Rear tail light LED bulbs

[seattlestiva]

Howdy - Has anyone ever tried to swap out their conventional tail light bulbs
for those multi-mini bulb LED's they sale at the McParts stores. I've always
liked the instantaniousness (?) of the LED's. I'm not sure if,electrically,they are compatible with old school curcuitry.

[Movin]

They work but you have wire in a 2 wire flasher made for led

[seattlestiva]

Did a little homework. You're right. All that's needed is a new LED bulb flasher
unit. An 8 prong plug in I think. Otherwise, it will do the rapid blink (on the turn signals) like a bulb is out - not sensing enough voltage? Interesting fact - In some respects they're not as bright as standard because they shine like a flashlight. All out the top - not all around. Your welcome:p!

[Team Lightning]

My understanding is that the LED tower bulbs work better for our cars. I have purchased LED strips from the below company but haven't tried the tower bulbs.
Tower bulbs are more expensive than the Ebay cheapies but if the light is more uniform I think they would be worth it.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Ftail-brake-turn.html

[crazyrog17]

Plug and play LED bulbs are a very hit and miss. Ebay specials are usually 'you get what you pay for' type things.

I've found a few LED pnp bulbs that I'm very, very happy with but it's taken me a few years of trial and error to land on them.

http://dx.com/1157-5w-30x5050-smd-led-car-brake-turning-signal-red-light-bulbs-pair-12v-58909

They're 5050 form factor LEDs mounted on a PCB that replicates the omnidirectional output of an incandescent bulb. It spreads the light throughout the reflector very evenly and has six emitters pointing straight back for intensity to drivers behind you.

On a Festiva, the brake light circuit and turn signal circuit do not cross. I use plug and play LEDs without trouble, no resistors or digital flashers. If you were to replace the amber lights in your turn signals, the flasher would pass much less current and hyperflash to indicate a burnt out bulb. Since the brake lights are entirely analog, meaning you only have one switch at the brake pedal and a fuse, it doesn't need any altercations to use LEDs.

[Movin]

converting the whole car to LED and HID just needs an inexpensive
electronic flasher TWO prong and a diode for the high beam indicator.
Plug in the LED and HID and its good to go. HID's are a huge improvement
at night if you stick with white colors..

[tkannegaard]

i put leds in the dash of my old ford and i love them also put them in the taillights of my motorcycle they look much brighter to me

[crazyrog17]

They probably are much brighter because LEDs only emit a specified wavelength of light. Incandescent bulbs are inefficient because they heat a wire until it glows in wavelengths from infrared through ultraviolet. The lens passes only red or amber and the rest of the wavelengths are blocked and wasted.

When the light from the LED can easily pass through the lens with no other color to be blocked, it uses faaar less current to emit light that is perceived as being just as bright or brighter. This is also a factor when purchasing LEDs; make sure you use the same color LED as the lens it has to pass through. Using a white LED behind a red lens will not appear nearly as intense as a red one would.

And although LEDs look clear or yellow, they can emit any color of light. If you care to learn how LEDs work, read on...

LEDs are diodes that drop electrons from the anode into a dish, with tiny holes in it, called the cathode. When the electrons drop in, the depth of the hole determines the wavelength of the light. Red is the easiest and cheapest color of LED to manufacture because the holes don't have to be as deep as it would for colors on the other end of the spectrum like blue and purple.

Also, the only killer of LEDs are over-voltage and heat. Resistors and heat sinks solve these problems. With LED headlights now being produced in higher end cars, they utilize water cooling and micro controlled drivers to regulate heat dissipation, current and voltage.

[htchbck]

Good info, I will probably be using yellow/amber led bulbs when/if I get my rear turn signal lenses converted to white instead of amber. Thanks!