LED lamps for turn signals 76' Eldorado

[south280]

Hi,  does anyone recommend a specific led bulb for turn signals/tail lights that fit?  Thanks

[Cadman-iac]

Years ago I tried the cheap ones that were a direct replacement for the standard 1157 bulbs. It had something like 12 or 15 LED's on it that looked like little rounded bumps all facing to the rear/top of the bulb.
Anyway, they weren't bright enough to be seen through the lens.
Fast forward to this year,  my son has just put some on his truck that are really brite. They have the newer little square LED's all around it like a small tube if you will. Now his truck is an '07, so it uses the newer style base on the bulbs,  but they may make that type of LED with the old push and turn (bayonet style) as well.  I don't know as I've not been looking for any.
For what it's worth.
Rick

[James Landi]

Of course, one of the issues with older cars is that the directional blinkers require a significant amperage load from an incandescent light bulb to trigger the bi-metal "make and break" flasher for turning.  LED bulbs don't develop any load of the required significance to trigger a traditional flasher.   I suppose if one placed an appropriate load resistor into the circuit, the led would work.     James

[76eldo]

I think that by now some manufacturers make a direct replacement for the 1157 bulb.
Hopefully it has resistors in it.
The reason for the resistors is that the LED by itself doesn’t put enough of a load on the circuit to make the original flasher operate. I did this years ago on an 85 Eldorado for the tail lights. Cory Heisterkamp made LED boards for the 85 taillight. When I installed them my flasher did not work. I had to replace it with an electronic flasher which was a direct swap out.
Your car also has two flashers, one for the turn signals and one for the hazard lights. You will possible need to change both.

I have never “upgraded” any of my other cars with LED anything.
I do like the look of the tail lights on my newer cars though.

[76eldo]

James

We both posted at the same time. 

[Cadman-iac]

Another thing you can do instead of adding resistance to the circuit is to swap the old flasher for an electronic one. I do that with all of my vehicles because it bugs me to have inconsistent flash rates because of the load on the old style.
They cost about 2 to 3 times as much as the resistance style,  but it also doesn't matter how many bulbs are in the circuit.  You always get the same flash rate . It's also nice for trucks if you're towing a trailer. 
The only drawback is that if a bulb goes out,  you won't know it.

[TJ Hopland]

I think a good question to ask is why are led's being considered?     Been experiencing short life?  Want them brighter? 

I don't think there is any standard for retrofit leds.   I think some do have internal resistors to simulate the load of the originals and others just have a replacement flasher unit.  Even the ones that come with a flasher sometimes need some special extra bits in the lamps to make them work properly so you can't always mix and match. 

[south280]

I want to switch out the original incandescent bulbs with brighter led's  Thanks

[Cadman-iac]

I want to switch out the original incandescent bulbs with brighter led's  Thanks

That was my intention when I did it years ago. But at the time you had to have either thin, or new lenses in order to see them. I tried them on a '64 Malibu I had because I was going on a  long road trip on route 66 with other old car owners.  When  someone told me they couldn't see my taillights, I quickly swapped them back for the 1157's.
The other thing about my son's truck,  his lenses are very thin. You can see the bulbs right through them, so how bright do they have to be?
Not so in a classic Cadillac.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

As a side note, the use of LED's in an aftermarket use in older vehicles, that were not manufactured to use LEDs as illumination, might be against legal requirements as they are nor manufactures as a complete package.

Here in Australia, there is a warning on the LED's that state they they are not legal for use on public roads as they do not comply with the Australian Design Rules.

Plus, they aren't cheap.

Bruce.

[J. Gomez]

One of the problem with LEDs is the light source from them is directional (straight line) versus the old incandescent ones which radiates the light on all angles. Changing them to modern LEDs is a good upgrade as they have evolved since the early ones. You also need to make sure the lens and the reflector are clean and in good shape.

IMO adding the load resistor for the LED to keep the older thermostatic flasher is a quick fix but frankly is a waste of the voltage at the resistor for the LED light to work with the older flasher.

Changing both the bulbs and flasher to an electronic type is the way to go and since your car has the two prong flasher those are easy to replace with no additional modification. If you have the 3-prong flasher that is a different story as you have to make a few mods. 

The drawback in going this route old “rapid flashing” we experience with the older flasher when a bulb was out is no longer there,  so you give something up in the conversion.   

[INTMD8]

Bruce, if the OP is from the states I think most LE would be happy to see any working lights on a vehicle that age rather than having any concern over what type they are.     

He could probably be towing an open trailer full of asbestos without anyone noticing 

That being said, my unsolicited opinion is that LED's are out of place on classic vehicles.  The soft glow of the light ramping in vs instant excess brightness accompanied by a noticable cluster of diodes just doesn't look right to me.

Last classic I bought had LED tails that were installed with great difficulty by the previous owner. First thing I did was remove them and install NOS bulbs.

[Gene Beaird]

An advantage of LEDs, though, is it does reduce the amperage in the circuit, which reduces the heat in the circuit.  Additionally, LEDs will 'burn' cooler than incandescent bulbs, which will also reduce the heat on the lens and socket.  Those are both a win-win in my book. 

Note that you'll want to get red LEDs for places with red lenses, and yellow for yellow lenses.  White bulbs will tend to show pink behind red lenses and dirty yellow behind yellow lenses.  You'll want to look for bulbs with the most lumens.  Many parts house bulbs don't have the lumens to show well, and can be dangerous.