Guest Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 What brand do you choose/recommend for your 6 volt applications? I find the Chinese-made bulbs I pick up at NAPA, Autozone, etc. just don't seem to have any longevity. Are there any U.S. manufacturers left? I'm more concerned with dash, tail and park light bulbs than headlamps. Thanks, Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lump Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 If you don't find any other source, I have a large supply of old stock USA made bulbs, of nearly every size. Send me a PM, if you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
414TATA Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 If you are not concerned about being original Matt Harwood put me onto superbrightleds.com I installed rear turn signal and brake & tail LED bulbs. I am very happy with the brightness (order red for rear not white). I did not replace front turn/parking bulbs as they were bright enough. Thank you Matt Harwood and good luck to you Greg. Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Thanks guys. I bought several boxes of USA made, vintage Westinghouse Mazda bulbs off eBay. The cost was very realistic and I'm sure the quality is much better than the cheapos available today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 One of the nice bonuses of buying NOS parts lots is the piles of Bulbs of all sizes I now have. There aren't many sizes I can't find. I even got some nice Bulb displays full of bulbs. That's a great way to get a nice assortments as well, is to buy an older light bulb cabinet, like I see listed on ebay. You pay probably 10-20 cents a bulb or less and get the cabinet to keep them in for free. Most of mine have been Tungsol, Westinghouse, AC and GE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 15 hours ago, GregLaR said: I bought several boxes of USA made, vintage Westinghouse Mazda bulbs off eBay. It is good to have a search running all the time for those hard consumables (not belts or hoses, stuff like that). I watch for manufactured mandrel bent exhaust pipes as well as MOOG chassis parts numbers. If you buy when you don't need you usually get about 80% off. Goes into the Murphy's Law cabinet. I also write it here a lot, check your local NAPA. Even if their stuff is not quite up to the old quantity, at least the carbon footprint is less, due to the shorter boat ride. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Think this may have been discussed before , but sure someone knows if these led clusters you can buy on eBay in standard bulb format so must be interchangeable with filament bulbs . Could they be used as headlights bulbs to achieve better night vision. apologies if I'm asking something stupid. Furthermore what wattage is preferred for dashboard backlighting and say indicators, side lights etc , realise I have original bulbs in filament format and can look up Led equivalent, but that's not necessarily an improvement so any advice appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 They directly interchange with whatever base configuration you get. If you want to use them for directional lights you will need to insert something in the circuit to load the flasher or they won't blink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friartuck Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 It depends on the application. For instruments, the 3 Candle Power (CP) NOS bulbs are fine. However, Brattons offers a 10 CP 6 Volt bulb which is brighter and good for a tail light application: https://www.brattons.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=10+CP+bulb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vila Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 I buy all my NOS bulbs on Ebay. They are name brands manufactured in the USA years ago and last a lot longer than then new foreign made bulbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Steel Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Regarding NOS bulbs- What are your thoughts on the longevity of the bonding/sealing agent between the glass and the metal base? Has someone dissected an old bulb (NOS and/or burned out) to see how the bond is holding out? Did the major bulb manufacturers use the same basic bonding agent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 I have had bulb failures due to the glass separating from the base on cars from the 1990's up. There is one bulb in a two pack on the dash of my '05 Silverado because of a tail light doing that last week. The old bulbs never seemed to fail that way. I have broken many old ones to twist them out with needle nosed pliers, never paid much attention to the bond. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 Weird, I've had glass to metal shell bond failures since I started working on old cars almost 50 years ago. Also in radio repair work. To be fair, most of the failures are on burned out bulbs that I am trying to remove from sockets. Rarely, but I have seen it, the bulb has still been working, just hanging from the wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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