Hello. Has anyone replaced their stock turn and stop/tail light bulbs with LED? What kind did you buy? Do they fit perfectly?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
I have converted my entire bike to LEDs. Here's the thread that I started that covers both the turn signals and taillight. Turn Signal Module - How Does It Work??? - Brillot2000Hello. Has anyone replaced their stock turn and stop/tail light bulbs with LED? What kind did you buy? Do they fit perfectly?
Thanks in advance.
I wonder if they accidentally shipped you a pair of 1156 bulbs? Our bikes take an 1157 and the two bulbs look and fit identically. The difference is that the filaments are reversed so if you put an 1156 into our taillight, the brighter brake light filament will be lit instead of the dimmer taillight filament. When you hit the brakes, the dimmer taillight filament will light and will not appear to make much of a difference.Replaced the brake/tail light with an led. The tail light was much brighter than stock.....too bright, and there wasn't much change in brightness with the brakes applied.....so changed it back to stock. This was at least 5 years ago, so maybe LEDs are better now.
The taillight uses 2 1157 bulbs. The turn signals, on the other hand, use the European version of 1156, which is known as BAU15S. In the turn signals LEDs will require the installation of load stabilizing resistors across each LED Bulb.I wonder if they accidentally shipped you a pair of 1156 bulbs? Our bikes take an 1157 and the two bulbs look and fit identically. The difference is that the filaments are reversed so if you put an 1156 into our taillight, the brighter brake light filament will be lit instead of the dimmer taillight filament. When you hit the brakes, the dimmer taillight filament will light and will not appear to make much of a difference.
It is a really easy mistake to make and you see it on cars regularly. Bright tail lights and dim brake lights.
It's a matter of preference in many cases. Power saving is just one of the best-known benefits.I question why you would bother replacing the standard globes with LEDs at those prices when a standard globe costs 10-20% of that and will last for years.
Even the more expensive LED globes have yet to be proven anywhere near as long lasting as they claim.
In 10 years and 92,oookm I have only ever needed to replace 1 stop lamp globe, no indicator globes or pilot globes.
Headlamp globes (low beam), on the other hand, I need to replace on average every 2 years.
I carry a spare in the LH glove box all the time.
That and a couple of extra fuses are the ONLY spare parts that I carry.
The alternator output has plenty of headroom to cover a few accessories without the need to try to save a few watts that are only used intermittently and for short periods.
Macka
Yes, I agree with most of what you say, including that the modern trend is to go LED as original equipment.It's a matter of preference in many cases. Power saving is just one of the best-known benefits.
I designed and manufactured custom LED Boards for British Bikes for nearly 15 years. LEDs are far superior to an incandescent bulb as they are not affected by vibration, have a long life, bright light output when the LED color used matches the lens color, and turn on and off instantly. The instant on/off characteristics is an attention getter in my opinion.
Most modern vehicles come standard with many LED Lighting products from the manufacturer now. That should be an indicator that where everything is headed nowadays.
TMI Dude... :smile_popcorn:Yes, I agree with most of what you say, including that the modern trend is to go LED as original equipment.
That is OK if the lens and reflector are designed to suit the LEDs.
Often, fitting an LED globe to an existing lamp will give an unsatisfactory light pattern.
As a professional motor mechanic for nearly 50 years, I can tell you that my customers would rather pay $2-$3 for a globe every three or four years than several hundred Dollars when an LED lamp fails.
For example, in OZ, a high-level brake lamp in the rear window of a Nissan Maxima is nearly $500 plus fitting and requires the removal of the rear seats, rear quarter trims, and rear parcel shelf to remove the lamp.
They fail often and it takes more than two hours to replace the lamp.
Macka
From experience, I can tell you that the design engineer is operating the LED at the high edge of the power curve, which overdrives the LED and leads to premature failures in a short amount of time. They are overdriving them to get the most intensity out of them. Also, there are usually several LEDs in series and a failed LED takes out that whole string of them.Just to clarify, Bruce, the two examples that I quoted are both LED lamps that must be replaced when they fail.
My point was that it would have been much cheaper and easier to replace a globe in a conventional lamp.
The reason that they are difficult to remove is that the vehicle manufacturer erroneously believes that the lamps will last for the life of the car.
Strangely, they have replacement lamps readily available for applications are most unlikely to be damaged in an accident.
Curious, isn't it?
Macka
Hello. Has anyone replaced their stock turn and stop/tail light bulbs with LED? What kind did you buy? Do they fit perfectly?
Thanks in advance.
Whilst I agree that the LED lamp will make you more visible from the rear, if I was to do a Roadworthiness Certificate Test on your bike I would have to fail the LED tail lamp as it is too bright.I have successfully replaced my stock rear turn signal bulbs and my stop/tail light bulbs with LED without modification, after a little research. The LEDs were much brighter than the stock filament bulbs! I was surprised that the turn LED flashes at the same rate as when the original bulbs were in. I was going to look at the possibility of replacing the front turn signals as well but I don't think I will do it because I think there's so much to remove to get to the bulbs up front!
I bought the LED bulbs from Amazon with the links below. I have attached (I hope I can attach) a picture of the stop light with the LED bulb on the left and still with the original bulb on the right. As you can see, the LED bulb really shines bright.
Stop/Tail Light LED replacement: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DGM2JKX/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Rear Turn Signal LED replacement: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075MXQM7X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I don't think there is such a test in the U.S. of A.Whilst I agree that the LED lamp will make you more visible from the rear, if I was to do a Roadworthiness Certificate Test on your bike I would have to fail the LED tail lamp as it is too bright.
Light output must be "approximately equivalent" to a 5 watt conventional bulb, not noticeably more.
I also feel that US$40 (AU$55) is a very high price to pay for two indicator globes.
Macka