I just installed LEDs on my front turn signal lights (7443 bulbs). I notice while the lights are on they are not as bright as i would like them. WHen the turn signal is on the max brightness is good. So i'm thinking of modding the wiring so the bulb always comes on at full brightness. When the lights are turned on the bulbs will be as bright as possible all the time. When turn signal or hazard lights come on it will blink max bright ON, then OFF, max bright ON, then OFF. The low brightness will no longer be used by itself.


I searched and could not find if anyone had tried this yet. Was looking for a little help on it. I just thought about this so i haven't checked the bulb plug yet since i dont remember it from when i changed the bulb. I assume it has 3 wires going into it....one for low, one for high and one for neutral. I assume when you turn on the lights the low gets power......and i assume when you have the turn signal the other gets power to add both "lights" together to make the high. Does anyone know if this is the case?? I'll be checking it soon enough with a volt meter if no ones knows off hand. If this is indeed how it works then with one relay i should be able to make this work.


Any thoughts?

 

You're thinking too hard...just get higher powered LED bulbs that have the brightness you need. No need to hack up the stock wiring.

Something like this:
http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED-B...48887-1-2.html

 

^^^I hear ya, but i just dont feel like paying $80 for a bulb that i am not sure will be bright enough. Has anyone used these?? ANy pics to see if they are truly bright enough?

 

Bench test the bulb at full brightness for several minutes before modifying the circuit. If it gets hot, then it won't be a good one to try this with.

 

^^Good advice. I'm thinking that because its LEDs that it wont get hot or over tax the circuit.

 

think again about spending $80 on bulbs..
here is an example:
right side has ebay 32smd bulbs, left side has v-led 92smd bulbs. (this is only in on position, not the turn signals)
get the brighter bulbs, and no need to mod the wiring.
these are the bulbs from v-led:
http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED-B...72055-1-2.html

 

^^Thx for the info. Do you have any daytime pics?? Also i never saw the 7443 bulbs in 92smd....maybe they dont make them anymore....how long ago did you get these??...Where they plug and play??

 

I tried looking for them in 7443 also, to no avail.

I ended up going with 120 SMT Amber LEDs from autolumination and will post some pics once they're in.

 

at the moment i dont. I currently have the switchbacks installed, but planning to put the amber bulbs back in and change up the fogs, but trust me they are wicked bright.
and Id like to make a correction on the bulb size you guys providing....

yes they are completely plug and play, make sure to add load resistors...
7440 bulb size is the rear turn signals....
1157 bulbs are the front turn signals/parking lights.. they have the round end connections that twists in the socket. they are available in 92 smd with the link i provided in earlier reply.

 

I guess 1157 is for 06-08...i've got an 04 and it calls for the 7443 which is the rectangle push in connector.

 

1157 is for Type-S, all the base TLs 04-08 use 7443.

 

hmm never knew they were different, ah sorry on that...
get type s headlights lol
or just check this website out...
http://autolumination.com/7443_7440.htm
same place where "guitarplayer16" got them from.

 

Damn that Aulotlumination website is a mess huh....hard to try and pinpoint which one is the best choice...i guess the higher number SMT would be better (the biggest being 120SMT) but then they have other "high power" ones....wtf, need a decoder to understand which is simply the brightest.

 

OP...your overall thought is awesome....

I was thinking on the same lines but got occupied with some other projects....looking into something which will run the LED's are full intensity and flicker them at lower power....

but running them at full intensity will burn the LED's....I think our best bet is the 120SMT or something like that....

 

yeh it is a mess, but they have big variety!!! just got with the 120 version... more than enough.

 

OP. What bulbs are you currently using that you say is too dim during parking light and real bright when turn signal engaged?

I just bought a set of 60SMD LED switchbacks from eBay seller "KaizenMotor" and I hope these aren't the ones you are talking about...

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by vietxquangstah

OP. What bulbs are you currently using that you say is too dim during parking light and real bright when turn signal engaged?

I just bought a set of 60SMD LED switchbacks from eBay seller "KaizenMotor" and I hope these aren't the ones you are talking about...

I got the: V-LEDS AMBER 54 SMT TURN SIGNAL BULBS.......i hope the extra 6 LEDs make a difference for you but i doubt it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vladkarnafel

yeh it is a mess, but they have big variety!!! just got with the 120 version... more than enough.

Seems like it might be enough....i'll wait to see pics of the 92's......if the 92's are bright enough maybe i'll buy the 120's and hopefully they fit thru the hole in the headlight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swoosh

OP...your overall thought is awesome....

I was thinking on the same lines but got occupied with some other projects....looking into something which will run the LED's are full intensity and flicker them at lower power....

but running them at full intensity will burn the LED's....I think our best bet is the 120SMT or something like that....

I wonder if running at full intensity will burn the LED's.....who's to say the bulb can't handle it (good question though). I think the car could handle it because LEDs low consumption but the can the bulb handle it?...hmmm

 

I will have them done before next Wednesday...
post up pics around Tuesday..

 

Low power LED's driven to spec won't produce much heat, but most of these PnP bulbs are overdriven. Cheap LED's usually get hot much faster than the high quality emitters. That's why I'd suggest bench testing it first at 15V with a resistor in series to drive them at 14 - 14.5V.

