onecrazyfoo4u Posted May 2, 2012 Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) I have a 2012 Crew with the LED brakelights. I want to replace the backup light bulbs with some of the brightest LED bulbs I can find (to see better throught he tint). The manual shows a bulb number of W21W for the backup lamp. I cannot find this bulb number anywhere though. Is there another bulb part number I should be looking for instead that will be a direct replacement? I couldn't get to the bulb either. There's 2 side screws that I undid on the taillight assembly when you lift the hatch. And it makes the taillight housing loose, but I can't pull it off. Are there more hidden clips somewhere? Do I have to take the interior panel off to access the bulb instead? Can't figure it out. Thanks! Edited May 2, 2012 by onecrazyfoo4u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyke Posted May 2, 2012 Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) If they are like the caliber, then they are stuck on via ball joint type latches and you just have to use enough force to get them off, after taking off the two plastic side pins, but they are the only removable pins . I'd probably suggest slowly prying around the sides at first. Example here: as for bulb, you could look at this: http://www.hq-auto-l...e-red-or-amber/ Edited May 2, 2012 by Psyke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted May 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Cool, thanks. So it's the same bulb as a 3156 or 7440 then (if I'm reading it correctly)? What's the difference between 3156 and 7440 bulbs? Just want to make sure I get the right ones. And I'm guessing only 1 per side, so 2 bulbs total for the backup lights? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyke Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 I just did a search for the W21W you provided . I did a quick search for for '12 Journey bulbs and found this page which indicates the bulbs are 3157K (Krypton filled)bulbs. so the precise model is 3157, while 3156 should still technically work; same size/shape, but 3157 is dual contact/dual intensity bulbs while 3156 is single contact/single intensity....for backup lights, 3156 should be sufficient, but I think they went with dual contact/intensity because these bulbs are also used for tail/brake lights for those not equipped with LED tails. But if you do a search for 3157 LED on google, you'll find plenty. As for the number of bulbs, I'd assume two, but not 100% sure. cheers! Steph S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted May 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Sweet, thanks. I'm comparing these two bulbs. The DDM one is 420 lumens and only $10 each (http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/3156-3157LED). Yet the SuperbrightLEDs one is only 170 lumens and $25 each (http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2F315x-x45-T.htm). Do you think the DDM one is really 420 lumens or is that bogus? Just wondering why it's so much cheaper (and brighter) than the superbrightLEDs bulb? The DDM one seems like too good of a deal. Anybody purchased from DDM before? Is the white a yellowish white, or bright white color? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyke Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 I wouldn't have any clue, but I'm thinking of picking up these: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/WHITE-24-LED-3156-3157-Backup-Lights-F150-F250-F350-550-/220999857635?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33749e35e3#shId pair is $18 and guaranteed up to 50K Hours of life. I'm looking for highter life time, so if they are at least as bright as regular bulbs, I'm happy. Afterall, they are just reversing lights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted May 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Cool, I think I'm going to go with the DDM Tuning LED's. Those seem to be the brightest LED replacements out there. I mainly need super bright because of the dark tint in the back, I want to be able to see as good as possible. I'm also ordering 1x 194 LED bulb (for the glove box light), 2x 168 LED bulbs (for the license plate lights), and 2x 578 Festoon LED bulbs (for the rear hatch lights). Call me picky, but I want all of my interior lights to be LED and match the original LED lights in the interior. It's kind of lame Dodge didn't match them all to begin with. Later in the future I'll do HID's for the high/low beams, as well as some LED fog lamps probably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyCheung Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Cool, I think I'm going to go with the DDM Tuning LED's. Those seem to be the brightest LED replacements out there. I mainly need super bright because of the dark tint in the back, I want to be able to see as good as possible. I'm also ordering 1x 194 LED bulb (for the glove box light), 2x 168 LED bulbs (for the license plate lights), and 2x 578 Festoon LED bulbs (for the rear hatch lights). Call me picky, but I want all of my interior lights to be LED and match the original LED lights in the interior. It's kind of lame Dodge didn't match them all to begin with. Later in the future I'll do HID's for the high/low beams, as well as some LED fog lamps probably. You're not picky, I think the same too. It's kind of weird to have normal yellowish bulbs in some places, and bright white LEDs at other places. Please let me know if your DDM CX21 bulls fit in your journey, I'd love to replace mine too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted May 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 You're not picky, I think the same too. It's kind of weird to have normal yellowish bulbs in some places, and bright white LEDs at other places. Please let me know if your DDM CX21 bulls fit in your journey, I'd love to replace mine too! I sure will, I'll update with pics when I get them. Just FYI, I'm going with the SB60 bulb (way brighter than the CX21 bulbs are). