LED lighting

[bluflame11]

We are proud new owners of a 2007 Volvo 730, and new to the HDT arena!

 

We have been doing some upgrades, so I replaced the side repeaters on the cab with LED ones and encountered the infamous open circuit warning on the dash, but have not found a good work around. I had it to my dealer who said they tried to reprogram the module but it did not help?? They contacted Volvo and said they were told Volvo was "unsure" if a '07 truck can be made able to work with the LED? I find this interesting since the rear taillights are led and I get no error messages with them?? Do I need to put in resistors? if so, which ones?

 

Any advice?

 

Another thing is that my truck has fog light only. I was looking to upgrade the headlights and fog lights, but wanted to do the fog light/driving light ones. does anyone know if the wire is there for the driving lights even thought it did not come with them, or will I have to run wires for them?

 

Also, has anyone found a place to get replacement plastic dash parts that hold the switches in place? The mounting screws for these are basically all broken? Is this a dealer only item?

 

Thanks in advance!

[MrSeas]

I have found that the LCM (light control module) on older trucks can be reprogrammed for rear of the truck LED's but not for any other positions such as front or side turn signals. Some folks have had some luck with the LCM " relearning" a new configuration after 6 + ignition key cycles. (tun the key On and Off 6 + times)

I " cheated" the system by wiring in a "incandescent bulb" in line.

I don't care for the resisters. On my truck the wiring harness to the aux/fog lights only supports the fogs. You can get a replacement wiring harness(s) from Volvo. You will need the VIN # from a truck that was equipped with that option so Volvo can research the harnesses for you. Some Volvo body shops will do the research for you. I wired my own so I could use the lights independently of the headlight switch. You also may concider upgrading your headlights if you plan on much night driving you can do better than stock. As far as dash pieces go I have used a "recycle" yard and Volvo for these parts. Volvo does think very highly of their parts.

[bluflame11]

I have found that the LCM (light control module) on older trucks can be reprogrammed for rear of the truck LED's but not for any other positions such as front or side turn signals. Some folks have had some luck with the LCM " relearning" a new configuration after 6 + ignition key cycles. (tun the key On and Off 6 + times)

I " cheated" the system by wiring in a "incandescent bulb" in line.

I don't care for the resisters. On my truck the wiring harness to the aux/fog lights only supports the fogs. You can get a replacement wiring harness(s) from Volvo. You will need the VIN # from a truck that was equipped with that option so Volvo can research the harnesses for you. Some Volvo body shops will do the research for you. I wired my own so I could use the lights independently of the headlight switch. You also may concider upgrading your headlights if you plan on much night driving you can do better than stock. As far as dash pieces go I have used a "recycle" yard and volvo for these parts. Volvo does think very highly of their parts.

Thanks! I had not thought about wiring in the incandescent bulb! That is a great idea! It can esily be hidden!

 

I do have plans on headlight upgrade ....was fairly sold on deep space lighting due to this forum and the factory led headlights being very expensive and possibly getting the same error with them

 

 

Where is there a "recycle" yard

[MrSeas]

I did the "Deep Space" headlight upgrade and have been very pleased. I do a lot of very dark night time driving and it has been the best upgrade I have made to the truck. I also added his LED fog light upgrade and it has worked out nicely.

A big truck salvage yard is a " recycle" yard.

Don't forget to upgrade your headlight lens if they are "cloudy" looking. It makes a big difference in the lighting output.

[SIBERNUT]

If you have patience, I can probably come up with little obscure dash pieces, PM me. For my money, a candle in a bottle would be better than the factory Volvo lights. Much better are available, but I find that here in the NE they can't be used enough to justify the cost, oncoming traffic. Ditto on the incandescent bulb in the circuit, but remember it is there if your lights start acting screwy in a couple of years, may be bad bulb. Side flashers? I get a LOT more courtesy with the ones I mounted on my mirrors, hard to ignore. Good luck w/ the REAL truck !

[NTPA Announcer]

I'll chime in here. Yes Deep Space Nine lighting is pretty darn good. I had trouble with mine simply falling apart and was forced to purchase two new VOLVO units. We had an event the next day, and it was a "grin and bear it" deals. I sent them back to David and he repaired and shipped back to me at absolutely no charge. ( I'm going to get even with him yet ) I will however want David to look my lighting over at the ECR. I'm in the need of adjusting guidance.

 

As far as the LED lighting. Yes I did the 6+ key turns and in addition unhooked the four connectors on the LCM for 15 minutes and then re connected..... everything is fine. Sometimes I get an error code for a high beam. I just clear it and all is well. Hewhoknowslittle was my saving grace ,and if you plan on attending the ECR at Crossville Tenn. , you will learn a bunch

[MrSeas]

NTPA,

What LED lights did you upgrade?

[rdickinson]

There have been some issues with my HID kit, I also replaced both housings. Tuesday, there is a third new one going in to replace one broken in Victoria. BC. Anyway, one of the issues was installer error by both of the prior firms that worked on the lights. Looks like both of them had them aimed too low. This would explain why I've only been able to illuminate 3 white dots down the road.

 

With the truck suspension aired up, truck on level ground, measurement from ground to light was 38.5". 25 feet away on a dumpster, the cut off was 31" as I recall. So NPTA regardless of whether you or anyone else installs them, you may want to check to see if they are aimed properly.

 

2 licensed firms got it wrong in my case.

 

Other parts are being shipped in and replaced if needed. One headlight was flickering and both high beams didn't function and I low beam was intermittent on the way down here. The FT Sicilia people are going to be walked thru the process by DS9. Pics will be taken of connections as they currently are and also if the connections are good. We will be checking for frayed wiring as per David's instructions.

 

Hopefully this will deal with the lighting issues.

