Jack Worstell Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 ply33......Your comments above are very interesting. It's the first time I've ever seen an attempt to compare incandescent vs LED and incandescent vs halogen in a quantitative way. I've always thought that LEDs draw much less current ( on a CP basis ) than incandescent bulbs......based on reading many many comments ( all non-quantitative ) on the subject. but this is the first time I've seen a quantitative (4X) factor cited ..... Do you have a reference for this ? I've seen comments ( non-quantitative ) containing inferences that halogens pull more current than do incandescent bulbs........... I've often wondered about the basis for this. Your factor of 40% less ( on a CP basis ) is the first time I've seen a quantified comparison.....and somehow I'm not surprised that halogens are more efficient. Again...if you have a reference I'd be interested in seeing it. It would take the guessing out of all of this if the manufactures would cite CP/watts/amps for all of their bulbs....sometimes I see this given....but usually only part of this info is given. And something else they should always give is the "color" level.(eg there are many different "whites") Case in point: we used 'white' LEDs to replace the regular 1154 brake/taillight bulbs in our 1937 Special. But these...behind the red lens..... gave a gnarlish orange-red appearance. Luckily we then found "red" LEDs 1154 replacements....and these worked out very well. Thanks for the clarification on this issue. Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 3 hours ago, Jack Worstell said: ply33......Your comments above are very interesting. It's the first time I've ever seen an attempt to compare incandescent vs LED and incandescent vs halogen in a quantitative way. I've always thought that LEDs draw much less current ( on a CP basis ) than incandescent bulbs......based on reading many many comments ( all non-quantitative ) on the subject. but this is the first time I've seen a quantitative (4X) factor cited ..... Do you have a reference for this ? I've seen comments ( non-quantitative ) containing inferences that halogens pull more current than do incandescent bulbs........... I've often wondered about the basis for this. Your factor of 40% less ( on a CP basis ) is the first time I've seen a quantified comparison.....and somehow I'm not surprised that halogens are more efficient. Again...if you have a reference I'd be interested in seeing it. It would take the guessing out of all of this if the manufactures would cite CP/watts/amps for all of their bulbs....sometimes I see this given....but usually only part of this info is given. And something else they should always give is the "color" level.(eg there are many different "whites") Case in point: we used 'white' LEDs to replace the regular 1154 brake/taillight bulbs in our 1937 Special. But these...behind the red lens..... gave a gnarlish orange-red appearance. Luckily we then found "red" LEDs 1154 replacements....and these worked out very well. Thanks for the clarification on this issue. Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com You can do a web search with something like "lumens per watt incandescent quartz halogen led" and find a number of sources. They vary a little based on application, but you will usually find a table with various wattages and lumens for different technologies. 4 hours ago, hidden_hunter said: http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/led-headlamp-bulbs-shop.php Anyone tried that conversion? Classic And Vintage Bulbs in Australia (the people I got my 6v quartz-halogen bulbs from) called the bulb I needed a "ba15d" and I see LED versions with that nomenclature on the site you linked. Very tempting to order a set from England and see how they work. I look forward to the experiences of anyone on this forum that has done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 2 minutes ago, ply33 said: You can do a web search with something like "lumens per watt incandescent quartz halogen led" and find a number of sources. They vary a little based on application, but you will usually find a table with various wattages and lumens for different technologies. Classic And Vintage Bulbs in Australia (the people I got my 6v quartz-halogen bulbs from) called the bulb I needed a "ba15d" and I see LED versions with that nomenclature on the site you linked. Very tempting to order a set from England and see how they work. I look forward to the experiences of anyone on this forum that has done that. I'm tempted to try them on the caddy when it's up and running again - I bought model A LED commercial truck light (simple stainless steel ring on a black cup) for my rear tail lights (caddy only had a license plate light and no brake light) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynaflash8 Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 ply33 got too technical for an old guy like me. By the way ply33, glad you're doing well. I remember you from Baltimore. Anyway, all I know is that they made the ammeter go to negative on my car. If there was somebody around here who knew how to set a voltage regulator, maybe that could have been corrected. I have a bunch of NOS Delco voltage regulators on the shelf. The generator is rebuilt. I don't like seeing the ammeter running to the discharge side, so I took the Halogen's back out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Worstell Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 LV Dave.....so now I guess all bulbs in your car are halogen ?? No LEDs ? And no incandescent bulbs ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billorn Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 I use halogen bulbs in my 55 olds and saw a bit of an improvement but it wasnt huge. Of course that was with seal beams already. I did notice that it showed more discharge at red lights but it was charged back up after driving. I think newer cars (at least from the 1930s?) with regulators are better than old cars with just a brush type system that only pushes a fixed amount. I never worried about the discharge amount on the gage because it was never discharging long enough to hurt the battery and it would be charged back up in a few seconds of driving. Dynaflash8 I bet your car would be ok even if it showed discharge at idle I think thats normal as long as it charged back up after you were driving and eventually the gage goes back to 0 which shows the regulator is working right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_Heil Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 (edited) 16 hours ago, hidden_hunter said: http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/led-headlamp-bulbs-shop.php Anyone tried that conversion? So, they are out there, thanks HH. Looked up Pound to Dollar a Pound = $1.29 Anyone know of anyone who has taken the plunge? Edited May 3, 2017 by Brian_Heil (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS VEGAS DAVE Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 7 hours ago, Jack Worstell said: LV Dave.....so now I guess all bulbs in your car are halogen ?? No LEDs ? And no incandescent bulbs ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com Jack, you are correct and the headlights are great, the tail lights are bright, and I can see of the gauges easily including the clock. The ammeter shows DISCHARGE when idling at a stoplight but as I drive away it shows POSITIVE CHARGE. I am 100% satisfied with this project and think its not to hard or expensive for anyone with a 38 to have the same results. The most important thing is the reflectors, no bulb, no matter how bright will give great results with out good reflectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Worstell Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Dave.....the halogen bulbs for the instrument panel....where did you get them ? Jack Worstell jlwmaster@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS VEGAS DAVE Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 Jack, THE LITTLE BRITISH CAR COMPANY, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Worstell Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Thanks Dave. In the interim I have found LED bulbs with BA 9 bases.....these work also well for instrument panel bulbs in our old cars. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodneybeauchamp Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 On 1/04/2017 at 12:10 AM, Steve_bigD said: Driving my 38 Special back from my son's wedding last summer at night I realized how bad the lights were. At 50MPH I was overdriving the lights and the brake lights were barely brighter than taillights! I had the Uvira process done to the reflectors about 35 years ago and they still reflect great. The problem was the wiring and bulbs. Steve D Hi Steve, Many thanks for the illuminating article on relays in the headlamps on your 1938 Buick. I also like modifications and upgrades that cant be seen When I picked up my '38 Special and drove it home, the last 2 hours was in darkness. And I mean darkness, the headlights were useless. Lucky it was on a back secondary road but was still blinded by oncoming cars, several who decided to flash high beam, thinking my lights were not on. It was a terrible introduction to 1938 lighting. Take two, I cleaned up all the connections on the terminal strips and you could now see the headlights shining on the garage wall 3 feet away. When driving, the lights were still awful but I could see they were on and they were better .... sort of. Take three. I am putting in halogen lamps from Anthony Pearson and seeing how they go but am moving to Take Four as soon as I have time. Take four. I now have the 6V relays and will be installing them as soon as I can in the headlights. Will keep you posted how it goes, as I hate leaving readers in the dark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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