
Canbus Error Free Led Bulbs
LED bulbs adapted to the CANBUS system are a simple and convenient solution. The LED bulb mounted like a traditional bulb. Because the CANBUS LED bulb consumes more current than a regular LED bulb, the car’s computer “sees” it as an ordinary bulb. Older models of LED bulbs adapted to the CANBUS system had a built-in resistor increasing the power consumption consumed by the bulb. It is a simple and cheap solution, but the disadvantage is the increased amount of heat generated. In the case of cheap bulbs based on non-adapted components, this leads to rapid damage to the bulb. This solution is only possible in low-power LED bulbs, e.g. interior lighting, license plate lighting with 1157 led bulbs, parking lots. The use of this solution in higher power bulbs raises a problem with heat dissipation.
External CANBUS decoders
The choice of external CANBUS decoder depends on the car brand, how to power the bulb and the type of errors that occur. It is a quite complicated matter, by the way like a technician and manufacturer, it can complicate such a simple matter as replacing a light bulb in a car, but let’s try to present the basic problems and ways to solve them.
When do you need an External Canbus decoder?
After installing the reflector or LED bulb, the following symptoms occur:
(1) When the lights turned on, the headlight or LED bulb flashes.
(2) the computer shows a headlight or bulb error.
(3) The headlight or LED bulb stays on for a while despite turning off the power.
(4) The brightness of the headlight or LED bulb reduced than when connected directly to a power source, e.g. a battery.
What are the functions of the CAN-BUS decoder?
(1) For cars manufactured in Germany, e.g. Audi, BMW, Skoda, Mercedes:
For these cars, the CANBUS system turns on when the engine starts. Often, problems are not noticed after installation and power supply from the battery and appear after starting the engine. In this case, an electronic LED Decoder needed to communicate with the main car computer regarding the condition of the light bulbs. Some German CANBUS systems also check the power consumed by the bulbs. In the case of lower power consumption by LED bulbs, it may be necessary to use a filter based on a resistor, which increases the current consumption of the LED bulb to a size acceptable to the computer.
(2) Pulse power supply for light bulbs
Some car manufacturers, mainly German ones, use an impulse power supply for light bulbs. This technology used to reduce the amount of heat emitted by halogen bulbs (smaller bulbs), to try to increase their lifetime and control their condition by the CANBUS system. In this case, the bulbs powered by a voltage modulated by the car’s computer. The voltage switched off for approx. 2 ms, which does not affect, due to the thermal inertia, the visibility of the light from the halogen bulb. In the case of an LED bulb, it may be that the LED bulbs may flash and then turn off. In this case, it is necessary to install an additional LED decoder.