LED Backup and Turn signal Bulbs

[Rhetoric]

You mean this thing?

http://[URL]https://www.ebay.com/it...&hash=item3fb87086be:g:s0oAAOSwSfJcUGgM:rk:11

🇵🇫0[/URL]

That’s the one! I swear... two months ago I spent hours upon hours looking at insignia headlamp switches and this one never showed up. How frustrating!

 

[Jack GS]

Just wanted to confirm the OE manufacturer of the taillight assemblies, as previously pointed out by @Anaduff (thanks by the way!). I took one taillight out, which was surprisingly easy, and found the supplier marking "AL".

Automotive Lighting (AL) was acquired by Magneti Marelli in 2003.

 

[Pacer69]

Could one of you post pictures of the before and after of your LED/rear fog light changes? I would like to see how they compare to the originals. Dankë.

 

[dmr02]

OK--the difference between the pairs are; the xxx831 and xxx832 pair are used if you have halogen headlamps, the xxx835 & xxx836 are used if you have the LED headlamps.

That is really good info. I found both part numbers for the LED headlamps and bookmarked them just waiting to see how you make out. In regards to the rear fog light on the inbound tail. I am just curious how would we make that work as our cars are not equipped with fog lamps? I presume the rear fog light would be activated with the front ones etc

 

[Rhetoric]

That is really good info. I found both part numbers for the LED headlamps and bookmarked them just waiting to see how you make out. In regards to the rear fog light on the inbound tail. I am just curious how would we make that work as our cars are not equipped with fog lamps? I presume the rear fog light would be activated with the front ones etc

There is a special switch that has a button for rear fog. If it’s like my Jetta, I had to run a wire all the way from the switch to the bulb holder in the rear as the car was not prewired for it.

 

[Jack GS]

@Pacer69, I'd be happy to but I'm gonna let @Anaduff be the guinea pig 😁. If they function properly, and I think they will, I'm going to order a set of the tails for the LED headlights.

I'm just hoping the import tax isn't too much. I've never purchased anything outside the U.S.

 

[dmr02]

There is a special switch that has a button for rear fog. If it’s like my Jetta, I had to run a wire all the way from the switch to the bulb holder in the rear as the car was not prewired for it.

Figured that out after my post I read back on the page before and saw the link to the switch (SIGNAL LIGHT SWITCH OPEL INSIGNIA B 84215920) The way that switch looks it almost seems like the car might just be wired for the rear fogs? If that was the case I'd probably track the switch down and do the inner lights as well. I am looking forward to seeing how @Anaduff makes out with the outer rear lights. If no one pointed those differences out I would never have thought about it. Now you guys got me all over ebay again....lol

 

[Rhetoric]

Figured that out after my post I read back on the page before and saw the link to the switch (SIGNAL LIGHT SWITCH OPEL INSIGNIA B 84215920) The way that switch looks it almost seems like the car might just be wired for the rear fogs? If that was the case I'd probably track the switch down and do the inner lights as well. I am looking forward to seeing how @Anaduff makes out with the outer rear lights. If no one pointed those differences out I would never have thought about it. Now you guys got me all over ebay again....lol

I pulled the light on the hatch of my TourX and I didn’t see any extra wiring that would go to a socketed piece. However, if it’s all LED then maybe there’s a chance it’ll plug and play?

 

[dmr02]

I pulled the light on the hatch of my TourX and I didn’t see any extra wiring that would go to a socketed piece. However, if it’s all LED then maybe there’s a chance it’ll plug and play?

I am going to have to pull the light out. At this point I am curious. Would love to have the option!

 

[Rhetoric]

I am going to have to pull the light out. At this point I am curious. Would love to have the option!

Same. I should have the switch in a week so I can compare pin outs to what’s currently in the headlamp switch harness connector.

 

[dmr02]

@Rhetoric awesome keep us posted!

 

[Anaduff]

Euro tail light update.

