electrical and ignition How many people are manufacturing LED tail light conversions ?

[Road trip]

Post title says it all

[AceAndrew]

1 or 2

[vinntagejoe]

just use LED bulbs, readily available at your local AUTOZONE or O Reilly's - sweet like candy.

 

(or go to super bright LEDS: https://www.superbrightleds.com/ )

Edited May 3, 2016 by vinntagejoe
added comment

[tomphot]

Check this guy out - love them!

http://classicautoleds.com/

[Road trip]

34 minutes ago, tomphot said:

Check this guy out - love them!

http://classicautoleds.com/

This is what I had in mind

i just didn't know if there where 

several

[jrhone]

1 hour ago, tomphot said:

Check this guy out - love them!

http://classicautoleds.com/

 

Can you swap out single LEDs?  My reservations are what if one part burns out 4 years down the road, do I have to buy an entire system?  Seems like replacing each bulb with an LED equivalent would be cheaper and if you are in a jam somewhere you can swap in a standard bulb in a pinch. I'm sure these LED panels will be brighter but I always look at worse case scenarios. 

[vinntagejoe]

................i had the same thoughts; so I swapped the bulbs in my: parking lights / stop lights / license plate lights / rear side markers / dome lights for LEDS. I'm happy makes a huge diff (in my opinion).

[wegweiser]

I'm new to the concept of LEDs, but might consider them for the brake lights. Can these just be installed without any mods, or do I need some kind of ballast thingus installed in the car, as well? Sorry for being too lazy to use the search function. I'm tired.

 

These?

 

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/67-led-bulb-15-led-forward-firing-cluster-ba15s-retrofit-car/169/#/tab/Specifications

[roadhog0]

The problem with the style you linked Paul is that they don't scatter the light so all you get is a round dot in your tail light instead of a whole glow like the incandescent bulb gives. For retrofits you need something that fires in a all directions. I personally haven't been all that impressed with the ones that I have tried.

[wegweiser]

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you! 

 

Is it worth trying one for $5-10? More importantly: Will I need to modify the wiring on the car to test one out?

[roadhog0]

You may need a resistor to make your flasher work right if you're using the original BMW one and not a later digital one. I would look at a bulb like one of these two.

 

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/1156-led-bulb-45-smd-led-tower-ba15s-retrofit-car/526/

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/1156-led-bulb-27-smd-led-tower-ba15s-retrofit/2622/

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/1156-led-bulb-18-smd-led-tower-ba15s-retrofit-car/163/#/tab/Specifications

[arminyack]

13 minutes ago, wegweiser said:

I'm new to the concept of LEDs, but might consider them for the brake lights. Can these just be installed without any mods, or do I need some kind of ballast thingus installed in the car, as well? Sorry for being too lazy to use the search function. I'm tired.

 

These?

 

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/67-led-bulb-15-led-forward-firing-cluster-ba15s-retrofit-car/169/#/tab/Specifications

I bought those.....they SUCK. Don't buy them. I just bought another set to test...

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/371579558978?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

stay tuned.

Edited May 4, 2016 by arminyack

[wegweiser]

I'd only install them in the brake lights….but since mine's a round tail light car… size becomes a major issue, I suspect. Most of these "better" ones look super tall. Hrmmm…. until then, I'll hook up my retro 70's era 5" rear Hella fog light, and strap it to the bumper. 

[Road trip]

26 minutes ago, vinntagejoe said:

................i had the same thoughts; so I swapped the bulbs in my: parking lights / stop lights / license plate lights / rear side markers / dome lights for LEDS. I'm happy makes a huge diff (in my opinion).

What was your source for the bulbs ?

[vinntagejoe]

source = super bright LEDS: https://www.superbrightleds.com/ 

 

Local auto parts stored have started carrying some sizes as well, I bought my dome light at O Reilly's; bulbs can be kind of pricey but like jrhone stated I can easily switch back to regular bulbs.