LED Side Marker & Turn Signal bulbs - Worth the $?

[Best F100]

A question that I have not seen anyone ask or talk about:

I've got a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. 130,000 miles with a lot of night highway driving. I was looking at the Superbrightled website. On it, I noticed;

a) Upgraded 185 lumen LED side marker lights, to replace the factory 38 lumen/4.9 watt incandescent bulb.

b) Upgraded LED turn signal bulbs to replace the factory amber, incandescent bulb. Promises of additional
lumens and longevity.

1) Is it all too good to be true? Will I get real world longevity & boost in lumens?

2) Dealer says to stay with the standard, incandescent bulbs, because the "system will not put out enough
current (without additional hardware), to make things function like I expect". I don't think his wording is
correct, but I understand what he is trying to say.

3) How about for brake light and low beam head light applications?

What say you?

 

[NHGUY]

LEDs in turn signals will create hyperflash condition with the thermal flasher units.Inline resistors would have to be added.

 

[440Magnum]

Hundreds of discussions on this all over the internet. LED is a good technology and is going to sweep aside incandescent, flourescent, and HID all. But right now there's a lot of really poorly made LED automobile lighting available.

For your question #2, the dealer is talking about "hyperblinking." Most cars made since the 90s have the turn signal flasher built into the body control module, or at least have an electronic turn signal. Not the old bimetallic thermal "can" flashers. The new ones are made to detect the startup load of the bulbs, and if the current draw is below what is expected they will blink double-rate to let the driver know one or more signal bulbs are out. Put in LEDs, and your signals will hyper-blink all the time. The "solution" is a set of high-wattage resistors that wire in parallel with the LED bulbs to draw the same amount of current as incandescent bulbs would. So while you get the nice "instant-on" of LED bulbs, you still burn just as much power as with your old bulbs. And those resistors have to be mounted somewhere such that they won't melt something or start a fire- especially if your turn signals and brakes use the same bulbs so the resistor will be dumping power the whole time your foot is on the brake.


Don't even THINK about headlight "retrofit" LED bulbs- they can royally screw up the beampattern and blind oncoming traffic. All-in-one LED headlamps in the old round and rectangular formats are available, and they're actually pretty good. JW Speaker makes excellent ones. Trucklite makes acceptably decent ones.

 

[buck91]

Well it depends on your car. A lot of newer cars with digital light controls will malfunction or at least light an error light with the LEDs for just the reason your dealer stated. And like-wise a lot of old cars and/or those with mechanical flashers will have issues due to the decreased current draw.

You can add resistors and such but there I don't think these make it worth going to LED. Maybe it you just NEED more output but realistically most turn signals are pretty decent and going brighter may cause nighttime visibility issues with other drivers.

I went to LED drop-ins for my tal/brake bulbs on my bike but its 30+ years old with a notoriously weak charging system to begin with so I figured every amp counts. Kept the regular turn signals though for reasons mentioned. Does anybody know if there is a easy way to swap to LED's for the turns without losing my flasher function?


EDIT: Let me add, that while incan bulbs DO burn out, they can take a VERY long time. Just replaced the original 912 CHMSL bulbs in my Mustang last week. They were still functional but dim due to build up residue on inner glass.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: buck91
Well it depends on your car. A lot of newer cars with digital light controls will malfunction or at least light an error light with the LEDs for just the reason your dealer stated. And like-wise a lot of old cars and/or those with mechanical flashers will have issues due to the decreased current draw.

You can add resistors and such but there I don't think these make it worth going to LED. Maybe it you just NEED more output but realistically most turn signals are pretty decent and going brighter may cause nighttime visibility issues with other drivers.

I went to LED drop-ins for my tal/brake bulbs on my bike but its 30+ years old with a notoriously weak charging system to begin with so I figured every amp counts. Kept the regular turn signals though for reasons mentioned. Does anybody know if there is a easy way to swap to LED's for the turns without losing my flasher function?


EDIT: Let me add, that while incan bulbs DO burn out, they can take a VERY long time. Just replaced the original 912 CHMSL bulbs in my Mustang last week. They were still functional but dim due to build up residue on inner glass.


If your vehicle uses one of the old "metal can" style flashers for turn signalling, then you can swap in a 'heavy duty' or 'trailer towing' flasher and it will work fine with LED bulbs, because those type don't depend on the load for the flash rate.

 

[wirelessF]

You have to be careful since most cars CANBUS system needs to see resistance from incandescent bulbs for the safety and stability system to work properly. Alot of the LED bulb compatibility websites say it will work with your vehicle but will need the proper resistors inline to make the CANBUS system happy.

Also in some vehicles like newer GM trucks the CANBUS can be programmed for LED turn signal bulbs since these trucks will be fitted for boxtruck/flatbed setups with LED lights.

 

[Samuraidog]

For me, LEDs are great for interior lights. Lower power consumption means you are less likely to drain the battery if you accidentally leave the door ajar overnight. They seem to provide a better contrast in the interior at night too.
Anywhere else on the car and they are really more of a novelty item. I could see them being good for side markers.
Like another poster mentioned, eventually LEDs will be practical everywhere, but right now, there are a lot of low quality LEDs on the market.

 

[eljefino]

Don't get white LEDs for behind colored lenses. Yellows will be mountain-dew green, and reds will be pink-orange.

That said I finally got the right color replacements for side markers for my wife's HHR. The stupid things blow all the time and you have to undo a fender liner to get at them. They were 2 for a buck shipped from amazon.

Like these, but colored. So far, so good.

Car doesn't blink the side markers or do any shenanigans; they seem wired straight to the parking light switch.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
LEDs in turn signals will create hyperflash condition with the thermal flasher units.Inline resistors would have to be added.
Superbright sells solid state flasher units which plug right in and eliminate that problem. I have them in two Camrys. The side markers USED to be on a circuit which did NOT trigger the bulb out indicator, newer cars use a "Can Buss" system for control and may be different so look for LEDS which say "Can Buss compliant". Leds draw LESS current than filament bulbs, so as usual, someone in the dealership in talking through a hat. OHm's law is a mystery to them.