Hyundai Forums banner

Led Break Lights Need Resistors?

7K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  C4RN1 
#1 ·
My left break light went out. I ordered led bulbs for replacement. Being we have separate rear blinkers do you think I will still need to wire in resistors? Maybe it depends on what led bulbs I'm using.
 
#5 ·
I doubt you need resistors unless you get some kind of warning light informing you about a brake or tail light failure. Cruise control works through the brake light switch so I doubt it would be an issue. If you do get a warning light order LED's for CANBUS and all will be OK.
 
#8 ·
I agree, resistors should only be needed with LED turn signal bulbs. As long as they are quality LEDs, you should be fine.
 
#12 ·
The bulb fit perfectly. It's intermittently working for bothe brake lights and tail lights. I used dielectric grease. Connections are good. The bulbs are Bulbeats 800 Lumens 2pcs 54-BX Chipsets 1157 2057 2357 7528 1016 1334 BAY15D LED Bulbs with Projector Interior RV Camper Brake tail light Xenon White 6000K. I guess it's the canbus doing this. I would have to put two resistors for each bulb right? One for the tail light portion and one for the brake light portion.
 
#14 ·
Not crazy about the bulbs you bought.

Not familiar with the new chipset terms, but 54-BX chipsets gives you a large margin for error if any one of them fails.

No real way to lift the pins in the socket.

I would recommend something like these: https://www.amazon.com/JDM-ASTAR-Br...ie=UTF8&qid=1484740339&sr=8-11&keywords=1157#

Maybe these: https://www.amazon.com/JDM-ASTAR-Ch...&ie=UTF8&qid=1484740339&sr=8-6&keywords=1157#

Or:
1x Pure Red 1157/1157A/7528 BAY15D High Power 15W Tail Brake Stop LED Light Bulb | eBay

4x Red High Power 15W 1156 BA15S Tail Brake Stop Backup Reverse LED Light Bulbs | eBay

I've bought from the E-bay seller before. Good products - I know you don't need 4 of them, but for $2.50 more you would have a spare set - or you could give to a friend.
 
#15 ·
I got them to work. I was able to lift the pins in the socket. Didn't force them. They were easy to lift up a little bit. It looks like a AAA battery connector but smaller or like the letter P. Both the parking and brake lights now work great. Jiggled them around to make sure the connection is good. I'll check out the lights you recommend for the future. Thank you Sonata Fam!!!
 
#16 ·
Good deal. 1157 bulbs (which are what you have) are like that ...

Insert and push down and 1/8 turn clockwise until they spring up. Push down and 1/8 turn counterclockwise and pull out to remove.

I grew up with them on 1970's cars before they all switched to 3157's (wedge base), so I assumed everyone knew that, but you hardly see them except on Hyundai anymore so maybe not.

Anyway - glad they are working!!!
 
#17 ·
FWIW, I'm a staunch supporter of Putco's plasma LED bulbs for socket use and two of my three Hyundai cars have their Nite-Lux 881 LED fog light setups. I've experienced zero issues with all of them and I'm going to be trying to an H11 Nite-Lux setup in our 2014 Elantra GT in place of the flaky Morimoto 2Strokes that are the low beams currently. I just installed my first ever pair of switchbacks (Putco of course) LED's in the front turn signals of our Elantra GT and they're more intense than the LED DRL of my OE i30 MOBIS fogs. They are a bit pricey but top shelf quality is rarely cheap in my experience.


This week I'll be using an amber 1156 set to replace the Shark Racing 1156 LED (type with built-in load resistor) in the tail lights of our 2013 Sonata Limited 2.0T because you can't see the SR bulbs behind the smoked lenses in daylight hours. The only one I want rear-ending my wife is ME :).
 
#18 ·
FWIW, I'm a staunch supporter of Putco's plasma LED bulbs for socket use ... They are a bit pricey but top shelf quality is rarely cheap in my experience.
I saw you mention the Putco Plasma in another thread, but can't find a lot of info on them - basically the plasma is just a trade name and they are just high-quality LEDs, correct?

Mainly curious how they compare with something like this: 2X 1157 OSRAM High Power 80W Red LED Brake Stop Tail Light Bulbs Projcector Lens | eBay
 
#19 ·
By the YouTube video I watched (one with three first generation Mercury Cougars), it is a different style of LED technology and it is has more lumen output than standard LED's and are eighteen times brighter than a standard incandescent bulb.


By the end of this week, every tail light bulb in my 2015 Accent will be a Putco. All three of our Hyundai's have them in the reverse bulb position. The SR 1156's work fine (and no external resistor to deal with for signal application) as long as they're NOT behind a smoked lens. I'm using the SR's for my Accent's front signals and the rear signals of our 2014 Elantra GT (w/ OE LED tail lights for brake and parking lights). I've purchased the 881 Nite-Lux kits from CarID and the other bulbs from XenonDepot or Putco (off eBay directly from them, seller ID putcostore). I've used 194, 881, 921, 1156 and 2157 switchback Putco bulbs now and they have more output than any other LED I've used (e.g., Philips, Sylvania, SR, Pilot, etc.). Great stuff!
 
