Geo Hahn
Yoda
Offline
I thought I'd try some LEDs in my non-TR vehicle and being a thrifty sort ordered some from Hong Kong -- 12 bucks for 2 including express shipping:
Superb Lights
As it turned out they didn't seem any brighter than the (brighter than stock) incandescents I already had -- so I experimented with them on the TRs.
Not overly impressed there either until I tried them in the red glass beehives -- there I see a significant improvement.
My beehives have been modified from just turn signals to turn signals & brake lights and both are noticeably brighter with the LEDs. But beyond the brightness I really like the way the turn signals blink. They make a series of distinct flashes rather than the lazy on & off of the incandescents.
I know a lot depends on the way the LEDs are configured on the light fixture as to whether they work well with the reflector & lens they're installed in, but these seemed to match well with the red glass beehive lenses:
Since the TRs are positive ground I had to perform a bit of surgery. The LEDs (these at least) had the bases held to the bottom board of the LED array with a few spots of solder. I just undid those, pulled off the base and switched the connections to reverse the polarity. Had to cut the copper around the old ground connection to isolate it from the rest of the board and make a new ground connection. Also had to flip the diode around because of the polarity change. All in all, the hack looked like this:
Once that's done and the excess wires trimmed the base can be placed over the two leads:
And a couple of drops of solder make new contacts:
I'm no electronics expert or soldering whiz but the bulb worked and that's the main thing.
If you have wanted to try LEDs but didn't want to pony up the $33 plus shipping per bulb this might give you ideas.
Time will tell if they last and remain bright but for now all seems well.
Superb Lights
As it turned out they didn't seem any brighter than the (brighter than stock) incandescents I already had -- so I experimented with them on the TRs.
Not overly impressed there either until I tried them in the red glass beehives -- there I see a significant improvement.
My beehives have been modified from just turn signals to turn signals & brake lights and both are noticeably brighter with the LEDs. But beyond the brightness I really like the way the turn signals blink. They make a series of distinct flashes rather than the lazy on & off of the incandescents.
I know a lot depends on the way the LEDs are configured on the light fixture as to whether they work well with the reflector & lens they're installed in, but these seemed to match well with the red glass beehive lenses:
Since the TRs are positive ground I had to perform a bit of surgery. The LEDs (these at least) had the bases held to the bottom board of the LED array with a few spots of solder. I just undid those, pulled off the base and switched the connections to reverse the polarity. Had to cut the copper around the old ground connection to isolate it from the rest of the board and make a new ground connection. Also had to flip the diode around because of the polarity change. All in all, the hack looked like this:
Once that's done and the excess wires trimmed the base can be placed over the two leads:
And a couple of drops of solder make new contacts:
I'm no electronics expert or soldering whiz but the bulb worked and that's the main thing.
If you have wanted to try LEDs but didn't want to pony up the $33 plus shipping per bulb this might give you ideas.
Time will tell if they last and remain bright but for now all seems well.