Updating indicator bulb technology

AIUI, for some time LED replacements for incandescent dashboard
bulbs have been available. LEDs may not be as cheap as the old-
tech bulbs (I am assuming); but, considering the cost (real-cash
or personal-time-virtual) of replacement and the potential price
of crudding up some part of the car during the work, surely they
amount to no-brainer substitutes, especially in older cars with
simpler circuitry (ie, no weird issues with polarity or voltage)?
--
Andrew Stephenson

"Andrew Stephenson" <ames@deltrak.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1161818118snz@deltrak.demon.co.uk...[color=blue]
> AIUI, for some time LED replacements for incandescent dashboard
> bulbs have been available. LEDs may not be as cheap as the old-
> tech bulbs (I am assuming); but, considering the cost (real-cash
> or personal-time-virtual) of replacement and the potential price
> of crudding up some part of the car during the work, surely they
> amount to no-brainer substitutes, especially in older cars with
> simpler circuitry (ie, no weird issues with polarity or voltage)?
> --
> Andrew Stephenson
>[/color]

There appears to be a market for LED replacements, at least for flashlight
bulbs. In the case of flashlight LED's, the base of the bulb serves as the
adapter that takes care of polarity and voltage. I got an 3-LED replacement
for my mini-mag light, and at $7.95, it is almost 8 times the cost of the
incandescent bulb but the 3 LED's give a whiter light and the batteries last
at least 4 times as long. As a frequent camper and tinkerer, the LED setup
paid for itself in about 2 months in batteries alone.

I've noticed that LED's are used much more frequently in tail light and
brake light applications. Assuming that they consume less power for a given
light output, then the wiring for the lights can be a thinner gauge that
weighs less, and with enough reduction in energy use, the alternator can be
downsized and made lighter.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

In article <cc312$45403959$47c2b532$11804@msgid.meganewsservers.com>
rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom "Ray O" writes:
[color=blue]
> I've noticed that LED's are used much more frequently in tail light and
> brake light applications. Assuming that they consume less power for a given
> light output, then the wiring for the lights can be a thinner gauge that
> weighs less, and with enough reduction in energy use, the alternator can be
> downsized and made lighter.[/color]

Hadn't considered that but it makes sense; such details add up.
They are also more robust. (Side note: in the 1960s, the Royal
Navy -- in common with most modern navies, I expect -- needed a
replacement for the incandescent signal bulbs used in their big
ship-board gun batteries: whenever one of those megabeggers let
rip, the shock wave would kill bulbs and lead to a mad scramble
to swap in fresh ones. They got interested in numerous oddball
technologies. The invention of LEDs must have been a relief.)

I do recall seeing a website selling LEDs made for the vehicle-
repair trade: ie, with appropriate shapes. AIUI Audi (eg) have
fitted wire-in LEDs for dashboard indicators for years. Mostly
I wanted to learn whether today's car repairers would routinely
consider replacement by LED bulbs.

When Volvo originated the use of LEDs in brake lights, the point
the company made was that these start giving useful light faster
than incandescents, by a potentially lifesaving number of msec.

Eg: at 60mph, 10msec correspond to 10.56", not likely to help in
many accidents maybe, but nice to have. ISTR incandescent brake
lights need more than 10msec to reach signal brightness but have
no reference handy (being offline).
--
Andrew Stephenson

On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 13:38:37 +0000, Andrew Stephenson wrote:
[color=blue]
> In article <cc312$45403959$47c2b532$11804@msgid.meganewsservers.com>
> rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom "Ray O" writes:
>[color=green]
>> I've noticed that LED's are used much more frequently in tail light and
>> brake light applications. Assuming that they consume less power for a given
>> light output, then the wiring for the lights can be a thinner gauge that
>> weighs less, and with enough reduction in energy use, the alternator can be
>> downsized and made lighter.[/color]
>
> Hadn't considered that but it makes sense; such details add up.
> They are also more robust. (Side note: in the 1960s, the Royal
> Navy -- in common with most modern navies, I expect -- needed a
> replacement for the incandescent signal bulbs used in their big
> ship-board gun batteries: whenever one of those megabeggers let
> rip, the shock wave would kill bulbs and lead to a mad scramble
> to swap in fresh ones. They got interested in numerous oddball
> technologies. The invention of LEDs must have been a relief.)
>
> I do recall seeing a website selling LEDs made for the vehicle-
> repair trade: ie, with appropriate shapes. AIUI Audi (eg) have
> fitted wire-in LEDs for dashboard indicators for years. Mostly
> I wanted to learn whether today's car repairers would routinely
> consider replacement by LED bulbs.
>
> When Volvo originated the use of LEDs in brake lights, the point
> the company made was that these start giving useful light faster
> than incandescents, by a potentially lifesaving number of msec.
>
> Eg: at 60mph, 10msec correspond to 10.56", not likely to help in
> many accidents maybe, but nice to have. ISTR incandescent brake
> lights need more than 10msec to reach signal brightness but have
> no reference handy (being offline).[/color]


Google 12v 194 LED

One of the first sites that came up has a direct replacement for the
dash-board twist-ins for about $6 each. That's cheaper than OEM, and you
can change the color of you guage cluster!

In article <fkc0h.10796$ke4.305@trndny02> [email]Truenoe@ae86.gta[/email]
".//Hachiroku" writes:
[color=blue]
> Google 12v 194 LED
>
> One of the first sites that came up has a direct replacement
> for the dash-board twist-ins for about $6 each. That's cheaper
> than OEM, and you can change the color of you guage cluster![/color]

Thanks for chasing this. _Cheaper_ than OEM rather rubs in the
salt; last time I checked, the LED bulbs were still pricey(ish).
--
Andrew Stephenson