I had these lights on my old GT3. Nowadays the prices has gone up on these lights and im not sure where to buy them for the best price, can someone give me an update on that? That would be really helpful! thank you

 

I've been waiting to get a set of the Depo LED Tail lights since they came out. IMO they look most similar to the 997.2 OEM tails and therefore have a true “stock” look. I was hesitant since I’ve read quite a few posts recently of people having issues with bulb out warnings, etc. that developed after having them installed for several months.

I decided to call Rhonda @ FVD Brombacher (I found her contact info on another post). As you may know, FVD makes the LED control units that allow the OEM 997.1 to 997.2 bumper conversions, so they know their stuff! I was impressed with Rhonda’s knowledge of the product and issues that others have had. I was also pleasantly surprised that she is located in the US (Florida) and they receive weekly shipments from their parent Company in Germany, so shipping was fast and less than $25 to me in PA. More importantly, she told me that the resistors and circuit board were recently updated which should (hopefully) eliminate or reduce any issues with these lights. It also appears they have their own QC and test these before shipping. And finally, they will stand behind the product if you have any issues. I thought the price was good at $625 for the set (which includes a 10% forum discount).

I'm hoping I have good luck with them.., in person they look much better than the pictures online (much brighter than stock bulbs), weigh about 2x of OEM, and appear to be good quality. Only time will tell!

 

Yeah good quality they just Lumen made in taiwan like the rest of them all they're doing is a reboxing but they physically do not make the lights they just brand themselves. they have the same dot stamp on the front as the spyders. can you take a close up photo of the back of the lights there should be a tooling stamp number. from the manufacturer. i sure if you look close you will see a made in china or tawian

 

I'm confused. Mine came in a plain white box and say "DEPO" on the front edge. Part # 08-D48-1901-R-B on front R-F on back for right and left ends in 1901-L-B on front L-F on back. Are they not "real" DEPO., ie; is there a better quatily version I can buy elsewhere?? Thanks for the help, this Taiwan aftermarket LED scene is quite convoluted and I usually consider myself savvy with electronics! Any clarification for the forum would be appreciated!

 

Other pic

 

Front

 

There are only a handful of actual manufacturers of these lights despite a bunch of "brands" being around. You have the real deal DEPO. Depo is one of the manufacturers. There's another brand called Dectane which is just a rebrand of Depos. They are identical lights. If someone tells you theirs are better, have better plastic, better optics, etc. etc. they're feeding you BS.

They all have some failure rate.. For this reason it's usually better to buy from a place like FVD who will stand behind it and replace if needed.

 

they are depo the only thing concerning it the description on the web site

LED tail lights with integrated brake, fog, reverse and indicator light

- Euro-approved (homologation).
- LED tail light for 2004 to 2008 997.1 models.
- Compatible with on-board computer*
- Made in Germany. (is Taiwan a city in Deutschland)

*The CANBUS units are integrated into the tail light, modifications are not necessary (Plug and Play). (can bus it the audio/data connection the computer senses simple resistance and the can bus is not hook to any of the lighting in the car. Hooks to the BCM)

You may experience condensation with these lights. However the lights are specially designed to protect against the effects of condensation.

A frequently disputed issue is fogged glasses inside the lights, this has been around since the early 911, 964, etc. This effect occurs after driving in rain or cold nights, and is a normal physical process. Through the light vents the expanding heated air gets discharged from the lamp housing. After the light is switched of, the light slowly cools down and moist air penetrates from the outside in through the vents. This moisture evaporates in the hot light housing and reflected upon cooling down as the condensation in the headlights. This process is called condensation. After a short ride in dry weather or after the light is switched on the evaporation process begins and the condensation dry of. Technically this process is safe because the reflector is protected against the effects of condensation.

A 100% sealing those lights would cause the following problem: With just a little penetration of air (air has natural water content) and decreasing temperature water vapor would stick down at the coolest spot in the light housing. This moisture would go out very slowly or not at all.

