FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => Non-FE Discussion Forum => Topic started by: winr1 on December 16, 2020, 02:44:23 AM
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Did not want to hi jack Jays thread
Saw a post once that a person had LED head lights with built in turn signals ( cant find it )
I searched the web and did not get much usable info
There were some bulbs with notes that ya may need extra items for the bulbs to work but were not specific
Ricky.
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Some vehicles might have trouble with the turn signals because the load from a LED is way less than old style bulbs the make a piece that solders in to correct but my shop hasn't run into that trouble yet , I have also used some LED's on a 1971 Monte Carlo that didn't work then you remove/rotate 180 degrees and work fine because they flow current one way only on some of these bulbs , the one last complaint that I know of is some LED bulbs won't dim , bright to off and no in between but in all case the owners were so happy to have the brighter bulbs they didn't care if they dimmed .
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Most of the LED bulbs just plug in to the normal bulb socket and work. However, you will have an issue with the turn signal flasher and the emergency flasher. The factory style flashers rely on a certain current load to operate; in other words, the bulbs have to be drawing a specific amount of current in order for the flasher to click on and off. LED bulbs draw much less current than the normal incandescent version, so they won't draw enough current for the factory flasher to work. All you have to do is use a special electronic flasher in this case; just replace the normal flasher with the LED flasher. On mine, there is one extra wire, a ground wire, that has to be connected, but other than that the LED flasher plugs in to the normal flasher location. You do have to make sure that the two flasher wires are plugged into the correct side of the socket. The ones I used are in the link below. NPD also has a cheaper one at around $13, but the expensive one came with my LED tail light kit, so I've linked it here.
https://www.npdlink.com/product/flasher-turn-signal-electronic/215165/200443
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Edit again: Duh. I read Jay's post and it still didn't occur to me that the electronic flasher doesn't care if you mix bulbs/LEDs. That's surely the simplest way.
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Take a look at Hipo Parts for instrument panel bulbs; they offer a complete kit with many options. Here is a link to their Ford truck kits. https://www.hipoparts.com/1961-79-ford-truck-bronco-led-gauge-light-conversion-kits/
If you get their brightest kit, the rheostat will function properly and allow you to dim your dash lights. As some have mentioned, you will need the electronic flasher to make your turn signals work at the correct rate. If you have any questions, their customer service is top-notch. Here are a couple of photos of my 70 Mach 1 instrument panels with their bulbs installed.
(https://i.imgur.com/YxtX47El.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/SXelvL5l.jpg)
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Many thanks guys !!
Those instrument lights look great !!
Ricky,
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Ahhh so there is a electronic flasher now. Ages ago when i worked a lot on Choppers
and they wanted minimalistic turnsignals and led was a new thing i put in the resistors for the turnsignals
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You can get 7" sealed LED headlights that should fit. A lot of them have built in turn signals or DRL that can usually be re-purposed for turn signals. The JW Speaker's are probably the best but they're big money. The Seal7 from Mishimoto are really good projector LED's. I have a set of chrome ones and unless you're right in front of the truck you don't notice they're LED's. You can also do LED or HID bulbs in a glass housing, but there are fewer options for built in turnsignals.
The turnsignal and parking lights LED's you have a couple options. The replacement LED bulbs that use a standard bayonet base, custom assemblies, or LED panels. I don't think anyone makes replacement assemblies for a 65 specifically, I think they do 64 and older. But I've used generic LED panels and made my own wiring and mounts for several vehicles, or used ones like the LMC Truck 47-0333 and made them fit other housings. Electronic flasher give you the ability to adjust the flash rate as bulb load changes.
Here are the Sealed7 LED headlights in black (I don't like them as much as chrome but it's all I had for this project). They have a "halo" ring that I could have hooked up as either a DRL or turnsignal. In this I'm not using them at all as I don't like the look.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/895/26352326487_a5f6239960_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/G9EyyF)20171009_152755 (https://flic.kr/p/G9EyyF) by Patrick Oilnut (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156200076@N06/), on Flickr
And a pic at night with the cutoff line (I hadn't gotten around to adjusting them yet) It's much more enjoyable to drive at night.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/891/40440322674_bf1ba2f235_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24Bze1E)20171004_211156 (https://flic.kr/p/24Bze1E) by Patrick Oilnut (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156200076@N06/), on Flickr
I also second the recommendation of HiPo parts for dash LED's. There are a lot that will work, but if your using the stock gauge cluster HiPo Parts LED kits are the best. I've got them in every dentside and dumpside pickup. Really work well IMO.
https://www.grote.com/warning-hazard/flashers/3-pin-flashers/44110/
They work fairly well, they make 3 versions of LED flasher I think. I've had better luck with the Grote LED flashers than the FleaBay knockoffs.
