LED Tail Lamp Bulbs

[grey beard]

Just ordered a pair of 6-volt LED tail lamp bulbs from this outfit.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-...e/commerce.cgi

What strikes me as interesting is the fact that these bulbs are NOT polarity sensiive - so they will work with either positive or negative ground systems. Wonder how that works, since LED's all must have diodes, which to my understanding ARE polarity sensitive.

Anyhow, these bulbs are less than half the cost of most other LED's I've seen advertised on the internet - my cost for two with shipping was less than thirty bucks.

Sure hope now the traffic behind me will be able to see my brake lights on sunny days. I've already painted my buckets white inside.

Have any of you had experience with these bulbs? How have they worked out for you? Should be a direct reipacemenrt for normal double contact bulbs.

Thanks

[chesterx]

What model did you order?

[grey beard]

I ordered the 1157 x 19 6V bulbs. These are direct drop-in replacement bulbs for the stock six volt tail lamp bulbs with indexed tabs, so they fit only one direction. Should look just fine inside my script DODGE lenses on the B1B.

[BobT-47P15]

I can't recall if there is a heat generation issue with these bulbs......?

[Merle Coggins]

LED's run quite cool compared to an incandescent bulb. The issue comes with the low current draw on flashers. Some flashers won't flash because there isn't enough load. Usually a heavy duty one will fix that, or I've seen resisters that can be wired into the circuits to increase the load for the flashers.

As for the polarity sensitivity... it is a Light Emitting Diode. A diode will only allow current to pass in one direction, unless it's a Zener Diode but that's another topic. The only way I can see these lights working on a Pos ground system would be to insulate the lamp assembly and wire it in reverse.

[Don Coatney]

Are the new lights actually LED's or are they Halogen bulbs? Could splain the polarity questions.

Pictured is a 12 volt Halogen drop in replacement for a 1034 or 1157 bulb.

[chesterx]

Just installed some red LEDS in rear and they work great!

[chesterx]

Liked them in the rear so I ordered for the front and ran into the problem of not having enough current for the flasher to operate properly. Need to install 2 resistors in parallel with either front or rear to correct.

[Frank Blackstone]

I am interested in learning more about these LED's and their polarity bu the link was not good. Got any more info? Thanks, In the dark,Frank

[grey beard]

Frank,

Sorry about that link. Here it is again in a form that will work for you.

https://www.superbrightleds.com

Let me know if this doesn't work.

What amazes me here is that these are NOT polarity sensitive, AND they recommend RED led's behind RED lenses. Guess I don't understand everything I know about this issue yet . . .

[martybose]

Liked them in the rear so I ordered for the front and ran into the problem of not having enough current for the flasher to operate properly. Need to install 2 resistors in parallel with either front or rear to correct.

..... or get a flasher designed for use with LED's that doesn't use line resistance to set the flash rate.

Marty

[chesterx]

As of today I have tried to locate a 6v electronic flasher with no success. One guy in Canada used to sell them on Ebay but stopped making them due to low damand. Still looking for a source.

[Don Coatney]

http://www.zimsautotechnik.com/acatalog/Electronic_Turn_Signal_Flasher__6V__356.html

http://www.littlehonda.com/Shop/38300-GF0-405.htm

http://usaled.com/?mainURL=%2Fstore%2Fitem%2Fgo72%2FEL98_and_EL98N_Turn_Signal_Flashers%2FEL98_Electronic_Turn_Signal_Flasher_with_Audible_Beeper_8-_14_5VDC.html%3Fitem_id%3Dgo72

http://www.users.bigpond.com/cool386/flasher/flasher.htm

[Captain Neon]

I got mine from Auto Electric Supplies in the UK. http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/710 Robin can correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe that some new vehicles sold in Europe use a 6v system.

[chesterx]

I conntacted the above and will not work for positive 6 applications.

[Don Coatney]

If the body of the flasher is not an operational ground (it does not appear to be) then why will it not work? It is simply a resistance fired auto resetting intermittent switch.

[Norm's Coupe]

I use just the standard 6 volt flasher with my homemade LED stop/turn signal lights. Works fine. However, each little LED bulb must have its own resistor to make it work.

Prior to making mine my son said that was what was needed to make them work. Then I checked with people who had booths at swap meets and shows before making mine. They all said they didn't have them, then said the reason was due to to the same thing my son said, need the resistor for each bulb for 6 volt systems. So.........thats why we made them that way and thats why they work with the standard 6 volt flasher.

That's also why the people who repop the 12 volt P15 tail lights don't make the 6 volt ones.