If the bulb was designed for a dual brightness turn signal application, there's a good chance the high output circuit is overdriving the LED's. Since they only flash bright, there isn't enough time for them to get hot. Keeping them bright all the time could burn up the emitters.

I guess it depends on how much you spent on them. If it's a $10 set of bulbs, no big deal.

 

my bad but i wont be putting up the amber turn signal bulbs in, just gonna stick with switchback bulbs and customizing my fender lights to white... just get the 120smd from the Autolumination web site.

 

Please see my LED writeup with picture thread. I did a specific comparison between the VLED 92 SMD amber towers vs stock filament bulb with high quality pictures.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...6&postcount=32

 

Anyone used the CREE LED turn signals by autolumination?
I'd imagine they'd be totally kick-ass at night but horrible during day...

They have an astigmatic CREE bulb for a wide beam, good for the turn signals if used.

 

Nah but I recently just bought autolumination's 120 SMT amber leds.

I'll see how it turns out.

 

I was contemplating if I should get the 120. I'm leaning towards those since my 68 switchback fried [the amber no longer turns on for one of the bulbs].
I wanted something BRIGHT, which lead me to the CREE but I am most certain it won't do a good job filling up the housing as the 120.
It'd sure as heck match my CREE reverse lights though.

I'd love to see your TL once the lights are installed someday! =]

 

where did you purchase your 68 LED switchbacks?

 

Autolumination =]

 

I'm really anxious to receive my bulbs.
I've read some reviews about autolumination online and wow - so many negative reviews about them blaming the car circuit if the bulb is DOA or doesn't function properly. I heard they mix up the bulbs you order too.
I just hope they send me the right bulbs, and ones that will last me for a long time.
If my new autolumination 120 SMTs ever die out, I won't be going back to them (even if they offer me 50% off).
(Mainly because I live in Canada and can't afford to keep paying $30 to ship there and another $30 to ship back, AND I don't want to take my chances with a bulb that could fail again)

I'd be going with elef bulbs.
Very reliable, recommended by Roger555.

 

25 phi, 1155, 1156, 1157, 3156, 3157 type or Wedge bulb compatible. (For other types, you would modify or expand insertion holes.)

they don't have any 7440/7443 switchbacks?

http://www.elef-usa.com/apps/webstor...s/show/1200203

 

Nah they don't sell switchbacks.

I think most people with switchbacks buy from VLEDs, and lasts them a good amount of time too.

 

When one of my bulbs burned out they blamed it on the car's circuitry. Although it could be a possibility as it was [previously] known that most LED bulbs don't work too well with TLs for some reason?

My 68 burned out once, on the passenger side. I had to pay to get it shipped to Autolumination and they replaced my one bulb and said that any other exchange/replacement there-after would be charged for.

A few months later my bulb burns out again, but this time the amber-LED on my switchback does not fire. Instead it only lights up white and blinks white. Previously the light never worked at all and caused really bad things to happen to my electronics.

I agree it's a pain for us Canadian. Especially when I remember Autolumination was VERY SLOW with shipping. It took far too long to receive some bulbs.
But that topic is for another thread.


Just checked elefs site too. They don't have white...

 

Your story just makes me more worried about my new LEDS =(

What has been done has been done, and it's on its way to me right now so all I can do is hope for the best.

Yeah elef only offers amber leds.
If switchbacks are what you're looking for, I think VLEDs is best.

I should have ordered elefs from the start just to make me feel better about reliability but oh well. I heard these 120 SMTs are brighter.

Roger555's elefs:

 

I'm actually only looking for white so I can modify it to light yellow, to match the rest of my lighting I have going on.

To be honest, I love my autolumination bulbs. They offer some products that other stores don't have but their product-service is a bit on the sketchy [and unfair] side.

The bulbs worked great for me when they were working. In fact they still sort of work great---if that one bulb just fired amber.
According to bforbrian, the 'heavy duty' line is very good [which I didn't know they had]. Hopefully you will not see issues with your bulbs three months down the line.

I saw Rogers elef bulbs before too, and they're great! It definitely is a great alternative to amber bulbs.

 

Well this just made me feel better about my new bulbs lol

I specifically requested the 'heavy duty style' bulbs so I hope they're good! =)

I'll find out early next week heheh

 

^^^ wow so many people with problems with Autolumination....I thought I was the only one....

I took a hit with them as well...and every time she blamed my car circuitary I wanted to reach across and nevermind....

I installed my previously purchased 7443 led's back on the car....from superbrightleds....you guys should check that website...

 

Hahah sorry to continuously make you worry there. My apologies
I'm sure you'd like your bulbs when you get yours.
Hopefully yours is the "heavy duty style".
My [one] switchback has lasted for nearly a year and I only had issues with one. So hopefully the "heavy duty style" works even better.

To be honest my issues with them weren't too too big... well minus the first time they fried.

But yes, they like to blame it on the car's circuitry. Bust most circuitry for cars these days are similar to one-another and use roughly the same voltages. Theoretically there shouldn't be too much issues from one car to another.

I saw superbrightleds. They have a high power 3w lexuon bulb. But they state that their 48SMT is their brightest bulb. The bulb itself looks great... but if they aren't powerful LEDs I'd personally purchase one from VLEDs or autolumation that offers much more LEDs.