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brightest solution for replacement back-up light (7440 bulb)

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Old 11-10-2007, 05:29 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by nameless_ak
I found this on another website i thought you might like.
Looks great but I still wonder if there is any improvement in useable light output over the stock bulb. That pic doesn't really show any.
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Old 11-12-2007, 08:53 PM
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I just did something a little out there. I bought a 50w 12v halogen for outdoor lamps. I might have to do some mods if the electric tape does not hold it in place (big hole small prongs). It seemd bright. I'll have to check at night.
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Old 11-13-2007, 12:24 AM
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Halogen bulbs gets really hot; be careful, the silver reflector and clear lens are only plastic. If you have the reverse light on for very long you may melt one or both of them.
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Old 11-13-2007, 02:52 AM
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Here's the results from the 24 LED refractor bulb (7440/7443 bulb) I got from V-LEDs.com. The stock light is on top and the LED is on the bottom. As you can see the LED did not make the grade. I'm totally dissapointed but not at all shocked. The other picture shows the LEDs as blinkers. The LED is on the left. They suck here too. If they don't work as blinkers I'm definitely not even going to try them as brake lights. They're almost bright *enough* - I'm sure lots of people would use these just for something different but I see them as a saftey hazard. Grade, D-.


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Old 11-13-2007, 03:09 AM
  #45  
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Well dagnabit.

Looks like we have to find a plan B...

I'm still thinking HID... They make HID kits for motorcycles and etc. I may have to do a little motorcycle light research.
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Old 11-13-2007, 03:15 AM
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Hmmmm.

Nevermind. Same bulbs as automotive use. Dangit.
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Old 11-13-2007, 03:26 AM
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Ah crrrap...
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Old 11-13-2007, 04:06 AM
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Bulbs are rated in watts. If the stock filament back up bulb is 21 watts I highly doubt you will find a LED with wattage higher then 5 watt. All the LED distributers I know have LED bulbs of 5 watts max. LED's are rated at the highest rated LED .example: 1 -5 watt LED = 5 watt. 2- 5 watt LED = 5 watt, 3- 5 watt LED= 5 watt. The only thing gained by multiple LED's is Lumiens{amount of surface area luminated} . If you have 10 -5 watt LED is still 5 watt,but will have a greater area luminated of 5 watts ,then 1- 5 watt LED.
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Old 11-13-2007, 04:40 AM
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Thanks for the report, rockthebeef. Disappointing as it is...

Damb... what to do now? Replacing the stock BU lite assy with a 4" halogen assy is bad enough but running new wiring that can handle the increased amps makes this a serious PITA project.
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Old 11-13-2007, 04:52 AM
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Disappointing to say the least. I'm still waiting for the Autolumination Wedge Matrix III LED's with 36 bulbs. Should be here later this week, but now I'm not expecting much. I'll hope for the best until reality proves me (and the manufacturer!) wrong. Update to follow...
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Old 11-13-2007, 04:54 AM
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Originally Posted by paxber
LEDs are rated at the highest rated LED.
This is interesting. Would you care to elaborate as to why they are rated this way? If you had 2 21w incandescent bulbs would you rate the pair as 21w or 42w?I'll try to look this up...

Originally Posted by paxber
The only thing gained by multiple LEDs is Lumens (amount of surface area luminated).
Isn't this exactly what we want?

Originally Posted by paxber
If you have 10 -5 watt LED is still 5 watt,but will have a greater area luminated of 5 watts ,then 1- 5 watt LED.
I had to read this sentence a couple times but I think I know what you mean. You're saying it's possible to have an array of 5 watt LEDs that put out more lumens than a 21 watt incandescent bulb. Is this correct? In other words the LED "bulb" would still be rated as 5w even if it was brighter than the 21w filament bulb?

Excuse me for being a bit slow but is your point to look for an LED bulb based on its light output rather than its wattage rating? It seems that you have something constructive to say but I just can't figure out what it is. Maybe I need sleep.
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Old 11-13-2007, 12:05 PM
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Yes, the total of 10- 5 watt LED's is only 5 watt,not 50 watt. Think incendescent light fixture in your house . You may have a fixture with 4 -40 watt bulbs. It is still 40 watts of light power generated,but it covers a wider,larger area of 40 watts of light{lumens}. Unscrew 2 bulbs,you still have 40watts,but the area around you appears dimmer,except when you look directly at the remaining 2 bulbs,you still have 40 watts. Same for fluorescent tubes. To brighten the room you need to put in higher wattage bulbs{more lumens per watt},and that is what we are looking for.

