Kanatronic

Received them today, the red 27 leds definitely is the one to get, it gaves you a little more light than the stock bulb, being even more red, the stock (in comparison the stock bulbs look a little orange now), and the flashing is a little faster, but still discernible, not sure how this will impact on the rest of the circuit, but for sure the sockets will not be burnt again anymore...will wait now for the new sockets to be installed, along with a new rim that they damaged the last time trying to get a leak in the rear tire...

I just may do that but need to know if I need a resister or how to install the resister for the signals

I ordered mine yesterday, will be here by next week hopefully, I ordered one pair of each type, to try both, and return one of them later, I'm inclined to beleive that the lower number of leds will be closer, but who knows....in any case you have also the option of getting the blinkers designed for the leds assembly sold here, my only problem is that I do not know which are the ones we may need...

Just got back from Ford. They said the bulbs were defective, the filaments were giving off too much heat. They changed the bulbs to an upgraded type and said the sockets were discolored on the outside but didn't pose a problem. (inside looked good). Surprisingly they also ordered 4 new chrome clad wheels for me because of the corrosion on the outer edge of the wheels

 

I am trusting what they say and would rather not cut into the wiring to change the sockets if it didn't need to be

Sorry but do not trust so blindly, that is total BS, the ones they placed are also plastic wedge (just check them) and will burn the sockets again. The ones I reco before, that I got from Candlepower, are glass wedge/polymer collar, and rated to 14 volts for all time on heavy duty use, which make them a lot cooler and safer, and they still burnt the sockets, the material of the sockets is BS, and need to be replaced, so unless they change the socket material, I will go with LEDs...

I got them from superbrightleds.com. Part # 3157-W18-T. The price was $17.95 ea. with shipping the total was $45. If I had it to do all over, I'd buy the red bulbs [3157-R18-T] the white bulbs make for a slightly pinkish-orange tint. As for the directionals, the only issue is that they flash faster than normal due to the reduced load on the circuit.

I saw those before and later on found these ones, which are more expensive and looks to me that are better designed, SM diodes on boards, etc...My major concern is how is the amount of light in comparison ot the original incandescent ones...

I went to the dealer today for the second time, I explained the problem to the service manager, and as usual they never new about it!!!! First time they see that problem, I was wondering if they actually read any online blog or forum about problems, also this is my second time, so that is total BS...Saturday I have the appointment for that, next step are the leds, I received this info from one of the dealers and they also agree that is better to use the red instead of white:

"...The DRL bulbs are white. You wouldn't want to use those in tail lights. You should use the same color LEDs as the lens, i.e., red for tail lights, amber for turn signals, etc.

Usually you will need resistors on the turn signals to prevent them from flashing too fast..."

Now deciding which to order???

I went ahead and put the LEDs in mine, but I'm still going to take it back to get the burnt sockets replaced. By the way, legal or not, the LEDs work great.

Which ones did you used? Any issue with the directionals??? Usually they need a resistor in paralell, that is my major beef....

This has been a problem since I joinned the forum, Ford had not addressed it properly yet, I checked mine right now and even while not in the same degree, they are burnt again, so tomorrow morning I will go again, and complaint about that again and again to see....IMO there should be a recall for that already, I'm using the ones Daniel Stern recommended, the hybrid, so those do not fix the problem neither, so my next step, legal or not, will be leds...

Thanks for the reply and the advice, guess I did'nt think about the legal aspects. I called my dealer service dept. about the problem and was told there was no upgrade for the sockets. I assumed they would just replace them with the same thing and I would have the problem again. Being a die hard DIYer, I thought I could solve the problem myself with the LED's.

The glass wedge bulbs do not have that problem, but they are not 100% compatible, so there is another option that will offer a better approach and is the hybrid they recommend, the bulb is basically a glass wedge with a collar of a polimer, those conduct the heat better away from these sockets, and will not have that problem, I will check mine while I ahve any time as I replaced them lont time ago, and see if there is no more problems...

After reading about so many having tail light problems, I thought I'd better check mine. With only 10000 miles on my 09, the sockets were already cooked. I've got LED bulbs on order, thought less heat and less electrical load might solve the problem.

