2014 Skoda Octavia Changing bulbs to LED

GARYK7

MEMBER
2014 SKODA OCTAVIA
1.6L
6 CYL
TURBO
FWD
MANUAL
19,010 MILES

Hi I have a 2014 1.6 skoda octavia and I want to change all the bulbs in my car to LED ones. When I found the bulbs online some of the sites say the bulbs may cause lights to flash up on the dashboard. I was wondering if you could tell me if this will happen or how can I fix it if it does. Thanks for your time. I have included a description of the bulb and a picture if it helps.

Wednesday, October 21st, 2015 AT 1:34 AM

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,330 POSTS

Yup, you're right. It depends on the car model and year, but most newer ones have some method of detecting when a bulb is burned out. Usually that involves monitoring the amount of current flow. LED bulbs draw very little current, so while they'll light up just fine, whatever senses current flow will think the bulb is burned out.

Some LED bulbs are listed as they won't cause a problem because they have an additional resistor built in to draw some additional current. Otherwise you have to add a resistor across each bulb's socket. One problem is finding suitable resistors. They'll need to draw as much current as the old bulbs, so they're going to get just as hot. You can hide the resistors in a convenient spot, but you have to watch out that nothing gets overheated. You can also keep the original bulbs by splicing in additional sockets. Hide those bulbs, again, where the heat won't cause a problem.

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Wednesday, October 21st, 2015 AT 4:09 PM