LED Tail Light Options

T

tripplec

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I am pretty sure the power to the 1157 in the socket is AC. I looked into this 2 years ago but now revisting the current options to put an LED tail light in. I am driving for this to minimize the load of available power to the headlight which is bright with the Xenon bulb now. But idle and expecially braking current of the tail light does have a noticeable impact on the illumination up from. Time to change it out. I pulled the lense and the bulb faces straight forward (not side mount like some).

I looked at Royal Distributing today and their solution had a very poor number of small LED's on the socket and not around the sides either.
 
had one in my sx500r. it does work but i would go get one from an aftermarket automotive store or canadian tire. make shure you coat the lens with silicone spray or pam so the snow does not stick as much as it will be covered with snow.

i would use in in my et410 but for some reason the socket is deeper on it and i cannot get get it to work without holding pressure on the bulb.
 
Thanks but I am not certain they would work since those run on DC only. other components needed in the socket or two bulbs. Each wired in reverse so they light up on each half cycle of AC.

As for your socket. there is usually a spring behind the insulator waffer holding the wire terminals. It may be weak (stretching it might do the trick). If the contact is not well raised as when there is bulb of solder it may not contact well either. Changing the socket might be required otherwise.
 
Thanks MRSLED,

I did not get the notification email on your post. So I am late getting back. I had been researching a number of sources and you've mention two I saw. SuperbrightLed's was the one I have looked at in the past and I've communicated with their support. Ryan's been a great help there. They don't have snowmobile specific bulb and a rectifier may be required. I suppose it can depend on the SLED. He suggested two solutions which are their brightest. Being in Canada it will raise the cost significantly getting them shipped on top of the bulb charge.

Here they are anyway should anyone like to test them out.

These are our brightest 1157 bulbs we offer:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-...&category=CAR&Page2Disp=/specs/115x-x45-T.htm

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-...&category=CAR&Page2Disp=/specs/115x-x3X1W.htm
 
Alright, I am mesmerized from all the tail light flashing. I can't look at it anymore since I still see it in my retina's. OMG, I still don't see which is the cheaper bulb(white) and the 360 degree to compare against a OEM 1157 bulb.

Once my eyes get back to normal I hope to continue. Wow....can't shake it.

I just added a photo sent to me comparing White and RED LED's and why you'd want RED in the lens. From SuperbrightLED support.
 

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Even the high powered leds still offer considerable power savings while producing substanionally more heat than regular or SMD leds.
Something like this will keep the lens warm enough to keep clear and still give 360 degree coverage.
 

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I mounted this one on the back of my BOSS seat. The guys behind me complained during the day about visibilty, but at night it was excellent. Like most people state, LEDs don't give off the heat like 1157's do, so at stop sign I make a point to wipe it off. Annoying I know, but I rather not get *** packed. It's a 3 wire setup so it was an easy connection on my SRX. This link shows the 4" like the one I currently have. I am ordering an 8" one for this year. I recommend getting the light only, and not the kit. It's a waste of money for what you actually get.

http://skinzprotectivegear.com/snowmobileproductlr/ledlights.html
 
A couple of bucks said:
Even the high powered leds still offer considerable power savings while producing substanionally more heat than regular or SMD leds.
Something like this will keep the lens warm enough to keep clear and still give 360 degree coverage.
Click to expand...

I just got an LED 1157 like that from a source on eBay. I will test it out later this fall. It looks the same with 3 big LED's on the end.

Wish me luck.
 
I just installed the LED I got it has 3 super brights facing rear and 2 -360 degree rows around. I was daylight and appears to work great. No diming of the headlight when I pull the brake and I can see an big improvement in the brightness of the brake light. I check it again one night but it works without modification and no rectifier. The AC pulses must be fast enough due the rpm to drive these without flickering.

Good enough now I hope it lasts.
 
I will get pictures of my rear tailight mod on here as soon as I get our computer back. Typing on a WE with the keyboard on the TV screen is not good.
Anyways I added 4 194 recpticals to the stock light assy. 2 of them are tapped into the running lights, 2 into the brake . Picked up recpticles at OREILLYS and the 194s probably came from Singapore. Had them laying around anyway.
 
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Tailight mod

Tailight mod on my sons 99 SX6. The recpticals on the outside come on when brake is applied. The two inside ones are on all the time(running lights). And obviously the 1157 in the center still functions normally.
 

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