Read post number 27 with the comment of Daniel Sterns a lighting authority in US that have done some works also for the DOT...Please make sure not to get involved in any accident after that, if any insurance company find out that you are using led bulbs or leds on a car designed for incandescent bulbs, you will have a really hard time making him pay for any damage...

"...Be aware also the "LED bulb" idea raised here is not a solution to the problem, and it is extremely dangerous and quite illegal. "LED bulbs", even the fancy ones with multiple emitters facing various directions, cause the vehicle's lamps not to perform in a safe or legal fashion with respect to the intensity of light emitted, the ratio of bright (brake or turn) to dim (tail or park) intensity, and the angles through which the light is distributed. If a vehicle is involved in a collision, and the lighting equipment is found not to be equipped with a legal light source or otherwise not to be performing in the intended manner, the vehicle owner can be exposed to very significant liabilities..."

Is this 07, 08 problem or any 09, 10 owners had to deal with this.

It seems that it is in all models, AFAIK, I asked and the guy told me that was because of the humidity inside, I had to replace also both lens under warranty because of fog inside as well, it seems that they totally ignore those forums, according to what Daniel Sterns told me, it seems that Ford did not spent money enough on the sockets, and what is worst is that they do not consider that having a fire so close to the gas tank is an issue....until someone get roasted of course...!!!

When I checked mine out on my 2007 Edge with 28 K they are also bad and looks like I need to take it in . This looks like it could be a recall. The socket is burnt and looks like design or wrong part install at the factory.

Do not replace the bulbs take it ot the dealer and have them replace the wiring harness as well under warranty...later on replace the bulbs with the ones I stated above from Candlepower, which Daniel Sterns endorse...

Motorcraft is a synthetic blend, not a full synthetic like royal purple. Save yourself some money and go with Mobil 1 5w-20 or 0w-20. It is $23.00 for a 5 quart jug at Wally World. If you prefer the best synthetic oil, amsoil has you covered.

They have now full synthetic oil as well, that is the one I use, and it is made by Valvoline AFAIK...but it is not $2.00 a quart neither, nor Mobil 1 is, last time I got Mobil 1, was around $39.00 for 5 quarts, and filter, and I got them on a sale at AutoZone. Each change will run around $65.00 all included, and they usually gave you a coupon to knock off 25.00 later on...but trust me that unless you DIY, you will not get any better, ZapLube charges you 18.00 for labor only, and is one of the cheapest.

Purple Royal is IMO a brand like any other, at least Amsoil stand behind their products if they are not said to be met any specification, i ahve never heard that out of RP.

Specs are IMO another load of BS, any decent brand nowdays nows how to make very good oil, that will protect your car as well as any other, what are those marvelous specs that Ford has that need to be meet in so special way???

But if you want to be safe and keep the warranty, just do it at the dealer, it is expensive but you will do it how many times once or twice a year???

Becasue there is also the audiophile version, with 6CD and not sure if better speakers...and naother with navigation as well...and for $40.00 any of those I think that will be a real bargain... :P

Wow dude I dont think you get what I'm trying to say. I'm done talking to you because you seem to have all the answers, but you still haven't solved your need for a little more bass.

 

Hey Lex if you are gonna be in Orange County any time let me know and I'll show how my setup hits. It's true that the lowest wattage 8" subwoofer that Crutchfield sells requires 100 watts RMS (its a JL W1). The problem is, that this sub is single voice coil and the factory sub is dual voice coil. To get the same amount of power from the factory amp, you'll have to either get a dual voice coil aftermarket sub or attempt to bridge the factory amp (which might mess up the amp if its not designed to bridge the subwoofer channel). Last resort, is to only use one of the two channels coming from the factory amp which will get you even less power.

I do not have all the answers, but in audio in general, even while car audio is not my strongest subject, as I always for some reason find it pretty absurd, misinformed, and on top extremely misleading, beginning from the dealers, and following with the manufacturers, so I neglected it. Those multithousand watts amps just feed by a 12 Volt battery, still do not sound quite right to me, but even though I can give you a few of the answers. And those 400watts inside a car neither, unless deaf, if you know of course what a watt is by definition, and not by a label on a box, I have been dealing with audio gear since I was a little kid, and I still does, and I have read a little bit about that, the only reason that I have not resolved my little problem, if any on the bass dept, is precisely because I want to do it right, and to replace something blindly is just simply silly, and you can easily end with a far worst system, and just because of the lack of info, is that is becoming really hard to replace any driver, as you need to know all the parameters to do a proper substitution, if you are planning to use the stock system of course, in other words, to go and use whatever any dealer reco you, is not what I'm planning ot do...

