TEST = Reversing LED bulbs ( car )

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!

http://www.dx.com/nl/p/ae52001-10w-800lm-6500k-10-osra-lcw-w5am-leds-white-light-car-lamp-silver-216827#.Ven6lTYVhhE

Looks good…Is this for rear lights though and will it fit in Honda Fit? - no word games intented! (Sorry, I am newb in car stuffs)

Need to know what kind of plug the bulb is

Well, I can find out but the dx website does not specify the led plug type….

The DX site says it is an 1156 bulb. I believe they are also known as BA15S

In the manual of your car you can find out what type of bulbs are used.
The led “bulbs” are avaliable with most types of fittings, but some led bulbs are larger than the standard car bulbs.

The solar light is much brighter than this cheaper version http://www.dx.com/nl/p/outdoor-solar-powered-voice-control-1w-400lm-6000k-16-led-lamp-silver-black-151009#.Ve74gDYVhhE .
Just mount it in a place where there is as much sunlight as possible.

It always looks brighter on a photo because the lightmeter in the camera tries to get the lighting of the photo as correct as possible.
If there is not mucht light, the shutter stays open longer.

But the led reverse lights of my Dacia are pretty bright now, much brighter than the 21W bulbs.

Wow! I never expected reverse lights can be this bright. Thanks for sharing Hobbyfotograaf! Gonna install these on my van.