LED vs Standard - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

rchase · #16 11-23-2006, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tobybul

Has anyone used LED bulbs? Are they much brighter or the same?

I had to replace two bulbs in the cluster of my 140 chassis car. Since I did not desire to remove the cluster more than once I ordered LED bulbs and was very dissapointed with the results. I ordered a set of white bulbs and a set of amber bulbs from a company that specializes in instrument cluster LED's. The white bulbs made the cluster look aftermarket (a blueish purple tint to it) and the amber bulbs were barely able to produce enough light for the cluster. I sent the LED's back and bought regular incandescent bulbs which were even brighter than the LED's.

If you want your car to retain its original factory appearance I would go with standard bulbs. Standard bulbs do have their shortcomings but perform as engineered when they are new. If your going for that aftermarket ricer look LED bulbs might just be the thing you are looking for. Although if thats the look your going for a tricked out japanese car might suit your needs better than a German car.

tobybul · #17 11-24-2006, 07:48 AM

Thanks for the great replies. Sounds like the hoopla on LED may not be all thats cracked up to be. Am sure many are wondering about its performance like myself. I see them sold all over now but for much more than standard bulbs...

mybenz123 · #18 11-24-2006, 08:14 AM

This might be a solution to the brightness problem.

http://superbrightleds.com/

Louis.

PanzerSD · #19 11-24-2006, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mybenz123

This might be a solution to the brightness problem.

http://superbrightleds.com/

Louis.

the little 36 LED boards that they sell on that site are interesting....Hmmm..

PanzerSD · #20 11-24-2006, 08:32 AM

NAPA is selling 360* LED bulbs...
but they want $33 for just one!

rrgrassi · #21 11-24-2006, 11:03 AM

If you look in the power window switches, they are lit up using yellow LED's. The biggest problems with LED's IMHO is the lack of light spread and the poor dimmimg capabilities.

rchase · #22 11-24-2006, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mybenz123

This might be a solution to the brightness problem.

http://superbrightleds.com/

Louis.

NOPE! Thats where I got mine. They were not "superbright".

rchase · #23 11-24-2006, 12:38 PM

Here are my observations from using LED's to try and light an instrument cluster.

#1 Color issues. White LED's are not white. They are really a blue white color. When shined through the colored filters of an instrument cluster you get some really funky colors. I got a blueish purple out of the cluster of my 140. The amber ones were closer to the color I would have wanted but did not put out enough light to overcome the filters and light the cluster reasonably.

#2 Beam spread issues. Not only did I buy two colors I bought two beam spread patterns. I bought a wide angle and the regular style. The regular style was brighter but I ended up with a spotlight affect in my instrument cluster. The wide angle lit the whole cluster but the brightness was not as bright as the regular style.

#3 Polarity issues. LED's are Light emitting diodes. Diodes in electronic circuits are used to control the polairty of current running through a circuit. If you plug your LED in backwards it will not complete the circuit and your dash will not light.

Led's are great for small switches and places where you don't need a lot of light. My 1982 300SD uses LED's in its power window controls. Im sure my 140 uses a lot of them too. If you notice there are currently no car makers that use LED's for the main instrument light displays. Cars that use non incandecent backlighting usually use CFL bulbs (Compact Flourescent Light). Lexus has used these for years as does MB in the 220 Instrument clusters. The new 221 chassis uses them too behind the center LCD display used for the instruments and night camera.

Rob124 · #24 11-24-2006, 08:32 PM

I'd be interested in a source for acceptably-bright LED stop lamps. The ones I got from www.autolumination.com are unsatisfactory--much too dim. I added extra LED lamps in the unused sockets on my '87 124, and replaced the center stop lamp as well. In principle, using LEDs as stop lamps should reduce the chances of being rear-ended in the event of a panic stop, since the LED will illuminate something like 100 milliseconds faster than an incandescant bulb. That appeals to me...

pawoSD · #25 11-24-2006, 10:56 PM

I almost bought a pair of the Autozone "ULTRA" 50-watt brake light bulbs for the center "brake mod" light sockets when I did my upgrade, but thought about it, and that'd have been 142 watts of light blasting out the back of the car when I put on the brakes....

(I even considered making ALL the lights 50...200 watts of brake lights...

but realized it'd either blow the fuse, brake light switch by the pedal, or melt the wiring....so I opted to use all 21 watt...and they're plenty intense....lights up the road behind me when slowing down...

) What I do want to do sometime is get some high intensity red LED's and make a little strip of like 10-15 of them to conceal along the top of the rear window on the inside under the headliner...so it'd have a bright LED 3'rd brake light up high. I'll look into it eventually...when I do it I want it to be completely concealed.

tobybul · #26 11-25-2006, 07:33 AM

I tried a couple of 1157 sockets from AZ but they were too long otherwise they could work on the taillight holes but unfortunately would not be able to close the housing.