balladbeach24
New member
Hi everyone. I've been a member for a while, but have never posted anything. After this long winded post, people may not want me to post anymore! :ybrick:
Well I decided forever ago that I wanted to change my interior bulbs to LEDs, after reading JA's website a gagillion times. After checking v-leds.com and them never having the bulbs in stock, I was beginning to get discouraged.
Anyway, this last week I looked again, and noticed that they actually had dates when they would be in stock. Finally, on Friday, I pulled the trigger, and ordered all the interior lights (minus the vanity - still out of stock) and the license plate lights. I paid for regular shipping (USPS) and the arrived today! I was amazed, and pleasantly surprised!
So, when I got home from work I got right to the replacement of the bulbs, and after reading all the posts, everyone says it's easy. I was most concerned with removing the reflector lenses, and the bulbs, as they are the most fragile pieces. I removed all of the lenses and even made the mistake of saying "this is going to be easier then I thought."
Big mistake....
I never read anywhere where it was necessary to disconnect the battery, but I did anyway. I figured it's best to be safe then to let a metal screwdriver slip inside there an short out the socket. I reconnected the battery after each light install to make sure it was installed correctly and functional. Again, this might have been overkill, or unnecessary.
I went with the maplights first, and got the left one in with no problem, and the right side took some work. I was pushing up pretty hard before finally getting it to slide inside (giggety.) I connected the battery, and noticed that the left one worked, but the right one didn't. I disconnected the battery again, removed the new light, turned it around, and tried to re-insert it (giggety again.) It would not, for the life of me, go in!!! I tried for 15 minutes trying everything I could think of to get the light replaced. Finally I gave up and just tried a different bulb, and it worked fine.
Then, I moved on to the dome lights. I ordered the same 5k dome lights off of JA's website with the 3175 festoon. These were a royal pain in the ass!
It looked like the festoon was approximately 2 millimeters too big, and it would not fit inside the space where the old was just removed from. I tried moving the tab over to give it some more space, and it still would not go. I called v-led customer service, and the said that there could be another size that would work for the 4runner, and were going to send me that one. Of course, since I have an Android phone, the battery went dead in the middle of the call, and I got disconnected. Right before losing the call, I told the rep I would call him right back, and when I did, I got the standard recording that you receive when they're closed, which told me to email them for technical support. This was 6:52pm CDT, so I don't think they were closed just yet. I called them at 6:45pm CDT before getting disconnected.
Needless to say, I was frustrated.
I moved forward with the install, but I had to seriously modify the festoon in order to get it to work. I had to crush the sides significantly in order for them to fit. After approximately an hour messing with both dome lights, I finally was able to get them installed.
I also replaced the door lights, and the license plate lights without incident.
Now, here's where my questions lie...
After installing the lights, I noticed that the lights sit significantly lower than the previous lights (I knew they would, and why they do, but stay with me.) It looks as though the lights are actually touching the plastic lens. I love the overall look of the lights, but I'm not liking the fact that the lens sits right on top of the lights, creating significant hotspots. I can literally see each individual light on the 6 light piece and the "diffuser lens" isn't really diffusing much.
Has anyone else had this problem, if so, what did you do to fix it? I'm afraid that the lights are going to burn and discolor the plastic if left like that for too long.
I've tried to attach pics, but again, this is my first post, so I don't know if it will work properly.
I'm so sorry for the long sob story, but I was hoping someone would be able to help!
Well I decided forever ago that I wanted to change my interior bulbs to LEDs, after reading JA's website a gagillion times. After checking v-leds.com and them never having the bulbs in stock, I was beginning to get discouraged.
Anyway, this last week I looked again, and noticed that they actually had dates when they would be in stock. Finally, on Friday, I pulled the trigger, and ordered all the interior lights (minus the vanity - still out of stock) and the license plate lights. I paid for regular shipping (USPS) and the arrived today! I was amazed, and pleasantly surprised!
So, when I got home from work I got right to the replacement of the bulbs, and after reading all the posts, everyone says it's easy. I was most concerned with removing the reflector lenses, and the bulbs, as they are the most fragile pieces. I removed all of the lenses and even made the mistake of saying "this is going to be easier then I thought."
Big mistake....
I never read anywhere where it was necessary to disconnect the battery, but I did anyway. I figured it's best to be safe then to let a metal screwdriver slip inside there an short out the socket. I reconnected the battery after each light install to make sure it was installed correctly and functional. Again, this might have been overkill, or unnecessary.
I went with the maplights first, and got the left one in with no problem, and the right side took some work. I was pushing up pretty hard before finally getting it to slide inside (giggety.) I connected the battery, and noticed that the left one worked, but the right one didn't. I disconnected the battery again, removed the new light, turned it around, and tried to re-insert it (giggety again.) It would not, for the life of me, go in!!! I tried for 15 minutes trying everything I could think of to get the light replaced. Finally I gave up and just tried a different bulb, and it worked fine.
Then, I moved on to the dome lights. I ordered the same 5k dome lights off of JA's website with the 3175 festoon. These were a royal pain in the ass!
It looked like the festoon was approximately 2 millimeters too big, and it would not fit inside the space where the old was just removed from. I tried moving the tab over to give it some more space, and it still would not go. I called v-led customer service, and the said that there could be another size that would work for the 4runner, and were going to send me that one. Of course, since I have an Android phone, the battery went dead in the middle of the call, and I got disconnected. Right before losing the call, I told the rep I would call him right back, and when I did, I got the standard recording that you receive when they're closed, which told me to email them for technical support. This was 6:52pm CDT, so I don't think they were closed just yet. I called them at 6:45pm CDT before getting disconnected.
Needless to say, I was frustrated.
I moved forward with the install, but I had to seriously modify the festoon in order to get it to work. I had to crush the sides significantly in order for them to fit. After approximately an hour messing with both dome lights, I finally was able to get them installed.
I also replaced the door lights, and the license plate lights without incident.
Now, here's where my questions lie...
After installing the lights, I noticed that the lights sit significantly lower than the previous lights (I knew they would, and why they do, but stay with me.) It looks as though the lights are actually touching the plastic lens. I love the overall look of the lights, but I'm not liking the fact that the lens sits right on top of the lights, creating significant hotspots. I can literally see each individual light on the 6 light piece and the "diffuser lens" isn't really diffusing much.
Has anyone else had this problem, if so, what did you do to fix it? I'm afraid that the lights are going to burn and discolor the plastic if left like that for too long.
I've tried to attach pics, but again, this is my first post, so I don't know if it will work properly.
I'm so sorry for the long sob story, but I was hoping someone would be able to help!