They arrived today, and they're not quite plug & play. The original (Buick) ones use 3 wires, ground, tail light and common turn and brake light. The Opel/Vauxhall units have 4 wires (same connector shell) and as you've already guessed, we have ground, tail light, brake light & seperate turn signal. Potential solution may be the Curt C56196 2 to 3 wire converter, but there may be other ideas on YouTube.

As far as what is LED & what is incandescent--both the US & Euro have just the one bulb (clear on the US [turn & brake] and amber on the Euro). The Euro brake light is the lower of the 2 LED 'stripes' which are the taillights which doubles in brightness when brakes are applied.

The struggle continues...

 

[Jack GS]

The struggle continues...

Bummer. I was really hoping it was plug and play.

I thought the Euro brake light was sandwiched between the double "L" LED stripes. Are yours like the ones shown in the pictures?

 

[Rhetoric]

Yeah... I did some comparisons between the US version on my car and some pics of the Euro versions and noticed the 3 vs 4 wire difference.

In my search I’ve also found that there are two versions of the inner tail lights + reverse lights. One for the ‘welcome feature’ and one without the ‘welcome feature’.

Those of us with LED headlamps have seen what the welcome feature does.

I’m tempted to find someone on eBay parting an Insignia wagon and seeing if they’d sell me the rear wiring harness. I hate that I haven’t been able to see any wiring diagrams for this car as I’ve been trying to figure out how to not only enable the rear fog in the lamp itself, but also in the cluster (the 2018 UI clusters have a provision for front and rear fog).

 

[Anaduff]

I thought the Euro brake light was sandwiched between the double "L" LED stripes. Are yours like the ones shown in the pictures?

Sorry, you're right--the brake LED is between the two taillight stripes.

 

[Wlepse]

The layout of the LED'S will be how well they will project. Unfortunately all LED'S are not the same as with regular filiment lamps, so the one size fits all doesn't apply. Understanding the difference between Kelvin and Lumens will also help in making a difference in picking the correct LED. Kelvin and Lumens are two different measurements and do not always mean the type of brightness output.

Search Results For "921" | LED Products | Super Bright LEDs

On one forum they used to use ERD or ERF bulbs which are used in projectors. I think they are like double and triple the wattage so you have to be careful with the heat they generate.

 

[Anaduff]

🙁Euro tail light--Season 2; The plot so far...

The Curt CS56196 2 to 3 wire converter module wasn't the final solution. As installed (no extra components like diodes/load resistors) well give you the separate turn signal & brake lights without any issues, but when you combine the brakes and a turn signal you get four 'normal' flashes and then turn signals go into 2x mode (twice as fast)--brake lights are fine. Since the turn signal is a bulb in both the US & European versions (about 1.8A draw per bulb) the loading should be about the same on turns, but the US would also run the opposite bulb for the brake, where as the Euro brakes (LED) draw 375mA per unit (750mA total). So I added a 14 ohm load on the brake line to add 1 amp to the total brake draw--talk about a light show; turn signals normal, brake signal normal but turn signal & brake will flash the brake lights as turn signals and the turn signal itself will flip to the opposite side (ie: right turn will become left turn with brake applied).

Also tried disconnecting the brake wire to the tail lights (both with & without load resistor) to see if just the turn signals would work without the 2x flash rate (idea being if they did work, I would tap off the signal from the centre mounted brake LED)--nope--left turn was fine, the right would flash 4 times then double speed.

What we have learned today:

1) A 24 inch piece of weed whip line, straighted-up with a heat gun make a good fish line for the tail light conduits.
2) Connector (chassis side) is a Molex MX150 connector (PN 033471-0406).
3) The socket connector is PN 033012-2002 (for the new brake wire).
4) In spite of the Molex installation guide, you can extract the barrier plug where the brake wire goes.
5) The pin extractor (Molex 63813-1500) is recommended for the above.
6) OptiSeal butt splices come in very handy.
7) 50mL of Tanqueray gin mixed with 6 oz. diet ginger ale (x2) helps puts things in perspective.

