Lighting Upgrades

[Gsmblue]

I have posted it elsewhere, but I will make the comment here.

I have the Hella reflectors paired with the Philips "150% racing bulbs" and the HD wiring harness from LMC.

I got the hella reflectors from the halogen thread:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002M9QRE/?tag=2402507-20

And I got lazy on the bulbs so went with these:

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-RacingVision-Headlight-12342RVS2-Upgrade/dp/B01LYNVQBC/ref=sr_1_2?crid=9LGMIOO5HGYR&dchild=1&keywords=philips+h4&qid=1603774238&s=automotive&sprefix=Philips+h%2Cautomotive%2C234&sr=1-2

This combination, now everything has been aligned, exceeds my expectations. The low beam is nice and wide with a good cut off, the high beam has great reach.

The video I took on my iPhone is worthless unfortunately, with no control over the exposure settings it is impossible to use the phone for this stuff. If people really want to see what it looks like I could get my DSLR out and put it on the dash and take some video.

Here is the video:

[kramttocs]

Here is the video:

Did the bulb that came with it (the Hella) not work very well?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Did the bulb that came with it (the Hella) not work very well?

I think Dr.Stern pointed out that most bulbs on the market use filaments that never heat to a bright white.

Thicker wire or less resistive material makes for a longer lasting bulb, but an orange glow.

Also imagine that most of these bulbs are called 12V, but in everyday use they might see voltages right up to 15.

Any time you burn the candle brighter, you burn it faster as well.

[Gsmblue]

Did the bulb that came with it (the Hella) not work very well?

I didn't realize they were going to come with bulbs, so I put those aside and went straight with the Philips.

[kramttocs]

I didn't realize they were going to come with bulbs, so I put those aside and went straight with the Philips.

Gotcha. Tempted to try these. In daylight (lights off) how do they look aesthetically compared to the stock sealed style?

David - you still liking these?

[1986F150Six]

David - you still liking these?

Scott, if you are asking me, the Hellas with their supplied bulbs and the headlight relay system work great.

[kramttocs]

David - you still liking these?

Scott, if you are asking me, the Hellas with their supplied bulbs and the headlight relay system work great.

Thanks - yep, you're the guy

I see daylight photos were added here so thanks, gsmblue, for that.

http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/1982-Bronco-351-4x4-Code-name-Esperanza-tp9221p78254.html

As far as retaining the factory look, these look good.

[Angelo Voltura]

Day-Time Running Lights: According to Daniel "Daytime running lights significantly reduce your risk of being in a crash during the daytime, and are required equipment in Canada, throughout Europe, and in a large and growing number of other countries throughout the world because they are a very cost-effective safety device (i.e., they work). You can easily enable this functionality in your vehicle using a DRL-1 module ($59); see http://dastern.torque.net/Mods/DRL/DRL1.html for instructions and demonstration videos. This is the best way to put a daytime running light function on a vehicle not originally equipped (or which has had its headlamp-based DRLs disabled for installation of headlight relays). The module enables the steady-burning operation of both front directional signals as daytime running lights (except, of course, when you're signalling for a turn). They produce a light distribution with a wide view angle, are generally well located for DRL service at the outboard edges of the front of the vehicle, consume considerably less power than any headlamp-based DRL implementation, use light sources of generally much longer life than a headlight bulb, do not encourage improper nighttime use of lights, and do not require additional lighting devices to be added.

Interesting read on the DRL's. As a Canadian, I'm quite used to them...but from what I've read on forums over the years, I thought they were generally disliked (and even detested) in America....kinda like the Metric system...lol. Just kiddin' guys.

The little DRL conversion modules are common...I've installed a few of them over the years. I've imported several vehicles from the US into Canada, and one of the requirements to pass the RIV inspection is to have daytime running lights (within 45 days of import), among other things.

