Easy upgrades: LED exterior lights

[36J594]

There's so much info on this forum about swapping in LEDs that eventually devolves into a discussion of relays, pigtails, wiring harness modifications, etc. that I wanted to just share my experience upgrading certain lights to LEDs without any of that fuss.

I have a 1988 FJ62, and these LEDs were plug and play for me (part numbers listed are at superbrightleds.com):

Reverse lights: 1145-NW-27-T: Natural White - These bad boys put out 400 lumens of natural white light, and swapped right into my factory 1156 bulb backup light sockets. $12.95 each.

Brake lights/taillights: 1157-R27-T: Red - These were plug and play replacements, are super bright, and a great improvement over stock. $12.95 each.

Parking lights: 194-WWHP5 - these drastically improved the output of my parking lights, and even help fill in the poor side lighting of the factory sealed beam headlights. $4.95 each.

Interior Dome Lights: 3022WWHP4-V2: Warm White 5630 SMD - There were brighter options available, but I wanted to stay with a warm white incandescent-like light for the interior of the truck. This light was plug-and-play and puts out 60 lumens in the forward dome light. It also fit in the rear cargo area dome light housing, but required me to squeeze the metal prongs closer together to make good contact. No big deal there. These put out much more light than the stock units, and at $4.95 a piece, are cost effective.


From here, I plan on replacing the side marker lights with amber and red versions of the 194 bulb. I would eventually like to figure out how to make the side markers flash in sequence with the turn signals, whether the other lights are on or not.

I did not replace my turn signal lamps because I have heard that requires a flasher mod, and I have not figured that out yet. I will leave that to people who are smarter than me, but for the time being, the turn signals are fine IMHO.

 

[zprovo]

Nice. Thanks!

 

[lovetoski]

How to make the side markers flash...

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

 

[boerboel313]

There's so much info on this forum about swapping in LEDs that eventually devolves into a discussion of relays, pigtails, wiring harness modifications, etc. that I wanted to just share my experience upgrading certain lights to LEDs without any of that fuss.

I have a 1988 FJ62, and these LEDs were plug and play for me (part numbers listed are at superbrightleds.com):

Reverse lights: 1145-NW-27-T: Natural White - These bad boys put out 400 lumens of natural white light, and swapped right into my factory 1156 bulb backup light sockets. $12.95 each.

Brake lights/taillights: 1157-R27-T: Red - These were plug and play replacements, are super bright, and a great improvement over stock. $12.95 each.

Parking lights: 194-WWHP5 - these drastically improved the output of my parking lights, and even help fill in the poor side lighting of the factory sealed beam headlights. $4.95 each.

Interior Dome Lights: 3022WWHP4-V2: Warm White 5630 SMD - There were brighter options available, but I wanted to stay with a warm white incandescent-like light for the interior of the truck. This light was plug-and-play and puts out 60 lumens in the forward dome light. It also fit in the rear cargo area dome light housing, but required me to squeeze the metal prongs closer together to make good contact. No big deal there. These put out much more light than the stock units, and at $4.95 a piece, are cost effective.


From here, I plan on replacing the side marker lights with amber and red versions of the 194 bulb. I would eventually like to figure out how to make the side markers flash in sequence with the turn signals, whether the other lights are on or not.

I did not replace my turn signal lamps because I have heard that requires a flasher mod, and I have not figured that out yet. I will leave that to people who are smarter than me, but for the time being, the turn signals are fine IMHO.

Will these work as well on my 60? Except of course the head lights.

 

[Prairie Swamp]

Superbrightleds.com has a bulb finder that's mostly accurate. In any event they cross reference to standard bulb types 1156, 1157, etc. And when you buy from them you know you're getting a higher level of quality. eBay quality (straight from China usually) has been very spotty for me.

For the turn signals you need a relay that doesn't care how much current is being pulled to flash properly. Superbright has these. Don't know if they have a drop in for the 60 series but it's very easy to wire one in place of the old school flasher if you want. You can buy one that allows you to change the rate of flash to anything you want.

The energy savings is actually significant for brake, park, sidemarker etc. when going to LED freeing up amps for cool $h!t like extra lighting or whatever in a amps challenged vehicle like the 60. Turn signals are very intermittent use so usually I don't bother.

 

[36J594]

Will these work as well on my 60? Except of course the head lights.

