poor rear lights - recommendations for brighter bulbs pls

[jcbadger]

Hi All

Has anyone changed their rear tail lights (not the brake lights) for brighter bulbs? I'm surprised how small the lens is and how dim the light is for such an important light - I've changed the bulbs as I thought they were just old but no difference. I guess the standard bulbs are the filament type and not halogens which are more modern and brighter (?). Can they be swapped out for brighter bulbs and any brand recommendations please. Also, does changing to more modern bulbs which draw more power require any changes to the wiring or adding relays into the system? (or is this just required for much, much older cars) Thanks in advance.

[Lauren]

You don't get halogen bulbs in rear lights.

You could LED bubs, should be a direct replacement. Lots of these on the market. Have you tried cleaning up the light covers themselves? May help a bit.

[stenky]

my rear lenses got mliky. need a good polish. i wouldn't dare to go LED as diodes tend to go rea(r)l hot and melt the plastic

[shinny]

You've got to spend a lot of money on a red LED bulbs before it out performs a filament bulb. I spent about £40 a pair to get LED bulbs (5x Cree Q5) in my clear indicators that perform as well as amber tinted filament bulbs.

You may have some success with white LED bulbs covered in lots of 5050 SMD LEDS, but the vast majority of red LED replacement bulbs aren't an upgrade at all. Sorry.

[shinny]

If I were going LED on tail/brake lights, I'd consider something like this:

30 5050 White LED: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261486899516
(Might result in a pink kind of light)

or

10x5W red Cree LED: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161316231899

Disclaimer - I haven't tried either of the above.

I do know that the 5x5W amber Cree LED bulbs are just about sufficient for indicators, so you need at least the same for brake lights.

See my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-GGXAmoXyA

[jcbadger]

Hi All

Thanks for the replies. I read in Classics Monthly magazine that they are brighter and draw less power. I'm very surprised that the tail light doesn't have a silver reflector behind it to focus the light outwards - the other bulbs in the unit have silver reflectors. My lenses are clear and not milky - all the other lights are perfectly bright its just the tail lights that I think are inadequate. I may give LEDs a try.

[MR2MK1MAD]

Not sure if its any help but when looking for a leak in the boot I removed the rear light holders and found silver tinfoil being used as a reflector, may be worth a try.

[shinny]

Thanks for the replies. I read in Classics Monthly magazine that they are brighter and draw less power.

Yes, that can be true, but not all LEDs are made equal by a very, very long way!

LEDs are more efficient than filament bulbs (lumens per amp) but that in no way means every LED bulb is better than a filament bulb. In fact, most car LED bulbs are built cheap and don't have anywhere near enough light output for the job they're designed to do.

[Fozzy]

The problem isn't always so much with old lenses or lamps, but old wiring. The resistance will have increased over the years, so if you were to meter the wires at the tail lights you will see a drop. I have found fitting a new earth wire from the light connector to somewhere close to the cluster can help in some case. Get some contact cleaner and make sure the wiring plugs are spotless, it's amazing the difference this can make for very little outlay.