| Author | Message | ||
     Buford |
To replace the stockers...would a special relay be required? thanks! | ||
| Teddagreek |
The ones I bought a year or so ago weren't as bright as stock.. Put the incandescents back in.. | ||
| Buford |
Interesting..thanks | ||
| Froggy |
I know its not the answer you want, but if you are going to go with an LED tail light just get one from XBlights. More coin, but like Teddagreek said, those LED replacement bulbs are junk. Not worth the risk of your safety. Oh, and a relay shouldn't be needed. | ||
| Nik |
Yes; and, no, they probably won't be as bright as stock. I'm evaluating a set now and they aren't, but I have them wired as DRLs and like the decreased current draw. | ||
| Nik |
Froggy, 1156 bulbs are for the turn signals, not tail-light; that's what I assumed the OP was asking about. A new turn signal relay is required for LED signals, or anything less than a 10W bulb. American Sport Bike has one. | ||
| Buford |
Yeah, the whole deal was to retain the stock look, but just replace the lamps (1156 type?) themselves. With the HID headlamps..things are so bright, thought I might need brighter signals now... | ||
| Nik |
If you want bright you can take out the colored inserts and fit a 27W 1156 incandescent bulb in there. Would probably still need a new flasher relay though. | ||
| Buford |
Taking out the inserts makes quite a difference. What type bulb is the tail/brake light? 1157? | ||
| Bitbear |
1156 and 1157 refer to the type of base, not the size of the actual bulb. A standard 1157 is a dual current base, with two contacts on the bottom. It's used for the tail/brake light. Low current feeds the running light. When the bake is applied a higher current feeds the bulb and it gets brighter. An 1156 is a single current base/bulb used in our case for the signal lights. A standard 1156 bulb fits the signal light assembly but is too big unless you remove the amber insert - in which case you need only to get an amber 1156, usually designated as 1156A. The stock signal bulb is a 5008. It has an 1156 base but a smaller bulb to accommodate the smaller space created by the amber insert. I've been looking into al this stuff. LEDs can be tricky, that's a whole other story. If you want to stick with incandescent bulbs, the simple solution is look for a standard Xenon 1156 in amber - about $6-7 dollars each. Look for 'em on the web. Just remove the amber insert. Much harder to find is a 5008 Xenon, which is an exact replacement, both in terms of te base and the bulb size for the stock signal bulb. Hope this helps! | ||
| Toona |
I've been running an LED replacement 1157 for over 2 years. The vibration kept on shaking the filaments out of my standard 1157 bulbs. (brake/tail, not turn signals) | ||
| Bitbear |
Yup. One of the benefits of LEDs is that they generally last much longer than incandescents. But run of the mill LEDs are not any brighter than incandescent. They can be but they cost quite a bit more than other LEDs. Not only do you have to find good ones but you have to select an array that is right for your application. For example, XB turn signal reflectors are designed to reflect the bulb's light in concentric circles. To take advantage of that you need an LED cluster that has side firing LEDs. Also, standard 1156 and 1157 bulbs differ by quality. Some are better than others, some last longer than others. One might try long life bulbs e.g. 1156 LL -- they are said to be a little brighter, too. |
