B6 Cabriolet Number Plate LED upgrade

[DrStrange]

Had a bit of a nightmare with this install. Purchased 2x 239 SMD LED's for £3 delivered. (When they eventually turned up from Hong Kong!). Went to unscrew the screws and found out they were the most incredibly difficult things to get out. Eventually I used a very small ratchet styled screw driver with 'pozi head' to get out the damn things.

Finally swapped my bulbs to the new LED ones, to find that the 2 flat panel metal pieces that sit in the housing of the boot (which connect to the metal pins which hold the bulb together in its housing) have corroded badly. (only on the right side)

Basically, the LED bulb on the right side wouldn't come on and when it did it was low low power.

So i thought cleaning the little metal corroded panels with a damp cloth and drying them would work. I was wrong! I also used cotton ear buds to no avail.

Eventually, after dicking around for ages, changing the alignment of the connector pins..all of a sudden..boom..instant lighting! I was chuffed. I dont know how but I consider myself lucky that its working!

Any advice on what I could do in future?

Here's a pic of it working..so much better than factory halogens.

 

[variosso]

Got the same upgrade mate, makes it looks a lot cooler. Nice ride though.

 

[variosso]

Forgot to mention that I had to go through hell to get them working. Firstly, screws corroded so I couldn't take them out with a screwdriver, then I had exactly same issue with pins. I had to break the plastic light casing and then I was able to undo them. I managed to get it done but, I agree, it is a nightmare.

 

[DrStrange]

Ah I feel your pain! I admit, i did crack the plastic light casing, but because they sit hidden away, I thought f*ck it.. and put them back! Yes the corrosion is the worst thing. Glad you got them done in the end.
Thank for the comment. From what I saw before (little thumbnail) your car looks NICE!

 

[variosso]

It's ok. Has some bodywork problems, dents and stonechips all around (owned by a woman before). Mechanically it is faultless and has a decent genuine mileage. The thumbnail was not my pic though, I will upload some pics to the RS4 conversion thread soon.

 

[leegsi]

Did the same to ours and the corrosion thing is very common.

As the lights have the 'tangs' that are ment to make contact with the part on the car I took the boot lid apart so I could get to the wires going to the contacts, cut the wire and soldered a longer length of wire with spade connectors on so now when I remove the light the length of wire comes with them.

No problems in 4 months now.

 

[DrStrange]

It's ok. Has some bodywork problems, dents and stonechips all around (owned by a woman before). Mechanically it is faultless and has a decent genuine mileage. The thumbnail was not my pic though, I will upload some pics to the RS4 conversion thread soon.

Haha great response about the previous owner! My car also has stone chips which need a good looking at. Body work can be fixed..glad the car mechanically is faultless. Same with mine, touch wood.

Ah I see. Yes do that. look forward to seeing it. A guy on another forum did the most amazing b6 cab to rs4 cab conversion in metalic blue over in Greece. It looked SO good!

 

[DrStrange]

Did the same to ours and the corrosion thing is very common.

As the lights have the 'tangs' that are ment to make contact with the part on the car I took the boot lid apart so I could get to the wires going to the contacts, cut the wire and soldered a longer length of wire with spade connectors on so now when I remove the light the length of wire comes with them.

No problems in 4 months now.

Thanks for the info! That's a smart solution to the corrosion issue. Great that you've got rid of the problem entirely. Unfortunately I lack basic skills of how to do this.

 

[variosso]

Have you got a link to his conversion thread? Funniest problem I had with it was, the hood eventually stopped working in Spring last year, so my mechanic (not an expert when it comes to motorised hoods etc) had a look at it and said that it may be something very expensive to fix. All summer, I was driving with my hood on thinking that it is a very expensive fix, well pi**sed off. It turned out to be a dirty sensor. I gave it a good clean with electrical cleaner and voila, everything back to normal again. I did that two weeks ago, so I pretty much lost the whole summer

 

[DrStrange]

Have you got a link to his conversion thread? Funniest problem I had with it was, the hood eventually stopped working in Spring last year, so my mechanic (not an expert when it comes to motorised hoods etc) had a look at it and said that it may be something very expensive to fix. All summer, I was driving with my hood on thinking that it is a very expensive fix, well pi**sed off. It turned out to be a dirty sensor. I gave it a good clean with electrical cleaner and voila, everything back to normal again. I did that two weeks ago, so I pretty much lost the whole summer

Do you mean leegsi's conversation thread? Oh dear, yes that is a lost summer! That is one of the reasons why we have the car!

Yes i heard it can potentially be an expensive fix if the motor has gone but, a guy on here..I think his name is 'Vagpro' is an expert and always seems to know what the problem is rather than replacing the motor.

Great that you got it sorted. Do you just spray electrical cleaner on the metal contacts?

 

[variosso]

Yeah, VagPro is the man. He actually sorted it out for me. Yup, electrical cleaner solved it for me.

 

[DrStrange]

Great, that's good to know. Thanks for the info.