There has been some interest on LED lights here so I went and ordered an assortment of interior and exterior LED bubs for my van. These lights won't arrive for a month or so but I thought I'd mention it in case anybody else was thinking of doing some testing of their own.

Some research I found:
http://www.ferrarilife.com/forums/mo...omparison.html
Page 1 has a big assortment of LEDs that were tested. Page 3 has the punch line with the LED they suggest using in their style of light fixture.

My research basically determined that you need coloured LEDs for coloured lenses. Red for red, amber for amber. I also found that a lot of people who went from Long Life 1157s to LEDs went back to the 1157s. The 1157s do a great job to fill up the lenses with light that is hard to beat. Lastly, there are a lot of LEDs that do not last very long and burn out. That being said, I was able to find the 7.5 Watt LEDs suggested on Ferrari Life from alternate vendors at a much lower cost so I ordered an assortment.

I will post links when the LEDs come in and get tested. My concern is that the 1157 variant bulbs' driving lights may be too bright to properly show that you are turning or braking. I also ordered 194 clearance lights but again you don't want too much power for these. You do not want people to think your brakes are stuck on or that they caught you mid-blink.

48-SMD LED Panel:
www.ebay.com/itm/291187710094
I bought these in May and they work great for interior lights, you just stick them to the reflectors with the attached double sided tape.

Cheers, Steve

 

I too started experimenting by swapping all of my exterior bulbs for LEDs. First I wanted to try all white LEDs for myself to see if the negatives aspects I've read are accurate...they are. Not only are they not as bright as the bulbs (close, but still dimmer) but their whitish-blue color mixed with the red lenses actually makes the lens look pinkish to purplish.

I was also reading that running a white LED through a red lens filters out the green and blue colors and effectively cuts the lumens output close to 2/3rds. But by using a red LED all of the light is able to pass through the lens resulting in a brighter output. I've ordered ambers for the fronts and reds for all the rears and should have them shortly. After I swap them out I'll update my results.

 

Major difference with the colored LEDs. They are brighter and the color of the lenses are back to normal. I also changed the backup lamps to a projection style white LED and it's much safer backing up now as the area behind me is lit up nicely. So if anyone plans on swapping out their exterior bulbs for LEDs definitely go with colored ones to match the corresponding lens, you also have to swap the flasher unit for an LED flasher. With the original flasher the LEDs flash very rapidly because the flasher unit sees a smaller load and assumes there is a burnt out bulb. The LED flasher unit I bought that worked perfect was a 5-pin one #EP27 over at Autozone.

 

Hey, tell me the p/n and where you got the reverse lighting LEDs. I've stuck backing out a rather long driveway each morning at 5am. On rainy mornings the backup lights are just useless.

 

$12.99 for the pair with free shipping.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121712624402

 

I don't see where those will fit a dodge like a 92 B250 van----maybe I'm missing something

 

I never said they would fit a 92, I said those are what I used. The 1992 uses an 1156 bulb, while my 2000 uses a 921 bulb. You need these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281127239921

 

I believe the COB LEDs are better than the SMD option because of their larger light surface but I haven't confirmed this yet. I ordered white 7.5 watt COBs for the reverse lights but they do make 15 and 20 watt versions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1156-BA15S-5...4txTjJhzxMamCA

Steve

 

I'm interested in hearing how they work out for you.

 

I have received two sets of LED bulbs so far.

The first are some white 1156 COB bulbs for use as reverse lights and they are quite impressive. I will have to get out and get some photos them them in action.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141607856802

I also received two white 1142 SMD bulbs with a lot of SMD chips, I think 142 per bulb.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181783798609
This was supposed to be for the engine compartment but I clearly made a mistake because it is a dual element bulb like an 1167. I tried using it as my rear turn signals but it shorts out the van wiring when I turn on the turn signals. The clearance light part works well and lights the entire housing better than an 1167 but everything blinks including the dash and the marker lights when I turn on the turn signals.

I would say that having a really high chip count SMD bulb is about the same as a COB bulb. They have about the same surface area.

Steve