Viper 500ESP and Broken LED Replacement

All,

I have a Viper 500ESP alarm installed in my car. It works just fine in every way except that the LED is no longer operational.

It no longer blinks when the alarm is armed. It doesn't stay lit when in Valet mode. But the alarm is working the way it is supposed to in all other ways.

I repair computers and arcade games for a living, and though I didn't install this alarm myself, I feel qualified to replaced the LED (and perhaps relocate it a more visible position), or at least attempt to determine if it is faulty, but I have no information about these things.

I have full access to all the wiring leading up to the LED, and the LED, though not the alarm brain (without taking apart large parts of my dashboard, which I'd rather avoid) to double-check that it is plugged in.

So, with this in mind, is it possble to just go to my local electronics store and buy a replacement LED and connect it in place of the old one? If so, what are the specs of the LED I am looking for?

Or, is this a special LED that has its own internal blinking circuit? And if that is the case, can anyone suggest a place to buy a replacement (preferably online)?

I'm assuming I could also probe the wires leading up to the LED with my meters and determine the voltages without harming things, or is there more than meets the eye to this?

In a perfect world, I would just clip the wires leading up to the existing LED, and then solder (or whatever) in a new set of wires leading up to a new LED, mounted somewhere else. If I shouldn't do this, someone please tell me why.

Thanks,
Warr

The light is more than likely dead. It's a basic 2 wire setup. One wire is negative and the other is positive. They use very little current, you can probe the wires with a multimeter and see if it's getting current, or even upon taking out this old LED, you can splice the wires and connect them to a battery and see what it does. I'm not sure how bright your old LED is, but the LED's now are much brighter than older ones, here's an example below of where you can get one on ebay. You can mount more than one LED on the same wire, and mount them on your doors, for increased visibility, if you'd like. There's also new fancier multi-led flasher's that you can purchase instead, that do wild patterns and stuff.

https://cgi.ebay.com/dll?ViewItem&item=5786515172&category=48611&ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1

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Don't have a hero.
Look up to no one;
because if someone's leading the way, the best you'll ever be is second

Thanks for the help, guys. I have a pretty healthy supply of 3v LEDs and harnesses here in my kit, and I see that my local electronics stores are selling those super-bright LED-Flashlight LEDs for $1.50 for two.

Again, I appreciate the assistance. If I have any problems, I know where to post.

-Warr

You're welcome. Any time.