Side marker LED success?

Can anyone running LED in the front side markers comment on how they are working for you? What style/brand are you using?
Do they make good use of the reflector bowl?

 

I'm interested in this as well. All of the amber 194 LED bulbs I have tried overheat, dim and turn more of an orange color if powered continuously. It seems that these are all designed for intermittent use as turn signals rather than continuous use as marker lights.

I have thought about modifying some of the available LED bulbs so I could limit how much current they use. This would reduce the heat produced and would prevent the overheating, dimming and color shift, but unfortunately would also reduce the brightness since the brightness of LEDs is directly proportional to the amount of current that passed through them. The search goes on...

 

I am running white LED bulbs in my side markers with no issue. I am pretty sure that I got them from Jumper.
The one issue with them, which is an easy remedy, is that they are loose in the socket. Took a little foil tape to them to fix it.

 

You could cut the power a little with a resistor. I had the same issue with some I bought on ebay. I'm going to try a set from Jumper leds on TW.

 

Yes very true. Using a resistor inline with the bulb will reduce the current but as a result will also reduce the brightness. I've even thought about building my own bulbs with some high flux amber LEDs, but they might not fit through the hole in the headlight housing. Every other color of led seems to be fine it's just the amber ones that are not as bright with the same a mount of current. So for now, I still use incandescent bulbs for my side markers..

 

Here are three I was looking at on Amazon. The zevo is 0.7w and the other two are 0.5w.
(They also make a 1w 168 under the name "LEDriving" and I'm running them in my map lights-- awesome bulb)

 

I have seen the red versions of these in local auto parts stores. I'll have to look for the amber ones and give them a try. Thanks!

 

These are the ones I bought off Jumpers LED. I don't think they are any brighter than stock halogen tbh. They run hot too. I have a few more bookmarked to try but haven't had time to mess with it. My reflector is blacked out so that does cause a little less output.

Did you get around to trying any bulbs?

 

Thanks for the info. Nah, I haven't tried anything yet.

 

I just got mine from car ID, no resistors or anything. No problems.

 

These are a bit overpriced but I've been happy with the quality of vleds stuff.

http://www.vleds.com/shop-bulb-numbers/194-168-158-led/194-hv.html


They have a few different types of the same bulb: http://www.vleds.com/shop-bulb-numbers/194-168-158-led.html?light_color=120

 

I got those VLED bulbs in amber but they overheated and dimmed as well.


I did order and install a pair of the Sylvania bulbs. They dim and color shift only very slightly, but they are best I have seen yet. Surprisingly bright too.

 

How well does the color of these match the stock DTRL/Parking lights?

When they get hot, do they dim or change color slightly?

 

Try these -

$9 Alla Lighting T10 Wedge 168 194 LED Bulbs, Amber Yellow Super Bright 360° Side Marker Lights, Interior Map, Dome, Trunk Lamps W5W 2825 175, 3014 18-SMD 12V Replacement for Cars, Trucks

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01732ZMPK

Working great for me so far - super bright

 

How well does the color on those match the Stock DTRLs?

 

I have a 1st gen so i dont have your fancy DTRL's Color is nice though, really good amber

 

Here - perhaps this might help. The image they show doesn't do the contacts justice. They are thicker than most I've come across. I am very happy with these Alla Lighting LEDs. I use them for my switchbacks as well. Anyway, here is a pic I just took of the bulb and also of my runner the other day (daytime and you can still see the side markers). Tonight I'll snap another pic and update this post with it.

 

How well do these match the daytimerunning lights? What do you mean when you say they dim/color shift? Thanks.

If it's not a hassle, it'd be cool to see a pick of them running.

 

Many of the amber LED bulbs that I have seen are evidently designed for intermittent use as turn signals. When they are powered up for more than a few minutes, they get hot, start to dim and turn from amber to more of an orange color.

If you send too much current through any LED it will overheat and start to dim and may eventually just burn up. The current can me limited but because the brightness of an LED is directly proportional to the current flow through it, less current means less light output.

I'll see if I can snap a few pics in a minute.

 

Here is a shot with and without the flash. They match the Parking lights and my other LEDs pretty well.