switched car interior lights to LED's, now they dont work?

Question

Hi, i know its a long shot but i recently switched out all of my cars interior lights to LED's. I switched out EVERY interior bulb EXCEPT for the rear reading lights, those i left the normal bulbs. Now.. everything works perfectly, the lights turn on when i unlock the car.. all of the buttons to turn them on and off work..

EXCEPT for when i turn the car on. Once i turn the car on NONE of the LED's will go on when i press the buttons to turn them on. Once the car has been started they will only work if you either open the door, or turn on the rear reading lights (which are original non LED) then the front LED will flash and after that all of the interior lights will work perfectly...

I know its a wayyy long shot but does anybody know what this could be?? Do you think they would all work fine when the car is on if i changed the two rear Non LED reading lights to LED's??

by the way the car is a 2003 saab 9-3

GibsonEssGee · Accepted Answer

The electronics that control the lights are probably geared towards detecting the lower resistance of an incandescent bulb than the higher resistance of an LED light which is why everything starts working when you turn on the rear incandescents. You could confirm this by putting back the incandescent lights in all positions and making sure it all works as intended and there's no fault in the system.

stromberg · Answer

Led Car Interior Lights

Anonymous · Answer

I'm guessing that with the engine running or probably with just the switch in the on position the LED's are being reverse biased by something in cars electrical system.  Maybe the door ajar warning light or something of that nature.

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switched car interior lights to LED's, now they dont work?

3 Answers