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LED install and keyless remote range reduced?

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Old 03-07-2011 | 05:07 PM
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LED install and keyless remote range reduced?

Sounds pretty weird I know, but I got my license plate and dome light LED's in and now it seems the range is greatly reduced on my remote. I know, I know, it sounds very weird, and I can't imagine how the two could be related. I went so far as to buy fresh batteries for the remote and the same thing. Almost have to be inside the truck for it to work now. WTF?
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 05:41 PM
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Troubleshooting 101:

1. Remove suspect components & retest.

2. Post results.

MGD
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 06:02 PM
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From: Virginia Beach
Originally Posted by MGDfan
Troubleshooting 101:

1. Remove suspect components & retest.

2. Post results.

MGD
I know, I know....
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 06:17 PM
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From: In the fast lane from LA to Tokyo...

Might be a coincidence but.....how old are your fob batteries?
They might be going dead......
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 06:18 PM
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OK, problem confirmed, and it's the dome light.

LED bulb in, remote works sporadically. Old incandescent bulb in, remote works everytime. What in the world?
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 06:23 PM
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From: In the fast lane from LA to Tokyo...

Originally Posted by Big Slick
OK, problem confirmed, and it's the dome light.

LED bulb in, remote works sporadically. Old incandescent bulb in, remote works everytime. What in the world?
LEDs have less resistance....so you're going to have to put a resister in if you want to have a led bulb.....
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by 88racing
LEDs have less resistance....so you're going to have to put a resister in if you want to have a led bulb.....
Understood, BUT...

There's tons of members that have LED's and don't have problems, AND I've got LED map light bulbs that are fine. The problem cropped up with the addition of the dome. I'm thinking it may be emitting some sort of interferance?
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 07:03 PM
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From: In the fast lane from LA to Tokyo...

Originally Posted by Big Slick
Understood, BUT...

There's tons of members that have LED's and don't have problems, AND I've got LED map light bulbs that are fine. The problem cropped up with the addition of the dome. I'm thinking it may be emitting some sort of interferance?
Where did you get from?
I do agree with you that its weird that this happening....
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 07:14 PM
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Originally Posted by 88racing
Where did you get from?
I do agree with you that its weird that this happening....
I got them from VLED. A quick google search reveals that I'm not the first to have this problem, though I haven't found any kind of solution.
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 07:23 PM
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You may need to find another type of LED - this one apparently is using some sort of active component to drop the vehicle supply to the native ~1.3v the LED requires - emitting RF, or injecting noise into the vehicle power bus - hence the interference.

MGD
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 08:24 PM
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That's a weird problem. I have leds in my maps and dome and have no problem whatsoever. I got mine off of stylintrucks.com for a good price IMO.
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 08:30 PM
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From: Virginia Beach
Originally Posted by MGDfan
You may need to find another type of LED - this one apparently is using some sort of active component to drop the vehicle supply to the native ~1.3v the LED requires - emitting RF, or injecting noise into the vehicle power bus - hence the interference.

MGD
I posted this problem to another forum that I know has a few EE's that post. I posted the link to the product and got this in reply:

" Highly efficient IC driver keeps the power stable ..."

There's your problem, coupled with poor design. There's a chip banging on and off, that's causing electrical noise.

For grins, wrap the light in aluminum foil (except don't short the endcaps to each other) and try it again.

Also, does it cause interferrence only when the dome light is lit?
Puzzling, since eveyone always says VLEDs is the best. I found this bulb that looks like it uses a "Buck driver".

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b..._4210-xHPx.htm
 
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Old 03-07-2011 | 08:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Big Slick
Puzzling, since eveyone always says VLEDs is the best. I found this bulb that looks like it uses a "Buck driver".
Your using this light for your dome, correct?



Only reason I am asking is I have the same problem with this one and when I go back to one of my older VLED lights it doesn't have the problem. So it could be a bad batch or something, maybe?
I also emailed them to get their take on the issue.
 

Last edited by lsracer; 03-07-2011 at 09:08 PM.
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Old 03-07-2011 | 09:39 PM
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From: Virginia Beach
Originally Posted by lsracer
Your using this light for your dome, correct?



Only reason I am asking is I have the same problem with this one and when I go back to one of my older VLED lights it doesn't have the problem. So it could be a bad batch or something, maybe?
I also emailed them to get their take on the issue.
Exactly. Here's a more detailed explanation I received. I believe the info to be correct or at least plausible, but I'm no expert so....

The chip is actually turning the leds on and off very rapidly - so fast, you can't see any flicker. That means there is current starting and stopping many times per second... like 10,000 times (10Khz). Sometimes, you can stick your ear near it and hear a high pitched whine. That's all well and good for efficiency, but each time it switches, there's a pulse in the line, and it'll ring like a bell with many harmonics extending up into the RF range - that's the noise that interfers with your radio transmitter. Killing that noise is where the good design would come into play; it may take just one capacitor or inductor of the right value in the right place. Testing parts so they don't interfere is part of good engineering, but the fast buck aftermarket places don't always bother with it. I've recently spent over $10K at the test lab getting my product through EMI testing.

Without getting deep into the specifics, I can't comment on the other product. For $15, try it and see.
So it's probably bad design. What was the model number of your old bulb?
 
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Old 03-08-2011 | 02:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Big Slick
So it's probably bad design. What was the model number of your old bulb?
Unfortunately they stopped making them, so the model number wouldn't be all that helpful.
 


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