Led tail/brake lights

[fede]

Has anyone tried to use led light bulbs for the brake light or tail lights?  The idea is to get brighter lights with as little change as possible.

 

Some time ago I found a company that makes the complete tail light assembly, but I don't really want to change it all.  And there is a big difference in price from led bulbs to this.

http://www.cool-leds.com/led-taillights-plymouth.htm

 

So, if anyone has tried, two main questions,

- which lights did you use? (size, watss, lumens, etc)

- white or red ones? (white should work, but maybe reds look better?)

 

They seem to be quite cheap, so if nobody has tried this I might give it a shot and report back with results.

 

[knuckleharley]

49 minutes ago, fede said:

Has anyone tried to use led light bulbs for the brake light or tail lights?  The idea is to get brighter lights with as little change as possible.

 

Some time ago I found a company that makes the complete tail light assembly, but I don't really want to change it all.  And there is a big difference in price from led bulbs to this.

http://www.cool-leds.com/led-taillights-plymouth.htm

 

So, if anyone has tried, two main questions,

- which lights did you use? (size, watss, lumens, etc)

- white or red ones? (white should work, but maybe reds look better?)

 

They seem to be quite cheap, so if nobody has tried this I might give it a shot and report back with results.

 

I am using  halogen tail light bulbs in my 51 Ford because the thick glass taillights and standard 6 volt bulbs make brake lights almost invisible. The dim lights are why people started using the red and blue circular "implants"(red dots and blue dots) in the original glass lenses back in the 40's or 50's.

 

A word of warning if you decide to use Halogen bulbs. Unlike LED,they get VERY hot,and it's not a good idea to use them if you are running plastic aftermarket lenses and sit in traffic a lot with your foot on the brake.

 

It's been a couple of years since I have priced LED bulbs,so they could have came down in price since then.

Edited January 27, 2019 by knuckleharley

[thebeebe5]

I installed the white version of these in my ‘37.    Work fine.  Cheap.  Not sure what the watsses are, but they’re much brighter than the original filament bulbs. 

 

https://www.ledlight.com/g18-s25-2_6-watt-58-ba15d-6-to-24-volt-ac-or-dc-non-polarity.aspx

Edited January 27, 2019 by thebeebe5

[DJ194950]

fede,

 

My friends 47 Plymouth Bus. Cpe is using the ones you had on your link- coollights- they look great and work great But they do Not sell these lights to fit a 1946 Desoto from what I could tell.

I noticed that they had them advertised for 6 volts which I have read on this forum that they no longer made due to lack of sales??  Wonder if they started selling the 6 volt type again?? IN the past I read that only the 12 volt models were still sold.??

 

For just bulbs this company sell 6v./12v. pos. and neg. ground models of bulbs /flashers (required) .

If you are still positive ground check this page out. It is the company that thebebe5 had on his post.

 

Maybe call and talk to them??  ?

 

DJ

 

https://www.ledlight.com/6-volt-positive-ground-automotive-led-lights.aspx

[DrDoctor]

   We tried LEDs on the ’54 Pontiac – the white one worked just fine, nice and bright. The red ones – not so great – they resulted in a rather dark red, not as bright.

[Jerry Roberts]

superbrightleds.com has the 6 volt LEDs  If you want the dual element bulbs their part number is 1157-R19-6V   . You need  red LEDs for a red lens . They are VERY bright . If you are using LEDs on all four corners of your vehicle , you will need a special flasher that doesn't work on resistance . I found a LED correct flasher ( 6 volt ) on ebay from the UK from www.classiccarleds.co.uk  ( the bulb part number might be only for negative ground 6 volt so check the information on their website ) .

Edited January 28, 2019 by Jerry Roberts

[belvedere666]

I have red LED lights on my 50. They’re bright. They burn cool and have very little power draw. They replace the 1157 bulb with the dual filament. My car is 12 volt though

[DrDoctor]

   I guess it depends upon the distance from the bulb to the taillight lens. If it’s not too far, red probably works OK, but our setup uses ’55 Olds taillight assemblies on the ’54 Pontiac, and the distance between the bulb and the lens is about 3”. We’re using 12v bulbs, as I rewired his car with a Ron Francis (what we use exclusively . . .) harness. And NO, a regular flasher won’t work with LED bulbs (insufficient resistance in the flashing circuit with the LED’s in place).

[belvedere666]

1 hour ago, DrDoctor said:

   I guess it depends upon the distance from the bulb to the taillight lens. If it’s not too far, red probably works OK, but our setup uses ’55 Olds taillight assemblies on the ’54 Pontiac, and the distance between the bulb and the lens is about 3”. We’re using 12v bulbs, as I rewired his car with a Ron Francis (what we use exclusively . . .) harness. And NO, a regular flasher won’t work with LED bulbs (insufficient resistance in the flashing circuit with the LED’s in place).

