LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

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bobg1951chevy
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 5:26 pm
Location: Hendersonville, NC.

LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by bobg1951chevy »

Looking to buy LED tail light bulbs for my '69 Corvair.
I've read good and bad about LED brightness ....... tell me if you've been successful in finding bulbs that actually do a better job than the conventional bulbs.
Thanks.
Bob G., Hendersonville, NC.

1951 Chevy Styleline Deluxe 2 door sedan. 6/2000.
1969 Corvair 500 Coupe # 2671. 7/2017.
66vairguy
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Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:44 pm

Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by 66vairguy »

After years of dealing with junk I finally found a LED bulb that illuminates the 66-69 lens well from a reputable company.

Keep in mind the turn signal flasher is always a problem with LED's and many do NOT work as advertised.

First with either the incandescent bulb OR LED bulb you'll get a noticeable brightness improvement if you paint the inside of the reflector with high temp flat white paint (Rustoleum makes it). Especially with a LED bulb you want to scatter the light for good side viewing illumination at the lens, so don't use a silver paint. Make sure the bulb socket ground is good - usually a problem on these older cars.

Tail lamp RED bulb with 360 degree illumination - Super Bright 1157-R27-T see https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinf ... ofit/2625/

IF you keep an incandescent bulb for the front turn signal you can use a low load flasher that plugs into the Corvair harness with no additional modifications - Novita EL12 See http://www.novitatech.com/?q=aftermarke ... shers/el12
DO NOT BUY NOVITA PARTS FROM AMAZON - Several reviewers said the a vendor has been selling counterfeit Novita products on Amazon. Go to a auto parts store and make sure the part in in a Novita package.
bobg1951chevy
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 5:26 pm
Location: Hendersonville, NC.

Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by bobg1951chevy »

66vairguy ......... thanks for all the info, very helpful to me.
Bob G., Hendersonville, NC.

1951 Chevy Styleline Deluxe 2 door sedan. 6/2000.
1969 Corvair 500 Coupe # 2671. 7/2017.
dave t
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Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2017 7:16 pm

Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by dave t »

FYI.....the original flasher cans use current to operate. Current through a resistance creates heat. As current flows through the flasher, a bi metal arm heats up and flexes away, opening up the contact. It then cools off, and flexes back and makes contact again. It continues this cycle as long as current is flowing (turn signal switch is on). An LED bulb compared to an inconsistent bulb does not draw enough current to heat up the flasher arm. That is why you need an electronic flasher with LEDs. In my experience, the electronic flashers with a ground lead work best. They are available at most auto parts stores. Make sure you get the 2-prong flasher (with a ground lead out the top) as that is the correct type for a corvair fuse block.

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66vairguy
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Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by 66vairguy »

dave t wrote: Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:16 pm FYI.....the original flasher cans use current to operate. Current through a resistance creates heat. As current flows through the flasher, a bi metal arm heats up and flexes away, opening up the contact. It then cools off, and flexes back and makes contact again. It continues this cycle as long as current is flowing (turn signal switch is on). An LED bulb compared to an inconsistent bulb does not draw enough current to heat up the flasher arm. That is why you need an electronic flasher with LEDs. In my experience, the electronic flashers with a ground lead work best. They are available at most auto parts stores. Make sure you get the 2-prong flasher (with a ground lead out the top) as that is the correct type for a corvair fuse block.

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Dave - Yes true with the old bi-metal thermal flashers, BUT NOT TRUE with the newer capacitive/inductive relay flashers which are NOT solid state and very reliable. As long as you have ONE incandescent bulb on each side (front or rear) the Novita EL12 works with the Corvair 2 prong connector, NO ground wire is needed. I've done a few of these for club members, works.

Regarding the flasher cans with the ground wire, most are made by CEC and reviews are NOT good. Poor construction, random blinking, flashes a few times AFTER turn signal is cancelled.

