LED running lights and halogen headlights for my '47 Super De Luxe

[46Chris]

On 7/23/2024 at 2:01 PM, Tom Skinner said:

Gents,

Question:

1. Are you installing these in 12 Volt Systems or 6 Volt Systems?

2. Is there really LED and Halogen Bulbs for 6 Volt Systems?

My experience in searching the Internet has been these are for 9 -12 Volt Systems only, in almost all cases it is stated they are for 12 Volt Systems.

Thank you for any replies, because if they actually make them for 6 Volt Systems I would consider buying some.

Tom Skinner

Huntersville, NC

And No I am not going to 12 Volt, or an Alternator, or Pertronix, or HIE, or an electric Fuel Pump, or Disc Brakes, my car is original and going to stay that way until I reach Kingdom Come. LOL. I service my Chrysler the old fashioned way - Continuously, and that's why everything on it works just fine.

Referenced also in later posts, but these are all 6v LEDs.  Note, however, @Sam Buchanan's guidance on obtaining an LED flasher relay if you make the conversion.  I'll have to order one, as the standard relay does not recognize the LEDs.  Here's the link Sam provided: https://www.ledlight.com/flasher-cf13-6-volt-dc-led-compatible-3-terminal-150-watt.aspx

[GTfastbacker]

41 minutes ago, 46Chris said:

Referenced also in later posts, but these are all 6v LEDs.  Note, however, @Sam Buchanan's guidance on obtaining an LED flasher relay if you make the conversion.  I'll have to order one, as the standard relay does not recognize the LEDs.  Here's the link Sam provided: https://www.ledlight.com/flasher-cf13-6-volt-dc-led-compatible-3-terminal-150-watt.aspx

 

Two problems with a standard flasher relay. The LED will not have enough load to let work the bimetall inside proper.

 

When you install a electronic flasher be sure it’s one for positive ground with the additional power wire.

[9 foot box]

   The flasher pictured is 68934 neg. ground. They sell a 84787 flasher for pos. ground. 

[46Chris]

23 hours ago, Sam Buchanan said:

 

I just ordered this LED flasher because the description states it will work with a combination of standard and LED bulbs. I think you will need this or a similar flasher to get the LED bulbs to flash at the proper rate. Very reasonably priced at $17.99.

 

I'm replacing all tail, brake and signal bulbs with LED, cost about $50 for the complete conversion from the vendor below. @46Chris said he is pleased with their bulbs.

 

https://www.ledlight.com/flasher-cf13-6-volt-dc-led-compatible-3-terminal-150-watt.aspx

 

@Sam Buchanan question for you: reading the instructions in the above link, it appears this is a 2 prong.  I'm guessing you have not yet received the flasher.  I found a 3 prong 6v LED flasher on Amazon.  Your thoughts? https://www.amazon.com/ZUNG-SUNG-0-1A-20A-Electronic-Flasher/dp/B0CR3X9T3D/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2Z3LV28PZLO1J&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QUkCmacn5I4C7xYKvOVQPiUZKKToG-YWOpEiXa70QNmuMi79rBwn7QOZEGtKzxORZlPyKbJaGxkrpD7-m1GMfSciCKHOR9R5RYpQenUAm3ux0zT3Fzdk84Jxo-PR6ZDQXJ9JH_VasAYY9_Aa5ANm4ZGUhnnDX-sCgct3NFPcYXQ06tzWMRbaPj_8T1iXIXn8mjBL5sJCiWJuo0lpQfXO-Xro6HIQwKT3XvIgrRGppX4.T6kTnIuk4DOkJgGuGpbvMPVDfGY7Yd07AqplGLHedvg&dib_tag=se&keywords=6+Volt+LED+Flasher+Negative+Ground&qid=1722024586&sprefix=6+volt+led+flasher+negative+ground%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-2

[EagleChief]

Related question regarding LED's... I'm trying to figure out ways to add some lighting to the rear of the car. Thinking about adding a light strip in the rear window, or the base of the bumper, the trunk lid - just something to add another set of lights to the rear. I even thought about using the gap between the fender and body to place a strip of lights there (vertically) instead of the chrome trim that fills that gap.

 

What have any of you done to add lights? And also, if you have tried something like that, do these regular light strips (flexible LED strips) work on our systems, or do I still need to find some that are 6volt?

