LED's. Where to get, Which ones?

[MCummings]

Hey guys, I ruined a taillight, it fell out, and then I proceeded to run over it with the trailer I was towing. I said goodbye to my $174 Clear APC taillight.



I still have my stock lights, so I'm going to put those back on, but I am going to replace the bulbs with LED's. I know LED's don't have enough resistance for the built-in flasher to blink properly. ]



I know the lights will blink too fast if I put LED's, even if just in the rear.



I'm asking if somebody could help me out with light part numbers (style #) and if anybody knows where I might be able to get LED's with resistance built in. (I'm not looking for the low resistance, and low amperage, I'm looking for the "Look")



I've done some searching but haven't come up with anything Usefull.



TIA,

Merrick Cummings Jr

 

[MA-1]

Merrick,



Try www.kuryakyn.com. They sell a load balancing kit that operates with their LED systems for Harley Davidsons. They operate correctly on the bikes, and they are 12v systems, so I can't see why they wouldnt work in other applications. Might be worth a look.



Rich

 

[Chipstien]

I haven't seen a LED light that works as well as a stock bulb yet. The reason is a taillight is design to relect light from the bulb. LED bulbs that I have seen point all the LED's sraight back so the reflector doesn't get any light.

The results..... a red dot in the taillight that is dim. If they would make the LED lights face at the reflector then all would be good. Just a heads up.

 

[msperos]

I agree with chipstien. They look great but they do not put any light on the reflector. I have a set on one of my harley's on the front as turn signals. not enough leds to be really bright with out a reflector on the 1157 style replacments. the load equilizer idea shoud do the trick though. any harley shop has them the brand is Badland

 

[nickleinonen]

Jamstrait seem to be pretty much the best LED replacment lamp on the market. they do carry a resistor block that can be tapped in parallel with the led's to give it more load [or you can get a digital HD flasher relay] as far as i know, they do not sell direct to public from the manufacture, but there is a list of their retailers on their site under where to buy

 

[nbr1trucker]

led flasher

Hey merrick, you might try napa,ask them about their line of led's for commerical trucks, they have a inline flasher unit for the led's, if they don't, try a big truck dealer, kenworth or any other's. good luck IanOo.

 

[Midnite]

Originally posted by Chipstien

I haven't seen a LED light that works as well as a stock bulb yet. The reason is a taillight is design to relect light from the bulb. LED bulbs that I have seen point all the LED's sraight back so the reflector doesn't get any light.

I would suggest this one. As you can see, there's a layer of LEDs that shine outwards toward the reflector, as well as the array that shines straight back.



Regarding the flasher, I wouldn't mess with resistors--electronic flashers aren't that expensive and last much longer than the mechanical ones. www.waytekwire.com seems to have an electronic flashers that would work.



Mike

 

[MCummings]

Thanks guys,, I like the LEDtronics lights.



What model number are our lights on the Rams?



3157/3156?



I think the flasher cannot be replaced. If I remember correctly I read here on TDR that the "Flasher" is an integral part of the PCM. The bink rate/speed is pre-set, and if the PCM senses low-load or Light-out it blinks incredibly fast.

Maybe I should just intercept the signal going to the PCM and put a flasher there (Bypass the PCM, I could lose the dash light then maybe)?



Am I correct on this thinking guys?



Merrick Cummings Jr.

 

[JR2]

I don't know about any of it, but I do know that at $40 per bulb it will be a long time till I change over to LED's.



Like Jesse James (of westcoast choppers) says "If it don't make it go faster or stop better I don't need it".





JR2

 

[Bob4x4]

Mcummings,the flasher is not integral to the pcm,but it is electronic.



Bob

 

[MCummings]

Originally posted by Bob4x4

Mcummings,the flasher is not integral to the pcm,but it is electronic.



Bob

So does that mean I COULD change it out ?

 

[Midnite]

Originally posted by JR2

I don't know about any of it, but I do know that at $40 per bulb it will be a long time till I change over to LED's.



Like Jesse James (of westcoast choppers) says "If it don't make it go faster or stop better I don't need it".

Heheh...



That's a very good point--you can buy *lots* of incandescent bulbs for the price of one LED replacement. At current prices I don't think it would ever make sense from a money standpoint to go LED.



While I haven't replaced my stop/tail/turn bulbs with LED arrays, I did replace the "194" bulbs in my aftermarket guages, and also my cab marker lights. My main purpose for using LEDs is to reduce current flow through my headlight switch, but a side benefit is that I'll most likely never have to replace them. Considering what a pain it is to replace the ones inside the dash, those are next on my list--I REALLY REALLY want to never have to replace those again!



Mike

 

[OTRPU]

I've replaced my DOT cab lights, fender markers & rear DOT bar with LED's. Also have 4 cateye LED's each side of the sleeper. Tried replacing the front turn/running bulbs with LED's but they hyperflash. Have heard about a variable resistance flasher that's supposed to cure this. Doubt there's a direct replacement for my Ram though, pulled mine out and both turn & emergency 4 way's are on the same flasher. My electronic HD flasher's got 5 prongs on it anyway and I only find one flasher so looks like both systems use the same flasher. Anybody know if this is the case and if there is a direct replacement with greater resistance available for my vintage? I got tired of the little wire contact bulbs losing contact. DOT don't like when the lights don't light. I eat alot of bulbs, burn my lights constantly.

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Cheers,

Steve J

 

[pgleavitt]

I went and replaced all my rear tail lights with LED and found them not bright enough to my liking day or night. The place I got them from www.superbrightleds.com did have a resistance balancer to correct the fast turn signal problem. Click on LED products,click on car products and then scroll down and you will see them. I called them to see if maybe I had ordered the wrong replacements and they confirmed that LEDs would not be as bright as regular bulbs.

