TEST = Reversing LED bulbs ( car )

I have been after better ( more Power ) reversing LED bulbs for my car for a while now ..

My original review went =





Got some 7Watt LED bulbs in the mail today ... ( Ebay )
In the pictures you will note fact bulb on the left and LED on the right side ( Driver side )
Some lux readings :

LED = 54200Lux
Fact Bulb = 39600Lux

So the LED produces a little more light , and due to the design , throws light in a very wide pattern .
Got in the car after dark and reversed it up my drive way ..

Certainly more COLD light emitted , I cant say I could see that much better VIA the mirrors , I think for the naked eye to really see more difference the variable would need to be much greater .
Here is the thing though ..
These are 7Watt , the factory bulbs are rated 21Watts (?) Sorry such small print and I didnt have a magnifying glass handy .. I will recheck the Watt ratting tomorrow with a magnifying glass .
But if my eyesight has not failed me , thats 21Watts ( incan ) VS 7Watts LED .. I will leave the LED in for now and see how they go ( Might fail ? ) Especially as one of the bulbs had a slight rattle inside , so will see how it handles road vibration ...

Since then : I still wanted more Power.

Bulb 1 is my current emitter in the tail light .

And bulbs 2 and 3 are the new ones ...

Some one may notice the claim for 15W for this one (?)

No power claim on this one !

Lets get to the numbers :

Bulb 3 claimed to be 15W so should walk all over my current 7W LED bulb , well no ..

@ 8300Lux the performance was Lax to say the least

Bulb 2 with no claim , pumped some 33 500Lux , still not on par with the incan bulb

Bulb 1 , the one I was running produced some 54 000Lux conservatively

So unfortunately the search continues for more Power !

Posted just in case anyone else is looking for more Power in their reverse light .

Updated : 14th - Sept - 2015

Updated with this pair :

23000 Lux and extremely blue light ...

44

I am very interested in your research! Thanks for posting these. I also am on the lookout for more powerful rear light bulbs (led)

Did you check the actual power consumption because they are often very exaggerated.
Even 7W for that bulb sounds quite high and it’s a lot of heat for such a tiny body.
I bought a couple of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/301422694415 but only tested them on my working bench so far.
Claims 50W! but in reality they are only around 2W :~
Still enough to burn your fingers after only a short while running.
I’ll try to get some lux readings, how did you setup your measurement?

I was going to get a loom + bulb socket from the wreckers , and then I could measure current , maybe even build a lightbox , as a direct comparison between bulbs ...

ATM I simply position the light meter in front of the tail light , much like measuring throw for a flashlight ..

Perhaps not the most ideal method , but I want to know how much light is going out the back , and it works for that . ( That's where I need to see more )

Im after the brightest , and current (?) or power ( Watts ) is very secondary ..

Plan is to be more thorough - but I'm not taking it that seriously yet .

Its what I can see out the rear view mirrors , having a bad back I find it hard ( painful at times ) to twist my body to look out the rear window .

Which is why I put in a camera ( reversing camera ) , but at night the camera is ?? not that flash - I need more light .

I was thinking of just cutting the bumper for a light bar , but then you might run into Australian design rules ( ADR ) ..

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.XLight+bar.TRS0&_nkw=Light+bar&_sacat=0

A light bar for reversing??
Please don’t put it in reverse while I am driving past, I like to see so I can miss you :stuck_out_tongue:

With having enough light for the camera, have you thought about infra-red, security cameras are readily available and 820nm and above are invisible to our eyes, push out as much ir light as you like :bigsmile:

Cheers David

Edit, had a look at the ADR for reversing lights, other than you can only replace the lights (including globes) with ones approved by the ADR (like, who cares)

And there in lies the problem /

Reversing lights were designed to show other people you are reversing or in reverse ...

Seeing where your going when reversing at night was never a primary concern .

A light bar that lights up bellow the horizontal , would be great , a little like driving lights ...

I was actually considering driving lights , but thats apparently a no no ..

I dont know why they wont let you see where you are going when reversing at night ?

But the light bar would be controlled by an internal switch .

I remember when I used to go bush like every second week end , reversing was such a PITA because you could see next to nothing ..

Anyhow , ATM my break lights seem to be brighter than the reversing lights , so I need to ride the break to see half decently ...

As I said , the search continues .. I guess Chinese Watts dont help .. One says 7 the other 15 and turns out the 7 is much brighter ?

Guess what I must want would be around 3Watt if that power curve is correct ..

This ^

None standard lights should have an external switch that cannot be reached from the inside, have been booked for this one :frowning:

I know what you are saying, and I will do the same myself when my eyes, and back, mean I need more light, what I would/will do is to hide the light just under the car, take the power through a switch and relay from the standard reversing light wiring so the light can only be turned on while in reverse, using the standard lights only when around traffic which usually means there is enough street lighting anyway and turning the big guns on only when needed.

