Member Since: 03 Dec 2016
Location: Doncaster
Posts: 6
LED trailer lights
Hello
I have a trailer I would like to fit LED lights onto as the standard ones are rubbish. Has anyone done this successfully with a Discovery 3 and if so how? I keep hearing it can't be done !
Any help is appreciated
18th May 2017 4:59 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10673
Save yourself some time/stress/money and don't bother trying!
18th May 2017 5:58 pm
Sydney
Member Since: 11 Aug 2013
Location: St Neots
Posts: 903
Member Since: 18 Feb 2016
Location: Effingham
Posts: 237
I made a simple modification to mine that has worked reliably ever since...
The only problem is with the rear indicators, where the system fires a brief test pulse every half second or so. If there are trailer indicators connected, this allows the ecu to operate the trailer warning light on the dash, and disable the rear parking sensors.
The problem is that a filament bulb responds quite slowly - too slowly for this brief test pulse to ever reult in the light coming on. An led, however, responds much faster, and so the test pulses show up in the trailer led's.
Interrupt the feed to the trailer socket with a relay. Use the feed both to power the relay switch, and as the main supply. The relay, like the filament bulb, is too slow to respond to the test pulse (although you can hear them twitching if you listen closely), and so isolates the led from the test pulse. But when the indicators are switched on, they will switch the current through to the trailer light. Because the original source is used both to switch the relay and as the power supply to the trailer, the warning light on the dashboard still functions as it should.
You will need two relays, one for lh, one for rh indicators. I mounted mine inside the nsr boot cubby, just behind the rear light.
New gearbox & TC, 3 x front wheel bearings, belts changed, new oil pump, new battery, new rear prop, new front prop, new front diff, front arb refurbed, front cv boot kit, egr blank and BAS software patch, full rear suspension / drivelive rebuild, new front arms, LED trailer light fix, split charge.
Never had a 107, 90 or 127, but have had most of the rest!
18th May 2017 8:23 pm
michael calvert
Member Since: 03 Dec 2011
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 519
Had a similar issue in my d4
A little bit backwards some may say but I added two standard filament motorbike indicators in the front head board so visible to oncoming traffic.
Car thinks it had "bulbs" everything works.....D3 gone
Rrs 3.0 tdv6 hse nara bronze - going
D4 landmark waitimo grey
18th May 2017 10:05 pm
Coo
Member Since: 01 Jun 2015
Location: Fife, Scotland
Posts: 284
So a workaround is to fit a bulb in series before the indicator leds ?
Might try that!
19th May 2017 3:25 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10673
well, in parallel
19th May 2017 3:53 pm
Coo
Member Since: 01 Jun 2015
Location: Fife, Scotland
Posts: 284
Okay !
Cheers
19th May 2017 4:07 pm
Compusmentis
Member Since: 18 Feb 2016
Location: Effingham
Posts: 237
Coo wrote:
So a workaround is to fit a bulb in series before the indicator leds ?
Might try that!
Yes, but you'd have to do that on every trailer you pulled. By modifying the car rather than the trailer, you can pull any trailer without worry New gearbox & TC, 3 x front wheel bearings, belts changed, new oil pump, new battery, new rear prop, new front prop, new front diff, front arb refurbed, front cv boot kit, egr blank and BAS software patch, full rear suspension / drivelive rebuild, new front arms, LED trailer light fix, split charge.
Never had a 107, 90 or 127, but have had most of the rest!
19th May 2017 4:44 pm
michael calvert
Member Since: 03 Dec 2011
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 519
Correct yeah just wired in so the indicator circuit has some resistance
Member Since: 08 Nov 2016
Location: Maldon, Essex
Posts: 516
Compusmentis wrote:
Coo wrote:
So a workaround is to fit a bulb in series before the indicator leds ?
Might try that!
Yes, but you'd have to do that on every trailer you pulled. By modifying the car rather than the trailer, you can pull any trailer without worry
But that's assuming that every trailer you pull has LEDs?
I fitted LED light units to my car trailer as filament bulbs failed with annoying reguarity due to the rattling aound of the empty bed. When plugged in to the Disco, everything worked fine but the left indicator (trailer only) pulsed constantly all the time when plugged in even with the keys out of the LR, no doubt in time with the canbus!
One solution I considered was to fit resitors to the trailer LEDs, however in the end (for less money than the robbing barstewards on fleabay were touting resistors for I procured the cheapest version of standard trailer lights and fitted them either side of the number plate.
Advantages:
1) cost saving against resistors
2) doubling up as no plate lamp so another cost saving against new lamp there
3) built in redundancy against failure of any part of the LED unit (difficult to sort on the road as whole new unit would be required.
4) trailer then fit for use on any canbus car
Bonus - fitted centrally around the number plate light the standard bulbs seem a lot more resiliant to failure than when fiitted to the extreme corners of the bed!Not such a Disco Newbie now!
IID BT
20th May 2017 7:53 am
Compusmentis
Member Since: 18 Feb 2016
Location: Effingham
Posts: 237
I have a few trailers, most with led's, but still one on old fashioned filament bulbs. My mod allows the car to pull any of them, and any trailer I might hire or buy in the future. New gearbox & TC, 3 x front wheel bearings, belts changed, new oil pump, new battery, new rear prop, new front prop, new front diff, front arb refurbed, front cv boot kit, egr blank and BAS software patch, full rear suspension / drivelive rebuild, new front arms, LED trailer light fix, split charge.
Never had a 107, 90 or 127, but have had most of the rest!
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