Are you wondering about upgrading your vehicle’s brake lights, turn signal lights, or the parking lights, and replacing them with the LED bulbs? If the answer is yes, then the first thing you need to figure out is to know the socket type in your car.
Generally, there are two basic types of bulb sockets that exist in any car, namely, SRCK and standard. The major difference between a standard and SRCK type is the position of the contacts at the ground. Though both of the sockets look alike, there is a significant difference in the placement of the ground contacts.
The identification of the socket type is extremely crucial for the proper functioning of the entire setup. Each type supports only a distinctive kind of LED bulb. For example, if a normal standard LED bulb is inserted into a SRCK type, then the LEDs wouldn’t function properly. Moreover, the LEDs might also blow the fuse which protects the lighting circuit. The only way to figure out which type of socket has been fitted into your car is to test it properly.
Read below to discover the different ways of testing the type of bulb socket that is provided in your car.
- Switch on the lights and connect the test light with the 12 volt positive of the battery.
- Once the battery is connected, probe the contacts in the different sections of the socket.
- As the tester illuminates, the ground of the socket is indicated.
- Every opening has two distinctive ground terminals which need to be identified separately.
- Grounds, in all standard socket types, always lie on the opposite side. If the ground is indicated on the opposite sides, your car bulb socket is of the standard type.
- However, if the ground terminals are indicated on the same side and are connected, then the socket is a SRCK type.
There are no set of rules which can reason out the type of the openings fitted in a car. The only way to find out is to test it in the above listed manner. Once you have found the type of bulb opening fitted in your car, you can easily shop for the complete Non-polar SRCK/Regular compatible LED bulbs to light up your car, both in terms of looks and utility. If you buy the LED bulbs without having the knowledge about your bulb socket types, you might end up damaging the entire lighting setup in your car as the protective fuse may blow.