[sinister mob]

Today I spent some time with the Escape. Gave it a wash, cleaned it out and got a few new goodies:

Out with the old and in with the new:

I replaced the rear and middle dome light bulbs with these bad boys. The car place was out of the short-length front map LED. Putco makes 2 lengths and the long ones were just a bit too long and the lens was hitting the LED. Once those come in I will replace the map lights.

I also ordered up some new Putco headlight bulbs (H13) to go with the new fogs I put in a few months ago. The last purchase will be the rear license plate bulbs. I will get a smaller version of the LEDs that has only 1 LED in it. I don't need the full on brightness that the Putcos have, just want to remove the yellow color.

LEDs are awesome. I was tired of the factory "yellow" color so new LEDs will make the interior so much more appealing. These little suckers are not cheap by any means, but they will last forever.

 

[stone]

Congratulations on the LED mod. :thumb:

 

[US MARINER 1]

How did the cargo light work for you? Cause I got a set and it didn't work in my cargo area. I still got them in my basement.

 

[Dasha]

Wow, that's cool!! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[TranceZ]

Glad to see you jumped onto the LED bandwagon. Now snap some pics of the finished installs

 

[sinister mob]

US Mariner - You have to have the polarity right or it does not work. Simply flip it around and you should be good to go.

As soon as I get the map lights in I will get some comparison pics. Just the 2 out of 4 new ones makes a huge difference. Now I hate the map lights in comparison.

 

[Tomsoxfan]

i might be a dummy but i went on putco and it said it didnt have anything for 2010 escape ?

 

[sinister mob]

The Putco site for some reason does not list everything available. I have fog bulbs and these LED so I know they exist!

 

[Tomsoxfan]

any special kits you need to switch factory lights with led's ?

 

[sinister mob]

any special kits you need to switch factory lights with led's ?

None needed for any of the interior lights. They plug directly in. Just need to have the correct position for the correct polarity.

 

[Tomsoxfan]

Does anyone know if LED's can be put in the 3rd brake light ?

 

[Ronin]

Welcome to the bandwagon, sinister!

Just as a heads-up: if you have/want a remote starter, it won't work with an LED bulb in the cargo area. I know that sounds NUTS, but I found out the hard way and I've got a whole thread on the topic.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5348&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=led+cargo+bulb&start=10

 

[sinister mob]

Good to know. I have no intentions of a remote starter so I am good. Picking up the new headlight Putco bulbs and the map light LEDs tonight.

 

[sinister mob]

Got the map lights in and tried to install the new Putco headlight bulbs today. I got out the bulb on the non-battery side nice and easy. Put in the new one and re-affixed the clip. It was a much tighter fit on the 3-prong attachment, but I got it in about 5 minutes. Then started the battery side.

I thought I would be able to get in there without removing the battery. I did get the old one out and in my attempt to put in the new one, I broke the damn thing. Actually the Putco bulb plug end is 2 pieces glued together with a silicone glue - unlike the factory ones that are one solid piece in the back. That part broke away while I was trying to snap it into place. It was so tough to get in that one of the 2 edges that are molded (to help screw it) snapped off and at the same time the center piece broke free.

Since I couldn't run one new bulb, I removed the other and took both of them back to the car place for replacement. Now that I know how delicate the Putcos are, I will remove the battery to get more room. My thumb and pointer finger ache now from struggling. But I will win eventually. They are sending the broken set back and I will have replacements on Monday.

Some Interior pics from a drk garage:

 

[goldash03]

Good job! Looks very bright. :thumb:

 

[US MARINER 1]

WOW! great job!

 

[Katscan]

Does anyone know if LED's can be put in the 3rd brake light ?

I would NOT recommend swapping the bulb for the 3rd Brakelight for an LED one. Most of the LED signal replacement bulbs do not produce enough light to be effective and it could land you a ticket. Granted, the last time I looked at LED bulbs for the exterior was about a year ago. Most of the time when you replace an exterior bulb with an LED you have to get a kit or a LED bar so that it provides enough illumination to be effective.

 

[tang]

Does anyone know if LED's can be put in the 3rd brake light ?

I would NOT recommend swapping the bulb for the 3rd Brakelight for an LED one. Most of the LED signal replacement bulbs do not produce enough light to be effective and it could land you a ticket. Granted, the last time I looked at LED bulbs for the exterior was about a year ago. Most of the time when you replace an exterior bulb with an LED you have to get a kit or a LED bar so that it provides enough illumination to be effective.

I'd recommend against it only because of the output... the CHMSL is arranged so that the flare is straight out, so I guess it depends. If you have some decent bulbs, maybe, but the reliability is questionable.

Katscan's LED signal bulb replacement really is more of a problem with the lower two lights... imo.

 

[Tomsoxfan]

Thanks , I guess Im going to try and replace mao and cargo lights with leds

 

[SsquaredDesign]

Just as a heads-up: if you have/want a remote starter, it won't work with an LED bulb in the cargo area. I know that sounds NUTS, but I found out the hard way and I've got a whole thread on the topic.

You can use a LED light in there if you're willing to splice in a resistor.
I converted to LED this weekend and my remote start still works. I installed this:

Bought here: http://autolumination.com/equalizers.htm