What does CAN Bus mean?

CAN Bus means Controller Area Network Bus. This system monitors your vehicle and reports operating conditions. CAN Bus systems are commonly found in European vehicles such as BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Porsche, and in many American vehicles. While most late model American vehicles have CAN Bus systems, it is always good to check with your vehicle dealer to see which system your vehicle has before purchasing electrical products.

Will CAN Bus LED Bulbs Prevent “Bulb-Out” Indication?

Each vehicle has different requirements that the CAN Bus system is looking for, but in most cases CAN Bus LED bulbs should prevent a “bulb out” indication in areas such as tail, brake, and running lights. If you use a standard LED bulb that is not a CAN Bus application, you would consistently get a “bulb out” dashboard indicator because your system can’t communicate with a standard LED bulb.

Will CAN Bus LED Bulbs Prevent Hyper-Flashing?

CAN Bus bulbs will not prevent hyper-flashing of turn signals. These bulbs are communicating with the CAN Bus system, but the relay still needs an appropriate amount of load to operate correctly. Your electrical system could require load resistors or an electronic flashing relay to stop hyper-flashing. The factory relay causes the hyper-flash when it thinks there is not a bulb working. For more information, see our blog post here.

In our new 5th Wheel RV, we received some ceiling mounted 12VDC florescent fixtures. They were equipped with 2 each 18”, 15W tubes and electronic ballasts. The fixtures are a “Low Voltage RV Luminaire” from “Direct Sourcing Alliance” identified as “Type RVL 18RNB-W”, “2 x 15W”, “Input Rating: 12V DC, 30W”. Their performance has been dismal with operation limited to, initially 30-45 minutes before shutting down due to overheating of the ballast. The “on” time got progressively shorter over the next few weeks. The overheating was certainly not due to ambient temperatures which have been in the low 70s or cooler. On disassembly for conversion to LED operation it was discovered the ballasts have discolored due to high heat (see closest end of ballast in Picture 2).

During review of options for LED conversion I was looking for a natural light color temperature with equivalent lumen output to the two 15W florescent tubes. I settled on the SuperBrightLEDs part number RLBN-NW30*3SMD which is a 19.5 inch rigid strip with 30 each 3SMD modules. The advertised light output was 603 lumin at a color temperature of 5600K. The two 18”, 15W tubes were stated to produce 825 lumins each so I was a little concerned about light loss especially since I was going to have to cut 6 LED modules off each of the two strips to fit inside the existing fixture. I bought a 3rd strip but in the end did not use it as the light was ample.

I first started by removing the “guts” of the florescent leaving some length of the switched power wires for future use. See pictures 1, 2, and 3.

After cleaning the interior of the fixture with alcohol for acrylic tape adhesion I fitted the rigid LED strips and cut 6 LED modules from the length, then mounted the strips using 3M double sided acrylic tape. Finally, completed power connections to existing fixture switch circuit. See pictures 4 through 10.

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Indoor Generator Provides 20,000 Watts of Stored Renewable Energy to a Ranch Home, Even When All External Power Supply is Unavailable

Dallas, TX  December 30, 2011– Doug Kerr is the proud owner of a stretch of land located in the rural area of Kaufman County (Texas) where the air is fresh and the hustle and bustle of city life is non-existent. One thing Doug’s land doesn’t have, however, is a city power grid. Traditionally, to gain access to power in an area that hasn’t already been included on the electrical grid, you can pay the local electrical provider a large sum to run new electrical service to your location, or be forced to use noisy, polluting, and high-maintenance fuel-powered generators.

L.A. City engineers originally hoped that the LED bulbs would save 40% on electric bills. By the end of 2010, with 20,000 street lights switched over, the City experienced a surprising 55% savings in electricity on the new bulbs. The city has also found that the LED lights create brighter and more uniform visibility, reducing pockets of dark shadow that conventional street lights sometimes leave.

This is the largest LED street lighting project of its type in the world. Mayor Villaraigosa commented proudly, “We’re seeing L.A. lead the way.” The project is being funded, in part, by Federal stimulus dollars as well as the Clinton Foundation. Sarah Potts of the Clinton Foundation said, “The Clinton Climate Initiative was excited to work on this project mainly because L.A. was willing to be a mover on this. They were willing to set the bar for where energy efficiency street lighting could and should go. They took on a project that was much larger than any other cities were considering.”

If you want to go greener in your home or business, you can take steps that range from quick and simple to more ambitious:

Let’s make L.A. the greenest city on the planet!

–Kim Hopkins, Owner

The Electric Connection

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