1998 MGM GS | LED Headlight retrofit | Mystery problem w/ temporary high beams

[_Hacksaw]

The mark of the beast: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GGRHPPY...roduct_details

These LED 'replacements' arrived today via Amazon after viewing the suggestions. Now before I even think about proceeding, will these work with my 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis SG? Amazon did accept the old ones from FITMOTORS as well, unfit for my vehicle. Are my chances much better of with this brand and bulb replacement i.e. HB-5 9007 I belive is the housing or stamp on my old bulbs that are back in there as this is all sorted out, again

[jaywish]

Sly did you indicate that Sealight and Auxito allow both segments to light simultaneously? Also I looked in the FAQ on amazon for the sealight and found that these bulbs do not have fans and these bulbs have fans. Do they?

[friskyfrankie]

Sly did you indicate that Sealight and Auxito allow both segments to light simultaneously? Also I looked in the FAQ on amazon for the sealight and found that these bulbs do not have fans and these bulbs have fans. Do they?

I think they use heat sinks as opposed to fans so someone can jump in and verify or dispute.

[jaywish]

I prefer the fanlesss units. I can't remember if flash to pass works on the Marauder. Will see when it comes out for the summer.

[_Hacksaw]

Warning! The Power of The Beast: Attempt #2. Do not attempt this in any wind storm: Holy shite! I just went out to attempt to put these new ones in. Major mistake! We have a low pressure cold front pushing wind off of the ocean here and as I was studying the assembly on the passenger's side of the front of the car, the wind gust blew so hard that the hood came down out of nowhere and hit me directly in the back of my head. Boom! Now I'm already living with a major concussion from a violent crime in '93 October and study these impacts to the brain and the results.

I'm still stunned and shaken. I was whacked and whacked hard. It does say in the directions to find a safe, clean quiet place to do this work in and I *didn't* listen. I took some medications for migraine and will wait till this BS faux rain storm passes yet again. However it's all important that we learn from our errors and mistakes. Safety first at all times! I'll wait this one out ( our wind storm ) and go back to listening to music and thinking about very attractive women. Bottom line: When the universe tells you "No" not today. Try and just listen. It can be helpful and much easier when dealing with these very heavy cars. All of this while watching my jackass neighbor run out to his car and whip it around the neighborhood like some silly teenager. This is the one who nearly hit mine directly as he parks backwards on our street. Dumber than any box of hammers.

_Hacksaw ( humbled and hurting )

Our Current Weather: https://abc7news.com/11738574/

[Mainemantom]

I normally brace the hood open with a broomstick or prop rod. I do not trust the hood struts. I had the hood come down on me a couple of times. Yes it hurts !

[_Hacksaw]

I'm temporarily putting this issue on hold of sorts till I know more about this concussion. I did however order the most expensive "Lift Mounts" for replacement on the hood of my 1998 MGM and they should arrive from Rock Auto on Friday here. They will be replaced before I tangle with these silly LED replacement headlights that have made my life a strange painful mystery here. I still can't belive that the damn hood came down on my head like that as per a wind gust however it did. They *do* wear out and these will be brand new and should never allow that to occur ever. This all does give one thought about owning these older and now classic vehicles. No long trips and be prepared for pretty much everything. Brakes are next. Then that power steering pump thing before it becomes critical and then just one thing at a time like that. If we had a really smart society and thus government that wanted us all off these gassers, they would simply get us to transition to hydrogen cell or EV trucks. They pay for them in full, trade in this one and then pay it all when we can monthly. In the meantime, back to Rock Auto and Amazon plus $7.00 gas ( chuckle ).

_Hacksaw

[sly]

+1 wait for a good day to install.

I have no clue if the SeaLight will light both at once since all of mine are separate bulbs (9005+9006). Only my wife's car is 9007 bulbs. That one is still stock halogens. I just know they (so far) make good stuff. And I do prefer the fanless stuff too.

[_Hacksaw]

1998 MGM Sea light Anomaly ( maybe ): The MGM loves the new Sea light LED headlights as I do! I believe they are 9007/HB-5's. What I am experiencing is that the backup lights are not functional at this time. It's unclear if they blew out ( unlikely ) or if the LCM is causing them grief and they do not light. Looking at the FSM there are a number of possible errors for this before the LCM.. There is an 800 # on the box for Sea light but this might be easier or more complex as per the issue. Could this be something simple or is it more likely to be an incompatibility issue? Seems like the voltage should be the same for these backup lights ( I'm going to convert them to LED's ) While I can wait, I need them when it goes dark especially in the canyons here. Backing u[p in the dark is very dangerous as one has to guess when the edge of the stream is and how far the drop is to the rushing water now that it has decided to finally rain here in California * "hard chuckle" Where can I begin with all of this and could I start with a simple fuse for those backup lights first? It might have blown if* there is one for such things?

_Hacksaw

[sly]

Simple check would be put the halogens back in and make sure everything works right. If everything does, it could be a simple incompatibility due to polarity issues not accounted for.

[_Hacksaw]

A polarity issue perhaps? I’m trying
to think on this, but not too hard as the weather here is just too beautiful today, January 1st. 2023. Let’s say your 199% correct on this. Now is there some way to easily reverse the grounds and positive lines to make this comply with the LCM?

[gadget73]

+1 make sure it works with standard bulbs

What sort of base do the reverse lamps use? If its a wedge base bulb you can just flip around, try that. If its something that only fits one way, probably you will have to de-pin the connector and reverse the wires. Usually thats not a big deal but I have no idea what socket is involved. Most of the time there will be a little metal tab you have to push the right way to release the contact and it will just slide out of the housing though. I'm pretty sure a 98 won't be old school bayonet base lamps, but if it is those you can't really de-pin. Have to chase the wiring back up to wherever it plugs in to a harness and flip it there, provided the harness has both + and - in it.

[sly]

I know I had to add resistors to the high beam bulbs on my 03 Expedition for stuff to work right. The LCM needs to see ground reference on the high beams of that one for the headlights to work properly. Could be a similar issue with yours. I don't have the LCM wiring diagram for high/low beam to be able to figure out if that's an issue though. I only have 2000-2003. On the 2000, It looks like there should be no issue with that since the low/high is controlled through the MFS. In the 2003 the LCM controls all of that for fog light control with a feedback on the high beam to disable the fogs. I suspect that on the 98, it should be similar to the 2000 and as long as the lights are designed for common ground and not common hot, they should work. That may be the issue (polarity). And it's not something that can be fixed with a re-pin.

[jaywish]

The 03 MM has a single High/Low bulb which did not require a repin to function with an LED.

[sly]

There's so many versions of the LCM that there's no real way to tell what you will need for an LED conversion until you try it.