm. A little extra power won't hurt anything.


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## gabster (Jan 10, 2011)

SDLEDS said:


> 30ohm would be as close to replicating the stock bulb as possible but a 25ohm would work just fine. It will pull 1/10 of an amp more than the 30ohm. A little extra power won't hurt anything.


Well for those of you wondering if it works, i did it and it does! no problems so far...
25w 25 Ohm resistor on each bulb line, works without any problems..
Thanks again SDLEDS for the help :thumbup:


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## drew138 (Dec 3, 2006)

Never understood why anyone would want to make their plate more visible. :screwy:


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## gabster (Jan 10, 2011)

drew138 said:


> Never understood why anyone would want to make their plate more visible. :screwy:


I'm sure most would agree with me, it's not a matter of making it brighter, it's a color issue, stock candel bulbs look yellowish doll and antiquated, LEDs just updates the look of it quite a bit


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## detour515 (Mar 11, 2011)

Hi guys, is it a good idea to solder a 1W 10-ohm resistor form RadioShack onto the led bulb itself to trick the computer? Will the bulb gets too hot inside the housing?


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## SDLEDS (Mar 3, 2011)

detour515 said:


> Hi guys, is it a good idea to solder a 1W 10-ohm resistor form RadioShack onto the led bulb itself to trick the computer? Will the bulb gets too hot inside the housing?


A 10ohm 1W resistor would get burned out way too fast. It would pull 1.2amps of current or 14.4 watts of power so you would need at least a 15W heat capacity resistor.

I modified one of the no error bulbs I sell recently with a 25ohm 5w resistor on the top of the heatsink but I still have to do some testing with it. I must say the little sucker gets hot though... easily give you a good burn with it being on for a minute. What I'm worried about though is that it might melt the housing once its installed. 

It does pull about .48 amps though with the extra resistor on top which is almost exactly what the stock incandescent bulb pulls which means no error code on ANY vehicle 

Heres a link to the bulb that I sell any of you guys are interested LED License Plate Bulb. I might add an option in the future with the modification of that resistor but I definitely need to do some testing first.

Pic:


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## detour515 (Mar 11, 2011)

SDLEDS said:


> A 10ohm 1W resistor would get burned out way too fast. It would pull 1.2amps of current or 14.4 watts of power so you would need at least a 15W heat capacity resistor.
> 
> I modified one of the no error bulbs I sell recently with a 25ohm 5w resistor on the top of the heatsink but I still have to do some testing with it. I must say the little sucker gets hot though... easily give you a good burn with it being on for a minute. What I'm worried about though is that it might melt the housing once its installed.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your advise. Does your bulb works/tested on a 2011 A3? How much amps does it pull without the "extra" resistor on top?


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## TechnikSLR (Jul 30, 2008)

SDLEDS said:


> A 10ohm 1W resistor would get burned out way too fast. It would pull 1.2amps of current or 14.4 watts of power so you would need at least a 15W heat capacity resistor.
> 
> I modified one of the no error bulbs I sell recently with a 25ohm 5w resistor on the top of the heatsink but I still have to do some testing with it. I must say the little sucker gets hot though... easily give you a good burn with it being on for a minute. What I'm worried about though is that it might melt the housing once its installed.
> 
> ...


blue light :thumbdown:


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## SDLEDS (Mar 3, 2011)

TechnikSLR said:


> blue light :thumbdown:


The light isn't actually blue at all, just a nice pure white.

The bulb pulls .15 amps without the extra resistor on top.


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## detour515 (Mar 11, 2011)

SDLEDS said:


> The bulb pulls .15 amps without the extra resistor on top.


I see, then how could it be an error free bulb if it's only pulling .15 amps, given the fact that the on-board computer is expecting a .48 amp signal? Just out of curiosity, no offense.


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## SDLEDS (Mar 3, 2011)

detour515 said:


> I see, then how could it be an error free bulb if it's only pulling .15 amps, given the fact that the on-board computer is expecting a .48 amp signal? Just out of curiosity, no offense.


No offense taken. I suppose some on-board computers are just more sensitive than others and have different ways of detecting if the bulb is out or not. Keep in mind as well that the manufacturer will put some leeway into how much current the circuit is supposed to be pulling.

On the MKV Volkwagens it seems as though the on-board computer sends a slightly higher voltage momentary pulse to detect whether the bulb is out or not when you turn it on. From there if it detects that there is no bulb or the bulb is out, it will cut power to the circuit to save the circuit from shorting out.

Its slightly different on the B7 Audi's that if you get an error light or it detects that the bulb is out or not pulling enough current that it will NOT cut power to the circuit.

That 39mm 3 SMD No Error bulb doesn't give errors on upto 2008 Audi's (depending on if they have a color display or not) or upto 2010 VW's. After that point the on-board computers get a little more finicky for the LED's and I would suggest simply installing a LED replacement license plate housing that pulls more current.


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## detour515 (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks for clarify.


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## bmw511 (Jul 16, 2010)

Has anyone tried or had experience with these?

18-LEDs per unit, and direct replacement. A little expensive though

http://www.bks-tuning.com/epages/17141421.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/17141421/Products/AUA3L028


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## best8845 (May 24, 2010)

If they are the RacingDash version, it will not work.

It sures looks like the Racing Dash if I'm not mistaken.

If yes, then it will not work on MY2010+


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