LED bulbs
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From: H/Lk. & S.E. Michigan
LED bulbs
Has anyone heard of LED bulbs causing the sockets to burn out ?
Went to A Zone to buy a couple for my 03' tails and the guy said they don't sell them for that reason, I asked are you sure since LED lights use such little juice and he said that was the reason.
I said I would have to go to my resource's at FTE and get a second opinion Or two.
What do you think about that one ? I think it was a
answer personally.
Went to A Zone to buy a couple for my 03' tails and the guy said they don't sell them for that reason, I asked are you sure since LED lights use such little juice and he said that was the reason.
I said I would have to go to my resource's at FTE and get a second opinion Or two.
What do you think about that one ? I think it was a
answer personally.
MSEE
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,386
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From: Austin, TX
Nope, that's garbage. There might have been some sort of manufacturing issue with a particular brand they once sold, but from an electrical standpoint, there's nothing about LED bulbs themselves that make this an issue of concern.
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From: Virginia
They may have quit selling them if they got tired of people bringing them back because they didn't work. On most vehicles, this is not a plug and play deal. You have to change the flasher unit and/or add load resistors to make them work. If they sold a "retro-fit kit" to install them with everything needed in the kit to make them work, they probably would have more success.
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From: H/Lk. & S.E. Michigan
LED tails
So by the sound of it... its not a good idea to just buy a couple tail light bulbs plug them in and call it a day and expect them to work?
Just curious, I put a set of LED trailer lights on my 78' and they seem to work O'K ... do you suppose these were designed to be a plug and play since the entire unit was sealed from the mfg r and designed for a trailer?
Any idea where I can purchase the bulbs and necessary components to install them in my 03' tails and just what these might be?
Thanks for the response's
Just curious, I put a set of LED trailer lights on my 78' and they seem to work O'K ... do you suppose these were designed to be a plug and play since the entire unit was sealed from the mfg r and designed for a trailer?
Any idea where I can purchase the bulbs and necessary components to install them in my 03' tails and just what these might be?
Thanks for the response's
MSEE
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,386
Likes: 35
From: Austin, TX
As Franklin2 pointed out, another issue is turn signals. Old can-style flashers are thermal flashers, meaning they open and close as a heating element inside heats up and cools down. The load current is what heats up the heating element; therefore the blink rate is proportional to the load. That's why the turn signals can blink too fast or too slow if a bulb is burnt out or the wrong bulb is used. LEDs do not draw enough current do heat up the flasher element, and the flasher must be replaced with an electronic flasher that doesn't rely on load current to flash.
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From: H/Lk. & S.E. Michigan
Thanks again for the response's, I think I'll just keep my bulbs clean and call that a day. Sounds more complicated 
than I'm ready for... maybe at a later date.
I just wanted to spray Night Shade on the lens and was hoping to increase the lumen's with LED's unless someone has another suggestion.
Again, thanks
than I'm ready for... maybe at a later date. I just wanted to spray Night Shade on the lens and was hoping to increase the lumen's with LED's unless someone has another suggestion.
Again, thanks
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From: Virginia
LED lights are usually plug and play for trailers, because you are leaving the original lights in the truck. The original incandescent lights in the truck are making the truck flasher work correctly, so the trailer lights are just added or piggybacked onto the trucks lights, so they work also.
As was said in a previous post, the led lights do not load down the vehicle's system enough to make it work correctly.
As was said in a previous post, the led lights do not load down the vehicle's system enough to make it work correctly.
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