As you can see in the picture the area of the filament bulb of 21 watts is brighter. The LED light covers the same area because of amount of multiple LED's,but far dimmer because it's only 5 watt. Lumens {simple terms}is the measure of light generated,per watt . If you had a 100 LED -5 watt LED it will cover a wider area,but in this case may be restricted by lens/reflector design. The only way to brighten the same area of the XB back up light is higher wattage,however like someone stated the higher wattage will cause heat,and melt things. I am afraid the gentleman with the 50 bulbs will melt the lens/socket,and possibly the bumper,as that wattage will generate about 250-300 degrees of heat. I have the same bulb for outdoor landscape lighting,and they get VERY hot,and are in metal housings. Even if you burn the 21 watt,remove it while lit,I am willing to bet you will burn yourself just with 21 watts. I am guessing here, but a bulb of 35 watts may be the largest the XB's back up light it can handle with out melting something. The only thing LED lights do is reproduce light with minimal power. There may be higher wattage LED's out there but require heat sinks{heat diffusers} to operate. The heat sink will take up valuable space.

This from a LED supplier:

Brightness of LED Car Bulbs
LED bulbs are generally not as bright as standard incandescent bulbs, they have many advantages over filament bulbs (longer life, faster on/off times, lower power consumption, more vivid colors) but brightness is not one of them.
They are generally not as bright but some of them with large numbers of LEDs, will appear brighter than filament bulbs.
As an exception, our new 3 Watt Luxeon LED car bulbs are as bright or brighter than most standard filament car bulbs.
The light is distributed differently so they can appear brighter in some applications and not as bright in others, it depends on the size and shape of the bulb housing and reflector.
Most LED bulbs emit light like a flashlight, all out the end. Regular filament bulbs emit light from the end and all sides, so they will be better suited for some lighting applications than LED bulbs.
This is the same reason why we do not rate LED car bulbs in lumens or watts, the numbers would be deceptively low because the light is measured from all sides and the end on standard filament bulbs but only from the end on LED bulbs
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Old 11-13-2007, 06:13 PM
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man, i guess the refractor bulbs doesnt really help out as much... At least the color of the LED bulb is much whiter...
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Old 11-13-2007, 06:32 PM
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I'm going to try one of these:



http://www.bellacor.com/detail.cfm?C...oogle-DataFeed

35W 'should' be okay with the stock housing and wiring. It's rated at 600 lumens and even 5W "super bright" LED bulbs are rated at <100 lumens.
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Old 11-13-2007, 07:43 PM
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Cool. How are you going to adapt it? I wouldn't cut off the stock plug. Do you think it might plug right in?

Everybody, take a look closer at my pictures. See that yellow sticker on my garage door? The LED actually lights that up better than the 21w bulb. It makes sense because the light is pointed in that general direction. So maybe the LEDs might make people and cars more visible than the stock bulb. Maybe I'll try it out for a week or so and see how it works out. I really like the color it puts out.
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Old 11-13-2007, 08:40 PM
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I bought 4 of them so I'll probably try to bend the contacts back on one,like a 7440, and simply plug it in. If that doesn't work I'll try something else. It might just plug right in as-is.

I looked at your pics again but I'm still not impressed with the LED output. Nice color but not much illumination.
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Old 11-14-2007, 12:10 AM
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That 35w halogen looks like a promising idea. Sure hope it fits pretty much as-is. Looking forward to your update.
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Old 11-14-2007, 01:05 AM
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I'm still worried about the heat build-up of a halogen bulb, even at 35 watts. Also Fred, the www.autolumination.com site has clear plastic T20 empty sockets available that might work for the halogen bulbs you're getting; you would probably need to cut down the sides though, so they don't melt. This type of experimentation could be hazardous to the health of your xB, so I'll let you be the guinea pig this time.
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Old 11-14-2007, 03:09 AM
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I totally understand and appreciate where everyone is coming from here in regards to the heat build up of a halogen bulb but I am not understanding why anyone here would have their car in reverse long enough to generate enough heat to damage anything. Am I missing something?
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Old 11-14-2007, 03:34 AM
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Better safe than sorry...
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