LED retrofit

[Finnegan1008]

I like to have bright snappy signal and brake lights on my vehicles for safety reasons. Has anyone installed LED bulbs for brake and flashers?

I figure reducing the load on old wiring isn’t a terrible thing either

I purchased a no load flasher and led bulbs from Holley and plan to attempt this.

Will I encounter any challenges? Is anything I should look out for as I go?

 

[Finnegan1008]

Here is what I’ve learned so far:

I purchased the Holley brand LEDs in white and red along with some white peanut bulb sizes LEDs from Amazon.

So far I have only done the tail lights and the factory flasher can is working just fine.

The Holley brand LED for the flasher/ tail lights kind of suck. They are very bright as running lights but when the brakes and flashers are going the brightness change is negligible.

I’ve since ordered different bulbs from Ibrightstar on Amazon and they have been great! Super bright and brake and flasher light is very attention grabbing. Much better than the Holley brand bulbs.

 

[M813rc]

Definitely, not all LEDs are created equal!

I think quite a few folks on here run them on their CUCVs, either doing what you are with an LED-friendly flasher, keeping a couple of regular bulbs in the lighting system, or getting LEDs with enough built in resistance to make a stock flasher work.

If you use any in the dash, remember that the Gen 1 and Gen 2 lights need to keep their regular bulbs to make the charging circuit work properly, or use an alternate means of keeping a load there.

Cheers

 

[Zane's CUCV]

I put JW Speaker Led Headlights in (expensive but worth every penny they rival new vehicles). Led Tail Lights in rear, bought a flasher for leds

 

[87cr250r]

I learned this from navigation lights on boats but installing LED lights in tinted fixtures can greatly reduce output. LED lights have narrow wavelengths that can be filtered by tinted lenses. LED lights are awesome but they are not a panacea. There will be trial and error.

 

[Finnegan1008]

I put JW Speaker Led Headlights in (expensive but worth every penny they rival new vehicles). Led Tail Lights in rear, bought a flasher for leds

The JW Speaker lights are so sweet, I plan to get a set. Did you go with the heated lens?

 

[Zane's CUCV]

No heated were more money and I figured never had anything with heated lights on before

 

[Zane's CUCV]

I got a brand new pickup truck and it didn't' have the Led light package and the JW Speakers lights that are in the M1009 are a lot brighter. I get mad and complain often about the new truck lights and my boy just giggles and gets a kick out of it.

 

[Zane's CUCV]

These things are awesome really not a narrow beam. You take out on the country roads and adjust em. There a lot of cash but there worth too these old eyes. I wonder how I use to drive this older stuff back then (just 40 years ago) but then I remember that I was a kid