Gen 1 Third brake light socket

Note you'll probably find some warpage of the plastic housing on that 1st GEN third top mount brake lamp assy.

Also, LED bulbs in brake lamp lighting application in the 1st GEN isn't going to be a complete win. Just a heads up.
 
Yup big, thats why I grabbed a pic a part one. Could you elaborate? I am looking for plug and play, not about any aesthetics, just longer life and no melting of the plastic over time! Of course if it works as plug and play, may pop em in the rest of the brake/turn spots.
 
I think you meant to say

Also, PnP LED bulbs in any automotive incandescent lighting application isn't going to be bright enough unless you opt for the $50+ variety that flood the housing with light, because the tuned optics of an incandescent bulb simply cannot be mimmicked by current LED technology due to space and cooling requirements. Just a heads up.

And especially not those "tower" types. All 400 lumens of a 3156 (and the hi of a 3157) come from that tiny wire filament. Spread out the light to dozens of LEDs in a much larger package and you just don't get any effective light. Their sample pictures even show you one of the two "right" type of LED bulbs with the very concentrated LED array. The other style that comes close is the "virtual filament" that uses a special lens to put the light in the right spot.

Now combine poor lighting with the instantaneous illumination of LEDs and you're asking to get hit. Manufacturers are just now dealing with the problem that instant-on LED brakes can actually go unnoticed since there's no fading "motion" to see.

OEM examples: The C7 Corvette puts a slight delay on the lower brake lights. Center comes on, lowers come on a split second later. The most recent Audi A3 has 3 sections of lights: dedicated tails on the trunk, dual-brightness "U" or "L" continuing off the trunk light, and a dedicated strip+square brake light on the top of all this. The center brake and strip+square turn on instantly, with a slight delay on the outer U. Ambulance brakes tend to put a rapid ~ pulse, 1/2 second strobe when the brakes are first turned on.

2016-audi-a3-monsoon-gray-taillight.jpg




My vote is to do the Gen 2 upgrade to proper LEDs...

2016-03-21 00.03.16.jpg

Or fill the housing with a solid array of Agilent Superflux red-orange LEDs (with an adjustable voltage regulator)

2016-03-21 00.03.16.jpg
 
After a little coding I like how my 535 does it. From the factory the outer mounted brake lights illuminate, press a the pedal a little firmer and the inner, trunk mounted lights illuminate and (this is where the coding comes in) press even harder (or in a "panic" stop) the CHMSL flashes.
 
hehe thanks for all the tech. Guess what I am hearing is that its not a problem as far as our (hopefully) standard socket. I will go ahead and do the third brake light with the change for the hell of it. Two, in a pack, so I can at least use the other to test differences.
 
How did you read any of our posts as saying the led tower is fine?
 
How did you read any of our posts as saying the led tower is fine?

My original question was about the ck vs standard socket. Since no one stated we have a CK socket I assumed that means we have a standard.

The rest is just opinion, albeit probably for the most part well enlightened. That debate about seeing brake lights has been around since I was born (near 55 years). Bottom line to me is that if someone hits you they did not give appropriate care - far all to common now.

My goal is to have a cooler bulb to not melt the hard to find plastic piece overtime. I am also certain it should prove somewhat brighter.
 
LOL, I had two new Canadians in a Purolator truck hit me in the back doors one night. You always get two warnings with me about following too close at high speeds, third time ur luck is up. They needed a new grille and started pacing me a mile apart after that experience. Moral of the story is, you gonna follow that close you can't react to my brake lights anyhow. Your pushing ur luck. SPIKE THAT TRAILER BRAKE.
 
My original question was about the ck vs standard socket. Since no one stated we have a CK socket I assumed that means we have a standard.

Standard.
The rest is just opinion, albeit probably for the most part well enlightened.

No, it's facts.

Bottom line to me is that if someone hits you they did not give appropriate care - far all to common now.

So if you get rear ended, you're "right" in that the other person failed to properly gauge your speed without the aid of brake lights. Excuse me for wanting to play it safe by making it as hard as possible to be rear ended. I value going home with an undamaged car more than I value saying "gotcha" with a smashed bumper and potential insurance hike.

And for what it's worth, PnP bulbs are illegal. If a diligent cop notices the bulb, it's possible to have the fault placed on you for illegal modification. Same goes for tint.

My goal is to have a cooler bulb to not melt the hard to find plastic piece overtime.

You should see the temps the crappier LEDs run at to compensate for poor output and poor heat removal. LEDs aren't heatless.

I am also certain it should prove somewhat brighter.

I'm certain it won't.

But hey, your call.
 
LEDs aren't heatless.

its not so much the LEDs themselves, but the built in resistors that cut the voltage down to something that wont fry the LEDs right away, and with some of these bulbs having a lot of high powered LEDs, there is a lot of current those resistors have to deal with. that's where the heat is really coming from. not to mention the heat that coming off of the Load resistors you need to keep your warnings away.
 

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