Hey guys.
After endless searching on here and the internet I'm having great difficulty finding the correct bulb for my drl's. Everywhere I'm searching on the net is telling me I need the bulb 501 but the fiat manual is telling me I need WY21/5w!! I ordered 501's before even checking the manual (Stupid I know) and from the picture below they are obviously very different! Can anyone tell me where I can find the correct bulb to buy? Just changed my headlight bulbs to osram day breaker bulbs so wanted a brighter drl. As stated in a previous post I'm quite dull when it's comes to cars so a bit of friendly advice from here goes a very very long way and i am completely grateful.

My little fiat is a 2011 (60 plate) 1.2 if that makes a difference?

Oh and to make things worse my one drl is now not working, I wore gloves when handling bulbs and the actual bulb hasn't blown!?

Again Thanks in advance.

Hi. I bought these (copy/paste link into your browser)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIAA-H-36...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1c242488be

and they do the job brilliantly

It's a tad fiddly changing the DRL's over but once done the result is well worth the effort. You mention one of the DRL's not working? Thoroughly check the wiring connectors, when I changed mine I managed to dislodge one of the wires :bang:...(1 brown, 1 grey and I think the earth wire is the permanently soldered black!) If you transpose the connectors the bulb stays dim and may even go out completely when you switch your headlights on!

Hope this helps
Regards
Nick The Greek

nickthegreek1958 said:

Hi. I bought these (copy/paste link into your browser)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIAA-H-36...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1c242488be

and they do the job brilliantly

Click to expand...

How much?!

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_173755_langId_-1_categoryId_165538#tab1

or

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_212829_langId_-1_categoryId_165538#tab1

Far better priced, I believe they're the correct ones also.

The 580 above from Halfords is what I actually just bought and put in today Has the double filament to do DLR and side lights. 90p with a trade card if you or anyone you know has one!

Thanks guys, got a bulb from halfords today with the 580 part number, so all up and running again, I can now say I'm an expert at removing and replacing a drl in a 500, I've never had my hand in something so many times! ;0) This is just a basic bulb though, any tips or suggestions for a brighter or more whiter light? I'm afraid of all these ones on ebay advertised or should I just bite the bullet!?

I found replacing the originals with PIAA's worked well. Gave a crisp white light.

Most Easterly Pandas said:

How much?!

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_173755_langId_-1_categoryId_165538#tab1

or

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_212829_langId_-1_categoryId_165538#tab1

Far better priced, I believe they're the correct ones also.

Click to expand...

will these LED bulbs work as DLRs, I am confused if canbus rejects LED bulbs !!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2pcs-LED-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2ed7fa562d

Even if they work you'll get a bulb out light.

I tried 2 sets both which promised to cancel out the error and a set of inline resistors and the bulbs to try and get rid but nothing worked.

arorat said:

will these LED bulbs work as DLRs, I am confused if canbus rejects LED bulbs !!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2pcs-LED-White-Brake-Stop-Tail-Light-Car-Bulb-W21-5W-T20-580-13-SMD-7443-/201192003117?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2ed7fa562d

Click to expand...

Don't buy cheap LED's. The ones in UFI were around $40, cheap ones will be all but invisible and won't last. They should light OK, but you will get a warning as Cyberface has said. Really powerful LED's will satisfy the CANBUS.

:yeahthat:

It's CREE LED chips you're after.

UFI said:

Don't buy cheap LED's. The ones in UFI were around $40, cheap ones will be all but invisible and won't last. They should light OK, but you will get a warning as Cyberface has said. Really powerful LED's will satisfy the CANBUS.

Click to expand...

thanks UFI, good to know. I am not hellbent on getting LEDs but thought i'd ask as I saw the LEDs whilst looking at normal bulbs.

Will look at CREE for knowledge purposes.

arorat said:

Will look at CREE for knowledge purposes.

Click to expand...

