feedback on led tail light bulbs

[wildmaninid]

I have done full led light conversions on my datsun, and everything you need is at superbrightled.com. they have the right bulbs and elec flashers too. The style of bulb you got is junk. Whatever you do, be it ebay or whatever, you want smd or chip led lights. Flatter, smaller brighter and longer lasting than the normal domed led light. With an electronic flasher you achieve twofold, no fast blinkers and no load based trigger, so they work like normal, come on faster (this was a big one, never noticed the lag time between when I flipped the lever to when the lights started flashing). Good luck! Btw beauty 510 eh!

[Shagy]

Olschool90...they look good. I still have not found a 1157 LED bulb that has a big change from running to stop. Im going to be bringing some more over with another order. This MFG I found has a lot of interesting stuff. They are who makes my 10w DRL's that I sell. Quality is great and the DRL's are freaking BRIGHT. Just need to find the right bulb now.

[Javin]

Anyone know what the voltage is for lights on and brake on? I may try something crazy later with LED strips.

[Shagy]

12v

[Javin]

12v

 

it is 12v with running lights AND when the brake is pressed? What changes to make the lights brighter?

[Shagy]

the brake lamps are 1157 bulbs...or dual filament. if you look @ the bottom of the bulb you'll see 2 round contacts. One contact is the low side (parking) and the other side is the high (brake/turn). the housing is the ground.

[oldschool90]

it is 12v with running lights AND when the brake is pressed? What changes to make the lights brighter?

 

Yes. In incandescent lightbulbs, there are two filaments. One gets hotter than the other, therefore burns brighter. In led bulbs, the difference between tail and stop is controlled by a resistor, which limits the current, making the leds dimmer for tail. When the brake lights come on, the tail light resistor is bypassed and they come on at full brightness.

[crackerjack69]

Yes. In incandescent lightbulbs, there are two filaments. One gets hotter than the other, therefore burns brighter. In led bulbs, the difference between tail and stop is controlled by a resistor, which limits the current, making the leds dimmer for tail. When the brake lights come on, the tail light resistor is bypassed and they come on at full brightness.

 

 

So is that resistor and bypass built into the LED bulb, or would you need to add them when converting?

[ajen68510]

So is that resistor and bypass built into the LED bulb, or would you need to add them when converting?

 

 

Its built in. Here is one manufacture of LED lights . wwww.V-LEDS.com

[crackerjack69]

Nice, thank you sir.

[oldschool90]

So is that resistor and bypass built into the LED bulb, or would you need to add them when converting?

I guess I should clarify. No single led can run at full 12 volts without a resistor (at least that I know of) Basically 12v power is sent through to one resistor to bring the voltage down to about 3v (about the voltage an average led uses for full brighness), and is used for the brake lights. When the running lights come on, 12v power is sent through another larger resistor,which brings the voltage down to let's say 1v. Since the led is running at 1/3 the power, it runs at a dimmer brightness.

 

So when you have the running lights on, they're running at 1v dimmed brightness, and when you step on the brake, the larger resistor is bypassed and the current flows through the smaller resistor making them run at the full 3v full brighness.

 

Hope that makes sense!

 

You can see the resistors in this pic:

 

 

[elmerfudpucker]

I have the same bulbs as the op, now my first question is what color is the bulbs? Do not use a different color of led than the lens. you will notice a difference.

[oldschool90]

I have the same bulbs as the op, now my first question is what color is the bulbs? Do not use a different color of led than the lens. you will notice a difference.

 

 

 

They look white/orange to me.