led lights

[suprachrgd82]

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...Disp=/1157.htm

[Seraph]

I was thinking about going with LED's all around, but didnt know if it would be possible for me to do myself.
I'll be waiting to see the pics of your truck tonight. I bet they will look good!

[dznucks]

I was researching these online and noticed that they sell LED flashers.
Do you have to change your flasher out when you go to LED's, in the turn signals?

[Beatcoaster]

Yes, either a new flasher or a load resistor that simulates the resistance created by a filament bulb...

[fixit-p]

Originally Posted by Beatcoaster

Those delcity LED's are very directional and have zero light output on the sides, unlike a normal bulb. Painting the interior of the housing chrome wouldn't be beneficial with those LED's since you are probably only getting a 90 degree light pattern, pointing directly rearward; therefore no light reflection in the housing is needed. Not to discount fixit-p or his choices, but that style of LED bulb is very "2001", and if you aren't up on LED technologies then you would think that to be a cutting edge model at a good price. However the opposite is quite true, LED technology has come a very long way over the past 10 years, and the high flux wide angle LED's used on the bulb I have referrenced are light years ahead of the standard bell style LED's used in that model in both light output and quality. In addition to that, the bulb I ref'd above has LED's on the sides as well as the front, so output is nearly 360 degrees, similar or better than a standard 1157 bulb...zero compromise from an 1157 filament bulb, with all the benefits of LED...

Cant argue with the numbers the Del City LED is only rated at 15/4 Lumen @ 20* there are 4 LEDs on the back side to help reflect light from the housing. But they can't compete with the tower type bulbs but it was an economic choice for the interim I'll have to check them in daylight to see how they perform. I do plan on making my own panels in the future which is why I subscribed to this thread I too enjoy doing stuff myself.

[Seraph]

would something like this work?
http://www.eautoworks.com/product-Led-33226.htm
sorry i'm a newbie to LED's

[dznucks]

if you use a load equalizer, would you have to use one front and rear? if you use a new style flasher, thats all you need right?

[Beatcoaster]

Fixit-p, I am happy to hear those do have led's facing backwards at least, and would like to see how they perform in the daytime. At a 20 degree light pattern it will be pretty focused however, which at least makes the light they do emit, intense in that area.

Seraph, do not get those...superbrightleds has them for $4.95/ea for the exact same thing. I have come to find superbrightleds to be the cheapest, best service, fastest shipped, highest quality, cutting edge product LED supplier around, and through years of comparing prices; don't even look elsewhere these days...All of these posted links verifies that as well...

Dznucks - In general I would get 2 of the bigger resistors to begin with(one for each side, not front to back), that is usually enough load for the thermal flasher to still do it's job. That is what I did with my Subaru years ago and it worked great, but those resistors do get hot so be sure to mount them to metal(plenty of that on our trucks!) for additional heat relief. And yes, the correct electronic flasher unit superbrightleds sells works, i have those in my truck as well, need 2 of them, one for hazards, one for turn signals.

Full disclosure: both of the flasher units I recieved work great for the hazards, but my turn signals aren't operating properly and I think my steering column switch is messed up(haven't drove the truck since I bought it, just restoring it). So until I can try the old thermal flasher with the load resistors I have laying around in my box of LED stuff, I won't know for sure if there is something else at work that I don't know about keeping the electronic flasher from operating properly. 40 years of wear and tear on the column switch is my assumption...Working a job from dark to dark isn't helping me get this project done either, so I can't help you folks out much on this end of things until I get a weekend to finish this, hopefully this coming one...

[Beatcoaster]

Alright here are the photos I just took, didn't turn out quite like I wanted them but oh well, you can get an idea of it all.

Running lights only...


Brakes or blinkers...even the concrete below is glowing red = bright


Parking light closeup, notice how the whole area inside is fully lit up. The camera really picks up the LED points of light, it looks more diffused than this even. I tried putting fogged lexan in front of the LED's to diffuse it more but it didn't change anything.


Brake light closeup, again the whole area is fully lit up, brightly! The camera didn't pick up the led points this time(but you can see it in the ghost) so you can get an idea of how diffused the light truly is. People will know that you are stopping for sure!. My wife was coming home the other night when I was messing around with it all and commented on how bright they were without me even prompting her to notice - nice!


Running lights only w/flash...this is a good eyeball representation of the diffuse nature of these LED's with headlights on them, light is going everywhere in that housing and the reflectors even make it look brighter.


Dash with Kenwood cd player and cool white LED's in gauges. I painted the inside of the gauge cluster in chrome paint but I need one of those white lettered face plates so the green tinge will go away altogether...cause it sort of ruins the resto mod look I am going for here.


Front running lights and sidemarkers, even light dispersion, match perfectly..


Front sidemarkers and front parking lights blinking(hazards), this photo is a bit overexposed but it just looks cool, so I had to throw it up. Notice how the garage door and house siding is so lit up by the LED's blinking at their brighter state, they will know I am wanting to turn


After doing another run around with the camera tonight I was once again reminded that the money spent sure is worth it to me, but I love LED's! With just the running lights on they are the perfect brightness and match exactly at all corners...couldn't be happier!