LED tail/turn/brake retrofit ?
April 13th, 2010, 03:09 PM
#1
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LED tail/turn/brake retrofit ?
I'm looking to get rid of the 1157, 1156, etc. 12V lamps & sockets on my '67 Cutlass Supreme Holiday coupe. Does anyone know of a good source to buy LED kits to "hard wire" into the various lights ? I'm constantly replacing lamps and/or readjusting the sockets- especially the tail lights- to get them to work. I know I have good wiring and have installed new sockets w/ground wires attached & grounded properly. I just don't want to be chasing down such a problem, especially when LED technology is so dependable. I did find a flasher unit to run the LED's in Graingers catalog. Any input to my issue ? Thanks & Happy Motoring!!! Jim
April 13th, 2010, 06:02 PM
#2
April 13th, 2010, 08:23 PM
#3
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: USA
Posts: 2,202
^ ^ ^ Good source for BRIGHT LED's , but trust me, they're prices are kinda high. 
For example, they sell 194 SMT LED bulbs for $4 a pop. I order them directly from a
Hong Kong ebayer for just $2 each shipped, and I loaded my 442 gauges with them.
I just put a complete custom LED setup front and rear in my 78 Camaro.
http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180854
There is no "kit" so to speak for any 442, Cutlass, or Camaro. Everything will be custom, and you can source from various locations. One of our Nastyz28 members located some awesome 4" LED housings for Big Rig semi's for only $12. That is EXTREMELY cheap, but you won't be able to use those.
Now Big Rig Chrome Shop has better LED's IMHO then the options at SuperBrightLED's. Trust me, I've been pricing them out for years because I've had LED tail lights on my Harley and Hayabusa for over 5 years now.
You can buy NEW 1157 socket housings at most any Autozone or other Autoparts stores.
I recommend getting all new ones first, THEN getting the 1157 LED bulbs from Big Rig Chrome Shop. Most have warranties.
Do a search for "1157 LED" here on their site for options. They have LARGE or small options.
You have to see what is the biggest that will fit in each housing. Now if you REALLY want to get crazy, you can forget the 1157 sockets and buy the 2.5" LED assemblies and wire them in yourself with Metripack or Weatherpack connectors.
http://www.bigrigchromeshop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SRCHM
Just to give you an idea of doing a totally custom job, u can use these vertically.
Do a search for "S/T/T LED" which is Stop / Turn / and I forget the 3rd.
http://www.bigrigchromeshop.com/Merc...Category_Code=
For example, they sell 194 SMT LED bulbs for $4 a pop. I order them directly from a
Hong Kong ebayer for just $2 each shipped, and I loaded my 442 gauges with them.
I just put a complete custom LED setup front and rear in my 78 Camaro.
http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180854
There is no "kit" so to speak for any 442, Cutlass, or Camaro. Everything will be custom, and you can source from various locations. One of our Nastyz28 members located some awesome 4" LED housings for Big Rig semi's for only $12. That is EXTREMELY cheap, but you won't be able to use those.
Now Big Rig Chrome Shop has better LED's IMHO then the options at SuperBrightLED's. Trust me, I've been pricing them out for years because I've had LED tail lights on my Harley and Hayabusa for over 5 years now.
You can buy NEW 1157 socket housings at most any Autozone or other Autoparts stores.
I recommend getting all new ones first, THEN getting the 1157 LED bulbs from Big Rig Chrome Shop. Most have warranties.
Do a search for "1157 LED" here on their site for options. They have LARGE or small options.
You have to see what is the biggest that will fit in each housing. Now if you REALLY want to get crazy, you can forget the 1157 sockets and buy the 2.5" LED assemblies and wire them in yourself with Metripack or Weatherpack connectors.
http://www.bigrigchromeshop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SRCHM
Just to give you an idea of doing a totally custom job, u can use these vertically.
Do a search for "S/T/T LED" which is Stop / Turn / and I forget the 3rd.
http://www.bigrigchromeshop.com/Merc...Category_Code=
Last edited by Aceshigh; April 13th, 2010 at 08:37 PM.
April 14th, 2010, 04:05 AM
#4
superbrightleds is nice for convenience and that is what you are paying for. I have seen many quality issues with the LEDS that come out of Hong Kong. With most LEDS if they are going to fail they fail within the first two weeks. I have had a good 20-30% failure rate with LEDS from Hong Kong suppliers.
