intoweapons Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Finally got the LED bulb conversion done on my 2007 Lincoln MKZ. Started with the interiors and then the exteriors. The DRL's and Turn Signals gave me the biggest challenge. The DRL bulbs are just a couple of small 194 white LED's and one switchback 3147 LED (biggest hurdle). Since the MKZ doesn't have a Signal Flasher fuse, Resistors would have to be installed to reduce current going to the Signal Bulbs. I decided against CANBUS LED Bulbs as they are expensive to replace if burnt out... The ones I use are about $0.25 per 194 bulb and $1.50 for most 3147's (aliexpress). I originally purchased Yellow/White swichback Projection LED bulbs, but have come to find that I absolutely hate the "projector" LED style bulbs due to color and brightness (they don't match the standard LED non-projection bulbs). So went with White/White LED 3147's in the front, which I had extra of fortunately. They ended up matching in color and looking much better! The picture below is the standard DRL brightness, and the most inward bulb flashes and gets 3x brighter than the other two bulbs when the signal or emergency flasher is turned on. When we installed the White LED's in the Turn Signals in the front, we found resistors were not needed for some reason (did not get hyperflash or dash error message). We did get the hyperflash and dash error message with the Yellow/White Projector Switchback LED's I was originally going to have installed. So, was able to return a pair of resistors that was intended for the front. The Fog Lamps are White Projection LED's (again, don't really like these as much and will probably swap out for non-projection soon). Had to replace one fog light assembly from corrosion on the inside, and clean the other out completely. Now both are clean and have a nice white light. Will probably be a bit brighter (and more usable for foggy conditions) once I have non-projector LED's in them. I did have to wire the rear turn signals with resistors when I swapped from incandescent to LED, as I couldn't get rid of the hyperflashing otherwise. Turned those from Yellow to Red to match the tail lights. Currently have the less-liked Red Projection LED's in the rear turn signals currently, but have regular non-projection Red LED's on the way. Will post those later on. Had them for about a week, and it certainly gets a lot of attention and positive feedback... It has a very aggressive but classy look, especially during afternoon hours when the sun is setting. Nice not to have any yellow on the car, never was a fan. Did find that the DRL's and Tail-lights will only illuminate when I hit my unlock button on the FOB, if it is dark enough outside - otherwise in brighter conditions, only the Side Mirror puddle lamps and interior lamps come on when unlocking... Pretty sure with my old yellow bulbs, all lights came on no matter what time the day was - but I could be wrong on that. Let me know what you guys think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Boltz Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Looks good. I might have done it if it were a simple bulb replacement. :headscratch: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoweapons Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Just put together a video on converting the OEM filament bulbs to LED bulbs and thought I would share :) https://youtu.be/9eJlz-aZoAM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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