Just wanted to post for anyone who might be looking into this now and looking for threads. I recently ordered some new housings and LED lights to hopefully take care of the well known problem of replacing bulbs and socket every so often after rain. Also went to autozone and got the EL12 flashers as specified in another thread about installing "switchback" LEDs. Happy to say that it all turned out well and looks good.

Most of the guys on here that did LEDs went with the switchbacks, but I chose to go with amber only LEDs. Might eventually swap to switchbacks once I look into HIDs but Im not sure, I think the amber looks good. I ordered these from autolumination.com...


I also ordered nice, new, uncracked housings online from ebay.

They look identical to OEM and fit perfect. Only thing you need to do is make sure to drill out and thread the inside of the hole before going to install them due to limited space. I actually broke off one of the screws inside one hole before realizing it was a slightly smaller hole than the opposite side. I was able to save it however by cutting the plastic down a little bit and getting some pliers on the screw to get it out.

Last thing I needed to get the job done was the EL12 flashers I got from autozone. You can pick them up at any local parts store I believe. A previous thread I read told me that I need two, one for the turn signals and one for the hazards. I found out that you only need the one for the turn signals. When looking at under the dash for mine, the hazard one was pretty tough to get to so I decided to test it after installing the turn signal flasher. Both sides worked just fine along with the hazards. I will be taking that second flasher back sometime today.

Once you have everything you need to do the job its actually fairly simple. Replacing the housings was the biggest pain because of the room I had to work in. Each one is held in by two 7mm screws. I chose not to rip the bumper off or the headlight off to get to it. I simply used the bottom flap that you use to change bulbs to get up in there and get the old housings out.

After the new ones were in I got the new lights and some bulb grease and put those in the sockets. That was a little tough as it seems the plastic bottom is slightly bigger than the plastic on the original bulbs but I was able to get them to click with some pressure. Now when you go to put the new lights in the housing, it almost seems as if the plastic around the base of the light is too fat to get in the hole. Just push slightly more than you would think you need to and they squeeze right in.

The flashers are located under the dash on the drivers side. You will need a 7mm wrench or socket and a screwdriver for the two screws and two bolts to get the panel off. I also had a tiny flathead I used to get the plug off for the rear hatch button. Once it is off look towards the radio, where your right knee would be, and you should be able to see the turn signal flasher. It is held in by a small clip. I used a flathead to get the clip off after taking the plug off the flasher. Once the clip was off, I got it around the new flasher and re-clipped it where it was and plugged it up. The other flasher is on the opposite side by where your left knee would be. Some guys went ahead and replaced both but I did not seeing as how everything worked fine with just one.

Finally I tested and everything looked great. It seems they are brighter than the original at night and about the same brightness during the day. Heres a pic of mine today.

 

I have already done this a while ago.

But great info man! This is awesome for people interested in doing the same.

 

I did this recently too with my Formula. The Ebay housings were great but the LED's I found on Ebay were a waste. I think they were 60 SMD's switchbacks. After that I got the 48 SMD's (I think 48) from autolumination and haven't had a problem since. Also went with EL12's the local parts store.

 

Yeah just wanted to post my experience for anyone looking into doing them. All the threads I read were old. I wouldnt trust ebay for the lights, either vleds or autolumination is the way to go. And the 60s were giving a lot of ppl trouble, they all switched to 48 switchbacks in the threads that I was reading.

 

Nice thanks for info..this is on my to do after projectors

 

No problem. Cant wait to see what they look like when I do HIDs.

 

rock auto has housings too......dont know how they are price wise compared to ebay tho.....if you find that the EL12s dont fit the bill.....you can get FULLY electronic flashers

 

Looks good man! Nice little write up too.

Switchbacks weren't good enough for me, so I have a completely custom setup. Switchbacks did not perform like I wanted them to do. I wanted WHITE running lights and an amber turn signal. I achieved my goal with one small compromise. Switchbacks would do amber running light either during the day or the night, I forgot which it was.

My install
https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...l#post16341046

 

Any one that changed their flashers how many did you have under the dash pad? It sounds like there are suppose to be 2 but I have 4 that are zip tied together. Don't know which ones to replace.

 

4? That's odd. I only had 2 on my 98 and there were no zip ties just a metal clip. I had to change just 1. It was easily accessible right about where your left knee is when you're in the driver's seat.

 

Idk I have 4 zip tied on the right knee side.