LED lighting!

[Tony617]

Be aware that LED driving lights vary greatly in quality and lighting patterns. From the reviews I have read there is still a lot of work to be done if one is to use LED headlights as replacements for stock headlights.

Also, they run cool, so if you use them in snow/ice conditions, they do not stay clear; the snow/ice covers them quickly. Truck-Lite makes LED headlights with heated lenses for this purpose, but they are 2-2.5X the cost of the non-heated headlights.

I still have two halogen headlights and rubber gaskets that fit on the plugs of the halogen headlights. So far the LED headlights work fine. I have driven in light snow only so far. I will see over time when snows hard if I will have problems or not.

I see lots off cars with LED headlights. I am not sure if they have heated lens or not

 

[Ura-Ki]

My Sprinter has H.I.D. headlights, but standard bulbs everywhere else, so I'm going to replace all the normal bulbs with high output LEDs!

 

[The Heretic]

I don't have LED headlights and never have - I am going by the reviews which seem to mention snow and ice quite often, plus looking at Truck-Lite's offerings I noticed the heated lenses - so I thought it was worth mentioning.

I know LEDs run cooler than halogen or HID, but I have a number of LED flashlights that get too hot to touch - maybe because they are driven so hard in such a small package?

I have LED lighting throughout the house and those are definitely cooler than halogen.

I have had LED tail lights on two cars and one motorcycle. Very bright and never had issues - one car is 15 years old and the stock LED tail lights are still as bright as they were new and they never burned out. But I see the third stop light on some cars from time to time flickering or one or two of the LEDs not functioning - I can only it is a matter of quality since the one on my 15 year old car (sold to a neighbor) still function perfectly.

I would like to put LED headlights on my '91 Toyota pickup, along with some lightbars - the stock headlights suck at night, and I often take the truck into my woods where I need more lighting at night, so the lightbars would be very useful there. I am thinking about the same for my Dodge truck - although its lighting is better and I can get projectors to replace the stock lights.

My BMW has Xenon HID adaptive lighting which is just about right (not too bright or too white). It turns with the corners so it is great here on the mountain where the road is very twisty and there are a lot of critters on the road at night and in the morning - but I would like a light bar or something to reach out a bit further.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Actually, I just checked and both Durangos have LED headlights and they run hot as hell, likely due to the focus lenses! Good to know, and Mine was driven in the heavy snow and ice we had back at thanksgiving, so I k now they will melt the snow and ice off! none of the other lights make any heat, and I had to clear off the snow several times over the 1800 miles in the snow and ice!

 

[jblake00]

Try Armacost. They make quality cabinet LED lights with a sticky back. Everything is rated in lumens, and it's all 12v. Used many times for "task specific" lighting in garages, bathrooms, and kitchens. Should work well in a sprinter.

 

[Tony617]

The combination brake/tail lights have aluminum heat sinks since the have a lot LEDs. They have ICs in them so heat will build up pretty quickly.

 

[cigars]

I hate bubbleguming hate LED brake lights and turn signals. The instant full-power-on nature of LED's does not give your pupils time to adjust. Incandescent bulbs are a natural light and come on slowly, thus your eyes have adequate time to adjust. It's just one more thing in traffic to give you a headache. With all of these vehicles going to LED's it's like the back of every car is a Toshiba billboard in Times Square. I get it though, it's tacticool for cars and trucks. Not sure how we survived all of these decades without them...... Just saying. Now off the lawn please too....

 

[Tony617]

I hate bubbleguming hate LED brake lights and turn signals. The instant full-power-on nature of LED's does not give your pupils time to adjust. Incandescent bulbs are a natural light and come on slowly, thus your eyes have adequate time to adjust. It's just one more thing in traffic to give you a headache. With all of these vehicles going to LED's it's like the back of every car is a Toshiba billboard in Times Square. I get it though, it's tacticool for cars and trucks. Not sure how we survived all of these decades without them...... Just saying. Now off the lawn please too....

Well LED lights last longer than incandescent lights. I used all incandescent for years in all of my vehicles but since I have a canopy and bed liner in my pickup truck, I had to take the canopy off and deal with the bed liner corners. It will hopefully be last set of tail lights for quite some time.

 

[cigars]

Well LED lights last longer than incandescent lights. I used all incandescent for years in all of my vehicles but since I have a canopy and bed liner in my pickup truck, I had to take the canopy off and deal with the bed liner corners. It will hopefully be last set of tail lights for quite some time.

You're right, the are definitely strong benefits to them. I must say that they are a God send when it comes to flashlights where incandescent fall flat in every category.

 

[eldbillbo]

Anyone have any idea what these fit and what they are worth? They don't fit my truck.

 

[po18guy]

Have a look at Optronics. Made in Taiwan to much higher standards than China. Lifetime warranty. Recently had an issue with one I bought 6-7 years ago - might have wired it wrong when testing. Emailed and they are comping me a new one no questions.

HOME

Optronics

optronicsinc.com

Here's their interior 12V and 12-24V lights:

Optronics International > PRODUCTS > LED Lighting > LED Interior/Utility

Optronics

optronicsinc.com

 

[Unka-Boo]

Anyone have any idea what these fit and what they are worth? They don't fit my truck.