[Sam Buchanan]

16 minutes ago, 46Chris said:

@Sam Buchanan question for you: reading the instructions in the above link, it appears this is a 2 prong.  I'm guessing you have not yet received the flasher.  I found a 3 prong 6v LED flasher on Amazon.  Your thoughts? https://www.amazon.com/ZUNG-SUNG-0-1A-20A-Electronic-Flasher/dp/B0CR3X9T3D/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2Z3LV28PZLO1J&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QUkCmacn5I4C7xYKvOVQPiUZKKToG-YWOpEiXa70QNmuMi79rBwn7QOZEGtKzxORZlPyKbJaGxkrpD7-m1GMfSciCKHOR9R5RYpQenUAm3ux0zT3Fzdk84Jxo-PR6ZDQXJ9JH_VasAYY9_Aa5ANm4ZGUhnnDX-sCgct3NFPcYXQ06tzWMRbaPj_8T1iXIXn8mjBL5sJCiWJuo0lpQfXO-Xro6HIQwKT3XvIgrRGppX4.T6kTnIuk4DOkJgGuGpbvMPVDfGY7Yd07AqplGLHedvg&dib_tag=se&keywords=6+Volt+LED+Flasher+Negative+Ground&qid=1722024586&sprefix=6+volt+led+flasher+negative+ground%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-2

 

Should work, the third terminal is for a dash indicator light.

[GTfastbacker]

On 7/26/2024 at 7:45 PM, GTfastbacker said:

 

LED 6V in action 

 

Unfortunately my arms or legs were too short for a video of the brake lights … lol

 

 

PS:

i got me all the 6V pos. Ground LEDs from this shop at UK

 

Joe 

 

https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/collections

 

 

[Sam Buchanan]

On 7/25/2024 at 4:08 PM, Sam Buchanan said:

 

I just ordered this LED flasher because the description states it will work with a combination of standard and LED bulbs. I think you will need this or a similar flasher to get the LED bulbs to flash at the proper rate. Very reasonably priced at $17.99.

 

I'm replacing all tail, brake and signal bulbs with LED, cost about $50 for the complete conversion from the vendor below. @46Chris said he is pleased with their bulbs.

 

https://www.ledlight.com/flasher-cf13-6-volt-dc-led-compatible-3-terminal-150-watt.aspx

 

 

I can now confirm this flasher works perfectly with a combination of filament and LED bulb and also with a full LED light system. The install of the flasher and  LED bulbs went smoothly and they look GREAT! I bought red LEDS for the tail and brake lights and warm white for the front running/signal lights. The warm white looks original except brighter and has the characteristic instant on/off flashing of LED bulbs. I like 'em!

 

One way I've always been able to confirm brake or signal lights are working is by watching the ammeter bouncing. However, the LEDs pull so little current the ammeter needle doesn't deflect. But I think this is a good thing.

Edited July 30 by Sam Buchanan

[46Chris]

On 7/26/2024 at 3:40 PM, Sam Buchanan said:

 

Should work, the third terminal is for a dash indicator light.

@Sam Buchanan My Amazon 6v 3 prong flasher arrived yesterday, I hooked it up, and nada.  Checked ground, made sure the fuse was not blown, confirmed all wires were solidly connected.  A head scratcher.  I connected the fused input wire to the horizontal terminal and the other two wires to the vertical terminals just as they were oriented on the original flasher.  Guess I'll try the one you got from ledlight.com.  And just to confirm, my turnsignals were working prior to the switchover, and the light would flash as expected. 

[Sam Buchanan]

Does your new flasher have a wiring schematic with it? If so, use it instead of relying on how the old flasher was connected.

[Plymouthy Adams]

31 minutes ago, 46Chris said:

@Sam Buchanan My Amazon 6v 3 prong flasher arrived yesterday, I hooked it up, and nada.  Checked ground, made sure the fuse was not blown, confirmed all wires were solidly connected.  A head scratcher.  I connected the fused input wire to the horizontal terminal and the other two wires to the vertical terminals just as they were oriented on the original flasher.  Guess I'll try the one you got from ledlight.com.  And just to confirm, my turn signals were working prior to the switchover, and the light would flash as expected. 

