LED Lighting

[ShadowDog]

Well, I had to replace a size 168 marker lamp in the rear bumper of the car. Without going into details, it was a pain in the ass. I've never had to remove so many parts just to gain access to a lamp socket. I reviewed the other lamps for what they required for access and shook my head. Head and tail lamp housings all need to be removed just to change out a lamp. One of my rear tail lamps must have been burning hot as the filament has blackened and dimmed the light. No biggie, but I just don't want to deal with all the hassle for a third time later.

Anywho, is an LED replacement lamp worth it? Seeing as the cost is, oh, 23x the price?

I did some research on ebay to find that replacing all of my marker, signal and tail lamps would cost me roughly $150 CDN, incl. shipping and a flasher relay resistor (unknown if I need it or not).

Should I become a ricer and throw these on the car? Or should I just go, "Meh, I have half-an-hour to take apart my trunk once every couple of years."

Thoughts? Opinions? Experience? Criticism?

[loki]

i've thought about this for my rear side markers (contacts in the plugs had corroded away) so i could just replace both the plug and light .....hopefully never again after that. ?

[Intrepidation]

To change the bulbs on my car you have to remove the tail lighst and the headlight. No big deal really. Headlights are held in by two long 7mm bolts each. and the tail lights are held in by 3 plastic wing nuts.

As far as LEDs go, in theory they should last longer but i don't know.

[redtruck]

I am not sure if it is a fact or not but I was told the LED marker lights produce more heat which can damage the socket and potentially the plastic lens. Maybe someone with knowledge of them can say if this is true or not.

[Drew Dowdell]

I am not sure if it is a fact or not but I was told the LED marker lights produce more heat which can damage the socket and potentially the plastic lens. Maybe someone with knowledge of them can say if this is true or not.

I thought LEDs produce less heat.

[Paolino]

I thought LEDs produce less heat.

They do.

[z28luvr01]

LEDs produce no heat, just light. That's their main advantage over incandescent bulbs, which waste a lot of energy through heat loss.

Using LED bulbs on flasher circuits does come with a caveat, though. Because LEDs have inherently lower resistance, you'll need to change your flasher to one that's designed for LED bulbs, otherwise the bulbs will flash much too quickly.

[redtruck]

This sound more logical.

[daves87rs]

They do.

+1

[deftonesfan867]

LED's work great and look sharp.

As far as using them in sidemarkers that take small wedge bulbs, no you won't need a load equalizer.

However for applications that require parking/turn signals you will need them or they will flash to fast or not at all.

[ShadowDog]

As far as using them in sidemarkers that take small wedge bulbs, no you won't need a load equalizer.

However for applications that require parking/turn signals you will need them or they will flash to fast or not at all.

Well, they came in yesterday and I installed them all. Here are my observations:

- They're nice and bright and effective and I now hope this will allow me to never have to go through the pain in the ass of replacing a dead lamp on this car again!

- The LED flasher relay I bought with them was ineffective (no operation); however, the OEM variable-load relay works, albeit rapid-flash. The same relay operates the dual-lamp signal, or the quad-lamp hazard. I even attempted to use a low amperage variable-load relay (designed for LED lamps) however, it was also non-operational.

Solution? Well, I imagine I should install a proper diode downstream of the OEM relay in order to create more load and reduce the rapid-flash. So what do you think? Trial and error? Anyone wish to offer a clue as to what size to start with?

Oh yeah, the funny part. The shift-interlock of the car utilizes the brake pedal to take the transmission out of PARK into gear. Apparently, by replacing the eleven incandescent lamps that light up with the brakes applied with LEDs, I have removed enough load that would otherwise be required to disengage the shift-interlock. So, in other words, even with the brake applied, I can't get the car out of PARK. While I originally used the manual shift-interlock port (which normally gets used if the car happens to be on an incline and the transmission is locked in PARK), I soon discovered that by merely turning on the park lamps and applying the brakes, there is just enough load for the transmission to release out of PARK.

[Robert Hall]

Oh yeah, the funny part. The shift-interlock of the car utilizes the brake pedal to take the transmission out of PARK into gear. Apparently, by replacing the eleven incandescent lamps that light up with the brakes applied with LEDs, I have removed enough load that would otherwise be required to disengage the shift-interlock. So, in other words, even with the brake applied, I can't get the car out of PARK. While I originally used the manual shift-interlock port (which normally gets used if the car happens to be on an incline and the transmission is locked in PARK), I soon discovered that by merely turning on the park lamps and applying the brakes, there is just enough load for the transmission to release out of PARK.

Hmm...had the unintended consequence of creating an anti-theft device..

