LED Bulb Replacement.

[Panzer Leader]

I am thinking of replacing my Fog Light Bulbs with LED Bulbs. Also all interior lights as well as courtesy door lights and license plate. The vendors say they are direct replacement. However, they do show an in-line resistor. Are these needed? I am not sure, and don't want to cause and electrical damage.... BTW, what would be the best brand to go with? The info came from CAR-ID...... THANKS

[Larz]

This is a very popular idea and many have done it. In the M35/45 forum there is an FAQ post near the top. Loads of how-to's and modification info in there.
Look at the posts about changing to LEDs and you should find all the info you need.

m35-m37-m45-m56-howto-faqs-t496585.html

To use LEDs for any of the turn signals, you have to add a resistor for each bulb, or buy an LED bulb that has a resistor built-in. As for where to buy them, many of us only use a place called Vleds. Here is their website. Their bulbs are far higher quality and far brighter than any other brands. http://www.vleds.com/

As for the fog lamps. I have yet to see any LED fog lamps that even come close to working as well as halogens. Also, you have decide if you want true fog lights, or an extra set of white lights. True fogs should be amber (about 3000k) to improve visibility in bad weather. White lights just reflect off the ground poorly and actually reduce visibility in rain and fog.

[Panzer Leader]

Thanks LARZ... Thought that the LED Fogs would be brighter than the halogens..... At this point, I don't think that I will change out any requiring the resistors. ...... So, I guess I might change out the interior bulbs and courtesy door lights along with the license plate lights. Those should not require any resistors, right? ....BTW, I did searches before bothering anyone, but came up zero. Thanks for the link...

[Larz]

That is correct. ONLY the turn signals would require resistors. Any other standard bulb can be changed to LED by simply buying and LED with same bulb size. One thing to remember is that LED bulbs can have a polarity issue that reg bulbs don't have. After you install the LED bulb, test it to make sure it lights. if it does not light, remove it, reverse it and re-install it.
Vled bulbs are a little more expensive than other LED brands but they are amazingly stable, have a uniform colour, and are brighter than the cheaper LED brands. If you upgrade to LEDs, you only want to go through the trouble once and have it last forever, so it's best to just pay a little more and not have to repeat the work a second or third time when the cheap LEDs fail.

PS: if you are concerned about changing out the turn signals, I did a DYI about it. You can find all the LED bulb DIYs in the M35/M45 forum under the FAQ thread near the top. I used plug and play adapters between the LED bulbs and the car's factory wires. They work great.

replace-upgrade-front-turn-signals-m35-t574493.html

Here is the link to the main FAQ section from the M35/M45 forum:

m35-m37-m45-m56-howto-faqs-t496585.html