hey guys,

I appreciate this is probably more of a general thing rather than a Stilo specific problem, but as our Stilos are selective in their problems I thought id run this by you.

so, ive upgraded all my interior lights to COB LED bulbs, super bright canbus error free ones that are between 2w and 6w each.

So, all fitted great and they are superbright and the interior looks amazing BUT when the car is switched off, the lights still emit a dim glow.

I've read that this is in fact normal - due to the very low voltage required to work the bulb, any residual or constant current in the circuit will light up the bulbs, if only dimly.

Has anyone else done the same, and does anyone have the same "problem"? I am not even sure if I am bothered by it to be honest - I have a very big battery, and despite the car being sat in the cold unused for a week with the bulbs in, everything started fine this morning (car has been off the road due to enormous sun roof leak, long story, much mess)

I've got leds for the interior of my stilo and I've got the same issue. Had them in about a year now though but never had any problems with the bulbs or the battery.

cheers DCK, that's reassuring! I will leave it alone then, in fact ill class it as Ambient Lighting like what you get in an Astra GTC....

Have you got any photo's of these new lights?

I do...but they don't really tell you much.

I will take some photos later, but to describe them they are a very clean and crisp bright white - the interior lights up completely and is much improved over the standard bulbs.

The map reading lights are also massively improved, you can actually read a map with them on in the dark

when the car is off, the remaining glow is quite dim but not unpleasant...!

these are the map readers - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161712855...49&var=460685763441&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
and these are the main front light, and rear courtesy lights - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131598715772?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

The tiny current that is causing the slight glow from the LEDs would also be flowing if you had filament lamps fitted. In fact it may be slightly less with the LEDs as they drop a fairly constant voltage before passing any current.
So the LEDs are not draining the battery any more than than the old bulbs were.

Robert G8RPI.

ahh I did wonder if that was the case. I'm not overly technical with car electronics, but I did wonder if filament bulbs somehow "stopped" the flow of current, and the LEDs allowed it to stay alive - silly logic I know but thanks for confirming!!

Hi,
Leds will give out light at tiny currents as long as there is enough voltage (varies with colour but around 3V for a white). Below that voultage essentially no current flows. I've seen mains LEDs that stayed dim when "off". I checked to make sure it was not damp in the wiring, it wasn't, then realised it on a 2-way circuit and worked out that the capacitance of the cable was enough to pass the current. Filament lamps pass current whatever the voltage (they have lower resistance when cold (off) but require about 5% of rated current before they show significant light.
The cause of the current in your car might be the lamp failure detection circuit. These typically pass a small current when the light is off and measure the voltage across the lamp. If the voltage is low, the lamp is OK.
(In case you hadn't realised, I'm an electronics engineer).

Robert G8RPI.

g8rpi said:

Hi,
Leds will give out light at tiny currents as long as there is enough voltage (varies with colour but around 3V for a white). Below that voultage essentially no current flows. I've seen mains LEDs that stayed dim when "off". I checked to make sure it was not damp in the wiring, it wasn't, then realised it on a 2-way circuit and worked out that the capacitance of the cable was enough to pass the current. Filament lamps pass current whatever the voltage (they have lower resistance when cold (off) but require about 5% of rated current before they show significant light.
The cause of the current in your car might be the lamp failure detection circuit. These typically pass a small current when the light is off and measure the voltage across the lamp. If the voltage is low, the lamp is OK.
(In case you hadn't realised, I'm an electronics engineer).

Robert G8RPI.

Click to expand...

you're a genius mate!

i just bought some , in hope for mood lighting lol

Hi i bought led light bulbs for my kitchen from ebay never herd of the make before but had the glowing issue when turned off , i was advised by an electrition to buy better quality bulbs so bought some Philips led bulbs, problem solved, i also changed every light bulb in my 1972 mk2 Triumph 2500 saloon for led bulbs bar the headlight bulbs theres no glowing after turning any of them off,so could be just the quality of the led bulbs them self

I also have white LED lights in my Stilo that a previous owner had fitted. They also stay very dimly lit when the ignition is off, I was concerned about battery drain but I have left the car for well over a week in this state with no issue, I would imagine the voltage drain is extremely low.
They do improve the interior lighting over the standard filament bulbs and give the interior a more modern look.

redcat said:

Hi i bought led light bulbs for my kitchen from ebay never herd of the make before but had the glowing issue when turned off , i was advised by an electrition to buy better quality bulbs so bought some Philips led bulbs, problem solved, i also changed every light bulb in my 1972 mk2 Triumph 2500 saloon for led bulbs bar the headlight bulbs theres no glowing after turning any of them off,so could be just the quality of the led bulbs them self

Click to expand...

The glow on mains LED lamps is due to the capacitance of the wiring allowing tiny currents to flow. Some LED lamps use a simple resistor /capactor current limit and these will glow. Higher power ones use an electronic regulator and these don't glow as there is not enough voltage. Some have a small capacitor connected across the input and this swamps the cable capacitance. Being virtually pure reactance these capacitances pass current but do not consume any power.
In modern cars the tiny leakage currents that can flow even with ignition off can cause a slight glow but this will never be more than that with a filament lamp and is normally much less.
On the Triumph its interesting that classic cars with sealed beam head lights are about the only one that can be legally upgraded to LED. A couple of companies make LED replacement sealed beam units that are (e) marked and approved.

Robert G8RPI.

g8rpi yes ive seen some led sealed beam units for sale they looked ugly to me and i didnt think they suited the triumph, thanks for explaining the reasons for the glowing on the led bulbs in my house, for me the interior lighting in my stilo is very good the only bulbs i find a bit dim is in the heater control panel, but after 12 years of use it might just need new bulbs