BTW dual voice coil is not intended to be connect as one coil per channel, nor "bridging" any amp, the main purpose of the dual voice coil is to give you more flexibility at the time of using and connecting the driver, as you can use it as single coil, in parallel or in series, and achieve three different driver setups with three different impedances and SPL with one single driver....The stock subwoofer amp, most likely that is mono, and is feeding the same signal in both channels, in paraleel or series, or God knows, regardless of the amount of cables you will see, as mainly all subwoofer amps.

BTW if you go to the JL website the current production of the W1 (see this link) could be used from 35 to 60 watts as an optimal range, I'm assuming the older model was pretty similar, so not sure where the hell Cruchtfield got the 100watts minimum mark, other than the only intention of selling you the amp as well, see below...

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_subs_pages.php?page_id=35

It's true that you can damage a sub by using an underpowered amp. You do this by maxing out the amp and pumping a very distorted signal to the sub. I don't think it's very easy to do, but you still end up with crappy sound.

 

Anyway, factory amps are matched to the factory speakers to pump out the most bass using the lowest amount of power. When you add a stiff, power hungry aftermarket sub to the stock amp it might not get enough power and might not be sensitive enough. Rather than buying a weak sub to hopefully match the weak stock amp... I just bought a matching sub/amp pair.

 

If I did not have an aftermarket head unit I would buy a sub/amp pair and run it off the speaker wires that go to the factory sub.

As you said, the sound will become distorted, far before the point in which any amp can clip, and IMO our stock amp, with 190 watts, and not that even 190, just 50 watts, is more than enough to produce any decent bass out of almost any subwoofer I know off, it will not make it sound like a rock concert or a night club, but decent and very loud sound, do you know of anybody that can crank the sound in the Edge all the way up, and feel conformtable that way???

Also by the way an stiff power hungry aftermarket sub, is by far what we want in our cars, we need sensitive, very gentle, subwoofers....Also an 8" is not a size to get stiff subwoofers in any case, as they are not bass freaks...a driver that needs lot of power to do their job, is not a good driver at all, it is converting the energy in heat, fighting with the mechanical stress, and IMO not the way to go in any case, unless you want those one note bass jackhammer in the car...sorry if that was what you were looking for, I didn't get the idea right...There are plenty of very gentle sensitive 8" subwoofers around to choose from that will be perfectly happy with the 190watts amp...

My home subwoofer amp, is rated to 150 watts and I never crank it over the half of it, and it sdriving a 12" Shiva Avatar driver with 15mm excursion one way, 30mm both ways....

The best thing to do is go the JL Audio website and look at their stealth boxes. These are sub woofers specifically made for your vehicle, in this instant a Ford Edge. It takes roughly 1 hour to install, with no cutting and use of existing hardware. Hope this helps.

I'm not a bass freak, and I'm just looking for a little more definition in the bass dpt, to me the stock almost do it, and IMO it is easier to just drop a subwoofer the same size in there, the main problem with the subwwofer are the specs, noobdy knows them, and this way is a lot harder to replace it, keeping the stock amp and gear associated, which I'm not planning to replace neither...(I have a decent stereo home, the stereo in the car is just a secundary option for me...)

BTW if I'm not mistaken you need to drill the metal, and cut some plastic pieces to install the stealth box in the Edge, is not a plug and play solution, unless we are talking of two differet boxes, on top the subwoofer I'm planning to install is in a completelly different league from any JL Audio (with all due respect to the JL lovers)

Hi Kanatronic. :D I certainly understand your frustration and that you expected something different than you received. I hope you can resolve this to your satisfaction.

 

However, I did want to point out one thing (so you do not think I am crazy or making things up): Although you now state that you "did not say anything about to hide it", you actually did say that the sunshade was "hard to hide in any place while folded" (the last sentence in Post #12). The quotes from your last two replies are above.

