Replacing bulbs with LED

[timecapsule]

Hi everyone.  So I'm contemplating converting to LED for my turn signal and brake light on my 48 Chrysler.  It's still 6 volt positive ground.  LEDLight.com says that I might need one of their  load equalizer wired into my turn signals or my signals might hyper flash.

 

 They also suggest using their flasher.  I'm not opposed to buying a flasher from them.  I'm guessing my local napa auto parts store won't stock a 6 volt positive ground flasher anyways.  If I use their flasher do I simply mount my original circuit breaker on to the new flasher?  Looks like I would have to modify it somewhat since it is original and mounted with a screw through an eye opening on the original flasher, and the new flasher is the slip on male/female connector style.  They also say the new bulbs may not fit in my original sockets so I might need to buy matching sockets.

 

I'm curious if anyone has done this?  I'm also wondering about that circuit breaker.  Will that circuit breaker be ok if I simply swap out the bulbs and use my original flasher?  Basically I just want to be seen better.  Particularly during the day.  I suspect cars behind me might not see my turn signals and brake light very well on bright sunny days.

[Mark Gregory]

Here are some comments from a Thread I had started in January if it helps.

 

 

[28 Chrysler]

I would say your turn signals would not flash do to low current draw. Modern cars "Hyper Flash" when a bulb is out.

[Matt Harwood]

Leave your front indicator bulbs as incandescent and that should be enough resistance in the system to make the flash properly. I personally like the warm glow of an incandescent when the lenses are clear like a parking light. Even the "warm" LEDs are a little wrong-looking on a vintage car. Taillights, yes, use LEDs, the added brightness is a great idea.

[60FlatTop]

I am helping a friend recommission a long stored 1935 Studebaker Dictator. Lighting an brakes are the priorities. After a visit to my garage he went home and made a 25' jumper wire with a big clip on one end to clamp on the battery post and a smaller one to clip on the bulb socket. He was quite impressed at how bright his bulbs could be without a high resistance ground. He will be soldering a dedicated ground to the bulb socket and terminating it on a shiny spot on the frame for all the bulbs, headlights included.

 

Tomorrow afternoon the carburetor gets a massaging.

Bernie

[timecapsule]

Thanks for your input so far guys.  It looks like it's going to be trial and error. 

In this thread,  https://forums.aaca.org/topic/274052-1948-windsor-flasher/   Back in 2016, c49er  added some pictures explaining the wiring at the flasher and also mentioned that the circuit breaker was providing full protection for the turn signals.  But I'm still a little confused as to how it works?  It looks basically like a set of exposed points.  I'd like to hear an example of something going wrong and how the circuit breaker performs protection ? 

 

[padgett]

Guys: there is a simple answer for non computer cars. A "constant rate" flasher designed for trailer towing. Just flashes, doesn't care about current (will actually have to check to make sure lights are working. Horrors.)

 

ps https://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-NO-535-5-2-Thermal-Flasher/dp/B000CSYL3C/

Edited May 24, 2020 by padgett (see edit history)

[Jon37]

I installed LED's all around, including turn signals (in my car the taillamps are dual filament: one for the taillight and one for the brake / turnsignal).  I would recommend the electronic flasher (as opposed to the old style thermal type flashers -- which may not even work in the case of the LED's).  Although the LED supplier said that all lamps that share a circuit, must be LED's, I used incandescent lamps on the front signal lights, and LED's on the rear.  The electronic flasher works very well and the intermittent flashing is precise.

 

The supplier recommended red LED's for the rear lights, not white.  The result is a very bright taillight and brake/turnsignal, even though this is for a 1930's car with six volts (positive ground).  The company also makes LED headlight lamps with the "American Prefocus" flanged-type base typical to 1930's cars.

 

Several companies offer these retro-fit LEDs.  I happened to use this one in England: http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/online-shop-for-led-bulbs-and-light-boards-etc.php

[JACK M]

The breaker is there to protect from a short. Wont matter what bulbs are at the end of the circuit.

[Brill_C-37M_Bus]

I just received the LEDs to convert everything in my vehicle, except the turn signals.  Of course, being a 30’ bus, it’s a lot of bulbs to change!  I spent several nights just figuring out what to get, so I hope some of what I learned comes in handy for someone.

 

There’s a lot of LED bulbs on the market right now, which is both good and bad.  It was hard to narrow down what to get, but on the bright side, there’s enough variety of light color and design that I can make everything look mostly like it has the original bulbs.  Some just have a frosted globe, but some even have a clever filament-shaped LED inside a glass-like globe.

 

I narrowed my searches by the bulb socket type to eliminate 90% of the irrelevant results.  In my case, BA9s and BA15s were the sockets, meaning bayonet base, 9 or 15 mm, and Single contact.

 

Then I looked up the approximate light output of the traditional bulbs in lumens, and looked for comparable LEDs.  I couldn’t find one source for all of them, but just Googling the GE bulb number got me specs for each.  Watt ratings are so different between LED and incandescent that they’re useless for comparison.  I needed 3 different brightnesses of BA15s bulb, corresponding to GE bulb numbers 67, 93, and 1141, so finding different lumens will help keep things looking original.

 

I’ll be sure to post the results once I have the bus running with the new bulbs installed.  If they burn cooler, last longer, and slightly reduce fire risk, I’ll be very happy!

[timecapsule]

7 hours ago, Brill_C-37M_Bus said:

I just received the LEDs to convert everything in my vehicle, except the turn signals.  Of course, being a 30’ bus, it’s a lot of bulbs to change!  I spent several nights just figuring out what to get, so I hope some of what I learned comes in handy for someone.

 

There’s a lot of LED bulbs on the market right now, which is both good and bad.  It was hard to narrow down what to get, but on the bright side, there’s enough variety of light color and design that I can make everything look mostly like it has the original bulbs.  Some just have a frosted globe, but some even have a clever filament-shaped LED inside a glass-like globe.

 

I narrowed my searches by the bulb socket type to eliminate 90% of the irrelevant results.  In my case, BA9s and BA15s were the sockets, meaning bayonet base, 9 or 15 mm, and Single contact.

 

Then I looked up the approximate light output of the traditional bulbs in lumens, and looked for comparable LEDs.  I couldn’t find one source for all of them, but just Googling the GE bulb number got me specs for each.  Watt ratings are so different between LED and incandescent that they’re useless for comparison.  I needed 3 different brightnesses of BA15s bulb, corresponding to GE bulb numbers 67, 93, and 1141, so finding different lumens will help keep things looking original.

 

I’ll be sure to post the results once I have the bus running with the new bulbs installed.  If they burn cooler, last longer, and slightly reduce fire risk, I’ll be very happy!

Why did you not convert the turn signals ?