This is an anecdotal story I know, but a couple years ago, I installed a set of Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited bulbs in my car, and decided to disable the DRL's to improve the bulb lifespan. Well, I noticed that cars seemed to be pulling out in front of me more often. It was noticeable. Anyway, I sold that car and I'm back to my DRL's now, and I'm just going to leave them intact.

Oddly though, my old '84 Bullnose has daytime running lights, and I was planning on disabling them...I've just been too lazy to look in the wiring diagram to see where I had to do it.

Gary, in my 1979 I did the clear lenses with removable H4 bulbs. I chose the ones with reflectors, however they do make projector housings which you can combine with HID bulbs. Combined with high wattage H4 bulbs and a relay harness, as long as you buy quality housings like Hella or KC, you won't have aiming issues and I can promise you that you will NOT need any more lighting.

I was kind of a guinea pig and experimented with LEDs etc. HIDs I tended to have issues with them as far as ballast resistors burning out, taking a while to warm up to actually turn on and produce the correct color temperature, and the initial buy in expense and cost of bulbs was off putting to me. LEDs tended to be alright as long as they had "CREE" brand diodes/chips. The only issues I had with those was on cheaper bulbs the cooling fans would burn out causing the diodes to overheat and periodically cut out. I was impressed with LED lights in clear/fair weather as far as brightness and throw distance (who doesn't like seeing clear across a 100 acre field), but in heavy snow or rain the glare was extremely reflective back at myself, and difficult to see; almost blinding in heavy snow itself, akin to "Star Wars" hyper-drive into space.

I find that color temperature makes more of a difference that actual brightness, and that throw is more relative to how well they are aimed more than actual wattage. 3k bulbs with their amber color tend to be clearer in bad weather but don't throw as far. The opposite occurs as you increase color temp range. You will still have excellent lighting with 55/65w H4 bulbs, but my personal preference was the higher wattage, just make sure you have the harness upgrade, because they draw a good amount of amperage and produce a good amount of heat, which isn't a bad thing if you drive in the winter months as it will melt the snow. I'm sure you know the relay harness in itself is an excellent upgrade even for standard sealed beams.

This was my experience with them and honestly, save for aftermarket light bars or any aftermarket lighting, I'm extremely impressed overall and as someone who drives many, many late model vehicles daily for work, I would say the light output, visibility and oncoming driver safety is actually far better than current models, which is saying something.

[Rusty_S85]

Jim - You are right that he wasn't very explicit on length of life. But it isn't $212 for the bulbs. Instead it is $43 bulbs and $168 for the headlights themselves. I think I'm going to give both of them a try. I don't do much night driving so the bulbs may last plenty long enough for me.

351FUN - I'm glad that the Rigid headlights are working out for you. I don't doubt that at all as Rigid has an excellent reputation. But I don't consider them "normal" or "halogen looking" headlights, and I want my headlights to look like the ones that came out on these trucks. The pic below from the Amazon page shows they don't look like the standard headlights.

That's just a personal choice, and that limits me to halogen headlights as Daniel Stern doesn't think anyone is going to come up with approved LED headlights that look like halogen. (Note that LED bulbs in a headlight made for a halogen bulb will not work properly due to the geometry involved.)

So you probably have better lighting than I'll have, but I'll have the looks that I want with improved lighting over what I have now.

http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/file/n85147/81fWWZ06tRL.jpg

Eastwood had a post for a 7" round LED headlight that had simulated ribbing to emulate 60s-70s headlights, it wasnt very convicing but better than perfectly smooth clear housings. How ever this post that I screenshot on Oct 7 was from 2018 and it has not been made and no more word from Eastwood about it and the post just disappeared.

I do believe a diffused housing would be produced one day for the older vehicles for restorations sort of like how Coker eventually made a bias look radial tire so people could have the best of both worlds, period look tires but modern composition and construction.