 

No big deal, but I wanted to be sure you realized that I did not just make it up and that you did say it is "hard to hide". That was why I addressed that concern in my reply.

 

Whatever you decide to do, good luck. :beerchug:

Thanks buddy, well indeed the terminology I used (hard to hide) was the way of saying that it is bulky in comparison to others, I do not even realized that I ahve actually say it that way...LOL...but not that I feel that is it so ugly that needs to be hidden all the time, at all, honestly, otherwise it makes no sense to have it around...

An update, I just received an email from the lady today, it seems that Covercraft is not willing to modify the file shape, and opted (as I was expecting) to offer the refund. Still we need to discuss how it will be returned, or if they decided to let me keep it on top...

It is really sad they have the same mentality I have seen many times in other places, something like: "instead of correcting this, we can try to sell it the way it is (not even as second or B stock), as the difference is not that that big, and if someone complain then just offer the refund".... of course I hope they will not have that many guys like me, otherwise they will be out of business more sooner than later...

I will answer topic by topic as it seems that I was misunderstood, just to have others to have a clear idea:

Hi Kanatronic. :D As I recommended the CoverCraft sunshade, I thought I would add a comment (or three or four) regarding your concerns (looking at things from a different perspective):

 

While of course you are free to feel that you are not happy and request a refund, your notion of an "exact fit" is a bit off. Within an inch of all dimensions is an exact fit.

 

Looking at this rationally: Even where you are complaining of a two inch gap, you say it is when you slide it to one side. That means when it is properly centered, there is about a one inch gap. That is approximately what I told you it was when I first recommended it. A sunshade can not fill every last millimeter of windshield. There must be room for the cover to be maneuvered into and out of position/place, often several times a day. With all due respect, this is a windshield sunshade, not a tailor-made suit.

Not Sir, I'm a CNC lead programmer of a huge glass company, and I deal every single day with templates and CAD drawings from customers, some very good, but some horrible, that I have to practically redo. That template of that windshield was simply done wrong to begin with, you can justify them all you want, but exact fit is just that, exact fit. Once you have it done, correct shape and size, then you do your deductions, of course it will not be like a glove, you need some clearance, but they should at least follow the shape, simply just look at the website, the one shown there is exactly same size as the glass. Probaly one of the first they made, some other websites have other pictures of the interior of other cars with it exposed from the inside, you do not see any gap, it is hold on the sides between the column, and the glass, that is perfect fit to me, and the way I would do it, if the business were mine.

As the sunshade is foldable, and not 100% rigid neither, there is a way of accommodating it always, of course an inch would be perfect but overall, 1/2" per side, to leave it inside the black ceramic frit around the windshield, but not on each side like this one. Maybe I got a wrong one, that could be another issue??? But sorry to disagree one more time, but if it is the right one, I know how a template should be done, and this was severely neglected, in my humble opinion...for a "$50.00 bucks sunshade" this must be an exact fit...My sunshade is not the right shape to begin with, and I will explain further below, as I was also misunderstood about the curvature, but please next time while you put it on, just take a look.....

As a side note IMO that is an ultra luxury uberexpensive sunshade, I thought 100 times before ordering it, as a regular sunshade is just $8.00 or even less and just work fine, but unfortunatelly I was not able to find the right size around here....that cost $50.00, more than six times that price!!!

Just a little off analogy, but price-wise proportional, you can expect imperfections on a $30,000 car, as ours, but how about if you pay for a car $180,000 for it, will you except or will accept to have the same problems as we have?

And of course the sunshade is not curved. No rigid sunshade would be. And it does not need to fit the curve of the windshield to work properly. And if it was curved, how would you expect to fold it up into a flat package? It would be a design nightmare. You are already complaining that "as folded it takes a good two inches thick". How thick would you imagine a curved sunshade would be when folded?

 

You will not find any cover that fills every last inch of windshield and is curved to the shape of the windshield. Not even for $150.

Here is where you misunderstood my post, sorry if I was not clear enough about the curvature, but I was not talking about the windshield curvature on the surface, as logic indicates, the windshield is curved and the shade as it is foldable could be accommodated pretty good, as any other, sorry I'm not so stupid...I was talking about the curvature on the shape, on the sides of the windshield shape, around the front columns, just look at the sides of the sunshade while installed, and you will see that it has an small radius of maybe 3-4 inches, another 4 inches on the bottom, and then an straight line edge from top to bottom, but the sides of the windshield have a curve of about 8 to 10 inches on the lower corners so the sunshade do not cover those big gaps on the sides neither....

