I decided to replace the bulbs in my clocks (86 mk 2 gti), as one was blown. So I went down the road of LED’s, thinking that it would be ages before I would have to change them again. The bulbs I bought did more damage than good, as the contact edges were very sharp, and when you twist them through 90 degrees they cut a grove across the tracks passing the bulb holders. Upon inspection I realized that the contacts on the bulbs were just strips of steel with the end folded up to leave a really sharp point, which did the damage to the tracks on the circuit board. I ended up repairing what used to be a perfect foil circuit board, and then put a drop of solder on each contact on the bulbs, they then twisted smoothly into place and worked fine. My advice is make sure that the replacement bulbs have nice smooth contacts and NOT a knife-edge like the ones I bought. What an ordeal, what should have take an hour at best took half a day. The worst part was the damage to the foil, it will never be the same again!!!!!!!