Just for reference, 99% of OEM LED DRL's, or even tail lights are of CREE chip origin, which is why they're so bright over long distances

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Just for reference, 99% of OEM LED DRL's, or even tail lights are of CREE chip origin, which is why they're so bright over long distances

Click to expand...

Maybe a silly assumption, would it be fair to say CREE based LED bulbs overcome the canbus error messages and behave as normal filament bulbs.

btw: is there any mileage in paying the extra vs glas bulbs failing more often ?

arorat said:

Maybe a silly assumption, would it be fair to say CREE based LED bulbs overcome the canbus error messages and behave as normal filament bulbs.

btw: is there any mileage in paying the extra vs glas bulbs failing more often ?

Click to expand...

Not a silly question, most CREE units will still cause bulb failure warning unfortunately

Personally I'd stick to normal filament bulbs for ease, assuming they're not a pain in the backside to change.

arorat said:

Maybe a silly assumption, would it be fair to say CREE based LED bulbs overcome the canbus error messages and behave as normal filament bulbs.

btw: is there any mileage in paying the extra vs glas bulbs failing more often ?

Click to expand...

They don't have to be CREE, they're just the biggest/ best known chip maker. I believe most Euro's use Phillips chips, OSRAM do them too etc.

What you need is enough current draw that the CANBUS thinks the globe is incandescent. For the stop lights, that's 8W (an aweful bright stop light - esp. at night!).

My LED DRL's work but don't quite satisfy the CANBUS but since then more powerful bulbs have been released. Something that draws a genuine 8W would be a good bet, but I haven't measured the actual number for the DRL's it could well be different.

Modest fuel savings are there, my fleet all run LED where possible. When I sell a car I keep the bulbs and refit the unused OEM junk, so LED's are a long term investment. I have some that have been through 3-4 cars now.

As I said above, I tried 2 different sets (each bulb was £15-£20) so not cheap ones. Advertised for 500s or insignias. I then tried an inline capacitor with the bulbs and it still gave a warning. Had the same issue when I tried LEDs in the no plate lights.

The canbus just seems to hate LEDs!

Cyberface said:

As I said above, I tried 2 different sets (each bulb was £15-£20) so not cheap ones. Advertised for 500s or insignias. I then tried an inline capacitor with the bulbs and it still gave a warning. Had the same issue when I tried LEDs in the no plate lights.

Click to expand...

Bare in mind that with eBay, you never know if you're getting a 'cheap' product even if you do pay a lot for it!

What was their current draw?

Here's what I did for my stop lights. I used a small 10W incandescent globe and wedged the wires into the tracks in the tail light, and fixed the globe in place with a drop of silicone. No more bulb out warnings and the extra current is producing light rather than just heat like a resistor would. I had to do this as when you fit two LED brake lights, CANBUS stops them from lighting up altogether! Although this draws more current than a pure LED, it's still half of what a incandescent globe would normally draw, can be seen easily in glaring sunlight and I get the instant LED response for safety.

Once the warranty is up I'll be cutting the tracks on the stop light and using the tail light globes (via resistors and diodes) as the load, both will light up with my foot on the brake. It's the most elegant solution to this PITA problem I've come up with. This will also let me fine tune the current draw until the CANBUS shuts up, since filament globes don't come in an infinite range of wattages.

I haven't really decided what I'll do with the DRL's. I could do a similar 'borrowed load' from the headlights, but there are ever more powerful chips/ bulbs coming out that I'll just try another super powerful pair down the track before I go down that path. I've seen some that look like they'll work, but I only find the error messages occasionally annoying.

Cyberface said:

I then tried an inline capacitor with the bulbs and it still gave a warning.

Click to expand...

How were you wiring the resistor (I assume this is what you mean) in? Never had an issue on any Fiat's myself with resistors used.

It was a kit that plugged in the bulb holder and the bulb plugged in the other end.

Cyberface said:

It was a kit that plugged in the bulb holder and the bulb plugged in the other end.

Click to expand...

Strange, as they're the ones I've used, on my old Bravo, without issue.