 

[y-knot]

I went and replaced all my lights with aftermarket LED units. It was a learn by failure situation, so I'll let you in on what I figured out.

First, LED's look great and they give a new modern appearance, but they do not work very well in stock lights. The biggest problem is tail lights and turning signals are made to reflect all of the light from a normal lamp, and direct it out. This creats a very bright signal for others to see, and works well. LED's on the other hand only immit light out from their front, and it is focused to be seen at relitivly short angels. Normal lamp emits light in a 360 degree pattern, LED's only about 90 . So there is no reflected light, and what there is is limited to almost direct veiw, not very safe for others trying to see you, esspecialy at day time. There are differant sizes of LED's, and I tried them all, this is what I found.

Tail lights are best left alone, as well as turning signals. You can not get enought light with a stock housing to be seen durring the day. Now some after amrket housings lend themselfes better to the use of LED's. Roof marker like on a dually will work with led's just have to get the 5-LED 94 lamps. Marker lights on the rear fenders and tailgate work very good with the 12 or 15-LED replacements being offered. These are the same as many trailer marker lights, and do well as a LED. If you add LED's remember they are polarity sensitive, replace on at a time and do it with the lights on. Just remove the old lamp and incert the LED, if it does not light, pullit out and turn it over. Led's draw very little current, which helps shead load from the light switch. On any turning signal where LED's are used, you will need a LOAD EQUALIZER, this simply add some resistance to the curcuit and lets the stock flasher funtion. Do you home work, there are many, many styles out now.



This is a side marker light from my 3500, this LED works very well and comes highly recomended.



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After market lights like these work better with LED's then do the stock lights

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Small self contained LED unit's like these in the front and rear bumpers works the best. The larger ones are 2 1/2" while the small ones are 2" lights. They are mounted flush and give off a very nice bright light that is visable in both daylight and night. These offer the best value, and are pretty popular now.



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[Midnite]

Originally posted by y-knot

I went and replaced all my lights with aftermarket LED units. It was a learn by failure situation, so I'll let you in on what I figured out.

First, LED's look great and they give a new modern appearance, but they do not work very well in stock lights. The biggest problem is tail lights and turning signals are made to reflect all of the light from a normal lamp, and direct it out. This creats a very bright signal for others to see, and works well. LED's on the other hand only immit light out from their front, and it is focused to be seen at relitivly short angels. Normal lamp emits light in a 360 degree pattern, LED's only about 90 .

I think it really depends on the LEDs you get. There are a *lot* of 1157 replacement LED arrays out there on the market--some are really cheap and only have 10 or so LEDs, all facing the same direction. You're absolutely correct about LEDs putting out a very narrow light beam, so with the cheap ones only having one layer all pointed in the same direction, they don't work that well.



The one I posted the link to above (which appears to have moved--the current page is: here) has a set of LEDs that shine straight out, and another layer that shine out to the sides to take advantage of the stock reflectors, for a total of 24 LEDs. If you click on the link, scroll to the bottom of the page to see how the beam would reflect.



Of course, those replacement LED arrays are about $25 a piece! I can't see spending the money to put them in my truck, but for what it's worth, they probably are the top of the line when it comes to replacement LED arrays.



Mike

 

[Chipstien]

Midnite, thats the ticket. I just wish I knew first hand how well they work.

 

[Shelby Griggs]

The Rapid Flash With LED's is about to be cured

I went through all of the normal fixes for the rapid flash 3 years ago. A member who was good at electronics finally reverse engineered a flasher and added variable resistance and I ditched all of the resistors, etc.



I had posted some threads about that 2-3 years ago. A guy from Trico / Tridon was searching here recently and ran across the old posts. Long story short we talked and I am going to be testing a new flasher for our application (1999-2002). This is the 5 pin flasher that controls both turn signals and hazard flashers. I should have this tomorrow and will promptly replace my reverse engineered one and see how it works.



This IS NOT available to the public yet, but indications are 12-24 months. Trico / Tridon is moving toward all of their flashers working with either LED or regular lamps, so the flash rate with LED's will soon be a thing of the past. The Trico / Tridon flasher is an EP27. I believe they were the OEM and are the only ones (last time I checked) that offered a replacement for the 5 pin flasher.



SHG

 

[SHobbs]

What are the part numbers for replacing the fender clearance lamps. I have looked and most suppliers have a couple of different types. I would like to do the fenders, tail gate, cab clearance and replace the ones on my running boards.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Originally posted by Shelby Griggs

I went through all of the normal fixes for the rapid flash 3 years ago. A member who was good at electronics finally reverse engineered a flasher and added variable resistance and I ditched all of the resistors, etc.



I had posted some threads about that 2-3 years ago. A guy from Trico / Tridon was searching here recently and ran across the old posts. Long story short we talked and I am going to be testing a new flasher for our application (1999-2002). This is the 5 pin flasher that controls both turn signals and hazard flashers. I should have this tomorrow and will promptly replace my reverse engineered one and see how it works.



This IS NOT available to the public yet, but indications are 12-24 months. Trico / Tridon is moving toward all of their flashers working with either LED or regular lamps, so the flash rate with LED's will soon be a thing of the past. The Trico / Tridon flasher is an EP27. I believe they were the OEM and are the only ones (last time I checked) that offered a replacement for the 5 pin flasher.



SHG

I talked to the Trico guy... .



He can't help us third gen people. We don't have a flasher. It's computer controlled.