And it is not supposed to have a "mirror finish". The finish is highly reflective and does an excellent job.

I can not comment on this topic, and as I said in my post I have no information as how effective it is, and how effective is a highly glossy mirror finished one in comparison, but i ahve always seen them glossy mirror, and this was just a comment to make a point about one difference that could or not be relevant, as it is indeed different. Maybe it is better, or maybe not, I could not tell you until I test it in the summertime, if finally I keep it...

Next, why are you worried about "hiding it"? When I am not using my sunshade, I simply fold it, reach back and place it on the floor behind the front seats. Then when I park, I reach back and grab it to place in the windshield. If I have more than one passenger in the back seat, I simply place the sunshade in the trunk. I am not downplaying your concerns, but it has never been an inconvenience to me in 2 1/2 years.

I did not say anything about to hide it, but if you have passengers in the back seat, definitely you need a place to have it, and the ones I have in the past were easily accommodated between the passenger seat and the center console in the front, this one as logic indicates will never fit there, and you need a place to have it, that could be as important for you as the space you need inside the car while using it. For me this is not a big deal, same as you do, I place it most of the times in the back seat as well, even sometimes in the passenger seat, but for others may be an issue...not a deal breaker for me as the fit, but an issue...

Do not take this the wrong way, but you are looking for $150 (or non-existent) features while simultaneously complaining that it costs $50.

Sorry to tell you that I'm far better in my job, that those guys in their business, and I do not own the business, and they do, and trust me that if I were the one in charge of creating those CAD files for the cutting machines, as I do every single day, you would have in your hands now, a better fitting product, and I'm 100% sure of that...

Again, I mean no disrespect and you are free to do as you like. I just think your expectations are a bit too high.

Again, my expectation are just what I would expect for any item that would cost me 6 times the price of a similar one...

If after reading my reply you are still dissatisfied, I am truly sorry that my recommendation was not to your liking. I was hoping you would be as happy with yours as I have been with mine.

 

Whatever you decide to do, good luck. :beerchug:

No please do not take me wrong, I really appreciate that you had reco me that, even more, even while the sunshade will not be my cup of tea, I'm still interested in other of their products. (Cover for the seats, etc...)

Sorry but my beef is not with you at all, and I really appreciate and thanks you, for your reco, as I said the product is very good, the quality and manufacture is very good, my only problem and a real deal breaker given the price, is about the fit, a real shame that whomever did the homework did it wrong big time...

I received my covercraft few days back, and the good thing is that the quality is outstanding, mine is the foldable version, but unfortunately is not an "exact fit" as they claimed to be, and for 50.00 it must be!!! So I'm in the process of either a refund or a real corrected customized one. While you place it on the windshield, it leaves a two inch gap if you slide them all the way to the sides, also the shape should be a curve, and is straight, and if you insert them all the way down into the dashboard space close to the windshield, it leaves around another inch on the top as well...So just for your info, they are great, but do not fit 100% exact as they claim...Second, the sunshade reflective material is not as shiny as others we have seen around, not sure how effective that will be reflecting the heat and sunlight (it seems that the have tested it, so on that I can not comment for now) but I was expecting a more closer to mirror finish one, and that is not the case, it is more like gray in color.

And the last but not least, is that it is very, very, stiff and hard to hide in any place while folded, so make sure you have spare room to keep that thing around, and on hand for easily installation, as folded it takes a good two inches thick, and is very very stiff...

No but I will buy a Toyota next time - better Quality.

 

SMOKIN EDGE

Do you think so? I worked for 3 years in a repair shop doing all the account work and I can tell you for sure that Toyota is not the best example of good quality, if you go also to any Toyota forum, you will hear the same horrific stories you will find here or in any other.

