LED replacement bulbs - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

The Warden · #1 12-10-2003, 05:33 PM

Hello!

I'm looking at putting LED's in place of the stock light bulbs on my truck (I haven't seen any LED bulbs that are compatible with my 123; does anyone know if they exist?). Only thing is, I've only found one place that has LED's that'll replace standard 194/1156/1157 bulbs, and they don't appear to have any bulbs that put out light similar to what you'd see from an incandescent bulb (there's one that's "super-white", but it looks to have a blueish tinge to the light put out). Of course, except the back-up lights, every light on my truck's got a lens that dictates the color people see. My question is, would it be better to use the super-white bulbs (from this site, they're more expensive, in addition to being more of a blue/white than just white), or would it be better to use a bulb that's colored similar to the lens color (i.e. use a yellow bulb for the front turn signals and cab lights, red for the tail lights, etc)? Will the light output be diminished by the lens, if the bulb color and the lens color are one and the same?

Also, this is a dumb question, but can LED's be dimmed by lower voltage? i.e. if I put LED's in the instrument cluster lights, could I still dim them with the stock rheostat?

Also, I know that LED's will last longer than incandescent bulbs, but does anyone have a figure on how much longer they last?

Any thoughts and comments would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

The Warden · #2 12-10-2003, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tkamiya
Yes - you can dim it. It won't get as bright as regular lamps or get as dim as regular lamps though.

You're referring specifically to the bulbs that are on the rheostat, or are you saying that any LED won't get as bright as a regular light?

Thanks!

The Warden · #3 12-10-2003, 06:08 PM

One of the bulbs they have listed is supposed to be a replacement for a 194 bulb (which is used for the instrument lights on my truck), which has 4 LED's, so it's better than usinga single LED.

OTOH, I plan to someday replace my instrument panel with a set of Isspro gauges, and if I do that, every gauge will have it's own bulb...

{on edit} This post was supposed to go after tkamiya's next post...

85drtysthbenz · #4 12-10-2003, 09:34 PM

i have ordered the super white LEDs from www.superlumination.com ...i got the ones with the focused lenses,not the inverted lenses,which emit light from the sides....in most of our cars,the lights travel through a prism,or reflector,to reach the gauges....the best bulb for that,i think,is an incandescent bulb which puts out light in all directions,rather than straight ahead like the LEDs i have....the LEDs with focused lenses are completely worthless in our case,because they only put out light from the end of the bulb,thus not really using the prism,which is just above the bulb location when installed,meaning the light from the side of the bulb is mainly the light you see in the cluster,because its being reflected by the prism

with that said,maybe the LED bulbs with an inverted lense would work well for our cars,because they emit light through the sides rather than the end of the bulb...i havent tried any of them,so i cant say for sure...but im not optimistic that they would be any better than a regular 3w OEM replacement bulb...

ive also tried the "hyper-white" 5 watt bulbs you see on ebay...do not get those,they will melt the plastic surrounding the bulb...

right now,im using regular 3w replacement bulbs,until i can find some that will put out a purer white light,but wont melt my plastic the way the 5watt bulbs almost did....it seems kind of like a catch 22 either way you go....you can get the LEDs but the light wont be as bright...you can get the 5watt hyper whites,but theyll only last a week or so,before they melt your cluster....or you can have the drab old 3watt OEM replacements,and deal with that ugly as hell yellow glow they put out...if anyone can come up with something better,im certainly all ears

dave

The Warden · #5 12-11-2003, 02:44 AM

Dave, thanks for the link...they look cheaper than the directpart.com lights.

I have to ask, what difference does the extra LED's have? I noticed that some have 12 LED's, while some have 19 LED's. Is it a difference in light output? If so, which one would perform closest to an incandesent bulb? My primary reason for going LED is the longevity...

Also, how much voltage is "too much"? Do I need to be monitoring my electrical system especially carefully, or is it more on the lines of putting 24 volts on a 12 volt bulb being too much?

And, back to one of my first questions, what color should I be looking at? Should I go with the color of the lens for each bulb, or go with white for them all?

Also, lastly, will an LED bulb work properly as a replacement bulb for a 123 brake light bulb? IIRC, you're not supposed to use 1156 bulbs on a 123 (even though they'll fit and light up) because of issues with the cruise control.

Thanks!