If you are going to go the custom route for exterior lighting you may as well go with Luxeon Star LEDS as they are the brightest.
http://www.luxeonstar.com/
If you are going to go the custom route for exterior lighting you may as well go with Luxeon Star LEDS as they are the brightest.
http://www.luxeonstar.com/
April 14th, 2010, 09:05 AM
#5
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Location: Wakefield, MA
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Thanks for all the advice. I am going to hard wire whatever assembly I buy and totally eliminate the old sockets. No sense in replacing the 1157's with LED units only to have the socket connetions inside shake loose! I'll give you all an update as soon as I finish the project. Thanks again & Happy Motoring!!! Jim
April 25th, 2010, 10:13 AM
#6
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Salem, OR
Posts: 85
Hi all,
I ditched my 1157 sockets/lights a couple of weeks ago in my '66. I was having the same problem of the bulbs losing contact in the socket. This means I was driving around with one or no brake lights and had to constantly check them. They aren't the brightest lights to begin with. I decided I needed do something about them before I got a ticket or worse got rearended.
I was at the Portland swap meet a few weeks ago and talked with a few people who were selling LED lights. Nobody makes them for older Oldsmobiles (there are some for the G-bodies) so I started looking at what they had that was the general size and shape I needed. I bought a pair of United Pacific lights for '64 Mustangs. The part # is FTL6401LED. They are epoxy sealed and have 1157 type pigtails so they can plug into the stock socket. It cost me $70 for the pair.
I got them home and pulled out one of my taillight housings to see what I was getting myself into. It looked like I could make them fit with some trimming. I had to work myself up a little to start cutting on $70 worth of lights. Oh, the humanity!
I did have to trim off the reflectors on both sides, but I didn't have to touch the sealed part. I cut the inner side straight and tapered the outside to fit snugly in the housing. You have to "mirror image" the lights because the housings are straight towards the center of the car and tapered on the outisde (the pictures are of the right light).
I used trim adhesive tape to secure them in the housings. The store had some generic stuff but I splurged on the 3M because it seems much stickier. You can see it in the picture of the light sitting in the housing. I put some on the housing where the top and bottom touched on the left side. On the right side I put some on all 3 of the "pop outs" that clear the screws. It sticks to the side of the new light there. I just pushed them down into the tape and they seem wedged in nice and tight.
I cut off the 1157 pigtails and my sockets (since they were the problem to begin with) and wired them direct. On a nice original car you could retrofit these without cutting anything and be able to go back completely stock whenever you wanted.
I'm really happy with the way they turned out. I have driven the car a couple of times since putting them in and they are holding in the housings fine. The lights are way brighter and look awesome. The picture doesn't really do them justice.
One more thing, I had to change the turn signal flasher. The LED lights don't use enough power to trigger the old mechanical flasher so they didn't blink. I had to buy an electronic one, it's a direct fit and cost $5.99 at Autozone.
The only thing I'm not sure of is if the lights will fit in a '67 housing. They might be too tall and I definitely don't think you would want to cut into the sealed part of the LEDs. Probably be right back in the same boat of unreliable brake lights. If they are too big, you could still do something similar with a different light.
Hope this helps.
I ditched my 1157 sockets/lights a couple of weeks ago in my '66. I was having the same problem of the bulbs losing contact in the socket. This means I was driving around with one or no brake lights and had to constantly check them. They aren't the brightest lights to begin with. I decided I needed do something about them before I got a ticket or worse got rearended.
I was at the Portland swap meet a few weeks ago and talked with a few people who were selling LED lights. Nobody makes them for older Oldsmobiles (there are some for the G-bodies) so I started looking at what they had that was the general size and shape I needed. I bought a pair of United Pacific lights for '64 Mustangs. The part # is FTL6401LED. They are epoxy sealed and have 1157 type pigtails so they can plug into the stock socket. It cost me $70 for the pair.
I got them home and pulled out one of my taillight housings to see what I was getting myself into. It looked like I could make them fit with some trimming. I had to work myself up a little to start cutting on $70 worth of lights. Oh, the humanity!
I did have to trim off the reflectors on both sides, but I didn't have to touch the sealed part. I cut the inner side straight and tapered the outside to fit snugly in the housing. You have to "mirror image" the lights because the housings are straight towards the center of the car and tapered on the outisde (the pictures are of the right light).
I used trim adhesive tape to secure them in the housings. The store had some generic stuff but I splurged on the 3M because it seems much stickier. You can see it in the picture of the light sitting in the housing. I put some on the housing where the top and bottom touched on the left side. On the right side I put some on all 3 of the "pop outs" that clear the screws. It sticks to the side of the new light there. I just pushed them down into the tape and they seem wedged in nice and tight.