Aside from that, I dont know if my housings are still fine I havent even really looked but I bought the ECE Hella composite housings for my truck and I used the Silverstar Ultra bulbs and it was great, just wasnt too great being the ECE design as it didnt really light up the overhead signs but it did put a lot of light on the ground. Below are some photos of my setup when new. I did have to get new housings as my first set of housings were hazy out of the box and didnt pay much attention to them and it got worse by year 2.

Photo showing the design of the ECE Composite housings from Hella that I have

Low beam at dusk with Silverstar Ultra H4 bulbs

High beam at dusk with Silverstar Ultra H4 bulbs

High beam at dusk with Silverstar Ultra H4 bulbs and KC Apollo 6" 100w driving lights

Im going to stick with this layout and eventually if I can verify fitment of the Go Rhino roll bar I want to add two more pairs of KC hallogen lights, preferably two 100w spots and two 100w floods with the floods being on the outboard sides and spots in the middle.

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - You are right that he wasn't very explicit on length of life. But it isn't $212 for the bulbs. Instead it is $43 bulbs and $168 for the headlights themselves. I think I'm going to give both of them a try. I don't do much night driving so the bulbs may last plenty long enough for me.

351FUN - I'm glad that the Rigid headlights are working out for you. I don't doubt that at all as Rigid has an excellent reputation. But I don't consider them "normal" or "halogen looking" headlights, and I want my headlights to look like the ones that came out on these trucks. The pic below from the Amazon page shows they don't look like the standard headlights.

That's just a personal choice, and that limits me to halogen headlights as Daniel Stern doesn't think anyone is going to come up with approved LED headlights that look like halogen. (Note that LED bulbs in a headlight made for a halogen bulb will not work properly due to the geometry involved.)

So you probably have better lighting than I'll have, but I'll have the looks that I want with improved lighting over what I have now.

http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/file/n85147/81fWWZ06tRL.jpg

Eastwood had a post for a 7" round LED headlight that had simulated ribbing to emulate 60s-70s headlights, it wasnt very convicing but better than perfectly smooth clear housings. How ever this post that I screenshot on Oct 7 was from 2018 and it has not been made and no more word from Eastwood about it and the post just disappeared.

I do believe a diffused housing would be produced one day for the older vehicles for restorations sort of like how Coker eventually made a bias look radial tire so people could have the best of both worlds, period look tires but modern composition and construction.

Aside from that, I dont know if my housings are still fine I havent even really looked but I bought the ECE Hella composite housings for my truck and I used the Silverstar Ultra bulbs and it was great, just wasnt too great being the ECE design as it didnt really light up the overhead signs but it did put a lot of light on the ground. Below are some photos of my setup when new. I did have to get new housings as my first set of housings were hazy out of the box and didnt pay much attention to them and it got worse by year 2.

Photo showing the design of the ECE Composite housings from Hella that I have

Low beam at dusk with Silverstar Ultra H4 bulbs

High beam at dusk with Silverstar Ultra H4 bulbs

High beam at dusk with Silverstar Ultra H4 bulbs and KC Apollo 6" 100w driving lights

Im going to stick with this layout and eventually if I can verify fitment of the Go Rhino roll bar I want to add two more pairs of KC hallogen lights, preferably two 100w spots and two 100w floods with the floods being on the outboard sides and spots in the middle.

Well, I realized recently that it has been almost a year since I asked Daniel Stern, of Daniel Stern Lighting, to tell me about the latest in retrofit automotive lighting. His response is below, and is both very informative as well as lengthy. And much of it is the same or similar to previous responses, but there is enough new info to make it a good read.

And I can see that I'm going to be spending $179 + 43.18 = $222.18 or more with Daniel in the near future.

Hiya, Gary. Good to see from you. Some of this info you already know,

but I'm sending it all in one go so you have it all in one place:

The very best replaceable-bulb (H4) headlamps in the 200mm × 142mm

(large rectangular) size you need are made in Japan by Koito, one of the

top three makers of lighting equipment for the world's automakers. These

are the most efficient (greatest amount of light on the road), best

focused (most useful distribution of light), best-built (sturdiest glass

and metal materials, most careful build quality) lamps of their type in

this size. They are in stock, and cost $179/pair; pic is attached.

