LED Tail/Brake Light Bulbs

Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:21 am

DesRado wrote:Ordered some brake, reverse and turn signal bulbs off Amazon and they got in yesterday. Probably going to put them in today if it's not too cold outside. Will update with photos when it gets done.

Let us know how it looks and which bulbs you got!

DesRado · Fri Feb 13, 2015 11:01 am

Ordered:
Reverse lights
Tail Lights
Turn signal: NOTE: These are not compatible with the Kizashi. The pins don't line up as they are 180 and need to be something like 150 or so They do however fit in the socket and turn on but there is nothing to secure them in the housing.
Reverse light close
Reverse light real close
Reverse light distance
They are bright! Almost like a rear facing fog light. The color is pure white, if they don't have a tiny bit of bluish tinge to them... difficult to tell.

Comparison of LED vs standard bulb. The photos were taken after I put them in, so around 430-5pm and the sun was still out.

DesRado · Fri Feb 13, 2015 11:33 am

KuroNekko wrote:
DesRado wrote:Ordered some brake, reverse and turn signal bulbs off Amazon and they got in yesterday. Probably going to put them in today if it's not too cold outside. Will update with photos when it gets done.
Did you get CANBUS-type bulbs for the turn signals?

Probably not, they were not the correct fit anyway as noted above in my post. They did blink normally in hazard mode though. I can check again today and see, but it's not like I'm going to keep them in the Kiz anymore.

MrMeaty · Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:47 pm

HI all.
Quick question: Since the housings are red, how do you think white LEDs would look in replacing the brake lights? I have a set of white LEDs that fit lying around because I purchased the wrong size for another application but didn't think it was worth returning.

Fri Feb 13, 2015 3:16 pm

Well if the bulb functions, then it will just come down to your personal preference. The color will be off. You will probably see more pink.

The bulbs from SuperbriteLEDs have drivers which allow them to work as brake and running lights. I tried some cheap red leds the first time around and while they seemed to work, when I hit the brake pedal, it wasn't until I got in the car to drive that I noticed it was causing some kind of short in the electrical system that manifested in the Stock radio screen going completely blank when I hit the brake pedal. Very weird, I know, but that is what I experienced.

Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:29 pm

DesRado wrote:No pictures of the reverse lights yet, Couldn't find my tripod and can't really grab a photo of reverse in a manual trans by yourself lol.

I think you can turn the ignition (not engine) on and shift to reverse. At least that worked for me

Fri Feb 13, 2015 11:02 pm

MrMeaty wrote:HI all.
Quick question: Since the housings are red, how do you think white LEDs would look in replacing the brake lights? I have a set of white LEDs that fit lying around because I purchased the wrong size for another application but didn't think it was worth returning.

You want LEDs to match the color of the housing lens. Red LEDs must be in tail/brake lights. White LEDs will wash out the housing lens color and look like pinkish white lights and will be closer in color to reverse lights than brake lights. I can tell you from personal experience that white LED bulbs are unsuitable as brake lights. You need to match bulb color to lens color when it comes to LEDs.

bootymac wrote:
DesRado wrote:No pictures of the reverse lights yet, Couldn't find my tripod and can't really grab a photo of reverse in a manual trans by yourself lol.
I think you can turn the ignition (not engine) on and shift to reverse. At least that worked for me

This should work. The engine does not need to be on, but the car does. Press the Start button twice without depressing the clutch pedal. The car's HVAC will be powered and so will the dash lights, but without the engine being on. Put the transmission in Reverse and you should see the reverse lights illuminate.

Sat Feb 14, 2015 12:34 am

Just make sure your foot isn't on the brake pedal when you push the switch. Made that mistake a few times

Sat Feb 14, 2015 9:04 pm

bootymac wrote:Just make sure your foot isn't on the brake pedal when you push the switch. Made that mistake a few times

For manual drivers, it's the clutch pedal that starts the car, not the brake. For autos, I know the brake has to be depressed.

MrMeaty · Sun Feb 15, 2015 12:15 am

Thanks.
I may try them out anyway just because it's so much easier to get to the tail light bulbs then the headlight bulbs. LOL!

btw, I'm glad to see ya'll still active here. I wasn't going to post because I figured this board died when they stopped making the Kizashi after such a short run.