LED rear lights

[guest27]

Hi There all

Anyone know what the minimum spec - in light output is - for a rear light?   Was looking on the Maplin site and they have this neat 52mm cluster that would fit a role - but they say it is not bright enough for a rear light (27000 thingies it is - cannot remember the units)

Anyone know?

R

[MrFluffy]

I dont think minimum lumens is specified in construction and use, or a million magneto mopeds would be doomed...
Paul Goff has some neat 6/12v led clusters commoned onto a single pcb to get the output out, one of his stop/tail lightboards has survived the vibration my sp dishes out for a year now...
http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffyleds.htm

[Andy M]

I use these:

http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffyleds.htm

No idea if they meet the spec, but both the MZ and Triumph passed MOT's with them fitted. They look as bright as the filament lamps they replaced.

Andy

[Steve Lake]

candela............not sure wot the minimum is though......but...
i'm using an LED light on both srx's, one is red the other white, suposedly the same lumens/candela but the red one appears much brighter than the white....funny that. I have to say that Busters (the catalogue people) recommend the red.

but i would have thought that a cluster of say 15 true superbright led's would be more than adequate, i  think the lamps i'm using have 15, 10 come on for tail light, and the additional 5 when breaking

the big advantage i find (as i'm also using a LED sidelight in my headlamp) is the saving of some 10 to 12 watts (28 when breaking) all that extra power is available for your headlight, i use a 80/100 watt blue element (from halfords, marked 'for off road use only' )  and it's blummin brilliant! never fails to get twotty car drivers to dip their lights...

pip pip

[Steve Lake]

doh......should read milicandela
and of course... i usually (and hopefully) brake..... better than break

[mav617]

Guys,

these ones you're on about:

http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffyleds.htm

are they a straight swop for normal twin contact tail light bulbs as found in my SZR, or (like LED indicators) are there any special voltage requirements etc? I'd like to use these as mine blows the tail  bulb occasionally and the rear light is not particulalry good apparently.

[Andy M]

Guys,

these ones you're on about:

http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffyleds.htm

are they a straight swop for normal twin contact tail light bulbs as found in my SZR, or (like LED indicators) are there any special voltage requirements etc? I'd like to use these as mine blows the tail  bulb occasionally and the rear light is not particulalry good apparently.

Yep, just plug and play.

I'd be tempted to sort the wiring or bulb holder if you can because tough as LED's are, they aren't indestructable. They'll stand way more in terms of mechanical shock and over voltage than a lamp though.

Andy

[Steffan]

Call me tight if you must but at that price I think I would invest in some inner tube to dampen the vibe and clean up the socket and the connections and stick with filiment item - way too rich for me....

Steffan

[mav617]

How about these on Ebay - would they do the job?

item # - 170124765595

Much cheaper than the ones on the other link - what am I missing?

[guest27]

Apparently some of these 'bulbs' are more than 2X as bright as others - but which is which I do not know.  I was more looking for the lil 6V / 12V LED panel they have - but I am not sure £20+ is good value.

Thanks for the link though - maybe I can work it out based on the 12 LED and 0.0075A draw?

R

[MrFluffy]

Yeah its not rocket science, its just resistors in series with each led on a common pc. Ill count them and tell you the values if you really want so you can replicate it with some veroboard, might save 15 quid in the long term

The point about the board is that you just screw it in place, crimp it on and voila its done and its lasted for a year of single vibes, and my acerbis rear guard tends to wobble too, so a easy life it has not had. Its quite well arranged, with all the resistors being glued by their bodies to the pcb in addition to the legs being soldered. Cant comment on the bulb packaged units though.
 Ive already done the rubber mounting route, and I had a c90 bulb holder in there too with extra earth wires running back to the battery, but it still tended to pop when I ran offroad, and as my lights are perm wired on to eliminate another switch from the system, it was a common experience to find the filaments in the bottom of the bulb.

The other reason for going led, was that I could run one of goffy's 6v halogen bulbs up front with the extra power, as the amount of power available on a sp is pitiful with normal filament bulbs. The leds are also much brighter than the oem bulbs ever were, and Ive got a headlight that actually is worth having for the first time in 15+ years of ownership. Still on my first halogen bulb too...

[Ken]

I had problems with my rear lamp bulb blowing due to vibration. I bought a stop/tail LED bulb from ebay I cant rem the amount of LEDs but its easy as bright as the original. Don't try it on flashers as there is not enough current to make the unit flash unless you fit resistors.

Ken

[Steve Lake]

if you use LED lamps for indicators, you will need to get or make a load compensator, as the flasher requires a certain current to heat its bi-metal strip.

[guest27]

Yeah its not rocket science, its just resistors in series with each led on a common pc. Ill count them and tell you the values if you really want so you can replicate it with some veroboard, might save 15 quid in the long term

If you do not mind having a look that would be good - then I can have a good idea about the draw of the LEDs etc and be well informed when I make a mess of things...

R

[mav617]

OK, so I bought a LED bulb off the 'Bay and it's nowhere enar as bright as a standard filament bulb! I suspect this might be because the LEDs are red and the reflector isn't doing the business as it does with a white filament bulb. Bugger!!