LED lamps.

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addo
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Post by addo »

You're made of sterner stuff than I thought. No way would I tolerate the smell of canine doo-doo lingering...

FOWMC - I'm pondering this also, as the heat generated by theose interior lights is what makes the holders cark. It will probably mean the dimming function is lost; my concerns were more about possible knock-on effects to the CPH.
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Post by addo »

LED parklights fitted yesterday - a pair cost me around £4.50.

Definitely a better visibility level at situations where full light is not needed, but something to make the car more obvious is useful. They do look a little "ricey" but I'll live.

Curious as to how long they'll last.
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Post by Xaccers »

These arrived today :

Image

So I had a go at fitting them to Cassy.
Quick question, are the tail lights on the boot door also brake lights?
Cassy's are fitted with dual filiment bulbs, but they don't come on with the brakes.
Am I right in thinking they're designed that way so should you lose one of the brake lights you'll have a spare to swap over?

Anyway, onto the LED bulbs.
Fitted one to do a comparison.
The LEDs have a slight blue hue, which with the red of the tail light lens makes it slightly orange.
It illuminates the reflector reasonably well, but appears slightly dimmer than the normal bulb, possibly due to a combination of of them being more directional, and the more orange hue.
As you can see from the photos, like the 501s I've fitted, the LEDs are normal shaped ones, although very bright, not as bright as the flat type used in mobile phone flashes and the H1s I've ordered.
I've also ordered some more 501s with the flat LEDs all over.
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Post by addo »

Tail lights on the hatch are not brake lights. I'd noted exactly that which you mention.
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Post by dnsey »

Red LED lights are available for stop / tail use, which are more efficient in this application than the 'white' version.
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Post by Kowalski »

Xac wrote: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-X-Car-H7-68-SMD ... 19c1d29348

Pair of H7's delivered for less than £6, got to be worth a punt
Have you noticed how these contain multiple LEDs and the multiple LEDs are not in the same place as the filament would be in a conventional tungsten halogen incandescent bulb?

The consequence of the light source being a different size and in a different position is that you won't get a good beam pattern from your headlights, i.e. it will be unfocussed and the dipped beam will dazzle oncoming drivers. This is exactly the same reason why HID conversion kits don't give good beam patterns and give lots of glare.
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Post by Xaccers »

That's the beauty of the low cost, we can actually test them out.
If they're decent, great, people can change, if they're not then we stick with the relay mod and normal H1s.
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Post by dnsey »

If the spec's correct on those eBay lamps, their output is about 1/10 that of standard halogen types.
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Post by Xaccers »

dnsey wrote:If the spec's correct on those eBay lamps, their output is about 1/10 that of standard halogen types.
That could be per SMD, as most of the individual ones I've found are rated at 220lm
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Post by wheeler »

Xac wrote:Quick question, are the tail lights on the boot door also brake lights?
Cassy's are fitted with dual filiment bulbs, but they don't come on with the brakes.
Am I right in thinking they're designed that way so should you lose one of the brake lights you'll have a spare to swap over?
Are they not the rear foglight filaments possibly ?
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Post by Xantidote »

Dual filament bulbs on the S1 Xantia tailgate:

I noticed a couple of years ago that only the tail lamp filament is used. I find that on the tail/brake dual filament bulbs in the rear wings, the brake filament is always goes first, so the bulb's then recycled to the tailgate position where only the tail lamp filament is in circuit. Me? Tight?
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Post by Xaccers »

The H1's I ordered have just arrived (along with Danielle's RC Airwolf helicopter which is awesome!) so I'll pop out and give them a try.

Will they be extremely dim and useless? (probably)
Or will they be an amazing alternative to halogens?
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Post by Xaccers »

They're poo.

:D

No idea on the beam pattern, the LED unit is too large to fit through the back of the lamp.

Comparing the proper H1s with the SMD ones connected via jump leads, well the SMD one can be looked at (unlike the two SMD's on my phone - yes I'm now seeing stars), while the proper H1 is too bright for anything more than a quick glance.

So a successful experiment, they're not suitable for headlights, but somewhere I have a million candle torch which takes H1's, so I might see if I can find it and try it in there.
Might be suitable for foglight use.
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Post by MikeT »

LED's have too narrow a beam and as said earlier, they're not suited to reflector lights anyway but good for you for trying. One day there'll be something suitable.

I bought a pair of non-branded H1's claiming 20% brighter off ebay for £2 and I can confirm they are visibly whiter/brighter than the old ones I had. I don't know why people pay over a tenner for a pair but I'm a cheapskate and love a bargain.

The first fitment, one blew immediately so had to refit the old one but the seller soon sent me another pair FOC and they've been fine so far. I can't praise them enough though they've yet to get through the MOT.
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