FW: [DeTomaso] Group IV Taillight recommendation/ BRIGHTNESS.

Sun Jul 2 15:30:24 EDT 2006

That sounds very plausible.  Is there anything an electron weenie (me) can
do about it, besides pulling the bulb out of the indicator light?

Dave Bell

-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com
[mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com]On Behalf Of forestg at att.net
Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2006 12:28 PM
To: Detomaso at Realbig. Com
Subject: Re: FW: [DeTomaso] Group IV Taillight recommendation/
BRIGHTNESS.

Dave,
This is probably caused by the indicator light in the tach being connected
across both sides. It uses the opposite side lamps to provide it's ground.
Since the led's draw such a small current this is enough to activate them.
Forest

-------------- Original message from "David Bell"
<davidabell at worldnet.att.net>: --------------

> I've tried several variations of LED replacements for 1157 and 1156
> incadescent bulbs. The first set I purchased off the shelf at AutoZone for
> ~ $7 each. They provided what I and other impartial observers viewed as
> clearly a higher intensity light. The downside was that the LED bulbs were
> mounted in a central cluster in the bulb housing and focused the light
> pretty much in a single direction. As Ron mentioned, these LED bulbs
didn't
> really use the broad shape of the reflector. Still, I continued to use the
> LED bulbs vs the old incadescent bulbs because they were brighter and more
> importantly the LEDs also produce almost zero heat and current draw - good
> for 30 year old electrical systems.
>
> But after a little internet searching, I was able to locate some
alternative
> LED bulbs. The latest set have 18 LED pointing out and six more aimed in
> the opposite direction (24 LEDs total per bulb) with the rear LED light
> passing through the clear plastic housing and on to the reflector. These
> LEDs are even brighter and also do a much better job of spreading light
> across the surface of the reflector. I've also replaced the side marker
> lights with high intensity LED bulbs with very good results. I'm planning
> to replace the instrument light bulbs with LEDs also but haven't quite
> gotten around to that yet.
>
> There are a couple of glitches involved in using LED bulbs exclusively,
> however. First, the LED bulbs use so little current (almost zero) that the
> stock turn signal relay may not function. If this happens, you'll need to
> replace the original flasher relay with an electronic version. Second, my
> Pantera (and everyone else's too I suspect) has an odd grounding circuit
> between the turn signal bulbs. If I replace all four 1157 bulbs (the front
> and rear dual filament bulbs) with 1157 equivalent LEDs, the LED bulbs on
> all four corners flash in unison when the turn signal lever is activated.
> So at the moment, I'm only running LED bulbs in the rear and the original
> incadescent bulbs in the front.
>
> I've been meaning to pose the turn signal flashing issue to one of the
> electon gurus on the list who can tell me how to get around it, but until
> now had neglected to. So SOBill, any insite here?
>
> If you're planning to swap to LEDs, be sure that you buy LED bulbs that
are
> the same color as the lense that the light must pass through. Any other
> color (including white) will result in the lense blocking a significant
> amount of the LED light generated. Red LEDs go with red lenses and amber
> LEDs go with amber lenses. Also, be aware that the LED bulbs are much more
> expensive than traditional incadescent bulbs. Personally I was motivated
to
> reduce the current and heat load on my electrical system without loosing
any
> night time visiblity, so the expense was worth it to me. And after all
> we're all mostly driving around $35k cars, so 60 bucks for light bulbs is
a
> small piece in the overall scheme of things - especially if I can reduce
the
> wear and tear on my electrical system.
>
> If you're interested, the LED parts list is below. I purchased the LED
> bulbs online from www.superbrightleds.com, though there are other LED
> vendors out there as well.
>
> Front
> 2 each of 1157-A24-12V-WV (24 LED amber, wide angle, bayonette mount)
>
> Rear Turn, Brake, Tail
> 2 each of 1157-R24-12V-WV (24 LED red, wide angle, bayonette mount)
> 2 each of 1156-R24-WV (24 LED red, wide angle, bayonette mount)
>
> Side Marker Lights
> WLED-A6 (6 LED amber, wedge base)
> WLED-R6 (6 LED red, wedge base)
>
> Electronic Flasher
> CF13 GL-02
>
>
> Dave Bell
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com
> [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com]On Behalf Of
> pantera3641 at azballistics.com
> Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2006 9:03 AM
> To: detomaso; Dickruzzindesign at aol.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Group IV Taillight recommendation/ BRIGHTNESS.
>
>
> I have purchased and tried numerous LED bulbs that are direct replacements
> for the 1157 and 1156 regular filament bulbs that the car is equipped
with.
> Some were 24 LEDs, and some were 36 LEDs per bulb. In my opinion they were
> not as bright as the regular bulbs. This is because our tail lamps are
> designed to reflect off the chrome finish of the interior of the bucket
> while LEDs project straight out. You can get LEDs that will reflect other
> than straight out but they do not provide enough light to reflect off the
> bucket interior chrome.
>
> In my case I have the low profile Amerisport rear wing which has a third
> taillight of LEDs and is quite visible.
>
> Others have put a third taillight just below the roof line in the rear.
>
> The other reason LEDs do not appear as bright on the Pantera as they do on
> modern cars is due either to the thickness of the red lens, and/or the
> lenses are not designed for use with LED bulbs.
>
> To increase the brightness of my filament bulbs, I removed the lenses and
> lined the interior of the taillight bucket with chrome vinyl and the
> increase in brightness is not substantial, but it is better.
>
> Ron Scott
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dickruzzindesign at aol.com
> To: detomaso at realbig.com
> Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2006 6:09 AM
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Group IV Taillight recommendation/ BRIGHTNESS.
>
>
> There was some discussion a while back about LED and other new
> technologies
> to improve the brightness of tailamps in Panteras.
>
> I feel increasingly that this is a real safety issue as modern cars with
> larger tailamps have defined an expectation for lighting that is not
> fulfilled by
> older ones.
>
> A Mangusta or Pantera is enough of a distraction on the road to other
> drivers
> without considering the handicap of small tail and brake lamps. I do not
> want to be rear-ended.
>
> I think the addition of one or two LED high level stop lamps would be a
> real
> improvement, but upgrading the brightness of the tail and stop lamps, I
> feel
> is a must as well.
>
> Has anyone done that successfully?
>
> The parabolas of lamps of all kinds are designed around the lamp filament
> to
> meet required standards of brightness. That means that halogen conversions
> probably have the best chance for lighting the entire lamp as the original
> bulb
> does. I see now that some LED lamps claim to do that.
>
> I would like to see this group arrive at a recommendation based on the
> experiences of the members.
>
> Dick Ruzzin
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