There's a great deal of junk on the market, too. Delta, Roundeyes,

Adjure, Eagle Eye, Rampage, Eaglite, Maxtel, Eurolite, Pilot, Neolite,

Autopal, and dozens of other off-brand, poorly-made headlite-shaped

trinkets. You're wise to steer clear of it all.

The Hella lamp in this size is quite inefficient on low beam, which

means inadequate, short seeing distance, and it has an obnoxious focus

issue of excessive vertical distance between the low and high beam: if

the lows are aimed where they should be, the highs are up in the trees,

but if you put the highs dead-ahead as they ought to be, the lows are

shortly in front of your front bumper. The Koito lamps do not have this

irritating issue.

*Wiring*

You will definitely want to put in headlamp relays to take the workload

off the switches and bring full power to the lamps. The concept is

explained at http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

; in a nutshell it's because the car's existing wiring was designed to

be adequate for the original low-power lamps when everything was new,

and it doesn't improve with age. This can be achieved in a couple of

different ways of varying cost and difficulty. One way is with a relay

install kit RIK-2, $69.

The RIK includes all the needed relays, brackets, terminal blocks,

terminals, plugs, sockets, fuses and fuseholders, all in very fine

quality (not the "consumer grade" junk you can find at the parts store).

You supply your own wire (or your mechanic does) and use the parts from

the kit to build up your own wiring harness.

Or, I can have my harness builder custom build you a ready-to-install

harness assembly using the same high-grade components that go in my

build-it-yourself parts kits. Cost for this option is $199 (including

parts and build). It costs more than the cheap, failure-prone prefab

harnesses because it is not a cheap, failure-prone prefab harness.

Or, the sweet spot: I've got built-up, install-ready harnesses for

2-lamp vehicles like yours for just $99 (that's $100 less than

custom-built). These are quite nice (they easily pass the "would I use

it on my own car at night in the mountains" test), and they're a whole

lot better and more dependable than the poor-quality junk that's all

over the internet for about the same price. These are very nicely made

with name-brand high-current relays, splashproof fuseholders, quality

terminals and sockets and plugs, 14-gauge wire, etc. The only thing you

don't get is custom-tailored wire lengths. You won't have a "tuff luck,

won't reach" situation, but you might wind up tucking some extra cable

length neatly out of the way, or routing the cable under rather than

over the radiator (for example) to take up some extra length.

With either of the harnesses, installation is simple: you run the marked

wires to battery positive and to battery negative, snap the harness plug

onto one of the vehicle's original headlamp sockets, snap the harness

sockets onto the headlamps, mount the relays (they have an easy mounting

tab for a bolt or screw) and secure the cable runs and relays neatly out

of harm's way.

Either way, parts kit or built-up harness, the in-car switches continue

working normally, and you will not need to cut or otherwise disturb any

of the vehicle's original wires.

*Bulbs*

Bulb selection matters a _lot_ to how well you can (or can't) see at

night. Please see bulb test results posted by my colleague Virgil at

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?392498-Interesting-headlight-bulb-test-results

. Note the performance difference, especially on low beam, between the

standard bulb (bulb "A") and the high-efficacy bulb (bulb "C"). The

current best pick in 60/55w bulbs is made by Tungsram (GE of Europe);

it is a +120 item that is a few developmental iterations improved over

the +80/+90 bulb "C" in the linked comparison. I keep them in stock for

$43.18/pair. With relays in the system it's tempting to grab for big

wattage numbers (100/90, etc), but for a good collection of sturdy

reasons it's usually counterproductive at best; more info on request.

