My Vanagon's turn signals are acting weird after installing the Exterior LED bulbs. What's going on?

It's common for older vehicles like the Vanagon to sometimes have "funky" turn signal behavior with LEDs due to wiring resistance. This kit includes a new turn signal relay and resistors specifically to fix these issues! Just follow the included instructions to install them, and your turn signals should work perfectly.

How much of a difference will these Exterior LEDs actually make compared to my old bulbs, especially for safety?

You'll notice a huge difference! LEDs are significantly brighter, have an instant on/off response (meaning your brake lights are visible much faster), and last way longer. This kit is designed to improve tail light contrast, increase the brightness of your marker lights, make your brake lights more noticeable, and really boost reverse light visibility. It all adds up to making your Vanagon much more visible to other drivers, especially during the day or in bad weather.

Will I need to do any special wiring or modifications to install these Exterior LED bulbs, especially if I have cruise control?

Most of the kit is plug-and-play, but there's one important consideration if your Vanagon has factory cruise control. You'll need to make a small modification to the cruise control wiring harness. There's a specific wire (RED/BLACK) that needs to be cut and grounded locally. Detailed instructions for this modification are included with the kit. If you don't have cruise control, no special wiring is required beyond plugging in the new bulbs and relay.

I'm concerned about radio interference with the Exterior LED bulbs, as mentioned in the product details. Will this be a big problem for me?

Some minor radio frequency interference is possible with LED bulbs, especially noticeable when the brake, turn, or reverse lights are engaged and you have marginal radio reception. In our experience and that of most customers, this interference isn't a major issue in everyday driving. It's more of a consideration if you frequently listen to the radio in areas with very poor reception and are often braking or signaling. For most users, the significant safety and performance benefits of the LEDs far outweigh this minor possibility.

Exterior LED Bulb Kit [Vanagon] | LED-EXT-VANO

Name: Exterior LED Bulb Kit [Vanagon]
SKU: GVW-LED-EXT-VANO-RESISTOR
Price: 188.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Exterior LED Bulb Kit [Vanagon]

Product:	LED-EXT-VANO
Works With:	1980-1991
Manufacturer:	GoWesty
Availability:	Only 4 Left in Stock!
Wrench Rating:	Requires some hand & power tools and minimal mechanical knowledge.

$188.00

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While researching this kit, our objectives were clear: improve the underwhelming tail light performance without compromising the tail/brake light contrast, achieve optimal front marker light brightness, significantly enhance brake light responsiveness, and meaningfully upgrade reverse light visibility. We're pleased to report that this kit successfully meets—and even exceeds—these goals.

Kit includes:
• (2) LED front turn signal bulbs
• (2) LED rear turn signal bulbs
• (2) LED tail light bulbs
• (2) LED brake light bulbs
• (2) LED reverse light bulbs
• (2) LED side marker bulbs
• (2) LED license plate light bulbs
• (2) Resistors*
• New turn signal relay (necessary for LEDs to function properly)
• Complete installation instructions

*A note on converting to LED: We have found that most of the time, our Exterior LED Bulb Kit functions as designed. However, some vans exhibit funky turn signal behavior, but fear not— We have a fix! We include a Resistor Fix Kit and a new turn signal relay to remedy the issue a small percentage of folks might experience.

Why switch to LEDs? LEDs outperform incandescent bulbs in every key area: brighter light output, instant on/off response, vastly longer lifespan, and—most importantly—dramatically lower power consumption. This lower power draw translates to a much lower amperage requirement, which is especially beneficial for older vehicles.

In classic vehicles, aging wiring, terminals, and sockets naturally develop higher resistance over time. Because LEDs require less amperage, there's less voltage drop across the system, meaning more voltage reaches the light socket. Higher voltage at the socket improves lighting reliability—one of the main reasons vehicles transitioned from 6V to 12V systems in the first place.

The bottom line? With LEDs, your stop, turn, reverse, and marker lights are far more likely to work exactly when you need them to.

Fitment note: If your vehicle has factory-installed cruise control, a minor modification to the cruise control wiring harness is required. There is a RED/BLACK wire that runs from the cruise’s main control unit, through the foot pedal-activated canceling switches (one at the brake pedal of all vehicles, and an additional one at the clutch pedal of manual-shift vehicles), and then up to one of the brake light pressure switches on the brake master cylinder. Cut the wire between the switches and the master cylinder (on manual-shift vehicles it should come from the clutch pedal switch) and ground the end coming from the switch locally—the screw that fastens the bracket for the canceling switches to the body of the vehicle is a convenient location. Be sure to tape or otherwise protect the end of the wire coming down from the master cylinder and secure it out of the way to prevent a short, as this wire receives power when the brake lights are activated. This step is necessary because the canceling switches get their ground signal through the brake light bulb filaments, which is not possible with LED bulbs. Your cruise control will not work without this modification, as it will always think that the clutch or brake is being depressed.

Function note: Due to the design of the LED drivers that power the bulbs, some radio frequency interference is inevitable. In our experience, this interference is only noticeable when the radio reception is marginal, and the brake, turn, or reverse lights are engaged. At this time, there is no "fix" for this issue. In practice, we have not found this to be a big issue; however, if you happen to listen to the radio a lot in an area with poor reception and you are turning/braking frequently, this could bug you a bit.

Function note #2: Many non-powered trailer wiring converters are not compatible with LED tail light bulbs. If you are experiencing both rear turn signals flashing concurrently, along with your rear running lights illuminating dimly, or other tail light oddities, the issue is likely a bad converter. The converter we sell has proven to work reliably. Alternatively, any powered-style converter should be compatible.

