D3Audi

This morning I stopped into my local autozone to pick up some washer fluid. But, I noticed that they now sell LED replacement bulbs.. I read the back of the packaging and it said that the bulbs are compatible with most vehicles with bulb out detectors. So I decided to pick them up for my tail light bulbs. They were $22.99 for a pack of 2 1156 (red) led bulbs.. On the packaging it said it was compatible with 7506 bulbs. Since my 2008 is a pre facelift, it has normal incandescent taillights, along with all 2007-2009 Q7s.. So I figured it'd be nice for the added safety.







The Quality of the bulbs was outstanding and they were very similar in size to the stock 7506 bulb so they fit perfectly in the tail light housing.





The bulbs are an odd shape but that is due to the fact that the LEDs are angled to shine back towards the reflector.. The result is that the LEDs are substantially brighter than the incandescent bulbs. The only downside is that the computer system did unfortunently detect a bulb out error. So I will need to find a solution for that. The bulbs worked very well and normal for about 45 seconds, so I was able to snap some pictures of the differnece while the bulbs were working.


~Brake Lights~
Left Taillight = LED
Right Taillight = incandescent


~Running Lights~
Left Taillight = LED
Right Taillight = incandescent


Overall the brightness increase was substantial and very bright. The difference between the (dim) running lights and (bright) brake lights was very noticeable as most LED bulbs it is not. These bulbs compared to incandescent bulbs perfectly (besides the fact that they're way brighter and have the "instant on" effect)

Now all I need to do is too figure out a resistor.. It seems that there are "LED bulb decoders" on eBay that are plug and play and have a resistor built in that you have to mount to metal. I think I'm going to pick some up.. Does anyone think they will work?

2X BA15S 1156 LED Light Warning Error Canceller Load Resistors Decoder Adapter | eBay

D3Audi

***UPDATE***



Ok, so today my load resistors arrived, I got some plug and play ones off of Amazon
So there is no wire splicing

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WFHFG4G..._k-jDwbPNR4RZP

They came, they are very high quality and I like them because I can go back to stock whenever I want because they are plug and play..


~What came in the Package~



~LED Zevo bulbs installed~


~Close Up of Resistor~


Installed them in the assembly and connected tail light bulbs, left them on for about a minute and they get HOT! Unfortunately there is not enough space away from the plastic to mount the resistors as they are very large and get very hot. I ended up just doing the turn signal. I mounted the resistor with double sided tape and it shouldn't get too hot as the turn signals usually aren't on for long periods of time.. The difference between the halogen turn signals and LED turn signals is night and day, the LED is very bright and crisp and has that "instant on" effect. If I knew how, I would post a video of the difference. The LEDs really enhance the Q7's turn signals! I still may do the tail light bulbs but as of now it seems fine. I hope this thread helps anyone with a preface lift Q7 since there is barely isn't any info on this type of modification for the Q7 ( or other Audi models as well ) if there are any questions don't be afraid to ask! :-)

D3Audi

Ok, so today I left the car running and I was standing behind it and each bulb flashes for like 1/10th of a second every 30 or so seconds.. I thought resistors were supposed to help stop this, I believe this is the error out computer checking to see if the bulbs are out by sending a quick power pulse to the bulbs.. Any idea on what to do to fix this?? Do I have to code it to LED or something? Still no hyper flash or error codes so that's good

VAG-Fan1

They should work. When I tinkered with installing DRLs (xenon AFS housings) I had to use resistors to remove the CANBUS bulb error on the dash display. BUT, those resistors get very hot under constant use, as in 300F -350F, which will soften most plastics and potentially burn/melt any painted surfaces you mount them to.

I went back to incandescent DRL bulbs, but in my case, I made aluminum brackets for the resistors and bolted them to the front unibody frame near the headlights. In your case, you'd have to find something in the rear gate area to bolt these to that can take the heat- double sided adhesive is likely going to fail. I know brake lights are fairly momentary so heat shouldn't be an issue, but if you get caught in a traffic jam with lots of constant braking, those resistors will get hot.

Edit:

I think you are right about the check system running a bit of power through everything at start up to see if any bulbs are out. What you are describing regarding intermittent flickering does sound familiar, but I haven't seen anything online to how the resistors solve that problem.

D3Audi

Yes, I did more research, it's the car checking for errors, also, I originally installed the lights in the tail lights for brake/running light, the resistors got way to hot, so I installed them in the turn signals as turn signals aren't always on. But then the issue was that they were flashing every 30 seconds, people probably thought my turn signals were on, lol! Isn't there a way via Vag com to enable LEDs on an Audi? I wish there was a way to stop it from checking to see if bulbs are burnt out.. Because besides that everything worked perfectly