| rogbell | -- 04-07-2011 @ 2:37 PM |
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Has anyone had any success in swapping out their regular 6V tail light bulbs with LED bulbs for more brightness? I have a '41 and the lights are hard to see during daylight. Does anyone even make such a bulb for tail light and stop lights? Thanks in advance for the input.
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| ford38v8 | -- 04-07-2011 @ 2:50 PM |
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Rog, LEDs are great, they use less juice and are bright as Hadees. The downside is that they are directional, and do not radiate light as do incandescant lights. That means that an LED bulb will produce one tiny bright spot on your red lens, leaving the rest of the lens dark, which is not what you want. Multiple LEDs reduce that problem, and are available for some applications now. The manufacturers are on it hot and heavy and will likely have a product we can use in the near future. Alan
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| supereal | -- 04-07-2011 @ 3:06 PM |
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LED bulbs may increase the amount of light thru the lens, but the principal problem with old car tail and stop lights is their small size. I put halogen bulbs in my '47 which were at least twice the brilliance of the incandescents, but was disappointed with the results. I opted for a bar of very bright red led's that really do the job, and wake up drivers who get way too close to our old cars in traffic. Take a look at www.brakeflasher.com
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| flatheadfan | -- 04-07-2011 @ 4:44 PM |
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Rogbell- I have used them and in my opinion they are a waste of money. The disadvantages are many. First they are very directional. Meaning, unless you are looking directly at them you don't get the full affect. It is like a rifle shooting a bullet. Unless, you are directly in line with the barrel there is no physical affect. Whereas, an incandescent bulb behaves as a shotgun. It gives a wide spray of light which is visible from several different angles. Second, the LED for stop lights require a super-sensitive brake light switch to activate. I (and others) have found the "normal" hydraulic brake switch doesn't work reliably with a replacement LED bulb on early Ford applications. Your best bet is to have a mechanical switch activated by the mechanical action of the brake pedal. Third, the bulb color is critical. If the light is going to go through a red lens (such as a stop light) the bulb color must harmonize with the lens meaning red lens require red LED. This is not a problem with the right tail light but doesn't work well on your left light which must all serve as a tail light and a license plate illuminator(Sp ?), which requires a white light. Finally, as tail lights, the lights didn't appear any brighter than my regular bulbs. The one good thing about LED is the power draw is virtually nil. This is the LED bulb source I used: http://www.superbrightleds.com/other_bulbs.htm As a "third light" this is a source I used on my Model A and my '50 pickup: http://www.jandlenterprise.com/products/products.htm Hope this helps. Tom
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| Gary M. | -- 04-07-2011 @ 6:14 PM |
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The third light bar for the back window is great . Lebaron Bonney sells them for about $60.They act as a brake light and directional . For your tail lights to appear brighter I suggest silver HVAC tape (not duct tape) in the tail light cavity to reflect those not so bright 6v incandecent bulbs . Together they allow you to maintain the original look of your tail lights and be a bit safer on the road . Its this combination that I use on my 39. I tried the LEDs in the tail lights and didnt like them and the halogens get too hot and create a hazzard . Good luck...
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| trjford8 | -- 04-07-2011 @ 7:16 PM |
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If you use the LED bulbs with the original lense you will be disappointed. Most LED lights come as a unit with the lense attached to them. The lense is specifically made for the LED light. They are much brighter when you buy the complete unit.
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| 40 Coupe | -- 04-08-2011 @ 4:48 AM |
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www.superbrightleds.com they have them 6V. There is a catch. if your present tail light bulbs have a base that has the two pins at the same level, you will have to change the light socket. These led bulbs use an 1157 style of base where one pin is closer to the bottom than the other (offset pins). The tail light lens can act as a filter and lower the apparent brightness of these bulbs, so DO NOT buy a white light emitting LED or any color except the same color as the tail light lens (RED). I have them on two cars and I like them a lot.
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| rogbell | -- 04-13-2011 @ 3:41 PM |
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I did buy 6V LEDS and they are great on my 41 as far as the tail lights are concerned. But, when applying the brakes they don't light up. There was a suggestion to use a mechanical stop light switch and I would try but don't know where to buy such a thing and how and where to connect.
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| 37RAGTOPMAN | -- 04-13-2011 @ 4:21 PM |
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You also can use reflective RED AND WHITE tape that the tractor trailers use. come in strips. about 18 inch. or in 50 ft rolls, you can mount on a piece of alumimun, with a couple of suction cups and mount on the bumper, they also have reflective plastic lenses, about 18 incn long by 1 1/2 wide,are red and white, and have holes to attach the suction cups, what about those old time license plate reflectors,? my 3 cents 37RAGTOPMAN
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| supereal | -- 04-13-2011 @ 4:59 PM |
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Changing the type of switch will not appreciably reduce the lag of LED illumination. This had been a problem of LED lighting since it's invention, particularly at low voltages. This message was edited by supereal on 4-13-11 @ 5:02 PM
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