1157 replacements (tail light bulbs)

[bouncytruck]

The other day I picked up a set of APC Halogen 1157 replacement bulbs. The guy at NAPA said that they are suppose to be much brighter than the standard incandescent bulb. I put one in and discovered it was about half as bright. When I put the tail light lens back on, it was hard to tell that the lights were even on.

What other options (affordable & without modifications) do we have for 1157 replacements. I have heard that some of the LED's aren't very bright either. Who has what brand(s) and how do they work? I'd like to have brighter brake lights than stock, especially since traffic is so wonderful in Seattle and everyone is in such a hurry.

[neonlarry]

I have LED's in mine about 120 of them per. They are plenty bright and have a plug wired to the board that plugs into the 1157 socket. I got mine from Ryan but I think him or his partner sell them through Early Classic.

[bouncytruck]

Wow, found them on the EC web site. http://www.earlyclassic.com/ledtaillights.html Those look like a good solution. It says that it requires an electronic flasher. What is that and does it just plug in to the current flasher space?

[Longhorn Man]

If you look at your fuse panel under the dash, you'll see two silver metal things plugged in. Those are your flashers, one for thurn signals, the other for the 4 ways.
You can get the electric ones at NAPA, just be sure to pull one of yours out and bring it in...they will probably argue that you need a 3 prong when you only need a two prong unit.

[neonlarry]

Yes it just plugs into same spot , looks the same also. I always use the electronic ones anyway.

[bouncytruck]

Hum, I bought one of the "extra loud" flashers a while back. I wonder if it is electronic? I'll start savin' my $ for the LED lights. $129 isn't exactly pocket change!

[neonlarry]

Extra loud usually means mechanical, one of the reasons I use electronic.
The main reason for useing electronic is that the LED's don't use that much power, mechanical ones use current draw to time the flashes(simple explanation) but you probably can get by with a mechanical with the amount of current the fronts draw. Its not going to hurt the LED's to try it anyway.

[72shadetree]

those bulbs should work fine.but if its hard to see the lights then you may have a bad ground/faded lense.i installed new lens and houseings from gmc paul theyre not high and with the 1157 the brake lights will blind you at night and the tail lights are real bright.

i would check it out before going with led cause thats not going to fix it if its the lense or bad ground

[bouncytruck]

I don't think there is any problems with the wiring. I also tried them in my '69 with the same results. I think the APC Halogens just aren't a high quality product - they were $6 for the pair and painted blue. I was going to go with the 1157 LED replacements, but all they had was red and I've got the original red lenses. The halogens got super hot too, within a matter of seconds. I'd be afraid it would melt the lenses if you were sitting at a stop light too long.

[Willy Prost]

I use 2057 anytime I need to replace a burnt 1157. They are slightly brighter than a 1157. I first read about this in one of the car mags many years ago.

[ChevLoRay]

There's a company called Ledtronics, that sells replacement bulbs with LED's, instead of being incandescent. They're also not cheap at something like $90 for a pair. But, they're bright. I have a couple of the APC LED bulbs. They're not worth the cardboard used in the packaging. The units sold by ECE were first offered on the board, by one of the members. ECE was impressed and the price that they sell for isn't bad.

Saw some tail lights on a new Range Rover. They're round, but LED's. The upper looks amber, until you hit the brakes. Then, they're red. Turn signals are two semi-halo rings on the outer edge of the upper lights. They're cool lookin'.

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

I had the same problem with mine. But sometimes the right brake light didn't work so I had to walk over and hit the bedside with my fist and it would come on. My Mom and Sister started laughing like crazy. I took out both housings (left and right) and wire brushed/sanded the connections and put it back on and it looked three times brighter. You might wanna check yours out.

[botboy]

I bought the same APC LED taillights and they ARE brighter, however this requires some modifications. First its important to note that they're made by APC and this company, in spite of its name, caters specifically to riceburners. This means that, of course, they are poorly designed. I can tell you specifically how to modify them when I go home, I had put a pair in my '72 after modifying them (requries swapping the resistors over, cutting 2 traces and a couple dabs of solder) and now put them in my '83 K5 since the '72 has been retired. They do work wonderfully bright once modified, the way that they are wired from APC is so screwed up I don't understand why they sell them as 1157 replacement lights unless somehow hondas wire the three wires differently. Also they are *technically* not supposed to be used on the street (no dot approval for the riceburners, suprise suprise...) but I haven't gotten a second look from a single cop thats passed by either one of the trucks they've been installed on.

[GMC Jim]

researching my Philips lighting specs ....# 2057 = 2.10/.48 amps = 32/2 Candle Power;
#1157 = 2.10/.59 amps = 32/3 C.P. and #2357 = 2.23/.59 amps = 40/3 C.P....
So it would appear that the #2357 would give significantly brighter brake/turn lites...

[Blue Beard]

The outlay of cash will payback in the long haul, considering how long the LED's last..

[Willy Prost]

Wow. Thanks GMC Jim. I'll try 2357 next time.

[MMGOODIE]

Originally Posted by Blue Beard

The outlay of cash will payback in the long haul, considering how long the LED's last..

not to mention if you replace all of your parking lights with them and do like I do, getting out and leaving the lights on (my 02 stratus lights turn off by themselves) it won't drain your battery as quickly. They draw so much less juice then incandescents do.

[dallas71]

Less expensive solution maybe......

http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/aut1157/
Brake/Turn/Tail
for 12/14 Volt Applications
AUT1157-0ER-014V $24.50 ea

Available in both Red and Yellow
Turn Signal
for 12/14 Volt Applications
AUT1156-0UY-014V $29.50

Check it Out

[bouncytruck]

dallas, thanks for the link. Those look like a viable solution. I like the fact that they have LEDs that point out to the sides to light up the housing.

Why are all the LEDs colored? Will it be a problem if I'm using the stock red lens? I don't want to run clear lenses on this truck.

[smokekiki]

1) For best results, LED lamp output color should be same as Lens/ Filter color above the lamp.
2) LED Lamps shown are for most standard applications.
3) Some applications may require custom or modified configuration of the LED Lamp.
4) LED Lamps shown are for direct DC or AC voltage supply. External resistor, relays or special circuits may require special LED Lamps { See # 1 aboveThis is at the bottom of ledtronics website}

[Putter]

Another one you might want to look at is Jam Straight. They are made in Mississippi and they are brighter than APC. I use them in everything. Here's the link:
Jam Straight

[PICKMUP]

If you stop by, I'll show you a set working in my blazer...give you a few little installation tips, and sell you a set for less than ECE!!!

[bouncytruck]

Frank, I was going to send you an e-mail and see what you carry. It's going to be a while before I can get the $ together, but when I do, I'll definately check with you first.

In the mean time, I returned the lame APC bulbs and picked up a set of 2357's for $1.99! I'll see how they work.

[Longhorn Man]

Jegs also has a conversion kit, it costs 100 bucks. I have yet to see one, but I might have to get a set one day.
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...16&prmenbr=361