Some of the "electronic" solid state flashers DO NOT make a noise, which some do not like as it is nice to hear when you forget to turn off the turn signals. Also some get "upset" and don't work when the running lamp circuit of an LED bulb is on.

If you run all LEDs their is a Novita unit I'm now testing that does require adding a ground wire. So far so good in a bench set-up, but I'm not finished testing it in a car in the real world.
dave t
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Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by dave t »

Great info 66vairguy.
I was just sharing my personal experience from 3 or 4 installations. As the saying goes
Your results may vary. That's what this forum is all about. Thanks for the post.

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Nickshu
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Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by Nickshu »

I installed full exterior LED bulbs from SuperbrightLEDs.com along with their LED flasher which does require it's own ground. On my EM I was able to easily ground it at the turn signal switch (which is screwed to the steering column right next to the fuse box), not sure if it's that easy on your '69.

The LEDs work great and the flasher works so much better than the original. I get a "crisp" flash and click with it. Very pleased with this upgrade on my car including how much brighter the bulbs are while retaining the stock housing and lenses.
Nick
1964 Monza Spyder Convertible #435 - Rotisserie restored - SOLD ON BRING A TRAILER 4/30/2019 - Check out my restoration thread here: [corvaircenter.com]
Thanks to all the awesome CCF, CF, COG, and CORSA members who helped me with the restoration!
bobg1951chevy
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 5:26 pm
Location: Hendersonville, NC.

Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by bobg1951chevy »

Thanks dave t, 66vairguy and Nick. Helpful info. :clap:
Bob G., Hendersonville, NC.

1951 Chevy Styleline Deluxe 2 door sedan. 6/2000.
1969 Corvair 500 Coupe # 2671. 7/2017.
66vairguy
Posts: 4531
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:44 pm

Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by 66vairguy »

Nick - Thanks for the input on the Super Bright flasher. I was told it did not make a "clicking sound" while flashing, so it was good you confirmed it does make a noise. They do sell a two prong unit, but there was no indication a ground was needed. What was the Super Bright part number of the unit you used.

Another question - are your dash board indicator lamps the original incandescent, or did you install LED indicator lamps? I discovered this makes a difference and tends to cause the electronic flashers I've looked at to not work correctly when the running lamps (head lamps switch out) are on. I've come up with a fix on the bench, but I want to install it in a car to evaluate.

Thanks.
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Location: Chebanse, IL
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LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

There is a guy (Ben Carey I Believe) that makes LED boards that fit in the taillights. He has a Facebook page. People seem to like them.

https://www.facebook.com/Corvairleds-1538673906423488/


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1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
dave t
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Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2017 7:16 pm

Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by dave t »

I have replaced the dash bulbs with LEDs you need LEDs that shine sideways for the instrument lights. Turn signal and high beam need forward beam. Do not use LEDs on your gen light as it will not work. I used standard incomdesent bulbs for both idiot lights so the both shine the same. By the way, LEDs do not dim properly without other circuitry.

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66vairguy
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Re: LED TAIL LIGHT BULBS

Post by 66vairguy »

Yes the engine warning lamps sockets have positive shell voltage and negative center contacts. Reverse polarity vs. normal. I suspect it was a common sense error by GM. Not an issue with incandescent bulbs, but most LEDs are polarity sensitive. You can reverse the wires at the sockets and the LED'S work, but may not with an internally regulated alternator since it does not go to a pure ground, but through a solid state circuit with some resistance. I tried RED Super Bright LEDs with an internally regulated alternator and they DID work with the wires reversed. That said just using the incandescent bulbs in the warning lamps works fine.

The Super Bright instrument LEDs ARE claimed to be dimmable --- and in fact they do dim, but not like an incandescent bulb. They dim about half as much, then just go out via the headlamp switch rheostat. Not really a problem since the Corvair instrument lamps are not that bright even with the LEDs.

Bottom line --- there is a lot of junk LED lighting on the market. So far I've had better luck with the Super Bright LED's.
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