LED running lights at Walmart
 

I was in Walmart the other day and saw that they had LED turn and tail light bulbs. So I bought a pair of 3157 bulbs in a blister pack for $16.00. The factory web site says "Built-in can bus technology eliminates bulb out / error messages".

If I changed all the turn and running lights in my truck to LED, I would reduce the total power draw from 20 amps to about 16 amps.

They plugged right into the two right front positions. The total light level was a lot less than the standard incandescent bulbs. The difference was so great that I did not bother to take a photo. I just took the LED's out.

The low current draw made the flasher think that a bulb was out, so the flash rate increased. I cannot change the flasher because it is software in the BCM.

Do not buy the Walmart LED automotive replacement bulbs if you want to be seen at night.

Thanks for the warning. I hope you were able to get your money back.

I have read that the the only way to fix the flash rate is to use a transistor, which causes the LEDs to draw the full amount of electricity, and I cannot imagine who would want to do that.

Sorry for your loss. I looked into getting LED running lights but the stock bulbs are only 19w each and LEDs are 12w each iirc.

Or an electronic flasher, on cars that have a flasher. Chrysler, I know, controls all the lights from the TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Module); I didn't know GM did the same.

I have never had any luck with led turn signals. I have been able to run a few select brands as brake light bulbs however there always seems to be an issues with resistance and the large led towers.

However for interior lights the led bulbs work flawlessly. I have ordered 20 #194? LEDs and 10 #74 bulbs for the civic. I am running the 194 bulbs on all my vehicles for license plate lights and never had any issues.

Well, that's 4 amps saved for ever more.

You'll find all modern cars control their lights from the body computer.

I tried to switch to LED brake lights I got off ebay but, kept blowing fuses for whatever reason so I switched back to the originals.

I have LEDs in my under door entry lights.
The plug in the car had 2 metal scooplike extensions to keep the bulb from shaking loose. Those same pieces form the contacts for the T10 connector deeper down the housing.

The first pair of LEDs were of the soldered-on-board type. One of them shorted the clamps and blew a fuse.
I now have small 2x5 LED grids in them with a small wired connector. No more shorting.

If you see metal thingies around the lamp assume they bear current and make sure the LED or whatever you put in does not short them.

I am also LEDs in select locations in the 06 GP. AFAIR the location are interior (overhead nice improvement), backup (nice improvement), marker and plate lights. Interestingly I couldn't get a one to work in the trunk light location, more light would have been nice here.

Matched the bulb color to the cover color. Got some duds just ordered one with more bulbs the next time. All are now as bright as or brighter than the originals. The surface mount seem to be brightest, but much more directional. Don't think I have $16 in all of them.

Superbrightleds.com has good quality bulbs. I've been running them for a year and a half now with no burnouts. They list specs, including lumens, and the lumens they quote are actually true. Side by side with the OEM bulbs, they match.

I didn't touch the turn signals. One, they hyper-flash. Two, they're only rarely used so the power draw is insignificant.

Even Honda and Toyota use incandescent turn signals beside their LED tail/brake lights.

I replace all lights with LEDs with the exception of headlights and turn signals.

The LEDs run significantly less current and should last much longer than the incandescent. They're also brighter. I've purchased most all of the lights from Amazon after reading reviews to see which perform the best. About the only things I buy from brick and mortar stores now is groceries.

As Nemo pointed out, the LED emitted color needs to match the lens color. White LEDs do not contain yellow or orange light like incandescents do. A yellow or orange lens will filter out any light that is not yellow or orange, and what is left is very dim.

I especially like to replace incandescent bulbs that illuminate interior switches. They last longer, have a more pleasant color, and draw less current. Switches and back-lit panels are usually more difficult to get to, so you only want to have to replace bulbs once.

Wow, another led bulb for sale that isnt as bright as a regular bulb, doesnt work for a flasher and costs several times the price of a regular bulb. :eek::eek::eek::eek:

I had used leds from those online led bulb companies, after 16 months or so they flicker and die. I since went back to regular bulbs, silver start bulbs or hid.

For now the best you can do is hid over halogen.

Sorry its hard to use my phone at night. I did the dash in my civic with all LEDs. Even blurry but shows the hyper white
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/x...pslli8fjb9.jpg


This picture is over exposed
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps8bokt5te.jpg


I get all of my LEDs on amazon and I have never received a dud for an interior bulb

Regular incandescent bulbs are not polarity dependant so if you have dud led try reversing its position in the socket

The lights on the right side are LED compared to standard bulbs on the left. My photo skills aren't so great, but it gives you the impression that they are about equivalent in light output.

The LED backup light is much brighter than the standard bulb.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...m/IMG_3852.jpg

Brake lights off.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...m/IMG_3883.jpg

Brake lights on. The standard bulb is just a tiny bit brighter, but not noticeable to the eye.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...m/IMG_3884.jpg

Brake lights
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...L._SL1500_.jpg

Tail lights
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rxlCkyeUL.jpg

Backup lights. I paid $12 at the time, not $37.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61FiQuzJLOL.jpg

Front corner lights
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517TJt1qZPL.jpg

As you can see, there are quality LED options out there, but it will cost you. I expect in the next 5 years auto manufacturers will phase out incandescent bulbs in favor of LED. The industry tends to be 10 years behind what I'm doing.

I made these in 2003.

