? L E D taillights
If you have regular tail, stop, turm taillights, can they be changed over to plug & play lights
Forum Discussion
My vehicle uses 1157 park brake signal lamps. There are brighter incandescent options like the 3496, but supposedly, the only good ones come from Japan made for Honda.
I got some led 1157's based on a friend's experience using a lux meter comparing brightness of both low and high 'filaments' in the same housing as my own. When installed I had to agree they were slightly brighter and deeper red than the new incandescent 3496's I had, more than enough brightness difference between low and high, and were visible from all angles just as well, not just right from behind and I deemed them acceptable.
I liked the few extra alternator amps available for charging batteries at hot idle foot on the brake, the instant on and slightly brighter light.
Fast forward less than 2 years, I was driving making a right turn, turn signal on and braking, and heard an angry horn, then a stacatto rhythm as if the driver behind me was trying to convey more than anger. On inspection of my rear lighting, I found the passenger side LED had failed. While I had a stick between seat and brake pedal holding the brakes on, the other LED started flickering and I found half the radially firing LEDS were no-op, the other half completely non-op. No idea how long it had been this way, but its likely more than a few weeks of obliviousness, and less than safe vehicular lighting.
The 3496 incandescents I keep in the glove box, went back in.
I had added add a LED CHMSL third brake light not long after the 1157 leds. It is so obvious just how much faster it lights up compared to the incandescents.
I will someday likely get more 1157 BA-15d taillight LED bulbs, but that day is not today. I think they are driving the LEDS beyond their safe longevity range with not enough heatsinking, especially when 14.4v+ is reaching their sockets.
The better made Phillips LED bulbs are $$$ and do not seem to be as bright as incandescents in many vehicles they are installed in, their only advantage being the instant on and less current consumption.
Having experimented a LOT with 12v LEDs at different voltages, those without current limiting circuitry built in, will consume nearly 2x as much amperage at 14.7v as they will at 12.0v and be about 30 to 50% brighter, and make a LOT more heat.
Since I removed my headlight current from passing through headlight switch, much more voltage gets to the other bulbs with the headlights on than before, and I cannot depend on voltage drop keeping the bulbs from getting too hot and if my battery is less than fully charged, I keep voltage at 14.7v, because I can.
I'm glad that the horrible pink led brake lights of a few years ago are not readily seen anymore, I assume most who installed white leds behind red lenses had them fail and went back to incandescent, and like me regretted the purchase and effort required to replace them twice.
What I despise is LED bulbs dropped into Headlamp incandescent housings, reflectors or projectors. Most drivers seem to actually want to blind the drivers on the other side of the road, or if they are unaware, just would not care anyway, as consideration for others is long gone in the self important douchewater personalities of today.
It's worse than drivers leaving their high beams on and their forward lighting, and their ability to see is less than the halogens in the reflectors they removed. But its whiter light, and fashionable, and ignorant, arrogant, inconsiderate behavior is in no short supply today.
I got some led 1157's based on a friend's experience using a lux meter comparing brightness of both low and high 'filaments' in the same housing as my own. When installed I had to agree they were slightly brighter and deeper red than the new incandescent 3496's I had, more than enough brightness difference between low and high, and were visible from all angles just as well, not just right from behind and I deemed them acceptable.
I liked the few extra alternator amps available for charging batteries at hot idle foot on the brake, the instant on and slightly brighter light.
Fast forward less than 2 years, I was driving making a right turn, turn signal on and braking, and heard an angry horn, then a stacatto rhythm as if the driver behind me was trying to convey more than anger. On inspection of my rear lighting, I found the passenger side LED had failed. While I had a stick between seat and brake pedal holding the brakes on, the other LED started flickering and I found half the radially firing LEDS were no-op, the other half completely non-op. No idea how long it had been this way, but its likely more than a few weeks of obliviousness, and less than safe vehicular lighting.
The 3496 incandescents I keep in the glove box, went back in.
I had added add a LED CHMSL third brake light not long after the 1157 leds. It is so obvious just how much faster it lights up compared to the incandescents.
I will someday likely get more 1157 BA-15d taillight LED bulbs, but that day is not today. I think they are driving the LEDS beyond their safe longevity range with not enough heatsinking, especially when 14.4v+ is reaching their sockets.
The better made Phillips LED bulbs are $$$ and do not seem to be as bright as incandescents in many vehicles they are installed in, their only advantage being the instant on and less current consumption.
Having experimented a LOT with 12v LEDs at different voltages, those without current limiting circuitry built in, will consume nearly 2x as much amperage at 14.7v as they will at 12.0v and be about 30 to 50% brighter, and make a LOT more heat.
Since I removed my headlight current from passing through headlight switch, much more voltage gets to the other bulbs with the headlights on than before, and I cannot depend on voltage drop keeping the bulbs from getting too hot and if my battery is less than fully charged, I keep voltage at 14.7v, because I can.
I'm glad that the horrible pink led brake lights of a few years ago are not readily seen anymore, I assume most who installed white leds behind red lenses had them fail and went back to incandescent, and like me regretted the purchase and effort required to replace them twice.
What I despise is LED bulbs dropped into Headlamp incandescent housings, reflectors or projectors. Most drivers seem to actually want to blind the drivers on the other side of the road, or if they are unaware, just would not care anyway, as consideration for others is long gone in the self important douchewater personalities of today.
It's worse than drivers leaving their high beams on and their forward lighting, and their ability to see is less than the halogens in the reflectors they removed. But its whiter light, and fashionable, and ignorant, arrogant, inconsiderate behavior is in no short supply today.
