Question about converting fog light assembly and side marker to LED&#3

[Theplasticmaker]

I have to admit that I have been lurking on this site for a couple of years now.  I purchased a 2002 996 a while back and had a lot of general questions.  It turns out a lot of people had similar questions so I never felt the need to post.  I owe lots of thanks to several members (THANKS!).  Fast forward a couple of years and I have enjoyed my 996 so much I went out and found a 987-1 (2005 Boxster Base, 2.7L, Manual, U.S., Silver with Black Top and Black Interior).  This is also a fun car. 

 

Now for the question:

I am considering upgrading the fog light assemblies and the amber side marker assemblies to aftermarket LED's.  I found on ebay a sale for both LED fog lights and both LED side markers from a company called REVi MotorWerks.  They claim that these are simple "plug and play" lights. I am pretty handy and do most of my own maintenance so I'm not afraid to tackle a job with medium difficulty but for what I'm paying I just want to plug them in.  Can anyone comment on whether or not these lights are worth the time, effort, and money.  I have read several posts from members that have done LED conversions and then end up with error codes because of voltage or current discrepancies.  I'm hoping that these newer aftermarket lights account for that in their circuitry.  Any help is appreciated.  Thanks.

[Theplasticmaker]

Update.  Well I went ahead and bought both the LED side marker lights and the fog light/DLR LED replacement lights from an online ebay store.  The lights arrived today.  I installed the side marker lights which installed perfectly and worked great.  They also look great. 

 

I then installed the other two lights.  They fit perfectly into the bumper and the connections were simple direct fit connections (I also liked the look of these new lights).  However, they would not illuminate.  No DLR, No fog lights (tried every light switch position). 

 

I pulled them back off and checked the voltage at the connections.  No issues (measured just over 12 volts at each connection with the switch on).  So then I put my original fixtures back in and they worked fine.  Not to be defeated, I reinstalled the new lights and still no light (also not getting any error codes either).  Ultimately I put my originals back in.  Needless to say, either I received two bad fixtures (odds are very unlikely) or these lights are not direct fit plug and play as advertised (see my original question).  I have a question in to the ebay seller to try and find out if I am missing something obvious but the skeptic in me doesn't hold out a lot of hope for quick resolution. 

 

My guess is that these new LED lights do not have the circuitry built into them to compensate for the lower wattage required by the LED's.  Therefore, I think my original question is answered (the hard way). 

[jl-c]

Did you try reversing the connections (internally if fitted with 'coded' plugs) LED's are polarity conscious? You may well have done but didn't say so.

[Theplasticmaker]

Another update.  Hats off to jl-c.  When I originally installed these new light fixtures there are two connections per light.  That is 4 total electrical connections.  Now remember that I installed them twice.  That is eight tries to achieve LIGHT.  I'm sure we could calculate the odds of connecting them exactly the same way every time but those odds would not be as good as the odds that I am severly electrically challenged!  And believe it or not I even knew that LED's are polarity specific.

 

Long story short, after reading jl-c's golden advice, I went back out in the garage and used my volt meter to check polarity on the supply power then connected the new lights with the correct polarity and bingo, LIGHT.  Granted, two of the connections are not exactly designed to plug in that way so it's a little misleading, but they still plugged-in in reverse just fine.

 

I am now a completely satisfied customer.  These lights look cool and work exactly as advertised.  I can't speak to the long term reliability yet but I can post another update after I get some runtime on them. 

 

Thanks again jl-c.  You da man!

[teaberry]

I would love to see some pics of the LEDs as I'm in the market for an '05 and that is a mod I can do myself :) TIA

 

Another update.  Hats off to jl-c.  When I originally installed these new light fixtures there are two connections per light.  That is 4 total electrical connections.  Now remember that I installed them twice.  That is eight tries to achieve LIGHT.  I'm sure we could calculate the odds of connecting them exactly the same way every time but those odds would not be as good as the odds that I am severly electrically challenged!  And believe it or not I even knew that LED's are polarity specific.

 

Long story short, after reading jl-c's golden advice, I went back out in the garage and used my volt meter to check polarity on the supply power then connected the new lights with the correct polarity and bingo, LIGHT.  Granted, two of the connections are not exactly designed to plug in that way so it's a little misleading, but they still plugged-in in reverse just fine.

 

I am now a completely satisfied customer.  These lights look cool and work exactly as advertised.  I can't speak to the long term reliability yet but I can post another update after I get some runtime on them. 

 

Thanks again jl-c.  You da man!