The license plate light is a light on the vehicle which illuminates the license plate of the vehicle. This helps identify the specific license number that the DMV has on file for your vehicle. The factory light source for most vehicles is a traditional incandescent halogen bulb which produces a dim glow. Due to the way the license plate light housing is designed or the amount of light being produced from the light, it may not be suitable to meet the expectations of some car enthusiasts who want more output. There are two ways to drastically improve the look and output of your vehicle’s license plate lights. This article will explain the benefits and alternatives available to get that LED light look.
LED stands for light-emitting diode which is a semiconductor that produces light when electricity is introduced to its circuit. LED lights offer much more lumen output per wattage power consumed making them much more efficient at converting electricity into visible light output. Essentially, LEDs are much brighter than regular halogen incandescent bulbs that are the same size. They are also more reliable than regular filament bulbs due to the fact that there are no moving parts or components that disintegrate over time; LEDs often last up to 50,000 hours in ideal working conditions. In addition to having all these benefits, LED lights are also available in various colors and shades; the legal color for the license plate light application would be white and yellow, but if you are feeling adventurous you can opt for the other exotic colors that LED lights are able to offer such as blue, red, or something similar.
The LED replacement bulb is the most common way to obtain the benefits of LED lights. LED replacement bulbs are essentially what the name implies; a similar sized bulb that the vehicle uses, but an LED version instead. Most LED replacement bulbs have LED diodes positioned around the bulb to spread the light just like how the factory bulb would. LED replacement bulb lights are limited to the type of LED used and the amount of them on the actual bulb itself; while most LED license plate bulbs provide enough light output for most, it may not be enough for others. This brings us to the next type of LED light available for license plate lights which is the replacement assembly.
The second way to get the benefits of LED is to purchase a direct fit LED light assembly. For many vehicles, the factory bulb is positioned inside a larger assembly which uses a plug and socket to keep it in place. This entire assembly can be replaced by an LED equivalent which uses the factory harness to power it up. These types of lights are able to offer much more light output than the regular LED bulb replacement due to the special design of the housing and amount of LED diodes used.
In conclusion, if you need a brighter license plate light, the best way to obtain this is to go with either an LED bulb replacement or LED assembly; both are wonderful and do a great job, but the latter is brighter. The benefits that LED lights offer over incandescent halogen bulbs are very obvious; it is no doubt why LED lights are the primary choice for factory lights on many vehicles such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, Cadillac, and much more.