View attachment 678729 View attachment 678730 View attachment 678731

Looks likea rellacement for an H6054
5x7 hi-low sealed beams

 

[Tony617]

Looks likea rellacement for an H6054
5x7 hi-low sealed beams

These are same size that I bought for my 1993 Nissan pickup truck. I know some Jeeps use the same bulb as well. I went to the auto parts store for windshield wipers and they still sell the same halogen bulb.

 

[Ura-Ki]

My Guess was ether Jeep or Lawn Tractor!

 

[deadeye]

For inside just go to Home Depot and buy the roll of LED strip lighting and a toggle switch from the 110v section. The lighting has stickie back but if you are worried it may fail just buy the 1/4in 3m trim tape to mount it, If you have wood framework you could also staple gun it. The rolls have one end already attached but you can cut it whatever length you want and solder another provided lead on and run another strip. I have used it in canopies and also when I helped a friend rebuild an old camp trailer, trailer lit up like daylight with one strip in the middle of the ceiling. You can also find 3m red tape backed strips on line, if you were closer I'd set you up and install it.


Like this but it was cheaper. You can also find it with the red 3m automotive trim type tape backing.

Armacost Lighting RibbonFlex Pro 32.8 ft. LED Tape Strip Light 30 LEDs/m Bright White (4000K) 151250 - The Home Depot

Armacost Lighting's RibbonFlex Pro LED Tape Light is the perfect LED light strip for low-voltage, energy-efficient accent lighting projects. These LED strip lights are designed to meet the layout and installation requirements of lighting professionals and feature high quality, professional-grade...

www.homedepot.com

12 Volt LED light strips 5M(16FT) 300 LED's ea. roll red,green,blue,amber, white | eBay

NOTE: THE ONE MARKED "WHITE" is actually "WARM WHITE" Warm white has a tint of yellow in it. WARM WHITE ( MARKED WHITE WHEN CHOOSINGTHE COLOR) ( HAS A SLIGHT YELLOW TINT). you can see the pictures I have a 3 led piece a 9 led piece and a 12 led piec e that I just cut off the roll.

www.ebay.com

For turn signal/ tail lights I just get the replacement flashers, Napa has a good selection in house. The ones I use on streetrods have separate grounds to fasten but their mounted on the wiring harness fuse panel I usually use anyway and just use the mount screws.

 

[bbbass]

For inside just go to Home Depot and buy the roll of LED strip lighting and a toggle switch from the 110v section. The lighting has stickie back but if you are worried it may fail just buy the 1/4in 3m trim tape to mount it, If you have wood framework you could also staple gun it. The rolls have one end already attached but you can cut it whatever length you want and solder another provided lead on and run another strip. I have used it in canopies and also when I helped a friend rebuild an old camp trailer, trailer lit up like daylight with one strip in the middle of the ceiling. You can also find 3m red tape backed strips on line, if you were closer I'd set you up and install it.

I replaced all the strip lights in my camp trailer with LED. Just opened up the enclosures, pulled the flourescent tubes and used the LED strips with backing tape. I bought long strips of it from Ebay. Comes in diff colors and diff brightness. I also replaced all the 12V bayonet and push in lamps with LED of various brightness. Did it for power savings when using battery/solar.

 

[deadeye]

I replaced all the strip lights in my camp trailer with LED. Just opened up the enclosures, pulled the flourescent tubes and used the LED strips with backing tape. I bought long strips of it from Ebay. Comes in diff colors and diff brightness. I also replaced all the 12V bayonet and push in lamps with LED of various brightness. Did it for power savings when using battery/solar.

I started with pretty much nothing and he was going to be using 12v most of the time. Had to put in a new fridge as old one was gone along with on demand hot water and a complete re plumb. It was a job especially rebuilding both ends framework and much of the bottom on the sides. NORMAL people would have pushed it off a cliff.........

Sorry for the thread drift.......

 

[bbbass]

I started with pretty much nothing and he was going to be using 12v most of the time. Had to put in a new fridge as old one was gone along with on demand hot water and a complete re plumb. It was a job especially rebuilding both ends framework and much of the bottom on the sides. NORMAL people would have pushed it off a cliff.........

Sorry for the thread drift.......

View attachment 678967 View attachment 678968 View attachment 678970 View attachment 678971

But it's a classic!!!

 

[FourTeeFive]

Bigger truck stops usually have a good selection of LED lights for interior and exterior use. Also, check out marine electric supply shops. You'll likely find better quality lights there, although they won't be cheap.

 

[JohnnyD]

met this guy at hot import nights. he hooked me up with some led head lights for my skyline. seems like quality stuff and the guy is all about it. hes in vancouver.

Headlights NW HID, LED, Projector Retrofitting & Custom Headlights

Providing HID, LED Headlights, Projector Retrofit, Custom Headlights, Headlights Repair, Tail Lights, Custom Tail Lights & more. Light up your world with our headlights today!

www.headlightsnw.com