They should. I don't see why not! I assume those bulbs are the same.

 

[LCnAZ]

In the for what it's worth catagory regarding color...

When choosing LED replacement bulbs that will be behind anything other than clear (brake, blinker, marker), consider that the color of the plastic (red and amber) is formulated to be the designed color with a conventional bulb which has a broad spectrum color of about 2800 Kelvin. Many high output LEDs have a much cooler color temp of 4000 Kelvin or higher and a low color rendering index (CRI). The result is a color through the red or amber lens that is indeed bright, but a strange new color. The low CRI means there's also a lot of green in the color...because green is the easiest to make bright.

I have yet to see a vehicle LED bulb post a CRI spec, so the closest we can get to the color of original bulbs that will render the intended color through the red and amber lenses is Warm White (3000 Kelvin). We guys are susceptible to varying degrees of color blindness and may not be able to detect these issues...or you may just not care. My work in the movie biz has forced me to be on top of all this as lighting in that world is now transitioning to LED sources. Film and video are both extremely sensitive to these things. It's a blessing and a curse.

I only offer this so that you can make an informed decision.

 

[boerboel313]

Superbrightleds.com has a bulb finder that's mostly accurate. In any event they cross reference to standard bulb types 1156, 1157, etc. And when you buy from them you know you're getting a higher level of quality. eBay quality (straight from China usually) has been very spotty for me.

For the turn signals you need a relay that doesn't care how much current is being pulled to flash properly. Superbright has these. Don't know if they have a drop in for the 60 series but it's very easy to wire one in place of the old school flasher if you want. You can buy one that allows you to change the rate of flash to anything you want.

The energy savings is actually significant for brake, park, sidemarker etc. when going to LED freeing up amps for cool $h!t like extra lighting or whatever in a amps challenged vehicle like the 60. Turn signals are very intermittent use so usually I don't bother.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Prairie Swamp]

In the for what it's worth catagory regarding color...

When choosing LED replacement bulbs that will be behind anything other than clear (brake, blinker, marker), consider that the color of the plastic (red and amber) is formulated to be the designed color with a conventional bulb which has a broad spectrum color of about 2800 Kelvin. Many high output LEDs have a much cooler color temp of 4000 Kelvin or higher and a low color rendering index (CRI). The result is a color through the red or amber lens that is indeed bright, but a strange new color. The low CRI means there's also a lot of green in the color...because green is the easiest to make bright.

I have yet to see a vehicle LED bulb post a CRI spec, so the closest we can get to the color of original bulbs that will render the intended color through the red and amber lenses is Warm White (3000 Kelvin). We guys are susceptible to varying degrees of color blindness and may not be able to detect these issues...or you may just not care. My work in the movie biz has forced me to be on top of all this as lighting in that world is now transitioning to LED sources. Film and video are both extremely sensitive to these things. It's a blessing and a curse.

I only offer this so that you can make an informed decision.

Good info. I was in the business (automotive lighting) when they were working on the first red LED bulb to be placed behind a clear lens. It was a challenge to meet all the legal requirements as well as durability, etc. I would venture a guess that most of LED light sources sold for automotive are not "street legal" in the strictest sense. But the lower power consumption, higher output and for brakes essentially instant-on make it worth it for most.

I put LED side marker bulbs in my Tacoma and the color difference between them and the tungsten headlight is stark but I don't really spend any time looking at them.

 

[Godwin]

Odd Iron Over view of Odd Iron Off Road and offerings for Land Cruisers and off road vehicles has LEDs available and is Cruiser supporter.

 

[LCnAZ]

Good info. I was in the business (automotive lighting) when they were working on the first red LED bulb to be placed behind a clear lens. It was a challenge to meet all the legal requirements as well as durability, etc. I would venture a guess that most of LED light sources sold for automotive are not "street legal" in the strictest sense. But the lower power consumption, higher output and for brakes essentially instant-on make it worth it for most.

I put LED side marker bulbs in my Tacoma and the color difference between them and the tungsten headlight is stark but I don't really spend any time looking at them.

Yes, my work with color makes me a little OCD about it, as I have to have an eye trained to detect the slightest variations, then verify with instruments and adjust accordingly. I'm even sticking with the Hella FJ62 harness and H4 conversion with halogen rather than the hyper blue alternatives that have a low CRI. That combo can be just as bright and color accurate without a burden on the vehicle lighting system. Yes, halogen is an old technology, but since it is a glowing "black body," its CRI is full-spectrum (accurate colors of all objects in our path reflected back at us).