 

Looking at the pinout on the flasher that Sam posted .... P is not power......P is Pilot as the indicator on the dash....the X is power and the separate wire is ground for the electronics circuit to control pulse rate not load induced...note! negative ground flasher is what Sam listed, you need to be negative ground here.  The L is load, your lamps.   IF you connected the power to the single horizonal as in the picture you are not connected properly.

[46Chris]

26 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

Looking at the pinout on the flasher that Sam posted .... P is not power......P is Pilot as the indicator on the dash....the X is power and the separate wire is ground for the electronics circuit to control pulse rate not load induced...note! negative ground flasher is what Sam listed, you need to be negative ground here.  The L is load, your lamps.   IF you connected the power to the single horizonal as in the picture you are not connected properly.

Thanks @Plymouthy Adams actually glad to hear I'm doing it wrong.  Means there's still hope.  @Sam Buchanan it did not come with a schematic, and none of the three pins are labeled in any way.  Since I had to add crimp push-on connectors for these pins, would I run the risk of blowing up the flasher if I just tried the other connection combinations until I find the one that works?

[Plymouthy Adams]

are the prongs marked on the flasher as they are on the accompanying picture with the sales ad?

[Sam Buchanan]

56 minutes ago, 46Chris said:

Thanks @Plymouthy Adams actually glad to hear I'm doing it wrong.  Means there's still hope.  @Sam Buchanan it did not come with a schematic, and none of the three pins are labeled in any way.  Since I had to add crimp push-on connectors for these pins, would I run the risk of blowing up the flasher if I just tried the other connection combinations until I find the one that works?

Just hook it up correctly. 😀

Look very closely, one terminal will be stamped with "X", as Plymouthy stated that is power. The opposite terminal is load, your lights. The pigtail MUST be grounded.

Edited July 31 by Sam Buchanan

[46Chris]

4 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

Just hook it up correctly. 😀

Look very closely, one terminal will be stamped with "X", as Plymouthy stated that is power. The opposite terminal is load, your lights. The pigtail MUST be grounded.

Love the schooling I'm getting.  @Plymouthy Adams I hadn't thought to go back to the listing - there was the schematic!  The prongs are not labeled on the flasher, but now I know what P, X, and L are.  @Sam Buchanan Though I can't tell which wire is P and which is L, I'll either get it right the first time or the second time.  Thanks to you both! 

[Plymouthy Adams]

the x-p-l is industry standard for the three prong socket.....given you have a socket to plug into.....you would only need to be negative ground on the chassis and connect the stand alone ground for the electronics.  IF NOT PLUG AND PLAY then yes, the connections you make will be in accordance with the industry pinout.

 

[46Chris]

33 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

the x-p-l is industry standard for the three prong socket.....given you have a socket to plug into.....you would only need to be negative ground on the chassis and connect the stand alone ground for the electronics.  IF NOT PLUG AND PLAY then yes, the connections you make will be in accordance with the industry pinout.

 

Correctly connected power to X, but regardless of which way I hook up P and L still nothing.  I'm grounded to a nutted bolt through the metal dash.  Think I'll order another flasher in case my errant connecting may have blown it up.

[Happy 46R]

First off thank you for this thread. It got me thinking about my lighting and what I wanted to do for upgrades. I have a 6V Positive Ground system in my car that I have owned for about 5 years now. I regularly check my lights and although I have turn signals it always seemed to me that the flasher was going really fast but the lamps all worked so I didn't question it further.  I have rarely driven the car at night so headlights never were a consideration other than to turn them on and off to test them. Today as I was thinking about LED and Halogen replacements I actually physically checked my lighting. 

 

The rear tail lights have been converted to a tail, turn and brake light by installing the two filament bulbs and sockets and splicing off the single brake light wire for the trunk light. Not a lot of craftsmanship, (Marettes & Black Tape) involved but obviously enough to make things work? The single trunk light is a two filament brake and tail light combo. So if I am following the information correctly on this thread I will need to purchase Three (3) of the 1158 LED bulbs for the two side lights and the one trunk light as well as the 84787 flasher. I have already ordered the H606C1 Halogen headlamps from the local parts store. @Sam Buchanan I will messaage you seperately to talk about this as my electrical skills are minimal but I am determined to learn.

 

My next problem will be that while I was researching the LED bulb issue I learned that there is definately a problem with the wiring that exists as the single trunk tail light became almost non visible and the turn signals stopped working when I turned the headlamps on. So once the lights arrive changing them out will include a bunch of wiring changes as obviously there is a problem Houston!

