1968 Playing with light blubs..errr-light bulbs

[franklinair]

I've been experimenting with tail light bulbs; LED's/incandescents. Here's the left rear light with a 19 LED (white), a 30 LED (red), and a 30LED (red) Spider. All came from SuperBright LED's.
The 1st photo shows the 3 different LED bulbs.
The 2nd is the left tail light (brake applied) with the 3 LED's.
The 3rd is the right tail light (brake applied) with incandescents.

The 19 LED would be a waste of money.
The 30LED (red) appeared OK ($8.99)
The 30LED (red) Spider was a little better ($19.95)
The incandescents worked the best IMO for brightness & evenness.
With the small amount of driving I do per year, I don't believe the LED's are worth the cost. If it were a daily driver then I would consider the 30LED reds to minimize the current draw thru the T/S & H/L switches. But that's $54 to $120 for light bulbs!!
I just installed a new Scott Drake T/S switch (Thanks Ron), and all is working well.

Neil

 

[Ruppstang]

Thanks Neil for the investagative report. I think my trailer queen will be fine with the incandesents. Marty

 

[66hcs-conv]

On our '66 I replaced the two console lights and the shifter light with white led's.

They are such a pain in the (*&%(&$ to change, I thought I would do it once and hopefully be done with it.

Have fun, Dave

 

[franklinair]

Actually, I've installed LED's in the interior (instrument cluster, console) and was quite pleased with them.
Exterior, not so much.

Neil

 

[dalorzo_f]

I'd did some similar looking around.

Once I added up the cost of LED's and noted the "spot" brightness provided by most LED's I decided to stick to OEM style incandescents...

 

[390gtmustang]

Neil,
what is the part no. 2nd led bulb and where I can get it? Im having problems with my stang at night while on idle the lights would flicker on and off. I think or hoping by changing it to LED lights would help it or fix my problem. Do you need to replace anything to make this bulbs work? Like any special flashers? Thanks in advance

 

[dalorzo_f]

Install a relay to eliminate the flickering. Some LED's required a different flasher can as the load is sto low to trigger the OEM style.

 

[franklinair]

As Richard said, a headlight relay is a popular fix for headlights. The LED's won't help your flickering problem. I'd opt for a solid state VR for that.
The 30 LED bulb ($9.00) is from superbrightled.com. IMHO, the incandescent bulbs are more practical & cost effective. The LED's draw less current. That's the only advantage I see.

Neil