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Nobody mentions it, so maybe I'm the only one, but I can't stand newer cars and their LED and HID headlights. They're so damn bright that I have trouble seeing at night with oncoming traffic. Sure, you can see better while driving, but if the guy coming at you can't see, then they're a safety hazard, IMO.
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I actually just finished a fire department training program on exactly that. The program also addressed the brightness of LED warning lights and recommended that they have dimmers installed for night time use.
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Nobody mentions it, so maybe I'm the only one, but I can't stand newer cars and their LED and HID headlights. They're so damn bright that I have trouble seeing at night with oncoming traffic. Sure, you can see better while driving, but if the guy coming at you can't see, then they're a safety hazard, IMO.
UGH!!!! The lights these days are ludicrous! They are very focused and coming around a corner or over a hill is brutal. Throw in rainy weather and it just amplifies it. I absolutely hate driving at night anymore. And that sucks because it's dark going to work and dark coming home for 6 months out of the year. I can safely operate any of my vehicles with good old glass sealed beams, so why is it so many think they need 6 lights on the front of their car? Two headlights, two driving lights and two DRL.
I actually just finished a fire department training program on exactly that. The program also addressed the brightness of LED warning lights and recommended that they have dimmers installed for night time use.
It crazy trying to see when you come upon a cop or emergency vehicle. You are totally blinded by the strobes. Again, bad weather is horrible.
The OEM puts this stuff out as "safety for the driver of the vehicle", but they never take into account other vehicles on the road.
I laugh when I watch old TV shows(adam-12), with cop cars with one or two simple blinking lights on the roof or dash? How did we survive?
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I actually just finished a fire department training program on exactly that. The program also addressed the brightness of LED warning lights and recommended that they have dimmers installed for night time use.
That is good to hear. We run a lot of night time miles and emergency, tow/recovery, and snowplows blind you at night when your eyes are acclimated to the dark (like LED light bars/headlights). They are dangerous.
I would love to get LEDs in my dash, but no Galaxie kit available. Dim dash is a drag. Regular halogen headlamps with relays and aimed properly are nice and bright on my car, no need for the LED aircraft landing lights.
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HID retrofit kits are the worst for oncoming traffic. Factory HID's with the correct projector housings aren't bad.
The HID sealed beams to retrofit old stuff have a decent pattern and aren't quite so hard on the eyes. Plus their a lot easier on older electrical systems. Unless you're re-wiring a lot of a car/truck, putting high output halogens (Still have several sets of good ol CiBie's around) is hard on the old, small wiring.
Like everything in life there are positives and negatives to everything. Done well HID's/LED's are nice. Done poorly they're a eyesore in more ways than one.
HiPo sells individual lights as well as kits so you can just order whatever you need to convert the Galaxie.
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I could add relays and use halogen headlights
What about LED dash lights, too bright ??
LED parking/turn/brake lights .... ??
Ricky.
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I put regular Halogen sealed beams in my Mack truck. The only bad part was using high beams would cause the headlight switch to heat up and shut the lights off(built in circuit breaker). I installed relays out front and eliminated that problem.
LED any place else is not an issue. Dash lights typically have brightness adjustment.
What I have seen, using retrofit LED bulbs for like tail lights(1157 bulb), is the light is too concentrated and doesn't light up the lens like a regular element bulb. They do make better LED bulbs now, that have elements all around the body so they emit light everywhere like the old style bulbs. Something else is on newer trucks I've seen aftermarket LED tail light assemblies. They are horrible. Not very bright and the difference between parking lights and brake lights is not much and hard to discern sometimes. I think they are getting better, but many I get behind are horrible. They may seen okay when standing right at the vehicle, but go back 50 yards in the daylight and see how bad it is.
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Ricky , my 63 Fairlane (T Bolt style single headlight ) I have the 9006 Halogen bulb for head lights and a housing to replace the old headlight a couple years ago , first time since I've owned the car that people would flash me when the high beams were on :) big difference and love it , also have brake/tail light LED and parking light LED and they seem work fine with my flashers . Haven't done the dash lights but in other cars I've done they are nice and bright but don't dim very well if at all
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Many thanks yall !
Ricky.
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I got my led lights from SuperBrightLeds.com. No prob with them and have a large selection to choose from.
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I agree with the new lights being to bright for oncoming traffic i also remember law enforcement checking for adjustment. I just turn on brights and drive now half the people driving don't even know what a dimmer switch is. They probably can't find it because you need someone to translate the squiggly lines just to know what button your pushing.