Technical Bulb replacement on 500 DRL

[Johnrambo18]

Advice please on replacing DRL bulbs on 2023 Fiat 500.
First - getting to them. The manual I have says there is a blanking plate under front wheel arch, but I cannot find this.
Second - the standard bulbs are filament. Can I replace with LED, and if so does anyone know the type and where I can source?

 

[Johnrambo18]

More on this. It seems to be W21W bulb. But further complication - some report it as dual filament which combines sidelight and drl. However I cannot identify a sidelight function on this car, it seems to be dipped head or nothing.

 

[steveras57]

More on this. It seems to be W21W bulb. But further complication - some report it as dual filament which combines sidelight and drl. However I cannot identify a sidelight function on this car, it seems to be dipped head or nothing.

The 5w function element is your DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS on with the ignition and toggled on/off through the speedo sub-menu functions!
with main headlights selected via the column stalk the 21w function is your MAIN BEAM HEADLIGHT! when the blue main beam light is lit!
it is a duel -function bulb!.

 

[John202020]

Have a look in your hand book re the type, as I believe the side lights are led, drl the 21w but not sure if it's a dual filament type on the very new cars
No you cannot use a led equivalent stick to Bosch or Osram

 

[Johnrambo18]

The 5w function element is your DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS on with the ignition and toggled on/off through the speedo sub-menu functions!
with main headlights selected via the column stalk the 21w function is your MAIN BEAM HEADLIGHT! when the blue main beam light is lit!
it is a duel -function bulb!.

No it isn't. The main beam headlight is a separate bulb in the same fitting. But if I can't use LED that rather answers the question...

 

[Johnrambo18]

Have a look in your hand book re the type, as I believe the side lights are led, drl the 21w but not sure if it's a dual filament type on the very new cars
No you cannot use a led equivalent stick to Bosch or Osram

The handbook is useless I'm afraid. There are 2 bulbs in the fitting, one is the main beam headlight, the other is the DRL. I think it is only single filament as there do not appear to be sidelights on this car. But I do not understand why I cannot use an LED equivalent for the DRL bulb - what would be the reason for this? They use less current, so it can't be a power issue...

 

[decappottabile]

You can use LED but it will probably throw an error on the dash, even if you use the "canbus" lights.
(And in my country they are not road-legal)

 

[John202020]

You can use LED but it will probably throw an error on the dash, even if you use the "canbus" lights.
(And in my country they are not road-legal)

This

 

[Johnrambo18]

You can use LED but it will probably throw an error on the dash, even if you use the "canbus" lights.
(And in my country they are not road-legal)

Is that Netherlands? And do you mean LED bulbs or DRL? I find it hard to believe as most modern cars now are made with LED daytime running lights.

 

[A3jeroen]

LED bulbs in the DRL are not illegal AFAIK, however... The BCM is expecting a certain draw and give a fault in the dash. In a pre FL this can be corrected with the right resistor (which will create a lot of heat.
In a FL car only the 21W fillament is used and the dimming (sidelights) is achieved electronically. That will using LED's almost impossible. You may find the right way in posts of Revilo on the German Abarth-forum.

gr J

 

[chris3234]

The handbook is useless I'm afraid. There are 2 bulbs in the fitting, one is the main beam headlight, the other is the DRL. I think it is only single filament as there do not appear to be sidelights on this car. But I do not understand why I cannot use an LED equivalent for the DRL bulb - what would be the reason for this? They use less current, so it can't be a power issue...

Legal issues
All bulbs needed to be e marked to say they confirm to the standards
And no led bulbs comply to British standards

That being said DRLs bulbs type are not checked on the MOT unlike main beams which have to be filament type unless designed as led units so wouldn't fail there

 

[John202020]

As far as I know drl's must work, where fitted on cars after mar 2018 reg for the mot, but doesn't seem to state what type of bulb

 

[Johnrambo18]

Legal issues
All bulbs needed to be e marked to say they confirm to the standards
And no led bulbs comply to British standards

That being said DRLs bulbs type are not checked on the MOT unlike main beams which have to be filament type unless designed as led units so wouldn't fail there

That seems a bit strange as many cars are fitted with LED running lights as standard nowadays

 

[A3jeroen]

...but they are designed as LED DRL's... 500 DRL's are not. Don't know about MOT.
I'm in the Netherlands too.

gr J

 

[chris3234]

That seems a bit strange as many cars are fitted with LED running lights as standard nowadays

They have led units designed for led lights
It's not legal to fit led bulbs into a housing designed for halogen bulbs

 

[chris3234]

...but they are designed as LED DRL's... 500 DRL's are not. Don't know about MOT.
I'm in the Netherlands too.

gr J

Only the main beam bulbs are checked as part of a mot for the correct bulb type

Other lights are just a function test

 

[Johnrambo18]

I think the thing here is that the 500 was designed before LED bulbs were widespread, and although some features of the car have been updated, Fiat must not consider it worthwhile to change the DRL bulbs.

 

[gadb]

Was wondering what the issue with LED bulbs in Halogen housings is?

• Is it the LED bulbs are too bright?
  • I'd agree with this in general for LED lights, but obviously this doesn't seem to matter when the manufacturer put them in. Fairly fed up with being blinded by Rangie/Audi/BMW SUV lights.
• Is it the LED bulbs get too hot?
  • Surely not as hot as halogen though.

 

[jrkitching]

Was wondering what the issue with LED bulbs in Halogen housings is

In the UK, replacing existing halogen headlight bulbs with LED's isn't permitted under the construction and use regulations, so they can't legally be used on the road.

LED's fitted as original equipment when the car is type approved are fine.

Whether or not this makes sense isn't the issue; if you fit replacement LED headlight bulbs, your car won't be roadworthy, it will likely fail an MOT, you could be prosecuted for driving an unroadworthy vehicle, and you will likely invalidate your insurance.

 

[gadb]

In the UK, replacing existing halogen headlight bulbs with LED's isn't permitted under the construction and use regulations, so they can't legally be used on the road.

LED's fitted as original equipment when the car is type approved are fine.

Indeed, sorry I wasn't clear. I'm wondering about the justification for the law being in place, given the high intensity of modern headlights and high placement of SUV lights.