85drtysthbenz · #6 12-11-2003, 03:18 AM

i have LED bulbs for my taillights,with 12 bulbs,if im not mistaken...they are a bit bigger around than the stock bulbs,so i had to cut out a little bit where the bulb fits...i would check to see if the lights will fit where you need them,before just getting as many LEDs on a bulb as you can find,you may have trouble getting them to fit....

as far as the LEDs go for outside lighting,i like them a lot....they give a more crisp red glow than my old incandescents did

as for the voltage,i havent a clue....i just plugged mine in,and off i went...everything seems fine to me...i havent tried using LEDs for my brake lights,because i heard the same thing,that they can mess with the cruise,so i just went with red colored incandescents in my brake lights

lastly,i wouldnt recommend using colored bulbs unless you have clear lenses...it would seem to me that a red bulb shining through a red lense would not be near as bright as a white bulb shining through a red lense...the only time i would suggest using colored bulbs is if you had all clear taillights like i do

akry · #7 12-12-2003, 01:18 AM

I have been thinking about possible LED replacement as well.... And have been browsing through this site....

http://www.led.net/datasheets/auto_index/auto_index.htm

You guys might want to check it out..... So far, they seem to be the best... But then again, what do I know... heheh...

The Warden · #8 12-12-2003, 03:02 AM

akry, the bulbs on the site you listed look nice, but $84 for a single white 1156/1157 replacement?!? Ouch...or am I reading it wrong?

For comparison, the superillumination.com 1156/1157 bulbs are about $11 each...

Why the huge price difference?

akry · #9 12-13-2003, 04:43 AM

As some one mentioned, LED shoots light straight out instead of to the side... But look at their bulbs.. They have LEDs facing side as well as the usual LEDs that face backward.... That, in theory, should fix some of the problem with retrofit LED bulbs.... Maybe that adds to the cost of the bulb?? Also, they claim that their bulbs are brighter and are actually bright enough to be seen in day light... Again, this is a huge problem for retrofit LED bulbs.... Just about all LED bulbs are impossible to see in daylight.....

I am still gathering as much about those bulbs as possible.... If nothing more comes out, I might go ahead and order a pair just for the heck of it.... Hm.. $72 for a pair of bulbs for turn signal... LOL.. That's gonna hurt...

The Warden · #10 12-14-2003, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by akry
$72 for a pair of bulbs for turn signal... LOL.. That's gonna hurt...

Are you sure that it's $72 per pair of bulbs? Maybe I read the site wrong, but it looked like it was $72 per single bulb. All I can say to that is "OUCH"...even $72 per pair is high, but (relatively speaking) isn't all that bad...

akry · #11 12-14-2003, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Warden
Are you sure that it's $72 per pair of bulbs? Maybe I read the site wrong, but it looked like it was $72 per single bulb. All I can say to that is "OUCH"...even $72 per pair is high, but (relatively speaking) isn't all that bad...

The ultra-bright(so they claimed), back-up bulb replacement(white light) is more expensive... But the usual braking/turn signal bulbs are $36 a bulb....

Anyways, I am still digging on the net.. I remember some owners used those LEDTronic bulbs on their Audi A4s(new ones) with mixed reviews... I gonna try find the thread.... But so far, my suggest is, if the light housing around the bulb is rather big, then don't go with LED.....

The Warden · #12 12-14-2003, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by akry
The ultra-bright(so they claimed), back-up bulb replacement(white light) is more expensive... But the usual braking/turn signal bulbs are $36 a bulb....

Okay...but are the "usual" bulbs white, or are they red? IIRC, earlier in this thread, someone said that using red bulbs with red lenses wasn't a good idea...and the lenses on the truck are red (and I doubt there's a white replacement).

In addition, the lens area is on the large side...it curves to the side (side lighting isn't critical; I'm also putting marker lights on the lumber rack in the back), but the straight-back side is maybe 3" wide and 8" tall (that's an EWAG; I haven't measured it)...do you think that's too big?

Even if the tail light lenses are too big, I think the other lights won't be too big (front turn signals, cab clearance lights, etc)...although I'll admit to not being too sure.

akry · #13 12-15-2003, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Warden
Okay...but are the "usual" bulbs white, or are they red? IIRC, earlier in this thread, someone said that using red bulbs with red lenses wasn't a good idea...and the lenses on the truck are red (and I doubt there's a white replacement).

In addition, the lens area is on the large side...it curves to the side (side lighting isn't critical; I'm also putting marker lights on the lumber rack in the back), but the straight-back side is maybe 3" wide and 8" tall (that's an EWAG; I haven't measured it)...do you think that's too big?

Even if the tail light lenses are too big, I think the other lights won't be too big (front turn signals, cab clearance lights, etc)...although I'll admit to not being too sure.

They have 1157 and 1156 style bulbs in Red and Amber... And supposely, Red has higher Lumen (in another word, brighter.... The only white one they have is 1156 replacement for backup light... Those are white, and are suppose to be super-bright... But they are $84 a bulb... OUCH..... Also, interesting enough, LEDTronic recommends users to match bulb color with lense color(Orange lense use Amber bulb, Red lense use Red Bulbs)... They said it gives the best result....

I found a local distributor for LEDTronics, which is only 15 min drive from my house... I will try gather more info from them.... Already send them an email.... See what I can dig up....

They also have wedge bulbs....
https://www.netdisty.net/ds/AUT3157/default.asp