[Guest rockabillybassman]

Sorry.... I dont like LEDS in old cars. They're too bright, and that just looks wrong to me. Nothing wrong with incandescant bulbs if they're earthed properly. The trouble with 6V bulbs not glowing strong enough can easily be rectified by running an earth wire to the back of the car. I used to do this back in the day with 6V systems. I used to run earth wires to ALL lamps, worked a treat.

[Norm's Coupe]

Sorry.... I dont like LEDS in old cars. They're too bright, and that just looks wrong to me. Nothing wrong with incandescant bulbs if they're earthed properly. The trouble with 6V bulbs not glowing strong enough can easily be rectified by running an earth wire to the back of the car. I used to do this back in the day with 6V systems. I used to run earth wires to ALL lamps, worked a treat.

I agree. I still have the regular bulbs in the original tail lights/stop lights and turn signals on the rear (don't have an extra earth wire). My LED stop/turn signal lights are extra ones. Converted my backup lights to work as extras and they are the ones that are LED. The backup lights still have the clear lens in them and the bulbs are clear until they light up, then they turn red.

Originally I had thought my regular tail lights were not bright enough. That's why I converted the backup lights for extra stop/turn signals. However, prior to backup light conversion I was always checking the lights with the engine off and didn't think they were bright enough. Was only after the conversion of the backup lights that I looked at the lights with the engine running. Then they were brighter and bright enough. But, the extra lights light up does get peoples attention faster, so I left the LED's in the backup lights.

[TodFitch]

Frank,

Sorry about that link. Here it is again in a form that will work for you.

https://www.superbrightleds.com

Let me know if this doesn't work.

What amazes me here is that these are NOT polarity sensitive, AND they recommend RED led's behind RED lenses. Guess I don't understand everything I know about this issue yet . . .

Red behind red lens makes sense to me: The red lens filters out all colors except red so your "white" LED lamp will not get a lot of photons through the lens.

As to being insensitive to polarity: I guess they must have another couple of diodes in there to act as a bridge rectifier and that the LEDs are electrically isolated from the base and contact(s).

[55 Fargo]

Were do you need to run the grounds from, can you tell me how to dothis..............Fred

Sorry.... I dont like LEDS in old cars. They're too bright, and that just looks wrong to me. Nothing wrong with incandescant bulbs if they're earthed properly. The trouble with 6V bulbs not glowing strong enough can easily be rectified by running an earth wire to the back of the car. I used to do this back in the day with 6V systems. I used to run earth wires to ALL lamps, worked a treat.

[greg g]

Fred, automotive electrical systems usually run one wire to the load. the circuit is completed by part of the load connecting to the body or frame which acts as the return path. In the case of a rear lamp;

wire to bulb socket,

bulb socket to bulb terminal

to element,

to base of bulb

to bulb mounting socket or clip

to tail light bezel or like a p15 the socket to the body

to body

to frame

to engine

through engine ground strap

to battery

So at any of those places that is not the bulb and the wire, there is a ground circuit connection, and if there is resistance at any of them you decrease the effectiveness of the ground and the birghtness of the bulb.

So the most effective way would be to attach a wire with a selftapping screw to the spring clip that holds the bulb socket assembly to the tail light hole in the body. and then connect that wire to the frame.

or where the socket is attached to the body of the light fixture,from one of the fizture mounting studs to the body usually where there is already a screw or bolt that you can attach the other end of the wire to. this lead then becomes the ground as electricity takes the path of least resistance. Depending on the bezel stud in most cases is fine except where people have added gasket material, rechromed the bezels and painted or under coated the car where the studs go through the body, as the paint and under coating may prevent metal to metal contact and the effectivnes of the ground. You may also want to add a ground strap between the firewall and the frame or the fire wall and the engine block, as this will take care of any problem areas where the body sits on the frame. Also you might want to give the bulb sockets a slight squeeze with a pair of channel lock pliers to assure a good connection between the body of the bulb and the lamp socket as this is where the ground circuit starts.

To test, use your battery charger of make up some jumper wire from the battery hold one against the body of the bulb, and touch the other to the bulbs element terminals. If the bulb is any less bright when mounted in the car you have a grounding issue. Asuuming of course you have a good connection from the wire to the bulb in the socket.

[chesterx]

Added a 2ohm 50w resistor in parrallel with each of the2 front lamps and the flasher works just fine now.

[Norm's Coupe]

Added a 2ohm 50w resistor in parrallel with each of the2 front lamps and the flasher works just fine now.

Glad the resistor worked for you. Wasn't sure if it would work with the kind of bulbs you had. Nice to know it works with them too. Cheap fix to a major problem.