I forgot to mention that I needed to use an electronic flasher in place of the original style. There are some out there that will work with LED and incandescent bulbs simultaneously. So you can use incandescent ones in your parking lights and your interior indicator light. Or you can swap all of them out.

[fede]

On 1/27/2019 at 1:23 PM, knuckleharley said:

I am using  halogen tail light bulbs in my 51 Ford because the thick glass taillights and standard 6 volt bulbs make brake lights almost invisible. The dim lights are why people started using the red and blue circular "implants"(red dots and blue dots) in the original glass lenses back in the 40's or 50's.

 

A word of warning if you decide to use Halogen bulbs. Unlike LED,they get VERY hot,and it's not a good idea to use them if you are running plastic aftermarket lenses and sit in traffic a lot with your foot on the brake.

 

It's been a couple of years since I have priced LED bulbs,so they could have came down in price since then.

 

This is the reason I want to go led.  The lenses are all the original glasses, but I don't really want any more temperature. The cooler the better.

From what I saw, the led bulbs are about $5

[fede]

@thebeebe5, @DJ194950, @Jerry Roberts, @belvedere666

 

Thanks for the links and the tip about the flasher, I hadn't thought about that.

I think I'll start with the brake light, and then see what happens (long term, I'd like the tail lights to do all 3 functions)

Edited January 29, 2019 by fede

[fede]

18 hours ago, DrDoctor said:

   I guess it depends upon the distance from the bulb to the taillight lens. If it’s not too far, red probably works OK, but our setup uses ’55 Olds taillight assemblies on the ’54 Pontiac, and the distance between the bulb and the lens is about 3”. We’re using 12v bulbs, as I rewired his car with a Ron Francis (what we use exclusively . . .) harness. And NO, a regular flasher won’t work with LED bulbs (insufficient resistance in the flashing circuit with the LED’s in place).

 

I guess I'll have to check that distance, or if they are as cheap as I hope, just order both and try them

[Frank Elder]

Most everything I've read on the net including manufacturers instruction say to go ....

White with clear lens

Red with red lens

Amber with amber lens

and so on an so forth....why not call tech support from the company you wish to buy from to see which recommend ?

 

 

I realize all we used to have was clear incandescent bulbs for all applications but those days are gone. On the other hand I do believe that Dr. Dr. has a very valid point also....these new leds are made for very thin plastic and not the really dark thick ruby red glass our cars sometimes have.

The led flashers are very common now and easy to install, but if you must use your old flasher just put incandescent bulb inline in the circuit and that will be enough to trip the flasher.

 

Edited January 29, 2019 by Frank Elder

[fede]

@Frank Elder thanks for the advice and that possible workaround for the flashers.

 

It makes sense that the old glass lenses are darker than new thin plastics

 

I generally try to avoid calling shops in the US because my English is not quite ready for tech support conversations yet and international calls aren't that cheap (I'm in Uruguay), but I might give it a shot.  

 

thanks!

[pflaming]

Fede, maybe the company you call has a chat feature. 

[52 work truck]

go with LED's a lot cheaper than repairing a vehicle that has been rear ended. I have them on both my trucks

[DrDoctor]

   I forgot to mention that we used clear LEDs for the parking light/turn signals in the front, too. My neighbor with the ’54 Pontiac and I were discussing the LED bulb issue, and the flasher required for them. He said he paid around $10 for the flasher, but that the guy at the auto parts store we deal with said we could use a “conventional” flasher if we put a regular bulb on each side for the turn signals. I replied to the effect – why would we do that, since the reason you wanted to go with LEDs was 2-fold: 1) brightness; and 2) durability. With conventional bulbs, you’ll be dealing with the regular bulbs rather than the “do it and forget it” concept with the LEDs. He agreed wholeheartedly.

[DavidJose1]

On 1/27/2019 at 8:34 AM, fede said:

Has anyone tried to use led light bulbs for the brake light or tail lights?  The idea is to get brighter lights with as little change as possible.

 

Some time ago I found a company that makes the complete tail light assembly, but I don't really want to change it all.  And there is a big difference in price from led bulbs to this.

http://www.cool-leds.com/led-taillights-plymouth.htm

 

So, if anyone has tried, two main questions,

- which lights did you use? (size, watss, lumens, etc)

- white or red ones? (white should work, but maybe reds look better?)

 

They seem to be quite cheap, so if nobody has tried this I might give it a shot and report back with results.

 

Sick, I'm gonna do it

 

[fede]

A brief update:
I ordered two different led bulbs to try out, as I'm convinced that is the best way forward. But I was checking the bulb that was in the stop light, and it was a 5w! Now it has a 15w, and it's much better.

Still, I think the led will be even better.