Exterior LED lights?

Jnbroadbent · April 09, 2013, 06:57:00 PM

Finally time to put new LED lights in! What brand/supplier do you guys recommend? I've read different opinions but some threads are almost a decade old!

Hopefully she will be done-ish before June.

TomC · April 09, 2013, 07:46:01 PM

Are you talking about clearance lights-headlights-tailights- or general illumination LED's? Good Luck, TomC

TedCalvert · April 10, 2013, 05:05:05 AM

10 years ago usable LEDs were in their infancy!
Escalade, Lexus and Audi? now offer led headlamps. Direct replacements are available for 4x6 like on my '87 Prevost @ ~$250 ea! Not gonna happen yet for me, I like Silverstar.
For markers, I got Optronics Miro-Flex MCL-17. For side markers/turn MCL-19. Clear lenses. Haven't gotten to the rear yet, but they'll be similar.

Have fun!

Ted

Scott & Heather · April 10, 2013, 06:01:00 AM

If you're talking about tail lights and turn signals, we went all LED and used what I consider one of the best companies in the industry, American SuperLite. http://www.americansuperlite.com/index.cfm We've never had an issue with them and after they manufacture the LED lamp/housing, they fill it with a fire retardant epoxy so even if the lens cracks, you're light still works and the circuitry is still water tight. Like I said, we've gone LED all the way around and love them. Oh yeah, and they sell them 24V...so it's easy plug and play.

Scott & Heather · April 10, 2013, 06:04:56 AM

Here's some shots of ours. Sorry, was too lazy to connect the battery and light em up for you. I'm sick today. Fever and all.

Sent from iPhone via Tapatalk

belfert · April 10, 2013, 06:06:01 AM

I've used LED lights from a variety of manufacturers. Some styles of lights are only available from certain manufacturers. For rear brake and turn/park lights I used Bargman. I would probably use standard oval style lights if I did it again. I cut some big holes in my fiberglass engine hatch for my Bargman lights so I can't really go back. One of the Bargman lights has already failed. Bargman sent me the entire assembly as a replacement so I got two replacement lights so I have a spare now.

I'm not really particular to any one manufacturer.

belfert · April 10, 2013, 06:09:56 AM

Quote from: TedCalvert on April 10, 2013, 05:05:05 AM

Escalade, Lexus and Audi? now offer led headlamps. Direct replacements are available for 4x6 like on my '87 Prevost @ ~$250 ea! Not gonna happen yet for me, I like Silverstar.

What 4"x6" LED headlights are only $250? The JW Speaker LED headlights that folks like are still $400 each.

TedCalvert · April 10, 2013, 12:03:37 PM

Optronics also, and that's each, X 4!

belfert · April 10, 2013, 07:39:23 PM

Quote from: TedCalvert on April 10, 2013, 12:03:37 PM
Optronics also, and that's each, X 4!

This is more a curiosity thing than something I would really buy. If I were to do anything I would probably buy the low beams only. I have no problems seeing when my high beams are on, but most of the time I can only use my low beams due to oncoming traffic.

Anyone actually have the Optronics LED headlights?

BRUISER · April 11, 2013, 12:33:36 PM

Quote from: Scott Bennett on April 10, 2013, 06:04:56 AM
Here's some shots of ours. Sorry, was too lazy to connect the battery and light em up for you. I'm sick today. Fever and all.

Sent from iPhone via Tapatalk

those look great good job

gus · April 11, 2013, 07:57:50 PM

Why spend all that $$ to replace perfectly good working lights??

There must be a good reason for all this but it hasn't come to me yet?

belfert · April 13, 2013, 05:34:37 AM

Quote from: gus on April 11, 2013, 07:57:50 PM
Why spend all that $$ to replace perfectly good working lights??

I didn't have perfectly good lights. The sockets were corroded and the lenses were cracked. I would randomly have bulbs quit working due to corrosion even when I tried to clean things up. It was the same cost to go to LED as the replace the fixtures and they probably would have had issues again in the near future.

To clarify, these were the front park/turn lights and the rear brake/turn/park lights I replaced.

bevans6 · April 13, 2013, 05:51:37 AM

I am about to replace all of the upper marker/running lights on my MCI. All of the bulb sockets are corroded. These are 24 volt lights, so if anyone has found a source for 24 volt running lights that might suit an MCI, please let me know. At this point I am looking at two possible routes - one is to get quite small 12 volt lights and put two of them in series on a plastic plinth that I will make that will screw in, with copious sealant, in place of the OEM light lens. The second is to find that 24 volt LED light and do the same thing. There is a Setra light that is apparently a direct replacement for the whole assembly, but they are quite expensive, close to $50 each by the time I get them here and I need 16 lights anyway.

For my brake lights I went with a 7" diameter 24 volt brake/running light designed for school bus use, all LED and bright as all get out on full wack. It required some fitting into the OEM MCI tail light fixture, same one as pictured in the Scott Bennet post, but I managed to get it in and screwed in no problems, just took a half hour with a die grinder to open out the hole in the MCI aluminium plinth.

Why LED? Several quite good reasons. One is they are very bright and designed to be highly visible in a way that 30 year old incandescent bulbs with rudimentary reflectors are not. Two is they will last, on average, an extremely long time and when they fail they usually do it by failing individual LED in the multi-LED array, so you get a gradual failure. Three is they use a lot less power, on the level of zero in comparison to a standard light. That means, as an example, that you could confidently leave your running lights on all night with the bus turned off and know that you will have full starting power in the morning - handy when parking in a dark truck-stop lot.

Brian

TomC · April 13, 2013, 09:23:35 AM

Freightliner is offering LED headlights as an option. They take less then half of what halogen headlights do, and they are brighter with sunlight white (not blue). LED's, unlike Xenon, do not have ballasts or transformers. The military trucks that Freightliner makes have 4-7" round headlights that are LED. On Freightliners, the LED headlight option is about $800.00-but not likely to ever need replacement. And the lens is made of Lexan, so rocks and such won't take it out. Just waiting for them to make the LED in the rectangular headlights. Good Luck, TomC

PS-rather funny sideline story-when I was driving truck, I stopped at a Walmart since one of my headlights was out. Got a new Halogen headlight, installed it, then turned on the headlights to make sure it worked. As I was looking at the headlights the other headlight went out! Talk about timing the lights life to the nano second. So back into the store to buy another headlight....

gus · April 13, 2013, 03:25:17 PM

I know LEDs use much less power but with a 300 amp alt it really doesn't matter much compared to the huge cost difference.

When I have any light apart I spray paint the fixture white gloss, this makes the light many times brighter. I've never understood the reason for black light fixtures??

There are so many rear lights on my cap and engine door that half of them could be out and I could still be seen a mile away! Never did understand that design either.

My only real objection to LEDs is the atrocious high cost.

I've read that sometimes LEDs don't draw enough current to operate turn signals. Anyone have that problem?

They make more sense for interior lighting to save house batts.