I thought I had a cheap solution for LED lights, but I ordered several different samples from superbrightleds.com just to be sure. I wanted to try them out side by side. This is the one that I hoped would work, since they're only $10 a piece.
Well, the little 40x40mm plug in guys just don't cut it. The first picture is a side by side comparison. They work, and you could probably center them better, but the big ones are just about perfect.
I don't think the lens is supposed to come off, but this is a test, so it had to be done. I'll have to return all the little ones I bought, and buy 3 more of the big ones. I took some wire and made sure it wouldn't move around, and stay centered. I also trimmed the housing a little to make it fit up flush with the old lens.
When you take off the lens, the circuit board and all the LEDs are still buried in a thick pool of epoxy. it's hard to see in the pictures, but I am 100% sure it's totally waterproof, and still sealed.
I'm going to see if I can find some new gaskets for the lenses, but these housings are pretty non-water proof anyway.
So they're $25 a piece, plus the $3 pig-tail wiring connector, but once you see them lit up, there's no way to can go back.
Hello.. In the most recent issue of the Blue Beret... LEDS are available from Airstream for $25. each.. Only available for brakes not for backup yet. Annie
__________________
Marvin & Annie
Niki (fur baby)
1979 Argosy 30 (Costalotta)
WBCCI 10103
"Happiness is a warm Puppy" Charles Schulz
Hello.. In the most recent issue of the Blue Beret... LEDS are available from Airstream for $25. each.. Only available for brakes not for backup yet. Annie
I can't find where they are available for older models. Maybe I am missing something.
Hey outofcontrol, did you use anything to increase resistance to make the signal flashers work?
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AKA THE GUNNER There is no "I" in the word "team," but there are four in "Platitude Quoting Idiot!"
Hello.. In the most recent issue of the Blue Beret... LEDS are available from Airstream for $25. each.. Only available for brakes not for backup yet. Annie
The LED conversions available from Airstream fit only the wide-body Classics, some recent Safaris, and some motorhomes. The ones above fit the earlier Airstreams.
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John W. Irwin
2018 Interstate GT, "Sabre-Dog V"
WBCCI #9632
You wouldn't happen to have an exact measurement of the round ones, would you?
wondering if they could be used in the early 70's 4" round tail light housings. replacements for those are "N/A".
I saw some LEDs from some site that someone posted, but they were a little bigger than 4", so they probably wouldn't fit.
The only problem was the fact that the base on these new lamps needs to be routed out a bit to allow for the grommet and wiring used by Airstream.
I am interested in replacing the tail/brake lights also and had seen the Blue Beret posting of a replacement but it did not mention what models it was for. If your search on the web site noted above they also have 4in. round tail/stop light for between $13.00 and $24.00.
Outofcontrol can you post your source for comparison?
As to the question of making the turn signals work with the reduced load from an LED. I had long since relayed all the lights on my trailer and run them off the trailer batter because of the limited wire size GM used in the truck. I decided to go that way after melting the headlight switch in my truck. The 1991 through 1999 GM trucks only use #18 wires in the lighting circuits and even smaller components inside the switch so any additional load will cause the back of the switch to melt. You can see the results on my web page.
Dodge had the same problem in the 90's. At the Ft. Desoto rally last October, I had the headlight switch and multi-conector MELT as I was going down I75 in my faithful old '93 Dakota.
I mentioned it in the parts department at my Dodge dealer later. The parts guy reached under the counter, put a headlight switch kit on the counter, and said, "You need one of these."
Actually, overland63 (Terry) showed me how to do a repair by taking the connector out of the circuit with a new headlight switch. This was very valiant of him as the repair encroached upon happy hour.
Lamar
__________________
1975 Argosy 28 "Argosy"
1979 Excella 500 31 "Betsy"
1992 Lincoln Mk 7 LSC
2003 Dodge 2500 Cummins "TowHog"
"Lucy Loosehair" the cat - Airstream mascot
Klaatu barada nikto
Anyone try the drop in replacement bulbs? Seems like it's dirt simple and would be at least as good as stock. Lights on my '78 Argosy are just fine and the only reason for switching to LEDs would be longer life (I hate changing bulbs, lazy).
They also list plug-in replacement flashers that aren't load sensitive. Seems like a lot of the newer vehicles use this type of flasher stock anyway.
Inside illumination's a different story. While the light levels are fine the reduced battery drain would be a big plus on long weekends without "shore power".
I had looked at drop-in bulbs but the problem with our vintage of AS is that the mount does not come out of the back of the assembly. It is on the top (or is that bottom, I can't recall). Either way the bulb is mounted vertically not horizontally. There are right-angle LED bulbs but I could not verify if, once put in, the right-angle would face the correct direction.
As far as flasher load: I see many people that have added LED bulbs, etc (like rice-rockets or ornamentals) and the lights flash REALLY fast. This is the benefit of getting an already assembled item that is designed to be a direct replacement for an incandescent assembly.
The problem with just replacing the bulbs on the marker lights is the direction of the bulb. The incandescent bulb in the marker lights are mounted parallel to the lens. If you use an LED that will plug into those sockets the bul is still parallel to the lens and you will get almost no illumination because the LEDs are very directional along their center axes.