Therefore, these lights are designed to be open so the moisture evaporates quickly.


heres there exchange policy on electrical items


Returns And Exchanges: All returns must be accompanied by a Return Authorization Number and will be issued for Returns or exchanges that meet the following guidelines. All returns and exchanges are subject to a 20% restocking fee. No return will be accepted after 30 days from date of shipment. Returns will not be accepted without proper authorization information visibly posted on the exterior of the package. Freight must be prepaid.


***THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO RETURNS ON:
* * * Custom parts and Special Ordered parts
* * * Parts on Special Price or Clearance
* * * Used or discontinued parts
* * * Electrical parts
* * * Damaged parts that have been modified, previously installed or altered in any way


and finally

There are no express warranties that extend beyond the description contained herein. SELLER DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. SINCE SELLER CANNOT CONTROL THE MANNER OF USE OF ITS PRODUCTS AFTER THEIR SALE, SELLER WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES. When Seller is acting only as a distributor of products manufactured by other companies, Seller expressly limits its liabilities to any guarantees extended by the manufacturer, which guarantees Seller will pass through to the customer. No warranty will apply if its products are in any way altered or modified after delivery by Seller.


So it sound like if do you have a problem i would like to see how it plays out based on their policies.

Just sayin they also have 2 version on the lights on their web site so it would be interesting to see

But if they are the white box depo they are good i expect them to shoot back to 795.00 when the "rotech are available"

 

1901-L-B is an older production run

Current Production Run (inproduction now)

D48-1901P-AE-S
D48-1901P-AE-CR
D48-1901P-AE-SR
D48-1901P-AE-S


AE is the production Run

S-smoked
cr- clear red
sr- smoke red
s- smoke

Depo is currently out of stock on lights they are in production. if you try to search the lights on there site they are not searchable do they are in production.

 

Thanks for the insight. I realized that neither Dectane nor FVD actually make the lights..., and FVD's description for the DEPO tail lights isn't correct., that's what prompted me to call and ask what "version" they were selling. I was told that they (FVD) had a conversation with DEPO about the failure rates and if they were going to continue being a distributor they would have to upgrade the resistors and circuit board., so I was under the impression that I bought the version with these "upgrades". Also, they planned to make a version with venting, but said the cost was too much to modify them - so yes, their website is out of date and not accurate as they clearly aren't made in Germany., but I was told the internals were assembled there for FVD.

So who knows, I just wanted to make sure I had the latest and greatest version if at all possible. I'm still considering just upgrading to the 997.2 rear bumper and use OEM tails., I just hoped the DEPO lights would be more reliable now and provide a nice upgrade for the price., cause outside of the cost of a new or used 997.2 bumper, the OEM tails aren't much more than these aftermarket "DEPO" lights., it shouldn't be rocket science to make a reliable LED taillight!

 

My DEPO's have been trouble-free / reliable for 25 months.

 

I need some LED tail lights now. What a difference it makes.

 

well the lights are completely sealed assemblies so i doubt they loaded their own parts. I know you can order 250 sets and they will do a 1 off run by normally people put their own part numbers and manufacture number so the lights cant be crossed shopped

I look into this style with upgraded Osram circuits and Phillips LED but they would be a retail price of a 1800.00 light.

On my drc light i can sell at 600 with osram board but using a standard led. all assembly is done in taiwan and inspected before they ship. Out of 100 productions lights about 40% don't pass initial inspection and are sold as a B brand light. for less money to people that sell on ebay etc.

The bumpers lights for a turbo built this way are 1000.00 and thats 12 led total not the 60+ that are in the tail lights.

the Led's never go bad its the boards that go bad. thats why row fail at a time not just one individual bulb. I'm currently trying to figure out a safe way to open the lights and repair or replace the boards but the plastic tends to warp during this process making reassembly very difficult.

Normally when the assembly fails the whole light goes in the trash. thats why they will not make a super high end light because the average person shop on price not quality.

 

my dectanes. i had them smoked.

 

Shane, thanks for sharing the information. It is indeed better to buy newer version from you instead of buying older run and uninspected lights from the eBay. It is even worse to buy used lights.