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chryslerguy Posted May 6, 2012 Report Share Posted May 6, 2012 (edited) Cool, I think I'm going to go with the DDM Tuning LED's. Those seem to be the brightest LED replacements out there. I mainly need super bright because of the dark tint in the back, I want to be able to see as good as possible. I'm also ordering 1x 194 LED bulb (for the glove box light), 2x 168 LED bulbs (for the license plate lights), and 2x 578 Festoon LED bulbs (for the rear hatch lights). Call me picky, but I want all of my interior lights to be LED and match the original LED lights in the interior. It's kind of lame Dodge didn't match them all to begin with. Later in the future I'll do HID's for the high/low beams, as well as some LED fog lamps probably. I feel the same way as well, the glove box and ESPECIALLY the rear hatch stuck out like a sore thumb from the stock LED's everywhere else. I ordered 42mm led bulbs and it looks great although they are a bit cooler (blue) than the other stock led's. (I think I noted someone else saying the same thing.) The stock LED's are a bit warmer so this will be tough to avoid but its hard to notice unless you scrutinize it and the difference is minimal considering the difference from the yellowish regular bulbs is much greater. The 194 bulbs fit perfect in the glove box although it was tough to grip the stock bulb. I would recommend going with a multi-directional 194 since the the bulb is on the side of the glove box and you want to make sure it gets in there. A top facing bulb won't work well in this scenario. Still need to do the plate bulbs! GOOD LUCK! Edited May 6, 2012 by chryslerguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted May 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 I feel the same way as well, the glove box and ESPECIALLY the rear hatch stuck out like a sore thumb from the stock LED's everywhere else. I ordered 42mm led bulbs and it looks great although they are a bit cooler (blue) than the other stock led's. (I think I noted someone else saying the same thing.) The stock LED's are a bit warmer so this will be tough to avoid but its hard to notice unless you scrutinize it and the difference is minimal considering the difference from the yellowish regular bulbs is much greater. The 194 bulbs fit perfect in the glove box although it was tough to grip the stock bulb. I would recommend going with a multi-directional 194 since the the bulb is on the side of the glove box and you want to make sure it gets in there. A top facing bulb won't work well in this scenario. Still need to do the plate bulbs! GOOD LUCK! Sweet, thanks for the info. Did you order them from DDM Tuning as well? Are they the 9 LED 42mm bulbs in the rear hatch? I want them to be nice and bright. Thanks on the glovebox LED, didn't think about that. I'll probably get 360degree bulbs for the glovebox and the license plate lights. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted May 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 I got the bulbs in. All are very high quality, great stuff. The rear cargo bulbs are super bright. Same with the glove box and license plate lights. The backup bulbs had a bit of a hiccup though. The way the ddm 3156 bulbs are made, the connections are too short I had to pull the wires out a bit so that they would reach the dodge connections. The stock bulb connector is probably 1/4" longer. Anyways, got them working. Not too impressed on the brightness...you would think 420 lumens would be super bright. I may look for something even brighter then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted May 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 Is there any way to tell that 3156 is in fact the correct bulb? I'm just surprised it didn't fit without modification. Has anybody tried other reverse light bulbs that are super bright? Not too impressed with these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted September 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 (edited) Just an update. I wasn't a fan of the brightness of these backup bulbs (I would not recommend these for a backup bulb ever). They totally sucked: http://www.ddmtuning...ts/3156-3157LED (the 60x3528 bulb). So instead I ordered these and holy cow, what a difference for only $2 more per bulb. These are ridiculously bright, far brighter than stock! Love them. Only problem is they were a bit too wide to fit in the brake light housing. So I took a dremel and made the circle opening for the light bulb connector a little bit wider. Couple minutes later, problem solved: http://www.ddmtuning...t.php?II=305247 Edited September 7, 2012 by onecrazyfoo4u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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