GEN 2 Diode Dynamics and Static on the radio?

[rkwjunior]

Hello, Just installed a pair Of Diode Dynamics SS Pro DOT fog pods on a 2017 Raptor.
Install was straight forward, wired to number 5 Upfitter. At first it blew the 5A fuse, so i just swapped a 10A from number 4 Upfitter and its fine. The odd thing is they only draw 2.3 amps combined, so im not sure why it blew a 5A fuse in the first place? Non the less they worked after the fuse swap.
Positive red wire to the Upfitter wire and negative direct to battery. I didnt use the provided inline fuse that came with the harness.
Lights are awesome, look great!!

Problem is, when switched on, radio stations that are normally ALWAYS HD quality go to normal with some static. And stations that werent HD are mostly static? This is 100% the Diodes Dynamics.
I have a set of Ridgid D2 Duallys that have been on there for 4 months with no such issues.

Oh, i also twist wrapped the the red and black wires together with electrical tape all the way from the lights to the connections up under the hood for protection. Any excess wire length i coiled up neatly. i didnt cut it to exact lengths

What gives?

 

[rkwjunior]

Think i know my problem. Unplugged one light, not static and it stayed on HD radio. pulled out the other, and the wire pulled right out of the plug, WTF?
Hmm will investigate in the morning.

 

[rkwjunior]

Seems as though it's the lights themselves.
I swapped them with my Rigids and worked fine. No static
I then put the Rigids on the wiring for the new lights, also worked fine, no static.
Stay away from Diode Dynamics.
They claim their LED's put out more legit power than the competition, but they also put out RF interference.
I had cheap Chinese lights along time ago and they did the same thing as these DD's.
They need to fix that, shouldn't be an issue with something so trivial.
I'm going to try Ferrite cores and see if that works, if not, they are going back.

 

[JohnC12]

I’m a big fan of DD products - I’ve been running their bulbs in my trucks for years. The Raptor is pretty much 100% LED with the exception of the license plate bulbs. I swapped out the crappy OEM bulbs with DD’s HP5 bulbs and love them.

In my 2017 Lariat, I installed a set of DD SL1’s (high and low) LED bulbs. One of the bulbs was causing a lot of noise so I reached out to them. They immediately shipped (overnight) me a new kit and all was good. Overall, their customer service and support was great. On a side note, based on reviews from others who installed the SL1’s, I installed ferrite’s and had no issues. I’m curious if that will solve your issue.

Have you tried reaching out to them to discuss? Again, their CS is great!

 

[rkwjunior]

I’m a big fan of DD products - I’ve been running their bulbs in my trucks for years. The Raptor is pretty much 100% LED with the exception of the license plate bulbs. I swapped out the crappy OEM bulbs with DD’s HP5 bulbs and love them.

In my 2017 Lariat, I installed a set of DD SL1’s (high and low) LED bulbs. One of the bulbs was causing a lot of noise so I reached out to them. They immediately shipped (overnight) me a new kit and all was good. Overall, their customer service and support was great. On a side note, based on reviews from others who installed the SL1’s, I installed ferrite’s and had no issues. I’m curious if that will solve your issue.

Have you tried reaching out to them to discuss? Again, their CS is great!

Yes, they told me ferrites, i ordered some. so we will see. Ive also read that ferrites dont work in all cases, so my fingers are crossed.
He also said hes never heard of it happening, not sure i believe him after hearing your story, and him telling me to buy ferrites. He did offer to take a return if i chose.
I really like the lights so its my last resort, if it doesnt work i will return them and never buy another DD product again.
RF interference is indicative of cheap Chinese lights, i had them. These are a top quality light, or so i thought. It's disappointing.

To me its an R&D thing. there are ways to prevent this. My Rigids dont do it on the exact same wiring harness.


I'm aggravated cuz its so stupid and preventable. I spend $300 and i get a fuzzy stereo, its ridiculous LOL

Literally all the info ive gotten from the research tells me to buy a quality bulb to avoid RF interference with LED's. That tells me the DD bulb isn't quality