Yes, more LED questions.

I am still planning to to upgrade to LED tail lights very soon. But none of them come with Back up light bulbs anyhow. So i want to buy LED versions for them now. I found literally thousands of versions on Ebay which is great. So getting them to fit the sockets is the easy part. The issue is the length. They make versions with as many as 68 LED's which would be incredibly bright, but they mention they do not guarantee they will fit into the housings. Has anybody upgraded to LED back up lights and if so, what type and size?

 

Keep stock Halogen bulbs. Maybe get some advanced Halogen bulbs that squeeze out a few extra watts(overdriven) like Hyper Whites or Hella or something along those lines. Even with as many as 68smd LED's, those lights will not be as bright as holgen bulbs. They may appear brighter only at certain angles since LED's have a limited viewing angle, but even then, they aren't. Halogen bulbs have a full 360* viewing angle and put out many more Lumens than LED's do. The light may not be as white, but it's more output.
There isn't any one LED made to date that has more output than a halogen bulb!

Also, with LED's, you would need to add a resistor to ground so that your Lamp-out light doesn't illuminate. As far as fitment, it's the size of the bulb head that may not fit into the opening of the light housing. You have plenty of length/depth clearance, but not the width clearance.

 

Guess ill stick with Halogen. Thanks!

 

I have 60 SMD LED lights on my truck, and I don't get any Lamp out light. I have no resistor on them. They are pure white, but do not give out as much light:



However, I also have these puppies for ****s and giggles when the cap is on (Winter):


and just these when the cap is off (Spring/Summer/Fall)



But yeah, as for those 68 SMD ones:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=...+SMD&_osacat=0

 

Thanks for the tip and for posting.

But your pictures led me to ask another question. I see you have large LED floodlights added. I saw those square ones plus some round ones on Ebay. I was considering adding a set of those maybe under my bumper to act as additional back up lights. What do you think of yours? Are they very bright?

The other question i had was since they draw considerably less amperage then Halogen flood lights, did you opt to just tap into the existing back up light power wires going to the tail lights? Or did you run a seperate power wire from the battery and then use a relay type setup?? I figure since they are only on when in reverse which under 99% of situations is for very short periods of time, typically less then 60 seconds, then the factory wiring should be plenty and their would be no need to run a dedicated power cable.

 

My square ones are 48w, then the top bar has 4 24w and 2 18w. My brother used to deal them, so I always got them for a steal.
I also have 2 27w ones in my grille:


They are bright as *****, haha.

They are ran with no relay, with a switch and dedicated power wire (All 8 lights are on 1 switch) and I also have the power to my cap internal light off that. I not only use these for backing up, but on tailgaters. NOBODY has the ***** to tailgate me anymore. Hometown hero, haha

I definitely recommend them, just make sure you get the 48w ones if you are only running 2.

Also, On our third gens, we can easily mount them on the sides of the plate where they are protected, and they will fold down flat for your 7 pin connector if that's what worries you.

 

I can get a pair of the square 24 watt units for less then $100.00, But the cheapest 48 watt is $128.00 for ONE! Kind of steep for back up lights. How bright are the 24 watt units you use when lit up in pairs? Has to be bright enough to be useful i would think?

 

See if you can find some CREE lamps. Those LEDs actually have some throw. That is, they send out a LOT of light. I have some little LED flashlights that have an amazing throw. My backyard is 150' or so and these itty-bitty lights show objects at the far end 'bout as well as my Mag Light. Intense blue-white light.

 

So I think before I noticed the lights, I noticed the road. That must be where your DOT does training with the road painting trucks, huh? LOL

I've seen those square LED floods before and would like to get a set for some extra reverse lighting as well. You've got a lot of nice lights on your truck!

 

If you ever find a cheaper source, let me know, ill do the same.