Warning Led Switchback Users
 

A few members locally have switchbacks installed and think we discovered an issue with these Chinese switchbacks.

These switchbacks required slight enlargement of the hole because the led array is so large. I know some dont require this modification as they are a smaller diameter.

A few of us thought we had a fogging issue at first. We thought water was getting inside seal area that was modified.

We pulled one set apart this weekend to black out the chrome and dry out what we thought was water.

Well the fog would not come off. In fact it was solid. We believe there is an adhesive they use in the bulb or to attach the led array that is getting heated and turning into a glue fume thats sticking to everything in the housing.

Polish would not remove it, alcohol didn't touch it, baking soda didn't do anything either. A fingernail would scratch it but could not get it even. We ended up using a small buffing wheel on a dremel to get most of it off. It is not optically perfect but better than looking completely fogged over.

Another symptom that indicated the adhesive is a booger of a glue in the bottom of the housing was found in two lights.

I had the same brand and for longer but only had what appeared to be small drops of this inside the lights. They may have changed the manufacturing process at some point but no way to be sure.

Just wanted to give folks a heads up.

Thanks to @jeffsides for diagnosing the issue and @Sivtec for letting us look at his lights

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

WHAT brand should we be aware of?.....:iono:

I had the same issue with my first set of switchbacks. One of them got so hot, the LEDs literally started to melt right off the its board. I switched them out for different ones which I have had no issues thus far. But because of the first set, just one of my lamps looks exactly like that :mad0259: Def seems like some kind of smoke damage to the lens. Its just seems like a lot of work to take apart everything to clear it up

The ones the messed my car up originally were from Concept-3-LED, but when I told him the issue I had. He gave me a completely different version/brand that have been awesome and do not get hot at all

Actually you can remove the light without bumper removal. Just remove the bezel by popping it out and reach inside with a wrench to remove the two nuts.

Baking them at 225 for 15 and they separate easily.

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

Crazy, I've had these since release, have the larger switchbacks as well and have zero issue. Also never had to enlarge the hole to get the fitment right...

Are these the problematic ones?
http://i.imgur.com/k54rE0u.jpg?1

They look similar packaging is a little different. You could hook them up to a 12 volt power supply and set them in a jar to see if they off gas. Once they finish you would probably be safe installing them.

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

Our switchbacks will not cause any heat issues like this and don't require you to make any modifications to your housings. We have them in our FRS and they function perfectly.

The 7443 bulb must be less than 22mm in diameter. Many Chinese sellers don't realize this, which is why your bulbs were too big.

This is why you shouldn't buy cheap bulbs. They are put together or sealed with bad epoxy, which melts and emits a gummy residue after being heated up. I've seen it with other fog light LED applications as well when eBay bulbs were used.

If you ever have questions about switchbacks, you can always shoot me a PM on here.

Thanks,
-Nick C.

It might be silicone sealant, that will release fumes into the housing even after it has dried, people now avoid using it for headlight retros for that reason.

That type of "fogging" is from super glue........only way I know to get that off is by polishing the lens with rubbing compound.

i got mine from @JWMotoring and the LEDs were about half that size. will keep an eye on it and post if mine start having issues.

I have not seen any issues with my v3 triton switchbacks. Even though they are 600 lumen I don't think they used any type glue that is off gassing.

Link in my signature

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

Got my LED's from Diode. No issues, been about 3k miles too.