 

[Jack GS]

🙁Euro tail light--Season 2; The plot so far...

The Curt CS56196 2 to 3 wire converter module wasn't the final solution. As installed (no extra components like diodes/load resistors) well give you the separate turn signal & brake lights without any issues, but when you combine the brakes and a turn signal you get four 'normal' flashes and then turn signals go into 2x mode (twice as fast)--brake lights are fine. Since the turn signal is a bulb in both the US & European versions (about 1.8A draw per bulb) the loading should be about the same on turns, but the US would also run the opposite bulb for the brake, where as the Euro brakes (LED) draw 375mA per unit (750mA total). So I added a 14 ohm load on the brake line to add 1 amp to the total brake draw--talk about a light show; turn signals normal, brake signal normal but turn signal & brake will flash the brake lights as turn signals and the turn signal itself will flip to the opposite side (ie: right turn will become left turn with brake applied).

Also tried disconnecting the brake wire to the tail lights (both with & without load resistor) to see if just the turn signals would work without the 2x flash rate (idea being if they did work, I would tap off the signal from the centre mounted brake LED)--nope--left turn was fine, the right would flash 4 times then double speed.

What we have learned today:

1) A 24 inch piece of weed whip line, straighted-up with a heat gun make a good fish line for the tail light conduits.
2) Connector (chassis side) is a Molex MX150 connector (PN 033471-0406).
3) The socket connector is PN 033012-2002 (for the new brake wire).
4) In spite of the Molex installation guide, you can extract the barrier plug where the brake wire goes.
5) The pin extractor (Molex 63813-1500) is recommended for the above.
6) OptiSeal butt splices come in very handy.
7) 50mL of Tanqueray gin mixed with 6 oz. diet ginger ale (x2) helps puts things in perspective.

So close! I will send a handle of your favorite beverage to your doorstep when you get this figured out and share the solution. Is that a good enough incentive? Lol

 

[Zaxer]

🙁Euro tail light--Season 2; The plot so far...

The Curt CS56196 2 to 3 wire converter module wasn't the final solution. As installed (no extra components like diodes/load resistors) well give you the separate turn signal & brake lights without any issues, but when you combine the brakes and a turn signal you get four 'normal' flashes and then turn signals go into 2x mode (twice as fast)--brake lights are fine. Since the turn signal is a bulb in both the US & European versions (about 1.8A draw per bulb) the loading should be about the same on turns, but the US would also run the opposite bulb for the brake, where as the Euro brakes (LED) draw 375mA per unit (750mA total). So I added a 14 ohm load on the brake line to add 1 amp to the total brake draw--talk about a light show; turn signals normal, brake signal normal but turn signal & brake will flash the brake lights as turn signals and the turn signal itself will flip to the opposite side (ie: right turn will become left turn with brake applied).

Also tried disconnecting the brake wire to the tail lights (both with & without load resistor) to see if just the turn signals would work without the 2x flash rate (idea being if they did work, I would tap off the signal from the centre mounted brake LED)--nope--left turn was fine, the right would flash 4 times then double speed.

What we have learned today:

1) A 24 inch piece of weed whip line, straighted-up with a heat gun make a good fish line for the tail light conduits.
2) Connector (chassis side) is a Molex MX150 connector (PN 033471-0406).
3) The socket connector is PN 033012-2002 (for the new brake wire).
4) In spite of the Molex installation guide, you can extract the barrier plug where the brake wire goes.
5) The pin extractor (Molex 63813-1500) is recommended for the above.
6) OptiSeal butt splices come in very handy.
7) 50mL of Tanqueray gin mixed with 6 oz. diet ginger ale (x2) helps puts things in perspective.

I see the problem - try increasing the gin in 50mL increments...

 

[Anaduff]

At some point on that 50mL downward spiral, I would become my own tail light...