Electrical: LED bulbs

[Ed Peek]

Can anyone recommend the best LED bulbs and flasher for a 1962 Hawk GT and 64 Avanti tail light , stop light and turn signals.

[blackhawk]

The last ones that I bought came from superbrightleds.com (https://www.superbrightleds.com/vehi...er-bay15d-bulb). I was very happy with them, but that was 2018. Maybe there are better ones available now. I did not have to replace the flasher. ~ Dale

[Buzzard]

I read on the internet (big mistake) that someone with a late model GM truck had installed these upgraded LED bulbs and lost their turn signal on one side. Apparently it voided their warranty as it was deemed to be the cause of the turn signal malfunction. Welcome to the new electronic world.
Bill

[StudeRich]

The LED's you want are going to be the equivalent/replacement of the Incandescent # 1034 replaced by the 1157 and other Bayonet Base, two filament, two contact bulbs.

These numbers will lead you to the correct LED replacements.

[Jeffry Cassel]

Another vote for 'superbrightLED" I ordered from them twice and been happy with the results. Just wanted to make the brake lights brighter so only put them in taillights. The flasher still works fine with front incandescent bulbs and rear LEDs.

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I second Jeffry, except that I also put LED bulbs in my '63 Avanti's back-up lights. Big improvement in all.
--Dwight

[Fred Winterburn]

I've bought from SuperbrightLEDs before and I can vouch for the quality. Cost more shipping across the border into Canada, but worth it. However, I will never replace my rear signal lights on any car with LEDs. Reason: The turn off is too fast. So fast in fact that unless the flash rate is really high the lights may go unnoticed despite the fast flash rate. As one scans the road ahead the lights might never be seen, especially with a slow flash rate. The Mazda CX30 has LED bulbs that fade off slowly drawing one's eyes to the lights (just like incandescent bulbs). Others, like the old and new Ford Mustangs, some Audi's and one Chevy SUV I saw lately, use sequential flashers which also draw one's eyes to the signal lights despite them being LED. A fast turn on is great, especially for brakes, but the fade off for signal lights is essential IMO. To compensate, a really fast flash rate is required which comes with it's own set of issues. Might induce a seizure in some individuals, and is super annoying . I will use LED turn signals at the front where it is less important, but not at the back. If you decide on incandescent at the front and LEDs at the back, the Tridon (now Novita) EL13 (3 connection) and EL12 (2 connection) flashers work great. BTW, that flasher design from the early sixties is Canadian originally (Tridon was originally Canadian) and was a breakthrough design compared to the older thermal flashers. You still need some load for them to work but they are load insensitive otherwise. If going all LED you need an LED flasher. Fred BTW if you can't hear your flasher in a noisy car, try this. It works with both types of flashers : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymD88ZN3d10

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I have noticed some late model cars with what appear to be incandescent rear turn signals. That is, the turn on & turn off are slow, like an incandescent bulb. I suspect that the bulbs are actually LEDs, but the lamps are designed to ramp the voltage up & down slowly so as to create a "soft" turn signal.

I, personally, think that a fast turn on & off (as with LEDs) makes a turn signal more noticeable. The flash rate needs to be similar to incandescent bulbs.

--Dwight

[62champ]

Little over ten years ago, I was almost run over in my Champ pickup when slowing down to turn into a parking lot in Pennsylvania. The guy stopped and yelled "get some fucking brake lights" and drove off. It was late in the day and we were driving toward to setting sun, so I could understand his frustration.

Went the the same company listed above.

Tail light with old bulbs.



New LED.



Those photos were about 15 minutes apart. However, because the LED was so much brighter, the camera automatically adjusted for the light and darkened the rest of the frame.

I kept the fronts as original, so the flasher and speed of the flashing did not change. Good luck.

[Lark Hunter]

I have noticed some late model cars with what appear to be incandescent rear turn signals. That is, the turn on & turn off are slow, like an incandescent bulb. I suspect that the bulbs are actually LEDs, but the lamps are designed to ramp the voltage up & down slowly so as to create a "soft" turn signal.

I, personally, think that a fast turn on & off (as with LEDs) makes a turn signal more noticeable. The flash rate needs to be similar to incandescent bulbs.

--Dwight

Mazda is doing that with a lot of their newer cars. They're using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to fade the LED arrays in and out, to emulate the rise and decay times of incandescent bulbs. I've seen them set up so that the signal illuminates instantly, then fades out; some of the newest ones ramp both up and down... pretty much mimicking an incandescent bulb all the way. I achieve the exact same effect by using... incandescent bulbs

[bensherb]

I've bought from SuperbrightLEDs before and I can vouch for the quality. Cost more shipping across the border into Canada, but worth it. However, I will never replace my rear signal lights on any car with LEDs. Reason: The turn off is too fast. So fast in fact that unless the flash rate is really high the lights may go unnoticed despite the fast flash rate. As one scans the road ahead the lights might never be seen, especially with a slow flash rate. The Mazda CX30 has LED bulbs that fade off slowly drawing one's eyes to the lights (just like incandescent bulbs). Others, like the old and new Ford Mustangs, some Audi's and one Chevy SUV I saw lately, use sequential flashers which also draw one's eyes to the signal lights despite them being LED. A fast turn on is great, especially for brakes, but the fade off for signal lights is essential IMO. To compensate, a really fast flash rate is required which comes with it's own set of issues. Might induce a seizure in some individuals, and is super annoying . I will use LED turn signals at the front where it is less important, but not at the back. If you decide on incandescent at the front and LEDs at the back, the Tridon (now Novita) EL13 (3 connection) and EL12 (2 connection) flashers work great. BTW, that flasher design from the early sixties is Canadian originally (Tridon was originally Canadian) and was a breakthrough design compared to the older thermal flashers. You still need some load for them to work but they are load insensitive otherwise. If going all LED you need an LED flasher. Fred BTW if you can't hear your flasher in a noisy car, try this. It works with both types of flashers : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymD88ZN3d10

All you need to do is use the CORRECT flasher unit for the turn signals. They will work for incadescents too.
Something like these. I've been using them for years, back when they were a buck each, shop around, you can get them for $15 too. They're adjustable. you can change the flash rate to match that of your stock set up.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124209342725?_skw=led+turn+signal+flashers&itmmeta=01K9KFSHGA24RK2GK3ZY78TNXX&hash=item1ceb742905:g:JgYAAeSw4V9o9yre&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1ePEUP8Z8%2BeM30L1FBG3E36zuF5oPtWwafKXfsPM1P5iTaOnd9APDAUpiVFmICGoiTQcabewwMykvClIx3AD%2BrjE9oGgbH%2Fl%2Bpzm861nLtbjVriGTfx2g39mQEkZOHli96Ne9y1yWUfAGfzsc564DFqimbsG0i4cftpi2YRwAvUKbBw8etsLSkBG2Al7ru4TQUg1x8Q805WhQpu70Tiw1kT7u8GzCSu5NyM2uqJm2X64WUoNiJgAEgxEBG%2BZprMTXTDOOZ0hGn4LN%2BoX46--sBfAo5xTOmFudehL7emQCsCJw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7aY5u_MZg