Important note: any of the bulbs claiming to produce "extra white" light

(or super white, hyper white, platinum white, metal white, xenon white,

etc) as its main promotional "benefit" is best avoided. It doesn't

matter whose name is on the bulb -- Sylvania SilverStar/Ultra or ZxE,

Philips BlueVision or CrystalVision, Wagner TruView, anything from PIAA

or Hoen,, Nokya, Polarg, etc. -- all the same scam. They have a

blue-tinted glass, which changes the light color a little, but blocks

light that would reach the road if the glass weren't tinted, so they

give you _less_ light than ordinary bulbs (not more). To get

legal-minimum levels of light through the blue glass, the filament has

to be driven very hard so these bulbs have a very short lifespan, and

there's nothing about the tinted light that improves your ability to see

-- the opposite is true (less light = less seeing, no matter about the

tint). Sylvania got spanked (see

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?388252-Sylvania-taken-to-task-for-their-false-claims-of-headlamp-superiority

) to the tune of thirty million dollars(!) for false "upgrade" claims

on their Silver Star bulbs -- and theirs are among the least-bad of an

overall bad product category, so the math kind of does itself.

*LED headlamps:*

The "LED bulbs" now flooding the market, claiming to convert halogen

headlamps to LED, are not a legitimate, safe, effective, or legal

product. No matter whose name is on them or what the vendor claims,

these are a fraudulent scam. They are not capable of producing the right

amounts of light, nor producing it in the right pattern for the lamp's

optics to work. Same goes for "HID kits" in halogen-bulb headlamps or

fog/auxiliary lamps (any kit, any lamp, any vehicle no matter whether

it's a car, truck, motorcycle, etc.). They do not work safely or

effectively, which is why they are illegal. Legitimate LED headlamps do

not use a replaceable light source ("LED bulb").

If you wish more detailed info on these so-called "conversions", please

see

https://jalopnik.com/why-most-led-headlight-upgrades-dont-really-work-an-ex-1843070472

and

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

. Nutshell version: this is not like trying out different bulbs in the

kitchen or living room or garage, where all it has to do is light up in

a way you find adequate and pleasing. Headlamps aren't just flood or

spot lights; they are precision optical instruments (yes, even a cheap

and minimal headlamp counts as a precision optical instrument) that have

a complex, difficult job to do in terms of simultaneously putting light

where it's needed, keeping it away from where it's harmful, and

controlling the amounts of light at numerous locations within the beam

to appropriate levels (too much light in certain areas is just as

dangerous as not enough). Headlamps cannot just spray out a random blob

of light, and that's what they do with anything other than the intended

correct kind of light source.

And there's also a mountain of unsafe junk in the form of trinkets

claiming to be complete "LED headlamps", as well. But there's a number

of engineered LED headlamps on the market -- they range in quality and

performance from pathetic to excellent. The best of them all is the JW

Speaker item in chrome

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077S6TZSG/?tag=2402507-20 or in black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0784NV3FK/?tag=2402507-20 . These are *not*

advisable if you do a lot of wintertime driving with heavy snow and

slush; the LED headlamp lenses run cold so snow and ice build up on them

instead of melting off like they do from a warm halogen lamp lens. There

is now a heated-lens version of the JW Speaker lamp to address this

issue; they, too, come in chrome:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0784PRXJM/?tag=2402507-20

or in black:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078C4WXTV/?tag=2402507-20

About the only other LED headlamps I'd point you at would be these

(specific) Truck-Lites:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081S922ZC/?tag=2402507-20 (heated lens).

You'll be shown a whackload of "Products like this" or "I bought these

for way cheaper"—all complete junk, do not buy.

Assuming your truck's wiring is in good shape, a relay harness isn't

needed or beneficial with LED headlamps.

*Lamp aim:*

Lamp aim is by far the main thing that determines how well you can (or

can't) see at night with any given set of lamps, so this is crucial: you

will need to see to it that the lamps are aimed carefully and correctly;

Koito halogen lamps per the "VOL" instructions; or JW Speaker LED lamps

per "VOR", or heated Truck-Lite LEDs per "older US lamps" as described

at http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html .

