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.

agree...:thumbsup: like i say "buy cheap buy twice" :bonk:

hey my buddy gots them colors DRL and switchback and they are great:thumbsup:
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...psb605cf3b.jpg

cant seem to find fog lights LEDs on your site:iono: im getting fog lights

I just don't get it...people spend near 30K on a brand new car, and then get all ghetto when buying parts for it....I thought the DSM and eg civic hatch crowd was bad....eesh

Your car cries inside every time you buy cheap Chinese crap....:cry:

Many of the folks I know that drive these are typical americans that are living paycheck to paycheck. They still have an immense passion for the platform and do whatever little things they can do to improve their ride or customize it to their liking within their budget.

I actually appreciate these people more than the people I see that drive the car and have no clue what it is their driving and purchased a new one because the dealer sales guy sold them a new car.

It all comes down to taste and what you want to put on your car but opinions will always be there. I had the cheap Chinese swithcbacks but upgraded to the V3 Tritons which I feel are the absolute best switchbacks on the market. But thats me.

:)

:respekt:

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

Our LED switchbacks are also of higher quality and will not result in any damage to the light housing. It is highly advisable to use high quality LEDs that are backed with thoughtful and careful engineering, design and testing as with all of our lighting products. :thumbsup:

I agree. It's like a contest to see who can rice out their car as quick as possible, for as cheap as possible. I think the current winner is the guy who did the red and black tribal patterns on the dashboard. Funny how $30 in parts can make a $30k car look like a $3k car.

No issues with ours. We have our parts tested on cars outside of the business before we release them. This is the only way to get good and honest feedback.

I've had no issues with my Switchbacks from HIDPowerhouse. Didn't have to cut the housing or anything. It's definitely worth spending a little extra money to know that you aren't getting a knock off product. :thumbup:

Not to thread jack but since many of the LED sponsors have chimed in on this thread, do any of you offer 5K temp Switchbacks? The 10 series HIDs are not that blue and I want the color temp to be consistent.

Most of the white SMD LEDs you get will be between a 5000-6000k color, but that is specified by the manufacturer. Ours are a close match to a 6000K HID color, but won't be 100% the same because of differences in lighting technology between the two. You have 4300K HID bulbs in there from the factory, most of our customers just switch those to 6000K HID bulbs and are quite happy with the results.

-Nick C.

I believe the switchbacks on the market are mostly 6000k or similar. You could also upgrade your HID bulbs to 6000k and they would be a nice colour match :thumbsup:

If I upgrade the HIDs then, it wouldn't match the LED DRLs....lots of mixed color temp on the 10 series if that's the case.

I got the 6k retrofit and the 6k tritons which are a great match. I too like to keep a single color temp on the front of the car.

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

I got 5k Switchbacks from vleds.com. No blue at all. I've had them installed for 6 months without issue.

I had the same problem as @Sivtec. I just cleaned them up today with some rubbing compound. They're not perfect, but a lot better than before.

Before:
http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/...ps766b33ca.jpg

After:
http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4e007593.jpg

I installed my switchbacks from viciousled about a month ago and I haven't noticed any fogging (knock on wood). The packaging was in Japanese but it did say Made in China right on it, and I did have to widen the holes to make them fit. Does anyone have pictures of the exact ones that caused the fogging? I'm kinda getting nervous about it and was going to order different ones from Diode Dynamics but they're sold out atm. :(

Is this specific to the switchback units or should I be worried about my rear/side marker LEDs as well? Haha

So far all these examples are the ones that you have as well. We did a local group buy. Could be another factor like the temps we have in az. Not sure.

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

Welp, I went ahead and ordered some different switchbacks from HID Powerhouse just to be safe. Here's to keeping my turn signals unfogged.
:happy0180:

Seems all the comments hit everything already. Just wanted to say I've ordered from the guys down at DD a couple times and everything they've sold me is quality and they're fast. So in the future be smart and don't use eBay crap. I learned that lesson on my truck.

Do not buy cheap switchbacks....learned the hard way
 

These are the ones I previously had and they stopped blinking after they overheated. The vendor said they have been replaced with a newer model which fairs better. Crossing fingers.

^ Same.
The ones in my photo quoted above are Concept 3 switch back from Vicious LED.
From this thread: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20290

Hey guys.

Just stumbled across this and I would like to respond!

After seeing the bulbs he just sent a picture of, those were our 2nd revision. We've since changed out our supplier (we noticed a big change in quality over our last supplier) and we haven't had a single complaint about the new bulbs.

If you're having a similar issue with those switchbacks, PLEASE PM us so that we can rectify this situation. We'd love the opportunity to make things right, as that is how we operate our company. So please contact us with your order # and we will review available options with you. Like I said, we've majorly upgraded bulb quality over past revisions...this was a learning experience along the way, and we can say we've learned alot listening to our customers. Give us the opportunity, and we WILL make things right.

Cheers!

Thanks for the support dude.... I guess these issues happen every so often.

I would like to try out the new bulbs and ill post an update if there are no issues with the new bulbs. :thanks:

Thank you @Vicious LED for the after sale support and standing up to the situation.

My problem has been resolved.

I'm glad that we could resolve the issues you two were experiencing with an older version of our switchbacks. Hopefully we can serve you again in the future; this time without any setbacks or hiccups :thumbsup:

Have a great rest of your day, and cheers!

I ordered a set from iJDM Toy. They only lasted me about a month before one side started working when it wanted too. I called them about the problem to get a replacement and they offered to send me an RMA. I had to call back a second time and talk to a manager before I actually received a return authorization. To beat it all, they expected me to pay return shipping to send them their defective product. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!

@Yruyur


.... Fringe?