V50 licence plate lights - worn connections

[LizardOfBodom]

Originally Posted by Welton

I bet you twisted the prongs and made it worse? ask me how I know

I probably COULD have been more gentle... ;P

[Petey80]

When I changed mine over to LED's [Osram ones, so not cheap e-bay ones] the passenger side seemed a bit dodgy when I put them back in and seemed to depend on how tight I screwed the holder on as to whether the bulb would work.

Might be that?

[domhart10]

Originally Posted by Petey80

When I changed mine over to LED's [Osram ones, so not cheap e-bay ones] the passenger side seemed a bit dodgy when I put them back in and seemed to depend on how tight I screwed the holder on as to whether the bulb would work.

Might be that?

Yeh good point Petey80, I had that exact same issue. I did mine up real tight and the bulb didnt turn on ... I then un did it and it came back on but flickered ... I then tightened it up a tiny bit and it stayed on constantly ..... but im guessing after driving it might of lossened it again .... very frustrating

[LizardOfBodom]

Originally Posted by domhart10

Yeh good point Petey80, I had that exact same issue. I did mine up real tight and the bulb didnt turn on ... I then un did it and it came back on but flickered ... I then tightened it up a tiny bit and it stayed on constantly ..... but im guessing after driving it might of lossened it again .... very frustrating

I second that! In general - similar issue, any time I disassemble and assemble it back (after swearing for doing it 10th time :P) it seem to work perfectly UNTILL you touch the bootlid again. Seem that butterfly sitting on the lamp can trigger its flickering, god forbid you slamming the lid close or driving the car at all... ;D

seem to me its in general a bad design as clearly Im not the only one noticing that... unless really LEDs are making the issue noticeable because of the nature of those bulbs...

[iainmd]

I am prepared to bet your problem is the same as I've seen on both our S40 and V50. The problem tends to be corrosion of the contacts on the inside of the boot lid handle not the bulb holder itself.

Get a paper Emery board (nail file) and scrub the contacts until all oxidisation has been removed then refit the bulb holder. If you've fixed it remove again and smear electrical grease or vasoline on the contacts and round the rubber seal then refit. It shouldn't reoccur for a while after that.

[Sysyphus]

^^^ This did the trick on my C70

[LizardOfBodom]

Originally Posted by iainmd

I am prepared to bet your problem is the same as I've seen on both our S40 and V50. The problem tends to be corrosion of the contacts on the inside of the boot lid handle not the bulb holder itself.

Get a paper Emery board (nail file) and scrub the contacts until all oxidisation has been removed then refit the bulb holder. If you've fixed it remove again and smear electrical grease or vasoline on the contacts and round the rubber seal then refit. It shouldn't reoccur for a while after that.

Hmm, thanks, good idea. worth trying. I did spray the s*** out of there with contact cleaner and scraped around with screwdriver but maybe not good enough. Will disassemble and try again more thoroughly. Thanks.
I shall report once sorted or not

[LizardOfBodom]

Small update on my case.
Did everything as recommended, cleaned every surface and checked every contact - all seem ok.

Still flickered.

So I got the aftermarket lamps just to compare and check the quality - had cost me equivalent of 6 eur for pair and looks identical. Material is probably inferior, but really hard to have any issues with them at first glance



I installed them with the same bulbs and... nothing changed
still flickers.

So I started to dig a bit deeper in the specs and found out my LED bulbs (that I inherited with the car, in fairness) are too small vs the spec of actual festoon bulb that lamps are designed for. My bulbs are 36mm, festoon bulb spec is 41mm so there is probably not enough force to spread the contacts of the lamp to touch the contact pads in the boot lid. Just to test it, I have put the spare (38mm) LED bulbs just to see and it already works better and doesnt flick anymore.
Got the 41mm versions today and will test it during weekend to check if fits and if it still work without flickering, and will report back.
The only plus side - the new lamps look much nicer and clearer (not faded like the 12year old ones) and provide cleaner illumination. I have the LED bulbs orientated towards the boot (facing upwards-backwards) to provide dimmed light as I hate when ppl install super bright 9-LED bulbs there that illuminate licence plate like a UFO so the light spread now is even nicer.

All in all - if those dont leak or break after a month, its a money worth replacement, and as for mismatched bulbs - well... duh

[Petey80]

Good update. Mine also have 36mm bulbs in.

Look forward to what you find with the 41mm bulbs.

I'm sure I tried to install my boot light into the NP holder [which is 41mm] and it seemed far too big.

Either going to stick with bulbs or get these eventually - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Canbus-...53.m1438.l2649

[LizardOfBodom]

Originally Posted by Petey80

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Canbus-...53.m1438.l2649

I was also considering one of those, but decided against them as I am pretty sure it will light up the back of the car like xmas tree. Most of those LEDs are far too powerful and on fixed ones you cant really rotate them or anything so I prefer to stick to my "adjustable" ones.
will update with pics after weekend, stay tuned