I cut off the 1157 pigtails and my sockets (since they were the problem to begin with) and wired them direct. On a nice original car you could retrofit these without cutting anything and be able to go back completely stock whenever you wanted.
I'm really happy with the way they turned out. I have driven the car a couple of times since putting them in and they are holding in the housings fine. The lights are way brighter and look awesome. The picture doesn't really do them justice.
One more thing, I had to change the turn signal flasher. The LED lights don't use enough power to trigger the old mechanical flasher so they didn't blink. I had to buy an electronic one, it's a direct fit and cost $5.99 at Autozone.
The only thing I'm not sure of is if the lights will fit in a '67 housing. They might be too tall and I definitely don't think you would want to cut into the sealed part of the LEDs. Probably be right back in the same boat of unreliable brake lights. If they are too big, you could still do something similar with a different light.
Hope this helps.
April 25th, 2010, 03:03 PM
#7
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Wakefield, MA
Posts: 79
Mingus- Great story! Thanks for the info. & moral support. You actually did the very same thing I had planned on doing, only I haven't researched sources very well yet. I'll post with results. Thanks again & Happy Motoring!!! Jim
Last edited by jimjr; April 25th, 2010 at 03:03 PM. Reason: Spelling correction.
April 25th, 2010, 04:41 PM
#8
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Salem, OR
Posts: 85
Jim
Glad to be able to help.
I have actually been wanting to change them for several years. I tried some 1157 replacement bulbs a while back, but they only made a small circle of light (I think they had 7 or so LEDs) and I still had the problem with the lights coming loose in the socket.
I kept watching to see if anyone adapted other LED panels to an Olds. I didn't really hold out any hope they would make direct fit ones, because I don't think there is enough call for them. My lights finally got bad enough that I had to take the plunge. It worked out great though. Not always the case with my projects.
A bunch of companies make lights now, but the United Pacific ones seem like a good deal. They are epoxy sealed and reasonably priced. Some of them I've looked at aren't sealed which I think could be a problem in the long run.
http://www.uapac.com/
I also got some small orange lights to adapt to the front turn signals. Those sockets are bad too but it will be a bit more invasive since they are built into the light base (I have a '67 front end). Not a big problem with mine, but you wouldn't want to do it on a car you wanted to put back to stock. I'll post something on them when I get them done.
Good luck with the project.
Mike
Glad to be able to help.
I have actually been wanting to change them for several years. I tried some 1157 replacement bulbs a while back, but they only made a small circle of light (I think they had 7 or so LEDs) and I still had the problem with the lights coming loose in the socket.
I kept watching to see if anyone adapted other LED panels to an Olds. I didn't really hold out any hope they would make direct fit ones, because I don't think there is enough call for them. My lights finally got bad enough that I had to take the plunge. It worked out great though. Not always the case with my projects.
A bunch of companies make lights now, but the United Pacific ones seem like a good deal. They are epoxy sealed and reasonably priced. Some of them I've looked at aren't sealed which I think could be a problem in the long run.
http://www.uapac.com/
I also got some small orange lights to adapt to the front turn signals. Those sockets are bad too but it will be a bit more invasive since they are built into the light base (I have a '67 front end). Not a big problem with mine, but you wouldn't want to do it on a car you wanted to put back to stock. I'll post something on them when I get them done.
Good luck with the project.
Mike
April 26th, 2010, 02:38 PM
#9
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Wakefield, MA
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Mike- I was at NAPA today and they have a new display of LED truck lighting products. There are all sorts of sizes, shapes and configurations, and all have a small plug-in connector which you can simply butt splice onto the wires after chopping off the 1157 sockets. I have to measure the inside area of my tail lights and check out the NAPA units. It's a lot easier to make a decision when the LED units are right in front of you. I'll keep you informed. Happy Motoring! Jim
October 2nd, 2010, 04:37 PM
#12
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Granite City, IL
Posts: 141
You need an electronic flasher. The LED's do not have enough resistance to activate the thermal flasher that your car came with. Once a bulb burn out on your car that mess up the resistance in the line & stop the thermal flasher from functioning properly and that let you know a bulb is not working somewhere. You can get the electronic flashers at Autozone and I believe they are about $12 the last time I checked
Last edited by veltboy618; October 2nd, 2010 at 04:40 PM.
October 2nd, 2010, 04:39 PM
#13
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October 5th, 2010, 03:31 AM
#14
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Location: USA
Posts: 2,202
Not sure if this is the same exact style for the Olds fuse block though.
BTW your Cadillac LED tail lights are wicked cool dude. Very nice.
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