All car manufacturers, imported or domestic, more the imported than the domestic in my experience, have dirty to clean, even the more expensive ones, simply there are things that are not predictable, and can not be predicted, for example, how you will know that a batch of given imported or domestic parts will be defective, also negligency of a given employee, defective outsource parts...etc...mainly all recalls and TSB you will find in any manufacturer are rarely due to errors in design, that will be a total failure and a total recall....Also keep in mind that maybe in a test vehicle sent to a lab they will not show up, but once you mass produce anything, quality worsen, and that happen in any place of the planet...Not all cars are made by hand, and checking part by part, and have the quality control so strict like Ferrari or those monsters that have lines of waiting customers of up to months...

No offense, but read the Burning Smell thread in the Maintenance, recall, TSB section of this website. It'll be a real eye opener on the PTU issues a LOT of us have had and still do ongoing. It may appear the issue is fixed, but they tend to go out in the winter, so we may not see much with them again until December. I sincerely hope you don't wind up with the problem, but it is good to know about it, so you can have an idea of what is going on if you wind up with the symptoms.

I read a couple of pages but honestly if the problem were so severe, as to be mentioned everytime we talk about the PTU, I think that Ford would place a recall, and if it was placed at least I ahve not received any information yet. As I said before, mine has had absolutelly no problems till now, knock on wood, and we already passed a winter with some snow, my friend has another and the same, I know of at least three or four more than have no problems till now...I mean it could be a batch that ended with problems, it could be due a batch of defective parts, seals etc...Anywya thanks for the ehads up, and I will keep an eye open just in case!!!!

this 'proper setup' conversation was all covered about 3-4-5 pages ago...

 

clearly, people here want to do this mod.

Clearly there are toher people here that are entilted to a different opinion, and what I do see is that clearly people want to waste money, and clearly there is here, enough people with a bunch of spare money to waste, as IIRC the price is around $89.00 per mirror. They are nice, I would like to have had them installed as stock, but unfortunatelly they came out one year after, and of course I will not pay $180.00 for two mirrors unless they broke on an accident...not even untlaexpensive antique mirrors, hand made and imported from Italy cost that much...

There is no doubt that "Money and time are the heaviest burdens of life, and the unhappiest ones, are those who have more of either than they know how to use"...

NONE of the interior lights that come on when the door, tailgate, or remote opener is activated can be turned off. That is to say, you can't prevent them from coming on when one of the aforementioned things are triggered. I've had Fords for years (and Japanese autos also) and on every prior vehicle, the dash light dimmer switch also turns off the interior lights when turned all the way toward the dim side.

 

There is a thread about installing a switch across the fuse block for the fuse that protects the interior light circuits. Guess there are many others that are POed about having to have interior light on any time a door is opened, etc. Only car I've ever owned that can't turn them off. Look at page 61 of your owners manual. It explains how to cause them to turn on - but nothing about keeping them from coming on.

 

A car of this class should have many small amenities that are missing on a vehicle with a window sticker of $35K. It never dawned on me to look or ask about under hood light, glove compartment light, etc. I could go on and on. My previous Fords had all the features I miss on this car. Of course, the Japanese cars I've owned have the amenities also. They have a much better feel of what the American consumer wants than the American car companies seem to have.

All the cars that I have in my life, all of them, turn the interior lights on while opening the doors, I do not know of any that do not do that, and honestly that is for safety in the night, not sure why the interest in turning them off, but also I can not tell you for sure as I have never tried to trun them off, what for? Maybe is that why I was not aware fo that very important missing feature...

All-wheel drive (AWD) is often used to describe a "full time" 4WD that may be used on dry pavement without destroying the drivetrain, although the term may be abused when marketing a vehicle. It employs a center differential, which allows each tire to rotate at a different speed. ("Full-Time" 4WD can be disengaged and the center differential can be locked, essentially turning it into regular 4WD. On the other hand, AWD cannot be disengaged and the center differential cannot be locked)

Now from our manual:

Your vehicle may be equipped with a full-time All Wheel Drive (AWD) system. With the AWD option, power will be delivered to the front wheels and distributed to the rear wheels as needed. The AWD system is active all the time and requires no input from the operator.

Real man drive AWD!!! Seriously if the difference in mileage were big enough, it could justify to have a FWD, but what you get, an extra mile? IMO is not worthy to loose all the benefits of AWD in adverse road conditions...

BTW what PTU isuues are they talking about, I haven't had any, nor have heard of any yet...