LED Taillight bulbs?

Posted By: Kern Dog

LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/13/12 10:39 PM

I was considering a switch to the LED bulbs. I saw some at a local "speed shop" and they were priced at $10 each. The Charger takes 4 1157 syle and 2 1057 for the inners. I may be wrong on the inner #. Is that a decent price? It seems that $60 for taillight bulbs is a little steep. I dont mind spending a LITTLT more, but 10 times the price???
Are there other options? Thanks!

Posted By: cjskotni

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/13/12 10:45 PM

10$ a bulb is about average for LED bulbs. Heck, I have seen LED bulbs that run upwards of 45$ a piece on Summit!

They aren't a cheap upgrade relative to what they replace (99 cent bulbs) and I am on the fence myself if i should invest on LED on my Charger or not....I have heard mixed reviews on them.

If you do go with them, I'd be interested to hear what you think of them.

Posted By: GoodysGotaCuda

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/13/12 10:58 PM

In my opinion, the small replacement bulbs for tail lights won't cut it. LEDs are very directional lighting and it will get lost in most of our housings.

I bought trailer lights and adapted..

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=67744.msg695422#msg695422

Posted By: Pyper70

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/14/12 12:26 AM

I actually did a comparison on my 69. I show the differences between bayonet style LED bulbs, incandescents, and also the PCBs. I use the PCB. Hyper White...Red just doesnt cut it for me. The Hyper whites are stupidly bright. I have the two outer "sections" on a Hi-Lo. and the inner most of each on a Lo. I have 432 rear facing LEDs and the shadow behind (where the factory bulbs went) I placed six 36LED RED 1156/1157s to place a red tint effect wired in with the brakes.

http://www.youtube.com/v/2Rz7NTJtL2o

Posted By: GO_Fish

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/14/12 01:53 AM

I agree with Pyper and Goody. Forget adding straight up replacement LED bulbs in LARGE tail light housings. You will waste money and not be happy with the results. If you have small tail lights like a '68 Barracuda or '71-'73 Swinger then you will be okay just upgrading bulbs without getting fancy.

Posted By: Big_E

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/17/12 06:54 AM

I was happy with the leds in my small housings on my 69 RR. I switched almost all of the lights in my car to leds. I did have a issue with the led for the dome light. I found out the hard way and toasted my dimmer switch.

Leds can be dirt cheap if you don't mind waiting a couple weeks for them.
Red_LEDs

Posted By: Kern Dog

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/17/12 07:04 AM

I saw a link in another post on DodgeCharger.com. Some guy makes LED boards to fit inside the housings, and also has a sequential turn signal option! They are significantly brighter, but the kit costs $300. I think I'd be better off buying the Bilstien shocks instead.

Posted By: Rug_Trucker

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/17/12 03:22 PM

Posted By: FASTBACK340

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/17/12 03:28 PM

Like Scott mentioned, the plug-in replacement LED bulbs work great in the `68 Barracuda tail light. The bulbs I bought were found on e-Bay for about $10 a pair. I used the barrel-style w/LED's around the edge for more light-dispersion in the small housing.

The seller's name is Sylvia-biz.
http://stores.ebay.com/Sylvia-biz-Store/...1513&_pgn=2

As for the actual installation, you must match the rest of the circuit with LED's. You also have to use an electronic flasher as the old bi-metallic type will not operate. I installed LED's in the tail/brake lights and front parking/directional's and they work & look great.

* While your at it add a third brake light using LED's too. I tapped into the Barracuda's brake light switch before the directional switch and ran it to a high mounted billit aluminum street rod style lamp. I attached it to the upper rear headliner lip and tucked the wires under the inner weatherstrip for the window. Looks great at night and is VERY effective.

Posted By: A57_RT

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/17/12 03:42 PM

I dont think its been mentioned yet, but there is a trade off for the leds, esp on a fresh resto with NOS parts.

Even if the leds are not up to spec they will not heat up and increase the rate your lenses fade/crack.

Grab a 1157 with your fingers and have one hit the brakes, its all heat....

Posted By: Pyper70

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/17/12 05:15 PM

Quote:

I was happy with the leds in my small housings on my 69 RR. I switched almost all of the lights in my car to leds. I did have a issue with the led for the dome light. I found out the hard way and toasted my dimmer switch.

What exactly did you do with the dome that we all should learn from? I haven't changed my dome light yet. I have the front turn signals in the valance in (Amber), I have the reverse lamps in (Hyper White), the license plate light (Warm White), the trunk light is another PCB (Hyper White). I installed bi-directional LEDs in the dash for illumination, turn signals, e-brake, console shifter. (cool white)

I can't find anything to fit in the console courtesy lights though. I might have to change the pigtail out and put another bulb in there. Those are the ones you want a definite LED in there. A regular bulb will burn a hole right through the lens if you have your door open for a while. Also can't find anything to fit the hood turn signals for the Charger.

Posted By: Big_E

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/18/12 06:52 AM

Quote:

Quote:

I was happy with the leds in my small housings on my 69 RR. I switched almost all of the lights in my car to leds. I did have a issue with the led for the dome light. I found out the hard way and toasted my dimmer switch.

What exactly did you do with the dome that we all should learn from?

The 1004 led blubs that I bought have one major flaw, they were all grounded to the metal case. If you use the blub as new, chances are you will fry your dimmer switch AND a fuse.

To fix any problems you have to un-solder the two bottom contact areas & take the top off the blub. Don't pull too hard because there is a line soldered to the metal case. Un-solder that line. You may have to lengthen it for the next step. Now just reassemble & re-solder the two lines to the bottom contacts. Then use a real good glue, I used Gorilla Glue, to keep the two halves together.

Also, maybe because the bases are different from the OE blubs, I blew a fuse the first time when I left my door open to put the blub in. So either solder in a old base or just make sure you have no power going to your socket when you install your new led blubs. This was before I found out about the grounded case so that may have been the problem all along.

You could buy some leds and use the bases from your old blubs to make any special blubs you need. I used a small panel and a old base for my map light. It is crazy bright! I have seen round panels that would work perfect for the console lights.

Posted By: 68Cbarge

Re: LED Taillight bulbs? - 03/19/12 04:07 AM

I upgraded to LED's in the Waygun.
I use the 360 degree bulbs to ensure full lighting of the housing.
They cost more,but look and work better.
For best results,use an electronic flasher and load resistors for the turn signals.
superbrite led and Putco sells them.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/

http://www.putco.com/products.cfm?action=ProductView&Id=9ac2e07b-df8c-1992-9078-7540c16dd87f