replacing stock incandescent bulbs with LEDs

[exess650]

I have a 83 Heritage Special. I want to reduce the current load on the electrical system by replacing most if not all of the stock incandescent bulbs with LEDs. Anyone have any experience with this? Can you recommend any specific replacements? I have narrowed down the search for most of the replacements, but I am having trouble finding ideal substitutes for the 194 bulbs in the license plate lamp and 168 illumination bulbs in the tach and speedo. In both of these applications you need a strong white light that has a wide angle of illumination. However according to the specs a lot of the white light LEDS put out a lot more heat than the old incandescents. I am concerned about the damage and shorts that the extra heat might do. Let me know what you tried, what has worked or not worked for you.

Thanks

 

[retiredgentleman]

Your bike's tail light draws a lot of current. Those 2 1157 bulbs draw about 1.2 amps for the tail light and about 3.4 amps for the brake light. Just replacing those 2 bulbs alone will make a big difference. The meter lights in the tach and speedo are small and don't consume much.

I replaced my tail light with an LED light from Wal-mart. It draws 0.073 amps as a tail light and 0.142 amps as a brake light. Cost $19.99 and is DOT approved. As you can see the LED uses only a tiny amount of amps.

I bought a licence plate LED light at Princess Auto here in Canada. Cost was $10.00. I guess Harbor Freight is the equivalent store in the USA.

I can't agree that LED's put out more heat than incasdescents bulbs. LEDs produce very little heat.

 

[weekendrider]

Search this site and the old 650rider site. There have been several "DIY" threads posted. Some less involved than others. I know Retiredgentleman, XSLeo and Pete have posted on this.

 

[aldo5468]

IMHO, just replace the two bulbs in your taillight with high-quality LEDs and forget the rest - it's the point of diminishing returns. I like the Superbright LEDs with bayonet mounts, just like the 1157s you have now. It's certainly possible to replace your turn signal lamps also, but then you need to replace the flasher with one that works on very low current draw.

 

[5twins]

I got some cheapo 1157 LED replacements from Amazon.com. They seem to work fine but now my brake light failure idiot light on the dash is on all the time. They consume so little power I guess the circuit thinks the tail light is burned out, lol. Any one have a fix for this like adding a resistor to the line or something? It's annoying having that red warning light on all the time.

 

[retiredgentleman]

I got some cheapo 1157 LED replacements from Amazon.com. They seem to work fine but now my brake light failure idiot light on the dash is on all the time. They consume so little power I guess the circuit thinks the tail light is burned out, lol. Any one have a fix for this like adding a resistor to the line or something? It's annoying having that red warning light on all the time.

5twins, my fix is real simple. On my bike I just removed the bulb from the brake failure socket.

 

[exess650]

For the 1157 bulbs I am considering the 25 led bulbs "1157-R24-WV". It is debatable whether the signal lamps and flasher should be replaced, since they are not on continuously, I don't see them as a major issue. The other lamps that are on continuously are the license plate lamps(3.8 w apiece) and the instrument gauge lamps (3.4 W apiece) or over 14.5 watts total or about 1 amp of current. It would be nice to free up that extra amp if possible.

 

[weekendrider]

5twins have you had someone follow you during day light hours?
While brakelights are very bright at night some seem VERY dim during daylight hours.
Speaking to the replacement bulbs only.

 

[JP50515]

5twins have you had someone follow you during day light hours?
While brakelights are very bright at night some seem VERY dim during daylight hours.
Speaking to the replacement bulbs only.

I had some LED blinkers on for 2 days before I almost had to lowside the bike because some cager cut me off. He was kind enough to stop (he is also a rider) and apologize for it and told me (even though I still used arm signals) that he could not see my LED turn signals. I stood back and looked at them and realized he was right. They were blinding at night, but useless during the day.

May have just been the lights I was using....but that was my experience with them. The bike was smashed the next day when an Audi came to a dead stop from 60 MPH on the highway in front of me.

Anyway...my opinion: LED's are great for behind your tach and speedo and I've found some really great brake lights, but all the turn signals i've seen/used have been poor quality bulbs for some reason.

I realize this post is regarding tail lights so maybe my info isn't helpful, but just thought I'd share my experience.

 

[XSLeo]

On the brake warning light being lit, remove the light checker. Might be easier than the bulb.
I guess it depends on the LED's I used the element out of a 4 inch brake/turn trailer light. It has 19 LED's on the board. They are very bright. DOT approved.
Leo

 

[weekendrider]

+1 Leo, haven't had a problem relifeing the truck lights.
It was just the bulbs we noticed this with.
Quailifier this was 6 or years ago. Technology and manufacturers make a difference.

 

[AlanC]

Or you can use one of these for $3.95

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/car-install-supplies/marker-lamp-load-resistor/191/832/

and maybe one of these for your tail light for $4.95

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/car-install-supplies/tail-light-load-resistor-kit/190/831/

I was looking into replacing my 1157 bulbs with LEDs, but the research I had done showed me that the LEDs were not as bright as the stock incandescent 1157 bulbs.

The only benefits I could see to use an LED over an incandescent were:

1. Less amperage use
2. Longer bulb life
3. Faster on/off time

The faster on/off time has the added benefit if you decide to use a brake attention modulator. These modulators either come configure or some can be user configurable to allow your brake light to flash a certain number of times before staying steady on when applying your brakes.

So if you want a super fast flash, say 7 times before it goes steady, LEDs are the way to go. I decided to go with the stock 1157 incandescent bulb, a moderate 3 flash before going steady on. It does the job (of getting the attention of the driver behind you when braking) just fine. Besides, do you really want to take the change of doing the super fast flashing and possibly send the driver behind you into a seizure?