 

[36J594]

Yes, my work with color makes me a little OCD about it, as I have to have an eye trained to detect the slightest variations, then verify with instruments and adjust accordingly. I'm even sticking with the Hella FJ62 harness and H4 conversion with halogen rather than the hyper blue alternatives that have a low CRI. That combo can be just as bright and color accurate without a burden on the vehicle lighting system. Yes, halogen is an old technology, but since it is a glowing "black body," its CRI is full-spectrum (accurate colors of all objects in our path reflected back at us).

I haven't used a LED behind an amber lens, yet. The only LEDs I have used behind a colored lens are the brake light/taillight combos. I used red LEDs for that. No issues.

 

[LCnAZ]

I haven't used a LED behind an amber lens, yet. The only LEDs I have used behind a colored lens are the brake light/taillight combos. I used red LEDs for that. No issues.

I'm definitely going to try warm white ones for the back up lights.

 

[Prestonagray]

There's so much info on this forum about swapping in LEDs that eventually devolves into a discussion of relays, pigtails, wiring harness modifications, etc. that I wanted to just share my experience upgrading certain lights to LEDs without any of that fuss.

I have a 1988 FJ62, and these LEDs were plug and play for me (part numbers listed are at superbrightleds.com):

Reverse lights: 1145-NW-27-T: Natural White - These bad boys put out 400 lumens of natural white light, and swapped right into my factory 1156 bulb backup light sockets. $12.95 each.

Brake lights/taillights: 1157-R27-T: Red - These were plug and play replacements, are super bright, and a great improvement over stock. $12.95 each.

Parking lights: 194-WWHP5 - these drastically improved the output of my parking lights, and even help fill in the poor side lighting of the factory sealed beam headlights. $4.95 each.

Interior Dome Lights: 3022WWHP4-V2: Warm White 5630 SMD - There were brighter options available, but I wanted to stay with a warm white incandescent-like light for the interior of the truck. This light was plug-and-play and puts out 60 lumens in the forward dome light. It also fit in the rear cargo area dome light housing, but required me to squeeze the metal prongs closer together to make good contact. No big deal there. These put out much more light than the stock units, and at $4.95 a piece, are cost effective.


From here, I plan on replacing the side marker lights with amber and red versions of the 194 bulb. I would eventually like to figure out how to make the side markers flash in sequence with the turn signals, whether the other lights are on or not.

I did not replace my turn signal lamps because I have heard that requires a flasher mod, and I have not figured that out yet. I will leave that to people who are smarter than me, but for the time being, the turn signals are fine IMHO.

Re: turn signal hyper flash. Been mentioned before. I bought this off amazon and changed the connector size and plug and play from there. Worked great.

3-Pin Car Flasher Relay Fix LED Light Turn Signal Hyper Blink Flash Fix With Conversion Wire Amazon.com: 3-Pin Car Flasher Relay Fix LED Light Turn Signal Hyper Blink Flash Fix With Conversion Wire: Automotive

 

[Spook50]

Saved this when it was originally posted. I wonder how the reverse LEDs compare to the 7W @pfran42 reverse lights that sell for $35. I've heard nothing but good stuff about the pfran42 LEDs.

 

[billiam]

Re: turn signal hyper flash. Been mentioned before. I bought this off amazon and changed the connector size and plug and play from there. Worked great.

3-Pin Car Flasher Relay Fix LED Light Turn Signal Hyper Blink Flash Fix With Conversion Wire Amazon.com: 3-Pin Car Flasher Relay Fix LED Light Turn Signal Hyper Blink Flash Fix With Conversion Wire: Automotive

@Prestonagray - what do you mean when you say "changed the connector size"? Prev owner put in LED's and I have hyperflash. The relay on Amazon looks great - how did you adapt the connector?

 

[Prestonagray]

@Prestonagray - what do you mean when you say "changed the connector size"? Prev owner put in LED's and I have hyperflash. The relay on Amazon looks great - how did you adapt the connector?

IIRC I had to add spade connectors to it and then plugged them individually into the panel.

 

[billiam]

Thanks @Prestonagray, that makes sense.

 

[Miloslavich]

Post pics!

thx for the P/N's