LED brake lights

[vdubr928]

I think that is a curse as well as a benifit. They are usually brighter but they don't broadcast like an incandescent which is what the reflector is designed for. Bottom line. There are many improvements to be made but the technology is there. Its just a matter of developing a product line that works and impreases all.

[egil]

Originally Posted by vdubr928

They are usually brighter but they don't broadcast like an incandescent which is what the reflector is designed for.

That depends. This type is highly directional, and will typically not give a uniform light in a lamp designed for a standard bulb, and instead show a spot or a dotted pattern:



The designs with LEDs on the side, however, emits light in a way that somewhat resembles a conventional bulb, and gives a nice, uniform illumination:



(I say "resembles", because although this lamp does emit light mostly to the sides, just like a conventional bulb, it is not from a single point (the filament), so the light from the reflector will be less focussed. For some applications, that is acceptable.)

[vdubr928]

Yeah. I ran the ones up top in a jeep and I had little pinhole breaklights. I would avoid them all together.

An incandescent is like 300° of full bore light. The bottom led is close with maybe 250° or so of full bore and the rest just bleeds down. That is what you used for your test I imagine since they look functional. The technology is great but the manufacturers are missing the boat by not building the resistance in imho. They kindof got a bad name 1 because the first available were the top ones which were lame. 2 because if all the check control modules showing a bulb out error after installation.

Incidentally, exenon (sp*) kits cause the same issues with cars that have ccm. You have to face the system out or (at least on my bmw) you can open the ccm and permanently disable the headlight circuit.