Turn signal - front. Perfboard is painted white on the front so that it isn't visible through the clear bulb cover.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...s/IMG_7704.jpg

Turn signal - rear
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...s/IMG_7707.jpg

LED is on the right, standard bulb on the left
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...s/IMG_7721.jpg

License plate light
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...es/PROM061.jpg

Tail light
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...s/IMG_7701.jpg

Brake light
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...s/IMG_7695.jpg

The brakes have 144 LEDs and over 300 solder joints. I won't be making LED lights this way again.

Not the Prius (2013), and not my previous 7th-gen Civic (2005). And not the Viper (which was a 2002, the same year, I believe, that the Chrysler switched to TIPM control of lighting on some models). On all those cars I ran/run LED turn signals and simply swapped out the flasher. In fact, on the Prius everything is LED, including headlights.

But instant-on LED turn signals look cooooool!

I've had similar experience with superbrightleds.com, and also V-LEDs out of Bellingham, WA.

One of the main benefits of LED brake lights is safety.

A typical incandecent bulb takes 0.2 seconds to illuminate compared to an LED, which is practically instantaneous. At 55 mph, this translates to about 20 feet of extra stopping distance.

Here is a report on how LEDs and Center High Mount Stop Lamps can increase safety and reduce economic loss.

Your license plate lights work year after year? I use to loose those the fastest til I learned a trick. Once I pass inspection unplug them til next year.

I have been using the same bulbs for 3 years and they still work!!!! :eek:

I made my first license plate bulbs in 2003, when white LEDs were relatively new. I crushed the glass out of a burned out bulb and soldered in the 3 LEDs and a limiting resistor. They are still going 11 years later. I've only had LEDs in my car 2 years now, but so far so good. I expect them to last the life of the vehicle.

My first LED conversion was a headlamp back around 1998, when each white LED cost about $8. It was a small fortune to a highschooler, but I was able to go from a battery life of 2 hours to 20.

Nope, never made a light, but Ive purchased those that are made up of several bulbs to the smt, and multiwatt ones. Ive even had the fastoon ones die on me that are used in dome and map lights.

Could listening to loud rap music play a role in short led life? :D

You might want to seal the housings with some silicon, it's uncommon that they fail so quickly.

I had several LEDs fail in the license plate holder and now the SMD towers in my park lights are starting to flicker.
The 3W SMD H11 towers that I use as DRLs in my fog lights work fine, all of their zillion small LEDS burn. It is just a bit underpowered, I'm tempted to put more powerful LEDs in.

The small SMD blocks in my under door lights had bad LEDs and color distortion.
I now have 2x5 LED grids and they work fine, though they are just too large to fit ricght behind the glass so they lauy on the bopttom of the lamp housing with all the wire and connector stuff in the way, yet much more light that the OEM lamps.

I have single LED festoon map lights and 7W 24 LED grids in my dome and boot lights. They are bright enough to read all the print of an insurance policy by. When I unlock my car the dome light lights up, and so does the area surrounding my car. Easy to find in a dark parking area :)

None of the LED grids in my car failed on me but one very powerful and cheap 20 LED grid I bought out of curiosity with no plan for it had a bad LED out of the box.

I had a delayed delivery (almost 2 months!) from miniinthebox and got a free reorder, gave one of the spare LED grids to my father in law who saw 2 out of 10 LEDs die.
The other spare LEDs that I put in my wife's car all work.

So, mixed results.
LED grids seem more reliable than SMD towers, interior lights have an easier life than exterior lights and LEDs in moving parts like doors and boot lids suffer most.

Not according to physics:

Electromagnetic spectrum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

White light can only exist if all frequencies are present and in balance.

Depends on your definition of 'modern'. Really surprised by the Prius though, but then my newest Japanese car is a 94. The Euros went to body computer control a long time ago, even vans were doing it by 2003.

I tried LED tail lights in my Fiat, one side first, compared it to the stock one, as expected the bulb warning came on (not a big deal), fitted the second, and the body computer decided that since both tail lights are 'out', not to send any current to either! With some experimentation I found that I need 8w/ bulb to keep the computer happy. Rather than add a load resistor, I'm going to use the incandescent tail lights (5w) to make up the load, while giving a bit of extra light (but that means hacking the light clusters so will wait till warranty ends). I sometimes do wonder what was wrong with a switch/ fuse/ bulb arrangement. CANBUS was supposed to reduce all the wiring complexity of modern cars, but one look at the number of fuses and relays in a 'basic' car (no power seats, heated everything/ radar etc) makes me wonder.

My Jeep has LED's everywhere because vibration kills filament globes. You have to keep them dry because of their driver circuits, but if you buy good quality lights they last forever (my oldest are now at least 5 years old, and they were actually cheap ones off DX). Nowadays I spent $40-50 on a pair of stop/tail lights, mainly for the safety aspect. They're almost twice as bright as stock so no chance of missing them on a sunny day.

That's why "white" LED is often a misnomer.

Regardless, I oversimplified the facts surrounding white LEDs. There are 2 common ways to produce an LED that appears white.

The first involves combining red, green, and blue in the right amounts to trick the eye into thinking it is seeing white light. This is what TVs and computer monitors do.

The second most common method is to use a UV LED and a phosphorus coating. The phosphors convert the UV light into white light. A person might get orange and yellow out of this method of creating white light, but it's still wasteful to spend the energy to produce light in a broad spectrum, and then filter out all but a tiny slice of it. The usable light will still be too dim to be of any use.