Lights?

JustPassinThru

11-30-2011, 03:12 PM #39

(11-30-2011, 12:51 AM)sassparilla_kid Aren't LED's supposed to be inherently cooler than typical incandescent bulbs? I though that was one of the advantages of them, along with using less energy?

LED bulbs don't generate infrared like incandescents do, but they do generate heat, which needs to be dissipated out the metal contacts and/or base, lest it melt or otherwise degrade the LED element's plastic case and/or the active p/n substrate itself.

Because they are engineered to dissipate all the heat out the base, *properly designed ones* don't radiate heat out the glowing end (or center, in the case of festoon lamps). The JS SB 1156R's claim to have a proprietary, patented, superior heat dissipation design.

I am not particularly endorsing the JS SB's; that is, I am not saying that other LED 1156-type bulbs run too hot, I am just saying that the JS SB's are the only ones I can recommend from experience. They're the only ones I've tried.

(11-30-2011, 04:03 AM)mike-81-240d You're thinking of High intensity Discharge lamps, they run cooler than standard bulbs.

The reason I am reluctant to try HID headlamps isn't technical, rather political. It has to do with Washington State's unprecedented $2 billion budget shortfall for fiscal year 2012. The Governor and Legislature have already cut state spending to the bone and then some. Now they have started an intensive hunt for new sources of revenue. Just yesterday, the Governor was floating the idea on KOMO radio of putting a half-cent increase in sales tax on the ballot next spring.

If you go to
http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/pasfaqs.htm

and scroll down to (or, Ctrl-F search)
"Are high intensity discharge (HID) conversion kits legal?"

you will see that the answer is no. Up til now, the state patrol has simply not been enforcing this prohibition.

But it shouldn't surprise anyone if the state, any day now, gets hungry enough to order the WSP to start pulling over and writing hefty tickets for HID's on cars which did not originally come equipped with them. The same holds true, really, in all 50 states.

That's why I'm sticking with incandescent headlamps.

(11-30-2011, 04:03 AM)mike-81-240d I used to play with LED's on my old W123, and still do from time to time on this current W123. I've done the dome lamp, rear dome lamp, glove box lamp, city lamps, rear side marker lamps, license plate lamps, and once tried the front turn signals. All are gone, here's why...

LOL you tried LED's everywhere but the one place where they do the most good Tongue

As I mentioned above, West Marine sells, through their catalog, an enormous variety of waterproof LED bulbs, for boating applications. These are what I intend to experiment with.

(11-30-2011, 04:03 AM)mike-81-240d ...I have 27 watt instead of 21 watt 1156 bulbs (made by osram/sylvania), in waxed euro tailight housings, with polished internal reflectors...

Well, I would like to see 'em, see how good it gets. If the 27W tungsten-filament 1156's are significantly brighter than the JS Super Brights, then perhaps the Hyper Brights might match or exceed them. I would really like to see.

I have found, in strip lots, both white and silver taillight reflectors. The silver reflector is superior. I, too, polished mine Wink

-Philip

Gone but not forgotten: two W123 sedans and two W124 wagons.
W124 1987 300TD wagon, for sale, $1000 (some assembly required).

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