[Nuke-E]

We'd definitely had some wiring harness failures, mostly on orders shipped between October '15 and April '16. It wasn't a huge portion of the harnesses, but it was too many. They're all being made under my direct supervision now, with all Delphi-branded connectors, terminals, etc. and every last part of them is American made now. Since the switch, we've had zero failures.

 

What we've seen since then, though, suggests that some of the failures may have been manifestations of another problem--and one that everyone with these trucks should keep an eye out for. On the driver's side bumper support, near the radiator and left frame rail, there's a big connector that splits out power for the front lighting, and includes wires for things like the outside temperature sensor. That bundle of wires should be secured to the bumper support, and kept out of the way of the left hood hinge. Presumably, when work is done that involves removing the bumper, that harness doesn't get tied back down. It then chafes against the hood hinge (or possibly the radiator), and slowly fails (first letting water/dirt into the harness, and then rubbing insulation and corroding one or more wires). With increased resistance in the wiring, voltage at the ballast goes down, and to maintain a constant light output, current has to go up. That means more heat at the diode in the harness, and failure of either the diode itself or one of the solder joints. The new harnesses use an ultra-low forward voltage diode (10x the cost of the other ones!), to prevent them from being a potential failure point.

 

The first one I encountered like this was a trucker with a small fleet who had installed several kits already--he had problems with the passenger side of the truck not working after installing the kit, when it had been working fine before. He put the old light back in, and it still didn't work. Murphy was asleep on the job, though, and by chance I was on the road about an hour's drive from his location, so I made a detour to see what the problem was. I knew he knew what he was doing, and it didn't make sense. I had a set of lights with me, but no tools--so we made a trip to Home Depot for a voltmeter, and started taking measurements. We were able to determine that everything in the light was working fine (it worked when plugged into the driver's side of the truck), but there was no power on the passenger side low beam circuit. There was also no power on that circuit at the big connector at the left side of the radiator--so I was starting to think that something might be wrong with the LCM (and *really* didn't want to take apart the dashboard to find out...). I happened to notice a slightly worn area on the outside of the wire bundle, and we cut back the sheathing to have a closer look. Sure enough, the right side low beam wire was worn, with only one or two strands of very corroded copper still attached. There were also a couple of other wires that we repaired at the same time that, while still working, were probably doomed to the same fate in the near future.

 

So what caused it to fail right at the same time as he was installing the kit? I suppose it could have been purely bad timing, but more likely I'm guessing that in taking the driver's side light out he leaned against or bumped that harness. With the issue on my radar, we've caught a few other trucks with the same problem--always (so far) with that harness laying loose on the driver's side. Even if you have stock headlights and everything seems to be working, I recommend taking a look there (especially if you get seemingly random open circuit faults). A regular bulb will glow long enough that you may never notice a flicker if it's intermittently losing connection--it's a lot easier to prevent the problem with a zip tie, or repair one or two wires, than it is to replace the whole harness.

 

I shipped a set of parts to the shop that's going to take a look at Roger's truck, so that they can replace anything that needs it. But given the progressive failure, I won't be surprised if the problem is in the same spot on the truck's harness. If we can find a flat spot at the ECR, I'd be glad to do an aiming tutorial similar to what we did in Hutchinson a couple of years ago.

[rdickinson]

He will be calling you.

[GeorgiaHybrid]

David,

 

Got the other projector installed before the Florida trip and it works great now with a big improvement if the light output on high beams. It is a tight fit to get everything into the housing on the KW but they will work. As far as finding a flat spot at the ECR, Florida will be your best bet and it is only a 10 drive away.

[rickeieio]

David,

 

I'll be checking that harness, as it sounds like that might be why my left headlight goes dark when I hit a big bump. I have your kit and really like it.

[rdickinson]

Randy and Charlie popped the hood looking at stuff so I had a look at the left and right harnesses. Both were tie wrapped in place. I will take pics just the same

[MrSeas]

Did you get the trailer lighting issue fixed?

[MrSeas]

oops!

[rdickinson]

Truck goes in tomorrow am but some items may be missing. They can get the other items taken care of. May be missing harness and Velcro pad for ballast.

 

Randy was confirming I had wired the breakaway switch correctly before I melted the heat shrink. Other than that, he and Charlie were swooning over the engine.

 

I looked at the headlite harness connections but didn't see any obvious issues.. We'll see in the next couple of days. I went for a higher torque headlite as well.

 

Crossfire is in.

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Truck goes in tomorrow am but some items may be missing. They can get the other items taken care of. May be missing harness and Velcro pad for ballast.

 

Randy was confirming I had wired the breakaway switch correctly before I melted the heat shrink. Other than that, he and Charlie were swooning over the engine.

 

I looked at the headlite harness connections but didn't see any obvious issues.. We'll see in the next couple of days. I went for a higher torque headlite as well.

 

Crossfire is in.

 

Roger,

 

Did the headlight have an option for increased HP as well?

 

David

[RickW]

If you replace your Fog Light housing with one that has both Fog & Driving lights it is a easy fix to make the driving lights operational. Like Mr. Seas, I have my driving lights on a separate switch. The old housing and the new housing use the wiring harness. The only difference is if you have a truck specked for fog lights only the truck side of the harness will only have two wires instead of 3. All I did was on the new housings end of the harness I snipped the extra wire that does not have a matching mate on the truck side of the harness. I then added my own connector a wire from the dash on a toggle switch. 12v and you now have lights (have to do it for both housings). Works great!

[rdickinson]

DS9 shipped them, so I guess so. Had there been an issue, I'm sure David would have asked.

 

6500 Kelvin up from 4500 or close to it.

[bluflame11]

Thanks for all the help and replies! Can't wait to get everything up and running! Just got to get the pocket book to catch up!!