LED Marker Light Upgrade

[MFalkinham]

I finally got sick of the burned-out OEM markers on my dually fenders, and bought new LED markers from www.led-r-us.com based upon a TDR member recommendation. I installed the markers today, and they turned out really well. It will be nice to have lights that only burn out every 100,000 hours, and are much more visible at a distance. Cost for 2 amber (#1274A), 2 red (#1274R) and 4 base plates (#12611) with shipping was around $46.



- Mike



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["Mad Max"]

Mike, that is sweet dude. I have to redo mine anyways, and LED's are so much more visible. My trailer is all LEDs and I can't believe how clear and brilliant they are. Is there any way to convert the whole truck? SUre be a lot less strain on the electrical system if it was all LED.

- Sam

 

[MOverton]

Those look good. Has anyone ever seen the marker lights on top of the cab in LEDs?

 

[MFalkinham]

I was thinking the same thing regarding the cab clearance lights. I'd rather not replace the entire unit, as I kinda like the OEM styling, so does anyone know if they take a standard 194 wedge style bulb? If so, check out the WLED-6 for sale at http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=CAR. They are pricey at $3. 59 each, and the site does say they aren't necessarily brighter than a filament bulb. LED's light output is very directional by design. My new markers are extremely bright when viewed from certain angles, but just average brightness from others.



- Mike

 

[DKasper]

I've got the same one's Mike has -- I second his comments - they are great!



Just FYI, if your bases are still good -- mine were, the connections were just corroded beyond belief -- these lights will fit fine in the factory bases.



You can also get pigtails from this place too if you have to splice in new connectors. Need I say it? Dielectric grease is our friend!! Use and your connections will stay nice. Get the tube, not the spray.



I've looked at some of the replacements for the top cab markers and found them to be pretty pricey -- about $15 for the ones that look like they would be bright enough. I'm going to wait on those -- I'm doing my trailer next!



Dave

 

[MFalkinham]

Dave is absolutely right about the old bases fitting these new lights. One advantage to using the new bases ($2. 95 each) is that they come with a rubber socket recepticle that is designed to fit together with this new base and is secured down tight. In my opinion, this provides a tighter seal with the light to keep moisture out of this connection. My stock pigtail connectors were not secured to the base at all, and vibration resulted in a gap for moisture to work in and the resulting corrosion to start.



Power is provided by a black pigtail. The ground is a flat copper lead to one of the base mounting holes. I drilled an additional hole through the base to allow a ground wire to fasten to this same screw, and then soldered the feed wires to the leads. Once everything was secure, I used clear silicone sealant to cover the ground wire connection, inside of the fender hole, and along the top of the light to keep the water out.



- Mike



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[DKasper]

Good point on the sealing ability of the base -- that's a big plus. I like the soldering idea as well!



I did have another brand of LED marker light go out once -- it looked like it got water inside the case, so anything that can be done to seal them up sounds like a good thing!



Dave