Reversing light upgrade

[davidwf15]

heres my solution for the utterly useless reversing "light" on my 2023 model XC60.... a very slim COB LED strip from Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089ZZCN...roduct_details switched by a transistor
I mounted it on a small aluminium strip under the rear bumper to span the huge and somewhat un-neccesary cut-out left for a tow bar.....why no blanking plate???
The +12V supply taken from the fusebox in the rear wing via an inline 10A fuseholder and the "tee" taken from the rear light cluster with the existing reversing lamp (LOL!) in - in this case yellow with orange stripe
C3 & C4 are for noise immunity and R101 turns the transistor off when reverse is de-selected, being a VMOS power FET it takes ZERO current from the CANBUS system, all housed in a small plastic box
The diode isnt really necessary but ensures total isolation from the car....it's pretty impressive and, I think quite neat and unobtrusive

[piorunz]

Looks amazing, congratulations!

[davidwf15]

its even better in the dark

[davidwf15]

the light bar let in water , got corroded and went black....
I returned it to Amazon and bought this one instead https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZFT4M...t_details&th=1
It's about 4 times brighter, looks better as it fills the whole gap and, so far no water ingress
make sure to use waterproof connectors if you fit a plug & socket

[piorunz]

The new one seems to be rated 150W which is 12.5A at 12V, are you still using 10A fuse on it?

[davidwf15]

haha......you got fooled by the stupidly over-rated Chinese LED rating
..... they are not 150W (!!!!).... the lamp takes just over 3 Amps

I think they get that figure my multiplying the 32 x 3W LED's and adding a bit for luck

rest assured however that they are BRIGHT and give excellent coverage

[piorunz]

Originally Posted by davidwf15

haha......you got fooled by the stupidly over-rated Chinese LED rating
..... they are not 150W (!!!!).... the lamp takes just over 3 Amps

I think they get that figure my multiplying the 32 x 3W LED's and adding a bit for luck

rest assured however that they are BRIGHT and give excellent coverage

Haha yeah I didn't think of that Power rating is of course false! Glad to know these take only 3 Amps. Thanks for the photo. Please upload full resolution photo from your phone when you can, I really want to see them how they look in better quality pic!
If you can't add a bigger pic as an attachment here, upload to this website for example:
https://imgur.com/

[nu11eaf]

Will they pass an MOT inspection?. Re rules on height above ground, brightness etc.

[piorunz]

That is a good question!

[davidwf15]

jees....so it's OK for people to put stupid bright and totally illegal LED bulbs in their headlights that dazzle everyone all the time or likewise selfish people who adorn the whole front of their cars with, again, stupid bright DRL's that are painfully bright in daylight and sometimes dont dim when the headlights are on but you're worrying about a reversing light mounted under the bumper that will be on for a few seconds when you reverse off the road onto your drive...
do they even check reversing lights ?...are they going to measure the height and light output etc?......it's not illegal to mount them on the front of the car or the roof and operate them with the high beams .......If they were higher then yes I agree it may be a problem
It's easy enough to unplug, remove or even tape over if its' really going to be a problem....its not like they are on all the time .....
better pic attached as requested