Improved backup lights

Reading through this thread earlier, a good point was raised regarding lack of visibility of the secondary lights if a tire carrier is fitted. Further, some people (myself included) may not want to cut into the tailgate to fit additional lights. So, looking into options for improving the rear lighting without making major changes to the body, replacing the stock 1156 bulbs with something brighter seems to be the only reasonable route to take.

After some poking around, I found these halogen replacements. Two things bug me about them: 1) 50W current draw vs. 27W stock, and 2) the greater heat output of the halogen bulb could burn (or melt) the plastic in the reversing light lens if used for long periods of time.

Option two: white LEDs. About the most promising item I found were these 24-element 1156 replacements (scroll down to find them). Advantages: bright light and low power consumption and heat, so OK for sustained and engine-off use.

Now, as regards the LEDs... From searching, I've found it suggested that they won't work well with the reflectors in the stock taillights, possibly even giving off less light than the factory filament bulbs. I'm not quite understanding why this is - can anyone explain it to me in terms that make sense?

L.E.D.=light emitting diode, the diode shoots the lite straight out,there's not much,if any lite to reflect.if you notice some of the big trucks run led tail lites ,bright from straight behind but not much dispersion.

nomadcattle said:

L.E.D.=light emitting diode, the diode shoots the lite straight out,there's not much,if any lite to reflect.if you notice some of the big trucks run led tail lites ,bright from straight behind but not much dispersion.

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Understood. However, the reason why I specifically chose the 24-LED array was that they have elements arranged specifically to do a side spread.

You're definitely right about the halogen's being too hot. I had one in my passengers side for a while. It was brighter than stock, but when I went to do some wiring back there I found that it had started to melt a little of the plastic around it. I replaced it with another stock bulb so I wouldn't have to worry about it again. The LED conversion has interested me, so anyones experience with that would be good to hear. And casm, how much did you find the 24-LED array for?

nhrocker said:

You're definitely right about the halogen's being too hot. I had one in my passengers side for a while. It was brighter than stock, but when I went to do some wiring back there I found that it had started to melt a little of the plastic around it.

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Yep, this is what I figured would happen. Damn.

I replaced it with another stock bulb so I wouldn't have to worry about it again. The LED conversion has interested me, so anyones experience with that would be good to hear. And casm, how much did you find the 24-LED array for?

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They're $12.99 apiece; link is here. Scroll down until you get to the 1156-W24 White LED bulb.

On my bronco with a swing away tire carrier I simply put a nice halogen light from a tractor mounted to the carrier. I then wired it up so that it plugged into the plug for the trailer hitch.

since I don't really need the backup lights with a trailer attached, so no problem. Just unplug and plug in the trailer.

Go to Wal-Mart, buy a set of "Blazer" brand fog lights. nice lights for the 15 bucks. The trick is finding a place for them. wire them up separate from your backup lights so as to not burn up wires.

OK, I got the LED reversing lights today. There was a slight delay due to Sylvania's online bulb selector saying that the reversing lights on a 2000 Cherokee were 1156s; as it turns out, they're actually 3157s. To their credit, superbrightleds.com exchanged them without any fuss.

The incandescent bulbs were swapped for 3157-W25 25-element white LEDs (20-element shown in link, but 25-element is functionally similar). These were chosen specifically because of the 19 rear-facing LEDs coupled with 6 radially-mounted units that should provide a degree of side illumination - also, they were the largest units that could be mounted without modification.

Unfortunately, the experiment wasn't exactly a success. They provide notably less rearward illumination than the incandescent bulbs, only with less side spread - which was expected, but not to the degree that it was evident. One other downside: if you're in reverse and the brake lights come on, the red and white lights mix to form a bluish-purple light. Not good for nighttime reversing.

Note that I have no complaints with the product itself or the service received - both were excellent. It's just that this doesn't seem to be the best route to take if you're looking to upgrade your reversing lights to something brighter without installing additional lights. I'll see if they're usable in the brake or indicator lights; if not, they'll probably end up on the 'For Sale' forum at a bit of a discount.

el-cheapo ricer driving lamps from AutoZN 15 wired into the back up lamp

did have one on passenger side also but tire carrier latch broke then well you know...

wrong1 said:

On my bronco with a swing away tire carrier I simply put a nice halogen light from a tractor mounted to the carrier. I then wired it up so that it plugged into the plug for the trailer hitch.

since I don't really need the backup lights with a trailer attached, so no problem. Just unplug and plug in the trailer.

Click to expand...

good idea

I did the Cheapo Northern lights thing

Works great, cheap ($9.95), bright...

http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Electrical/ReverseLights.htm

I sell a lot of LED flashlights. In general, they seem to provide a very bright, white light as long as your close to the object your trying to light. Their range, however is less impressive. I will point out the difference between visibilty when looking at the light from a distance which the LED is good at, and the light projected on to the surroundings, which the LED is not as good at. The exception to that is a Luxeon LED which has better range and better color, but is probably not available in auto. applications yet. For what its worth, I have 55w halogens in my TJ w/ no problems. I had some implement lights on the rr. bumper, but kept preaking them. The halogen replacements have worked fine for me, but they are different in respect to the mounting than XJ stuff.

Anybody know where to get the Northern Hardware lights online? Or in store? These look like a good deal.

you can google northern tool and find their site