LED Brake Lamps
Discussion
Came across these LED Brake lamps at the weekend.
Wondered if this might be a good solution to the issue that some people are seeing with burned out brake lamp switches.
They look they'll fit OK and are bright enough so I was going to get a set to see how they looked. Increased speed of response and reduced current drain on the fragile brake pressure switch seem like something worth shooting for.
Anyone know the legal situation on LED brake/side lamps? They must be farily legit considering the number of busses I get stuck behind with them.
Wondered if this might be a good solution to the issue that some people are seeing with burned out brake lamp switches.
They look they'll fit OK and are bright enough so I was going to get a set to see how they looked. Increased speed of response and reduced current drain on the fragile brake pressure switch seem like something worth shooting for.
Anyone know the legal situation on LED brake/side lamps? They must be farily legit considering the number of busses I get stuck behind with them.
Hi Dave, I have these fitted. They work well.... needed them ever since PaulB nearly rear ended me as the old lights are a bit weak. But, not "E" numbered so no good for the SVA (but as usual just change them for the test!) Look good with clear lens covers as well. I use the land rover lamps clusters with clear lens all round, not sure what the GTR uses, or if you could get clear lens?
Had these fitted to my old Nissan - tbh they are not really bright enough for daylight use. I even used a cluster of three of these bulbs mounted close together to try to get them bright enough - 75 leds in each tail light!
IMO you are better off using the new Philips xenon bulbs - 50% brighter and faster than standard stop/tail bulbs. If the brake switch isn't man enough for the job simply choose a better one
>> Edited by RazMan on Tuesday 25th January 22:21
IMO you are better off using the new Philips xenon bulbs - 50% brighter and faster than standard stop/tail bulbs. If the brake switch isn't man enough for the job simply choose a better one
>> Edited by RazMan on Tuesday 25th January 22:21
If you're worried about the brakelight switch wearing out why don't you use it to drive the coil on a hi-current relay which in turn drives the lamps...
then the switch will only see a fraction of an amp, and the contacts on the relay will take the hit... an since the load is purely resistive, rather than inductive, the points should last a bit longer...
or, you can always opt for a solid state relay instead of a mechanical one, and thus no moving parts, as well as switching a bit faster...
then the switch will only see a fraction of an amp, and the contacts on the relay will take the hit... an since the load is purely resistive, rather than inductive, the points should last a bit longer...
or, you can always opt for a solid state relay instead of a mechanical one, and thus no moving parts, as well as switching a bit faster...
peterpsg said:
If you're worried about the brakelight switch wearing out why don't you use it to drive the coil on a hi-current relay which in turn drives the lamps...
By the time I've have got wires to take the brake switch back to somwhere safe enough to put a relay (or to take 12V to a fully water/vibration proof relay) I'd be quicker just doing the job properly and putting a microswitch on the pedal.
peterpsg said:
and since the load is purely resistive, rather than inductive, the points should last a bit longer...
If you put a relay on the brake pressure it will start seeing an inductive load from the relay coil. Normal light bulbs are purely resistive. Any issue with the contacts is just due to the low cold resistance.
>> Edited by davefiddes on Tuesday 25th January 22:00
shithotfast said:
Hi Dave, I have these fitted. They work well.... needed them ever since PaulB nearly rear ended me as the old lights are a bit weak. But, not "E" numbered so no good for the SVA (but as usual just change them for the test!) Look good with clear lens covers as well. I use the land rover lamps clusters with clear lens all round, not sure what the GTR uses, or if you could get clear lens?
Heh. Wondered if someone might have got there before me. The GTR uses light clusters from a FIAT Coupe so I'd imagine that clear versions will be available somewhere. Not a big fan of clear light housings myself so I'll probably just stick with the existing bits.
I was quite impressed with the specs of the lamps I linked to. They seem to be 2-4x the brightness of the easier to find LED lamps.
When I get them fitted I'll come back and post a few day/night action shots.
davefiddes said:
If you put a relay on the brake pressure it will start seeing an inductive load from the relay coil. Normal light bulbs are purely resistive. Any issue with the contacts is just due to the low cold resistance.
True, but the inductive load caused by the coil across the points is easily bypassed by use of a suitable capacitor.
For soft start on some of the amplifiers I used to build years ago, I would wire a series resistor inline, which would be bypassed after a few cycles at 50hz - when the voltage had built up across the transformers primary side, this would limit the rather large inrush current so it wouldn't blow fuses etc, but still allows the amp to fire up quickly.
Then again, the micro switch is probably the better option, the old adage about fewer moving parts...
In the UK it is (or was) just called a FIAT Coupe. Looks like this:
www.fiat-coupe.fsnet.co.uk/pics/black/
It may not have made it to the US. Don't recall ever having seen one.
www.fiat-coupe.fsnet.co.uk/pics/black/
It may not have made it to the US. Don't recall ever having seen one.
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