Whichever headlamp option you choose, result of this upgrade will be

modern-car levels of headlamp performance: broad, even, bright white—not

brownish or bluish—well-focused low and high beams instead of the dim,

narrow tunnel of brownish light from the original sealed beams. Also

total elimination of backscatter in rain/fog/snow. Modern cars have a

range of headlamp performance; your headlamp selection determines how

high in that range your upgrade will get you.

*Fog lamps:*

Even very good fog lamps (which do exist, but aren't very common) are of

almost no use to most drivers in most conditions, but "most" doesn't

mean "all"; there are certainly plenty of places where _legitimate_ fog

lamps, installed and used thoughtfully, can be a big help. Please see

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/fog_lamps/fog_lamps.html

for thorough information about what fog lamps will/won't and can/can't do.

_Daytime running lights:_

Daytime running lights—legitimate ones, configured appropriately for

automatic operation—are good to have. They significantly reduce your

risk of being in a crash during the daytime, and are required equipment

in Canada, throughout Europe, and in a large and growing number of other

countries throughout the world because they are a very cost-effective

safety device (i.e., they work). You can easily enable them in your

vehicle using a DRL-1 module ($59); see

http://dastern.torque.net/Mods/DRL/DRL1.html for instructions and

demonstration videos. This is the best way to put a daytime running

light function on a vehicle not originally equipped (or which has had

its headlamp-based DRLs disabled for installation of headlight relays).

The module enables the steady-burning operation of both front

directional signals as daytime running lights (except, of course, when

you're signalling for a turn). They produce a light distribution with a

wide view angle, are generally well located for DRL service at the

outboard edges of the front of the vehicle, consume considerably less

power than any headlamp-based DRL implementation, use light sources of

generally much longer life than a headlight bulb, do not encourage

improper nighttime use of lights, and do not require additional lighting

devices to be added. A large variety of vehicles from a wide array of

makers use this kind of DRL as original equipment. It is steady-lit

operation of the bright amber turn signals (except when they are

flashing to signal a turn) -- it is not steady operation of the dim

parking lamps; parking lights are not bright enough and don't have the

right view angles to serve the daytime running light function. Turn

signal DRLs comply with US and Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

#108 and are approved in all states, provinces, and territories.

_Other upgrades:_

Can safely make your front sidemarker lights 3× brighter for safer

all-around visibility of the vehicle with direct-swap bulbs, $9.18/pair.

Your turn signals are presently invisible from the side, but there is an

easy modification you can make to the front side marker lights' hookup

so that they do double-duty as side markers _and_ side turn signal

flashers, see

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/markerflash/markerflash.html .

This is a very good safety improvement, as your turn signals become

visible to the side (cars in the next lane, bicyclists, pedestrians)

instead of just front- or rear-on. It is also fully road-legal, and the

brighter bulbs will mean your newly-activated side turn signal repeaters

are clearly visible in bright daylight, too, not just after dark.

With your two-wire side marker lights you have two options for how to do this,

both described at the link. Use the logic module method (module kit $59)

if you want the side markers always to flash in phase with the front and

rear indicators, or use the cross-feed method (no module required, just

a couple of wire connectors) if you don't mind opposite-phase flashing

of the front side marker light when the parking lamps or headlamps are

lit. Either way is legal throughout North America; elsewhere in the

world, international rules do not permit opposite-phase flashing.

When installing things like daytime running lights and sidemarker

flashing, It's best not to use the fold-over-and-crunch "Scotchlok" type

taps. Much better, more durably trouble-free result if you use

Posi-Taps, http://www.allpar.com/reviews/other/posi-tap.html . I don't

carry them, but if you'll get this assortment, you'll surely find uses

for them (they're one of those products that you buy for a particular

project, but then other uses for them keep popping up in front of you

once you have them): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009RPDOAM/?tag=2402507-20

The main exterior signal lamps can safely be made 45% brighter with

special high-efficiency bulbs available (only) through the Honda parts

system.