5 stars: 20 (77%)
4 stars: 2 (8%)
3 stars: 3 (12%)
2 stars: 1 (4%)
1 star: 0 (0%)

“Illuminating”

Received my LED kit a while ago and have been slowly incorporating the LEDs to the Vanagon. The brake and taillight LEDS are a great improvement. Significantly better. The reverse light LEDs I received I believe are the incorrect ones as they are a dim amber color. See the attached images.
I have yet to install the rest of the LEDs. Will post results when I do.

Hi William, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are checking our stock to see what's going on with that bulb. It sounds like our supplier may have co-mingled some amber bulbs with the cool white. I am assuming you would like us to mail you replacements, correct?

Typically excellent GW product.
Note: Be sure to confirm the number of filaments on the amber bulbs (contacts on bulb base) to install correct bulbs in Turn signal/parking fixtures.

So much brighter and more reliable than stock bulbs. I lucked out and didn't need the resistors. I also discovered that my rear side marker fixtures were non-stock and the supplied red LED bulbs didn't fit, not a problem with the kit. GoWesty also immediately addressed an issue with a mis-packaged reverse bulb, kudos as always!

Well made, fits right, and works! Thanks GOWESTY!! you have done it again!

This is a great kit to upgrade the exterior lights on your bus or van. I feel as though I can be seen at night now

So simple to install. And very bright.

instructions could use an update

the video instructions need to be updated with the actual bulb model #s you send. I shouldn't need an AI to figure out what bulb goes where.

Thanks for your feedback Evan. We have just made a significant update to the PDF instructions. They are very clear now! Cheers, GoWesty

I wear my sunglasses at night

That's what my turn signals and brake lights looked like. Now I actually feel safer knowing that other drivers can see me.

great but..

I had the issues that required the resistors. Even after instal, I still had issues so I went to put the old bulbs back until I could figure it out. The new LED did not fit properly and got jammed in the bulb socket up front and I ended up destroying the bulb and the socket. I am glad I had the old socket stored away so no down time because of it. The

good kit

plug and play

Not what I expected

First, why not label each of the boxes with the appropriate use? This bulb for taillight, this one for brake light. Sure, you can figure it out based on the photo in the instructions, but why not make it easy, even if you just code them A, B, C, etc. Further, after installation, it became obvious that I would need the resistor accessory so I had to order it after the fact. And, I'm not sure it will fix the problem because the copy doesn't list even a sampling of the "funky turn signal behavior" one may encounter. If it did, I might have the confidence that the malfunctions I have experienced: one side blinks, the other doesn't. Neither work when the headlights are on, etc. will be fixed. For what is close to $200 of parts, this is all a disappointment. I had to remove all of the LEDs and return all of the old bulbs just to be able to run safely.

spend the $5 and get the resistors, but remember they may not work

This is a great kit over all. The bulbs are super bright and responsive. Although, I had NO issues with my incandescent front turn signals, the LEDs will not work completely on from Front Turn Signals. My Hazards work and signals work, but NOT when I turn on my marker lights. They light up but barely flash. I tried using the resistor kit to no avail. Remember, we have 40+ year old wires running through our vans. The LEDS may not always work properly. These vans are wired for LED equipment.

Light Bright Making Things With Light

This grouping of LED bulbs makes a world of difference over stock incandescent bulbs. Very easy to install, fitment is plug and play. Highly recommend to keep your van recognizable in today's world of distracted drivers.

Everything that’s needed!

👍

All worked great!

Brighten this world up

What? Literally the best way to brighten someone else’s day

Video update needed

I give it a 4 star as the installation video is not up to date with the bulbs received. The solution to this as a consumer, sadly I figured this out after I broke a bulb. Is to go back on the website and pretend you are buying each bulb individually as the website for each bulb is what you receive in appearance, not what is in the video. But the product works great. The running, brake, turn signal lights makes me feel safer as they are so much brighter. The back up light actually lights up so you can see what is behind you. If you only need the bulbs you can buy them at superbrightleds.com for half the price. I needed the relay switch and the resistors for my 85 Westy.

LED kit

Let there be light -- HUGE improvement over the stock bulbs!

some trouble but got it sorted

Initial installation was easy, but a lot wasn't working right, so I got the resistor fix, then the lights still didn't work right, GoWesty sent me a new relay, thought that worked then realized the front turn signals don't light while the headlights were on, so another email and they told me to swap the power leads on my turn signals, so I did that, and then also swapped where the resistor went and finally, I have working LED lights! Thanks for the help, GoWesty

De toute beauté !

My Westfalia shines brightly

I just want to be seen

A great safety upgrade and worth the money. Amazing what a little modern bulb technology can do, super bright.

Easy

Very easy and great install, needed immediately after buying a van to drive home legally and these worked wonderfully

Excellent Lighting

Super easy to do yourself and what a huge difference !!!

Nice upgrade

Nice upgrade, needed the resistors for the blinkers, was pretty easy to install them

very good quality

compared to the old ones where I couldn't see them during the days, these are so much better and you can really tell when they are on. they are a bit pricey but they are worth it in my opinion.

Don’t resist, get these.

This is an easy and super useful upgrade. But just assume you’ll need the resistor and order it at the same time.

Bulb	Stock	LED
Reverse	3.50	0.38
Tail	1.67	0.24
Brake	3.50	0.24
Rear Turn	3.50	0.186
Front Marker	0.83	0.046
Front Turn	3.50	0.024
Side Marker	0.67	0.05
License Plate	0.67	0.39
TOTAL	17.8	1.56

Exterior LED Bulb Kit [Vanagon]

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