ad tailights
 

I want 12 volt with tail,stop, signal. never bought any before. nothing ive seen says they have all of those options. where did you guys get yours. thanks

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The question is do you want OEM, or something different? Your question poses varying opinions dependent upon what you want to do. Whats your thoughts?

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ive got stock '49 tail lights - the rectangular ones - on my truck. I changed the socket to take a double element 1157 bulb. that gives me turn / stop on one element & tail lights on the other.
Just for safety I use an led bulb. then I added lamps in the bed ends just wired into the brake / turn lights. kind of like a 3rd brake light

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I like keeping stuff original and its great for shows. The problem is you need every bit of help you can get from technology to cope with todays ultra careless drivers. The brightest LEDs integrated into original housings is great. The problem is some housings are too small to contain an adequate number of leds or give the visibility needed. I chose the most recent iteration of the Chev. Square body step side taillights with the built in back-up.lights. I'd rather sacrifice looks over being rear ended. BTW its a fact modern braking sysytems have affected both the speed and following distances.

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"BTW its a fact modern braking sysytems have affected both the speed and following distances." ^^^^^
So have cell phones...

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You are a wise man! Most do not see it that way, you are wise.


On my daily driver (1959 Rambler) I put reflectors in the stock taillights and a third brake light.

Here is a "Basics of Basics" on the tail lights, oh and by the way the LED ones SUCKED. http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/basi...ng-212015.html

I then I also put a brake light switch that is mechanical mounted to the brake pedal so it all I have to do is move the pedal about an 1/8" to light the brake lights. So I can tap on the pedal flashing the lights.

I have found that I drive leaving more room than others and drive very safe and conservative and everyone else just moves around me and there isn't a single problem with driving this way. Many people think there is, that somehow you are "in the way" geeez.:waah:

Anyway, I take my lights very seriously and it has worked out very well for me.

Brian

Re: ad tailights
 

oem look

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As Nvrdone mentioned in post 3 changing the sockets to take a 1157 bulb or the brighter one (2357) that fits the same socket.

You have to have the right turn signal switch that lets the brake lights work though the turn signal switch. A lot of those old add on at the dealer switches only worked the turn signals and you had to have an extra light on the rear for the turn signals as the brake lights still worked though the stock tail lights.

The park lights can be modified to put in a socket for 1157 bulbs in the front so that you have park and turn in those lights and don't have to add extra lights.

One thing I found on my 48 and my 71 is that painting the inside of the tail light or park light housing bright white works a lot better than having it silver or the black that some of them come with. That makes a big difference with both stop/turn and tail light brightness.

Re: ad tailights
 

When I ran everything stock in my truck it was all on 12 volt, every single thing as I remember. I just put the 12 volt lights and that was it, gas gauge worked, maybe I had a voltage drop on the amp gauge? I don't remember but don't think I did one single thing. Hell the horns were 6 volt on a 12 volt system, those babies were LOUD! LOL


Brian

Re: ad tailights
 

too true and getting worse. My new car has real radar and can stop itself, won't let you turn into a car on either side, back into anything and detect all moving objects in front and rear. It auto steers itself for lane drift and can follow/ detect cars at set distances in Cruise control, All very nice but i can see many will depend on it w/o thinking. With the heads up display all it needs is 20mm cannon and sidewinders.

If you can replace ALL incandescent bulbs in the original housing with the brightest LEDs can find you'll be way ahead -- still won't protect you from the growing mass of
lazy incompetent drivers who think "NO FAULT" insurance means no responsibility.

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"all it needs is 20mm cannon and sidewinders."...
That's what I need mounted in the bed of my truck..maybe thatll keep those idiot tailgaters of my rearend...

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Current "autonomous driving assistance" technology will actually allow tailgaters to electronically/automatically follow cars with as little as 5-10' at speeds of up to 100mph. Now whether or not they can stop without slamming into you when you brake is another matter. Based on mine so far i predict accident will increase as more folks become dependent on them. If you haven;t experienced it yet i urge folks to test drive one of these to see what youre up against. Very unsettling to have the car make all your driving decisions for you (and record them) . I think its dangerous.

Like it or not heres my choice in AD tail lights

Again with the upside down pics!!! Mods what the H is going on??

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Upside down pics is phone / picture format issue. Not website.

Interesting thought about cars automatically following. They've been doing it for years but I wonder if a person builds a vehicle that stops very quickly will the computerized cars predict it and stop fast enough or will you have a nice insurance check waiting?

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I tried loading a purposely upside down pic and it still was upside down so ?

The robotic driving issue is real and govt will get involved eventually. I had a tailgater follow me at 1 car length @ 65 mph. Same make, vehicle and sure his CC robot was on as well. It was really weird. A car 4 lengths ahead pulled in front of us. Our car auto slowed so fast the bright red huge flashing "BRAKE NOW" warning lit up on the windshield display. Our car immediately auto braked hard. The guy behind did a screeching brake/turn into the adjacent (empty) lane. Altogether Unpleasant experience.

BTW The built in backup lights shown on the upside down pic are really bright!

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LED bulb replacements arent optimized for the 1157 reflector. its the same reason why HID retrofits in H4/H7 housings glare in oncoming drivers eyes, the reflector is optimized for a H4/H7 bulb. I agree, dont waste money on LED BULBS

however the LED replacement complete light assemblies are amazing, and super bright. I have used the 55.2-59 style (actually using them again in my 41 too) and also used the 47-54.5 style and they are light years better than even an 1157 setup with a proper reflector. they light up my entire yard when you step on the brake, I recommend them highly. I get mine from bowtie bits because its local.

if you have your tag on the left taillight, the 55.2-59 style do NOT have a tag light. the 47-55.1 style do. If you need new housings anyway, the LED replacements are a great value.

http://www.bowtiebits.com/store/grap...duct_1001P.jpg

http://www.bowtiebits.com/store/stor...Category_ID=33

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Those are nice and your 100% correct about being optimized for LEDs. I have found many if not all the first generation LED replacement "bulbs" arn't very bright. The replacement dash lights i bought were terrible and when i tried to send them back they said keep em and refunded $. I see they seem to have made them better lately especially h3's (beware of being sold old type)

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I had stock taillights for about a week. The I realized no one behind me could see them on a sunny day. I switched to these LED inserts and they have worked great for 10 years.

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so do these have turn signal capability

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yep, park stop turn. even has a white tag light. although technically your turn signal capability comes from the flasher system.

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If you do choose the leds, you will need a no load flasher like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Clean-FF.../dp/B00383ETS0

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no they do not. no bulb has turn signal capability, these do have a double filament
it is the turn signal switch that determines the turn signal capability
with a 2 element bulb you use 1 filament for stop/turn and 1 filament for tail lights
(before you think i am being cocky read the op)

on an older vehicle the turn/stop is the same filament, the brake switch power feeds into the turn signal switch
the tail lights are fed straight from the headlight switch to the 2nd filament in the bulb

if you have a stock column it probably has a signal stat turn switch
note that the stop light switch is wired into the turn signal switch

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/a...1&d=1185027535