The single-filament variety with a single contact in the centre of the

bottom of the bulb's base (replacing 1076, 1141, 1156, P21W, P25-1, and

a few others—these go in your reversing lamps) is

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IFP9P4O/?tag=2402507-20 .

The dual-filament variety with two contacts side-by-side on the bottom

of the bulb's base (replacing 1034, 1157, 2057, P21/5W, P25-2, and a few

others—these go in the brake lights and front turn signals) is

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFDIN0K/?tag=2402507-20 . These only come in

clear; if you need an amber bulb because your front turn signal lenses

are also clear/colourless, use

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IY7TGQ/?tag=2402507-20 .

Another easy safety pickup: put in a new-type turn signal flasher

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P4QLLL9/?tag=2402507-20 (2-prong like

original; connect its ground wire conveniently). These have much lower

internal resistance than the original type, for brighter turn signals.

"Ew, no, I want to put LEDs in my brake lights and turn signals!"

Welll…maybe and maybe not. Here's what to know about LED retrofit bulbs

in vehicle signal lamps (brake lights, tail lights, parking lights, turn

signals, etc).

First, the quick nutshell version:

-Answer to "Will it work?" is a whole lot more complicated than is

commonly understood.

-Fundamentally different kind of light source, so unlike with filament

bulbs, physical fit doesn't guarantee optical compatibility/acceptable

performance.

-Giant mountain of unsafe junk on the market, all fraudulently hyped as

an upgrade.

-A few legitimate products that work OK in _some_ of the lamps they fit

in; important to check the actual function carefully.

-Optical compatibility isn't the only issue; there's also electrical

compatibility and thermal concerns.

Now here's the long, detailed version:

Let's start with how signal lamps (parking lamps, turn signals, side

marker lights, brake lights, tail lights, reversing lamps) have to work.

It's a lot more complicated than just "Yep, that lights up and looks

good to me". Please take a look at this post, which I wrote years ago,

in re someone who was very ambitiously making his own LED taillights for

an old Dodge Dart:

https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/66-dart-led-prototype-working-for-now.169147/#post-1635365

This info applies no matter what kind of light source we're working

with; I point you at it _not_ because I think you should go to the

use (or doesn't only use) a reflector bowl. Instead, these lamps have

Fresnel-type optics, the kind where the lens has a central magnifying

area directly in line with the filament of the installed bulb, and

spreader optics surrounding that magnifier. Often the magnifier is a

round bullseye and the spreaders are a series of round prismatic rings

surrounding the bullseye, but sometimes the magnifier is square or

rectangular and the surrounding prisms are rectilinear. The Bullnose

trucks use this kind of lamp for the front turn signals. If there's no

light directly out the front of the LED bulb, there will be minimal to

zero useful output from the lamp.

Philips used to make some LED bulbs that did have significant frontward

light, but they discontinued them and now they market two different

product families, both of which are inferior to that first family. Which

is unfortunate, but that's the world we live in.

There are the thermal issues with LED bulbs. Unlike with previous light

sources (light and heat coincident out the front of the lamp), an LED

puts out light from its front side and heat from its back side. The

light goes forward, the heat goes back. As the LED heats up, its light

output drops (it's called "droop"), so each LED must have an adequate

heat sink to carry the heat away from the emitter and prevent it heating

up high enough to drop the output low enough to put the lamp's output

below the minimum requirement. LED vehicle lamps (designed and

engineered as such) have to pass tests for output maintenance with

prolonged operation, because that's a real-world situation (stuck in

traffic with foot on the brake, tail/parking lights operating for hours

on end, etc). This is a challenging requirement for even legitimate LED

lamps, and it's a really difficult challenge for such a thing as an LED

bulb, because there's a very limited amount of space for any heat

sinking, and all of it's going to be inside the lamp there with the

heat-emitting LEDs—there's no way to use outside air to cool the LEDs

unless you have a big honkin' rear housing on the LED bulb. There are

some out there like this, and they create physical-fit problems (not

enough room behind the lamp for the big honkin' housing) and other

issues related to improper fit in the bulb hole.