#20 ·
The SR 1156's work fine (and no external resistor to deal with for signal application) as long as they're NOT behind a smoked lens. I'm using the SR's for my Accent's front signals and the rear signals of our 2014 Elantra GT (w/ OE LED tail lights for brake and parking lights).
Off-topic, but I'm curious - I assume you are using the SR 1157 switchbacks in the front of the Accent. If so:

I understand the bulb is white for the parking lights and amber for the turn signals.

If you use the hazard flashers, does it flash amber or white? (I'd assume amber.)

If you lock/unlock the car, does it flash amber or white? (Assuming amber).

If you have the headlights/parking lights on, and activate the turn signal, does it alternate amber/white or amber/black (off)? (I think this is referred to as Type A or Type B switchback.)
 
#21 ·
Tiger-Heli,


Actually I was using SR 1156 ambers in the front 2357NA position and they only operated as signal bulbs. Now that I'm using an LED (Putco 1156) bulb in the rear positions with one of these behind each, I had to put back incandescent 2357NA's up front to keep both ends from hyperflashing (which is odd). Remember also that I have aftermarket fog lights in place of the OE units that each has a surface emission switchback LED strip in it so I still have two LED signals per side up front for now. As a test, I plugged in one of the SR 1156's in one rear side and the Putco 1156 in the other. My Accent has no smoked lenses anywhere and the Putco just puts the SR to shame. Since I also have Putco 1157 switchbacks that are destined for our Sonata, I tried them (sans resistors of any kind) up front on the Accent and they still only illuminate as (hyperflashing) signals but no parking light illumination. I'm not sure where I lost that along the way and I couldn't find any fuse that was blown. The same Putco switchbacks in our Elantra GT illuminate white as a parking light and amber as a turn signal, hazard and lock/unlock. The Putco switchbacks illuminate as oscillating amber (on, off and repeating until cancelled) and I'm using the large blue anodized power resistors Morimoto makes that are sold by The Retrofit Source.


I'm going to get some of the SR 1157 ambers (dual but non-switchback) for my Accent as it has a surplus of white light up front to see how they work. I'll have to do some electrical troubleshooting to determine why I have parking illumination at the rear but not the front of the Accent. Depending on how they work, I may go with those up front in our Sonata instead of the Putco 1157 switchbacks.


Since my elder son drives a 2012 Accent SE with all stock lighting on the rear, I'll take a picture of our Accents side by side, one in the daylight and one in the dark, so you can see the difference for yourself.


C'ya!
 
#22 ·
https://www.amazon.com/Resistors-Signal-License-Warning-Cancellor/dp/B004EDF8HY

I ran into a bit of the load resistor stuff with my old 2002 Focus (although I never bothered with turn signals).

Essentially, the front and rear bulbs were in parallel, so you either had to add 6-ohm resistors at each bulb, or you could add 3-ohm resistors at the front or rear only (assuming you were replacing front and rear with LED's).

Not sure this helps you or not ...
 
#23 ·
I used Sylvania and Philips LED bulbs for the brake lights in various vehicles and did not need load resistors.

I have these in my '11 Sonata and they work fine as is:
Sylvania ZEVO 2357RLEDBP2 - LED Mini Bulb | O'Reilly Auto Parts
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/sylvania-2357r-zevo-mini-bulb-pack-of-2-2357rled.bp2/11236874-P

I haven't tried these in the Hyundai but expect them to work just fine too(as I have used the brands with other vehicles in the past):
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/sylvania-2357r-syl-mini-bulb-pack-of-2-2357rsl.bp2/11349179-P
Sylvania LED 2357RSLBP2 - LED Bulb | O'Reilly Auto Parts
Vision LED Exterior lighting 12836B2 | Philips
RED 21 LED 1157 - 1157 - Brake - Tail Lights - Shop Application
https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...on-28-smd-led-tower-bay15d-retrofit-car/1644/
1157 2057 7528 2357 connectors tail light turn signal parking brake

Legality of the LED bulb is for you to figure out. Have someone drive your car with 1 LED and 1 regular bulb while you follow at nighttime and again during daytime and draw your own conclusions. Output should be similar with the LED lighting up and shutting down faster.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tiger-Heli
#24 ·
Sorry to resurrect and old post. I mounted load resistors for my brake lights on my 2014 Sonata and need help.

There are green, red and black wires going into the brake light socket, besides the green ground wire, should I be using the red or black with the resistor?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top