[Drew Dowdell]

pics?

[cletus8269]

been thinking of getting LED's for the impala but at the moment, i can spend $405 in better areas.

[deftonesfan867]

Well, they came in yesterday and I installed them all. Here are my observations:

- They're nice and bright and effective and I now hope this will allow me to never have to go through the pain in the ass of replacing a dead lamp on this car again!

- The LED flasher relay I bought with them was ineffective (no operation); however, the OEM variable-load relay works, albeit rapid-flash. The same relay operates the dual-lamp signal, or the quad-lamp hazard. I even attempted to use a low amperage variable-load relay (designed for LED lamps) however, it was also non-operational.

Solution? Well, I imagine I should install a proper diode downstream of the OEM relay in order to create more load and reduce the rapid-flash. So what do you think? Trial and error? Anyone wish to offer a clue as to what size to start with?

Oh yeah, the funny part. The shift-interlock of the car utilizes the brake pedal to take the transmission out of PARK into gear. Apparently, by replacing the eleven incandescent lamps that light up with the brakes applied with LEDs, I have removed enough load that would otherwise be required to disengage the shift-interlock. So, in other words, even with the brake applied, I can't get the car out of PARK. While I originally used the manual shift-interlock port (which normally gets used if the car happens to be on an incline and the transmission is locked in PARK), I soon discovered that by merely turning on the park lamps and applying the brakes, there is just enough load for the transmission to release out of PARK.

http://www.customled.com/products/load_equ...d_equalizer.htm

[deftonesfan867]

been thinking of getting LED's for the impala but at the moment, i can spend $405 in better areas.

Where would you spend 405 bucks for LED's??

[ShadowDog]

pics?

I'll set the camera up at dusk for that. It's nothing dramatic, but for the strobe turn signals.

been thinking of getting LED's for the impala but at the moment, i can spend $405 in better areas.

I received (x8) #168-194 equivalent, (x6) #1157 equivalent, (x2) #1156 equivalent and the relay for $112.30 CDN (incl. shipping). At a local retail with my business discount, I'd have paid well over $250 before taxes for all of it.

One 1157 had a couple LED clusters that don't light up, but the seller just put another in the mail today at no charge. Here's his listings and store on ebay.

LED sales

Now, I'm not expecting them to be 100% glitch free. I mean, while the quality of the soldering is good and there is nothing cheap feeling or loose, I'm willing to accept that there may be problems in the future. But with them being so cheap, I'm willing to buy extras just in case.

[ShadowDog]

http://www.customled.com/products/load_equ...d_equalizer.htm

I thought about the load equalizer, but a guy at the ricer site I also go to gave me a link that helped me determine the relays I've tried had incorrect polarity. I'm going to try an alternate relay with the same polarity as the OEM relay to see if it works first. Either way, it's $15.

[ShadowDog]

Hmm...had the unintended consequence of creating an anti-theft device..

Yeah, that's what I thought... that is, until I told my wife that she had to turn on the park lights if she wanted to get the damned car out of park. She been unimpressed, but she'll get over it.

[ShadowDog]

Oops, I meant to say I paid $112.30 US (incl. shipping). At a local retail with my business discount, I'd have paid well over $250 CDN before taxes for all of it.

[ShadowDog]

pics?

Video - 30 second clip

Picture - Headlights and park lamps

Picture - Headlamp assembly profile

Picture - Park lamp profile

Picture - LED lamp closeup

Picture - Tail lamp clustre

Picture - Tail lamp profile

Picture - Reflector

Picture - LED lamp closeup

[deftonesfan867]

I thought about the load equalizer, but a guy at the ricer site I also go to gave me a link that helped me determine the relays I've tried had incorrect polarity. I'm going to try an alternate relay with the same polarity as the OEM relay to see if it works first. Either way, it's $15.

The relays are for the hazards only.

I have LED's on Kelsey's Cobalt and the equalizers work perfectly.

Edited September 17, 2009 by deftonesfan867

[ShadowDog]

The relays are for the hazards only.

I have LED's on Kelsey's Cobalt and the equalizers work perfectly.

Actually, I found that my relay controls both my hazards and signals. My relay is a variable load type, working with a 2/4 lamp system. This website directed me to identify my problem. I kept getting directed to style EP34 as the relay to replace my OEM variable-load; however, it didn't work. I realized my OEM relay needed either EP35 or EP36. At the parts store, we determined EP35 would fit my needs because it was for 2/4 lamp systems. (EP36 was for 3/6 lamp)

Plugged it in, tested my hazards, then my signals and they flash at normal speed again.