 

Thank again everyone who contributed to the thread as it was really informative and saved me a future problem.  Dave

 

 

 

[Sam Buchanan]

2 hours ago, Happy 46R said:

First off thank you for this thread. It got me thinking about my lighting and what I wanted to do for upgrades. I have a 6V Positive Ground system in my car that I have owned for about 5 years now. I regularly check my lights and although I have turn signals it always seemed to me that the flasher was going really fast but the lamps all worked so I didn't question it further.  I have rarely driven the car at night so headlights never were a consideration other than to turn them on and off to test them. Today as I was thinking about LED and Halogen replacements I actually physically checked my lighting. 

 

The rear tail lights have been converted to a tail, turn and brake light by installing the two filament bulbs and sockets and splicing off the single brake light wire for the trunk light. Not a lot of craftsmanship, (Marettes & Black Tape) involved but obviously enough to make things work? The single trunk light is a two filament brake and tail light combo. So if I am following the information correctly on this thread I will need to purchase Three (3) of the 1158 LED bulbs for the two side lights and the one trunk light as well as the 84787 flasher. I have already ordered the H606C1 Halogen headlamps from the local parts store. @Sam Buchanan I will messaage you seperately to talk about this as my electrical skills are minimal but I am determined to learn.

 

My next problem will be that while I was researching the LED bulb issue I learned that there is definately a problem with the wiring that exists as the single trunk tail light became almost non visible and the turn signals stopped working when I turned the headlamps on. So once the lights arrive changing them out will include a bunch of wiring changes as obviously there is a problem Houston!

 

Thank again everyone who contributed to the thread as it was really informative and saved me a future problem.  Dave

 

 

 

 

My automotive LED experience is limited to the changes I have made in my cars and I've found variations in all three applications. My ability to remotely troubleshoot somebody else's car, especially one where wiring has been modified is probably not useful since some sleuthing would most likely be needed even with the car in front of me.

 

As described, yes, it seems you need three 1158 LED bulbs, IF, repeat IF, the existing bulbs have lugs that are at the same level on the bulb base. You need to check what you have in your car prior to ordering LEDs. I recommend you get red ones so the tail lights won't appear pink as they might with white LEDs. The first thing I would check in regard to your trunk light would be if voltage drop is occurring which can cause things to get flakey. This could be faulty wiring but more likely poor grounds in our often corroded light fixtures. 

 

Install the flasher first and insure your signals still work properly before switching bulbs. Then change one bulb at a time and verify proper operation. Changing more than one thing at a time can really complicate troubleshooting.

 

Edited July 31 by Sam Buchanan

[Sam Buchanan]

After exchanging emails with @Happy 46R he has found he needs bulbs with staggered lugs. I think this bulb, an 1154, will be what he needs. It is dual circuit and non-polarity sensitive.

 

https://www.ledlight.com/g18-s25-2_6-watt-1157-6-volt-ac-non-polarity.aspx

 

[9 foot box]

   This is diagram of the signal switch on my milk truck. With the 5 wire connected to the brake switch, it will show braking, turn signals and four way on front and rear lamps. The center trunk brake light on your car should be a single contact bayonet socket. Run a single wire from the proper socket to the brake switch and terminate the 5 wire, so only the trunk light shows braking and doesn’t go through the turn signal. At present, I use an 1129 bulb single contact bulb on my center light, and 1154 double contact bulbs, front and rear. 

[Sam Buchanan]

text deleted

Edited August 1 by Sam Buchanan

[Sniper]

How do you keep the third brake light from flashing when the source bulb is being used as a turn signal?

 

 

[Sam Buchanan]

While we are talking lights, I've come across a great headlight upgrade for you guys running 12v.....and the price is an absolute steal. I'll start a new thread about this conversion.

[EagleChief]

Coming back to this, I bought the lights and the flasher that were linked here. My dumb newb question follows: Where in the world do I hook up the flasher relay? I did a quick search, but not very thorough, thinking it would be easy to spot. Granted, it was 98 deg with no wind and high humidity, and my patience didn't allow for me to look for very long.

 

I did get the bulbs replaced, but in doing so, learned that my brake lights don't work, and my trunk light does not work, either.  Brake lights didn't work with old bulbs, or new bulbs... so I'm assuming that's within the brake switch somewhere?