Finally, there's another matter that affects the compatibility of LED

bulbs with lamps designed to use filament bulbs: most white LED bulbs

are high-CCT ("cold white"), like 5000K, 6000K, or higher. That's

cold/blue-white light. These white LEDs produce very little red light.

Put such an LED behind a red lens, and you get a dim, muddy,

pinkish-brown light that's way outside the boundaries of what's

allowable as red. This is a bad idea, as we're talking about lights that

are supposed to immediately convey the vehicle's position/direction of

travel and that it's decelerating. Messing with their colour, intensity,

and light distribution makes them unable to do their job keeping you

from getting hit.

If you want to try LED bulbs in the brake lights, you can try

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A77TV4Q/?tag=2402507-20 — these are the only

ones worth trying. That "try" language is deliberate; I repeat myself:

you'll need to carefully assess the performance of these bulbs in your

particular lamps by comparing them side-by-side with the original

incandescents as reasonably well described at

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?452592-How-to-Evaluate-Safety-of-LED-Bulb-Retrofits-in-Brake-Signal-Marker-Lights

(and that new-type turn signal flasher linked above is _mandatory_

with LED bulbs).

*For items with a price quote in this email:*

If an item in this email has a price quoted, that's an item I sell

myself. To buy any of these, please use the instructions at the end of

this email.

*For items I've linked in this email:*

Any item with a link instead of a price quote, I don't sell myself

(usually because no cost-effective pipeline); kindly please order those

items via the links I provide.

*How To Order:*

_I need your phone number for the shipping documents. Please send me

your phone number with your payment._

My credit card processing provider is a small business working hard to

do right by their employees, so I'm trying to give them as much biz as

possible vs. PayPal, but the choice is yours.

Orders may be sent via e-mail. You may also voicemail or fax your order

to my secure toll-free recorded order line on 1-866-861-8668.

All items ship from Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Georgia, USA. We use the

Postal Service or UPS for most shipments within the US; occasionally

FedEx. We use the Postal Service for shipments outside the US, including

Canada. If you wish other shipping arrangements, please ask and I'll do

my best to accommodate you.

Please also state whether your package may be left at your doorstep if

you are not available to accept and sign for it in person, though be

advised PayPal and most credit card processors (including mine) require

signed delivery for shipments over a certain value; waiving the

signature waives all buyer and seller protection for the transaction.

*Here's what I need to know from you:*

- What items you wish to purchase,

- What vehicle(s) the parts are to be installed on,

- The address where you want the items shipped -- if you pay by PayPal,

I must ship to the address that comes with your payment, so please

double-check to make sure you've selected the correct address when you

pay the PayPal invoice. If you find you've made an error on that, let me

know ASAP so I can cancel the payment and we can do it again with the

correct address.

- Your telephone number

- Any special shipping instructions (2nd-day, next-day, specific

carrier, require signature, etc)

*Payment Methods:*

_Credit Card:_

I accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express cards. Orders

are processed securely -- my card processing services are provided by

Gravity Payments, based in the United States, and customer card info is

never retained after processing your order.

Here's what I need to process a credit card order:

-Card number

-Expiry date

-CVV code (last group of 3 or 4 digits on back of card)

-Your name as it appears on the card

-Billing address

-Phone number

_PayPal:_

Once you tell me what you'd like to order and where I'll be sending it,

I will generate and send you a PayPal invoice from which to pay. Please

don't attempt to pay by PayPal until you have received a PayPal invoice

for your order. The invoice allows both you and me to easily keep track

of the order.

I look forward to receiving and filling your order.

Cheers and drive safely,

Daniel Stern (he - him - his)