While the LEDs shown above are mounted on the board in the correct orientation one has to consider the optics of the lens. Lens are designed for a given light source, just like a lighthouse. While there appears to be sufficient lighting by using the Airstream lens on the LED shown above I doubt if it would be acceptable to the DOT.
If no other solution presents itself I might consider making a mounting plate that would fit into the Airstream frame and fitting in a manufactured 4in LED stop/tail light assembly. A little more work than I want but it may be necessary.
__________________ WBCCI 12156 AIR 3144 WACHUNG TAC NJ6 2004 Excursion 4x4 1991 34 ft. Excella +220,000 miles, new laminated flooring, new upholstery, new 3200 lbs axles
HappyCampers,
The tail lights offered by Airstream don't fit in the older housings. You can't even trim them down because you'd have to cut throught the circuit board and some of the LEDs.
coriolis1,
The little 1.5x1.5" lights would be perfect for the back-up lights, but the ones I ordered are RED LEDs. They make the same thing in white, but I use my back-up lights .00001% as much as my other running and brake lights, so I thought I'd just leave them alone. I might just trade in the red ones for white and make everything LED.
cooperhawk,
Yes, the flashers didn't work once I was 100% LED on the right of side of the coach. They have in-line resistors for $4.95 or digital flashers for $12.95. I haven't gotten that far yet, but they say if one of thier digital flashers fits, it's the easiest way to correct the problem. (NAPA has one, but it's $55.99 Part #285)
Check out the bottom of this page: Flasher/resistor
I haven't pulled out the flasher in my rig, so I don't even know what the pin orientation is yet. If you poke around on their website, there's several diagrams and schematics to figure out which one to use.
Chuck,
see attached image. I popped off the red lens on the sealed unit because it made the unit about 1/4" slimmer, and I thought 2 lenses were redundant.
But these right angle bulbs maintain the same height (optical focal point) as standard 1156/57
Right Angle 30 LED bulb
30-LED 12VDC replacement bulb
15mm Single Contact 1156 or Dual Contact 1157 Bayonet Base
35 Degree Viewing angle LEDs are aimed 90 degrees from the base
1.92" long from contact to top of LED housing, LED housing is 1" diam. x 1.25" long:
No mention of a direction option and I doubt there was a "standard". Either half the applications are 180 degrees off or, maybe the bulb rotates? Probably too long (1.25") to be used in the marker lights and even the 1-1/2" square "bulbs" are probably too big for marker lights. Although they'd probably work dandy for the ceiling lights if secured with a dap of RTV silicon sealant.
I spent $160 on a large sampling of bulbs after I read their return policies. They actually recommend doing this. I bought some with wide angle and directional LEDs (110 deg and 15 deg). I can sit there and measure and measure and scratch my head for hours. it's so much easier to have a whole box of different stuff to try out. It's so much easier having it in your hands.
I looked at the right angle bulbs, but I think someone else here tried that, and they faced the wrong way. Plus, I wanted something that performs like the airstream factory ones that they sell, with a large array, where you can see the pattern in the stock lens.
I'm going to keep buying several samples for interior lights as they blow out. Yes, I'll spend a few dollars sending stuff back and forth, but it's cheaper than driving to a truck parts store. Yes, I think silicon sealant would work perfect. not only do the LEDs last forever, but they draw about 1/15th the load of regular bulbs.
[quote=bhayden]But these right angle bulbs maintain the same height (optical focal point) as standard 1156/57
I bought four of the right angle bulbs and they do face 180 degrees from what is needed. They or the reflector can't be modified either. Also. they are far from center in the reflector and need to be extended which I did by buying another socket and placing it into the original socket. That turned the bulb 180 degrees and raised it to the center, but then I was not satisified with that small a bulb. Didn't look right.
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AKA THE GUNNER There is no "I" in the word "team," but there are four in "Platitude Quoting Idiot!"
Kevin, how visible is the difference between running light and brake light, running light vs. turn siginal?
My first prototype from China was dismal and I'm not sure I'm going to continue my quest if you've found something workable out of the box.
My thoughts would be to go all white light LED's as the lens will take care of color and the white light is more of a visable spectrum.
I've been eyeing similar at my local truck wash. Now you've got me wondering....
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Glen Coombe AIR #8416
1984 28' Funeral Coach
Former Rolling Showroom & PuttLab (now party bus)
"I'm not an expert. But I did sleep in an Airstream last night."
Glen,
Try these links, and tell me if it works: you might have to R-click, "save target as..." I made these vids as a reference for myself, never intending on posting them to the web. But I think they pretty well illustrate how these LED's perform. The camera is slow to catch the digital effect of the flashing; it's very OFF/ON. And they truely look different in person. When I was touching the wires with the hot leads, I nearly blinded myself when I touched the brighter "brake/turn" wire. Superbright.com claims they are the same brightness as regular bulbs, but I think differently. Maybe it's because the LEDs are always operating at their max brightness, while an old bulb fades in and out, so there's lots of "glow" time.
I thought the same thing about using white LEDs, but as I read more and more, I learned otherwise. This page answers quite a few questions about using LEDs:
Which Color LEDs should I use ? For best results the LED color should be the same as the lens color. As an example: a red lens will filter out all but the red portion of the light so if the light is all red, none or very little light will be blocked by the lens. The light from a White LED contains very little light in the red portion of the visible spectrum so most of the light would be filtered out by a red lens.
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