Cheers David

Liking the review
Reversing is always an issue in my work van at night- there is precious little light and it’s by outside mirrors alone. A medium rain and I can’t see anything which doesn’t reflect at least some light. I was considering some of these but most reviews aren’t useful- your’s definitely is! FYI there is a 50W Incan bulb made on this base pattern but 2 problems emerge: circuit load and heat. The latter is probably OK as these lights aren’t operating for long, the former could pop a fuse or toast wiring. I haven’t tried this myself.

Illumination for reversing doesn’t need a lot of ‘throw’ so perhaps a small light bar aimed downward would work, letting the refracted and reflected light do the work. That could be totally hidden under a car and would have the advantage of lighting the back of your car so other driver’s couldn’t miss seeing you and what you are doing without blinding them.

@David, the relay inter-tie should eliminate legal problems but most vehicle codes will allow accessories to assist with medical conditions such as old4570’s back problems and it would be a rotten Cop and Judge indeed who took someone to task over such a thing if it were explained to them as such. I think the worst end would be them telling you it has to be removed with no fines, but likely would be the charge being summarily dismissed.

(sarcastically) Just what I need, another project needing to be done.
(seriously) Good Job and Thanks!
Phil

Yes ! If I go external lighting , I will put them as deep under the rear bumper as I can ...

I guess the relay is a fantastic idea and use a switch to control when the relay can be switched on ..

The other way would be smoked lenses covering the lights and cut/installed into the bumper .. This would mean butchering the bumper ( possibly ) ..

I might buy a used bumper from a car with the same color as mine ..

And see if I can do a clean install

Back when I was driving a cheap Chinese scooter to work every day, I had bought a lot of these 12V LED automotive bulbs, and the variety you showed as your first attempt was the only one I could find that worked well. I’ve tried several of the various bulb styles available, and this style was the brightest, by far, with good output pattern to work well in automotive reflector fixtures. I was concerned about heat, especially as these are enclosed in a module with no air circulation, and are used constantly while the vehicle is operating, but I never noticed any issues. I’m still using one of the bulbs in my newer bike as the main brake/taillight bulb, and it’s still going strong.

When I bought these, I was trying to free up enough surplus power in the weak charging system to let me upgrade my headlights. The factory bulbs were the Chinese style 35W bulbs. By replacing the factory cluster, brake/tail, and signal/running lights, I freed up enough wattage to upgrade the headlights to automotive H4 45W bulbs which made a huge difference. For about another month of use before the main crank bearing died, effectively killing my brand new bike after six months of use and only 5000 miles. |(

I am using these for 8 months in my Dacia Logan MCV II, they are very bright, much brighter than the 21W bulbs.
http://www.dx.com/nl/p/ae52001-10w-800lm-6500k-10-osra-lcw-w5am-leds-white-light-car-lamp-silver-216827#.Ven6lTYVhhE

I am looking for a led replacement for T20 21/5W bulbs 10pc Auto Lamp T20 12V 21W 7440 E-4 Car Single Light Bulb W3x16d OIGAWA Japan | eBay
They need to have two brightness levels because they would replace the T20 21/5W daylight running lamp/marker light.
At DX they have these http://www.dx.com/nl/p/mz-t20-w21-5w-7443-7-5w-led-car-tail-light-brake-lamp-white-light-6500k-750lm-15-smd-2538-12-24v-405796#.Ven9kzYVhhE
But i only see 900 (750 actual) lumens, it should be about 900/100 lumens (high + low)…

Is the metal loom a heat removal system? Like a passive radiator?

I put a 1156 style one in on my riding lawnmower as the headlights…they work…but will get hot and turn off the main light until it cools…odd

Looks good to me. Possible to get a pic of it? :smiley:

Only the solar light in low mode:

Tail light + license plate light + solar light low:

Reverse led lights:

Reverse led lights + solar light high:

Solar light high:

Solar light = http://www.dx.com/nl/p/in-color-in-46w-solar-powered-side-lighting-ultra-thin-white-light-led-wall-lamp-white-black-381319#.Veyk0zYVhhE
Camera settings Manual f7,1 / 4sec / iso400 automatic white balance.
The color of the led lamps is neutral white (not blue, not yellow, just white).

Great pics Hobbyfotograaf.

i put a luxeon altilon 1x4 in each of the reverse lights of a 71 olds 442.the lights are metal and can take the short term heat.at 1a each thats about 900 REAL lumens.EACH!it looks like daylight behind it in reverse.
i thought of a switch to flash them to back off tailgaters.the bare led is nasty to look at directly.the lense softens it a bit.

Kind of crappy picture comparing stock w16w bulb and “50W” ebay led (link above in my previous post).
It’s hard to notice any big difference, except for the tint.

Whooaaaa. Thanks for these pics. You even got me interested in this solar light! This read led light looks hella bright. Just what I might need! Is it just a remove and replace bulb or is some modding needed? Any heating issues? Re-reading the thread meanwhile for answers!