exterior led bulb replacements (brake, runners, & blinkers)

[shenrie]

i searched and found lots of topics about interior (map lights, cluster, etc) and external flood style lights and associated replacements, but nothing about the vans blinkers and stop lights. if i simply missed it or searched with wrong terms, please link me.

wife has been driving van since she sprained her ankle over the holidaze and told me the right blinker is out. started looking at replacements with something a little brighter and found quite a few more options than i expected and would love some guidance if anyone here is familiar with these different bulb setups.

im familiar with these. they have been around since the 90's and not all that worthwhile in a colored lense. these look to go for about 8 bucks a piece. down a bit from the late 90's, lol.



however, these styles are new to me, but look promising.

18 bucks each...


20 bucks each...



23 bucks each...



all pix and prices from here: https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/led ... 0-465-50-/

theres a few more styles, but you get the jist of it. what im looking for is anyone who has taken the time to figure out which of these bulb style work the best with the oem lenses. also looks like these change colors as well. when they are running lights they light up in white, but when they need to be blinkers they light up in amber, and brake lights red. i havent had the best luck with colored led bulbs though. they worked good with clear lenses, but none of the lenses on my 03 are clear, well other than my reverse lights of course.

dont mind spending a little more cash for something i know will light everything up better, but if these new bulbs arent noticeably brighter, ill just stick with the conventional bulbs. anyone have any input or suggestions? tia!

[Karsten]

I'm running the color change switchbacks like the ones in the last pic for DRL and turn signal in the front of my van.
I also had them in my RAM before:

[Viva]

One note to check into: At least as of a few years ago (and in at least one state), if you were replacing taillights with LED you had to also then provide reflectors. That's because OEM taillights have built in reflectors, but LED's don't (or didn't at that time). I'm referring to the reflectors that passively "light up" when the headlights of another vehicle shine on them.

[JWA]

Another issue to consider is compatibility of LED safety lighting with the electronic brake switch and turn signal flashing units on some vehicles. I'm not 100% clear on what works and what doesn't nor how to force compatibility so if or where I'm wrong forgive me.

Work arounds are fairly easy to achieve, typically adding a resistor in-line with an LED bulb in order for the electronic flasher to think an incandescent or filament-type bulb is installed. SuperBrightLED's is a very good site for these bulbs and should have or include info about different model years.

[REF]

I tried replacing the bulbs several years ago with no luck, the combo just didn't work, things might be different now with new styles. I ended up getting these, happy with the results, updated the look, however, as viva pointed out, they don't have reflectors built in, but I've never had a problem. I just added some reflector tape to my trailer with LED's, might do the same on the van bumper or rear box.
IPCW LEDT-502CR Ruby Red LED Tail Lamp - Pair https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I5O70C/re ... Tub1HXWC1Z

[shenrie]

karsten, thanks for the vid. those light up quite a bit more than what i currently have, but hard to compare since the majority of those dodge corners are a clear lense. are your van corners all amber or the half amber half clear versions?

viva, not interested in replacing the entire lense, but you are correct. in idaho specifically you must have at least one reflector in each corner of the vehicle with enough surface area to equal a 2"x2" square.

jwa, ive heard about led bulbs and resistors being needed to function properly, but not about these vans. is that a common issue with all newer vehicles??

ref, thanks for the feedback. i wondered if the bulbs would emit enough light to offset the costs. those tails arent bad looking and the price is decent. got any pix of them lit up vs the oem stuff? they pretty bright?

...all this is starting to sound like a lot of rigimaro and $$ for one 3157 bulb replacement, lol. i guess my thought process was to get some brighter bulbs to possibly get enough stuff lit up in back to keep leo's off my ass for blocking my tails and plate when we haul stuff on back bumper. after running lowered hondas for so long maybe im just being paranoid. the van does seem to be invisible to police comparatively speaking.

[Karsten]

My '98 van has the stock clear lenses, just like the RAM. The white DRL is very bright, I would say approx. like a 35W halogen bulb and the amber is just like the stock bulb. I had to change the turn signal relay to a LED/HD type unit to avoid the hyperflash. That might not be needed on newer vans with CAN-Bus technology, but you might get a lights out warning in the dash. You can also use resistors though.
As for the rear, those in the link look good and might be on my list some day. I had ones like that in the RAM and they've been way brighter than the stock taillights.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by shenrie

viva, not interested in replacing the entire lense, but you are correct. in idaho specifically you must have at least one reflector in each corner of the vehicle with enough surface area to equal a 2"x2" square.

The DOT reflector self-adhesive tape kits or individual lengths approved for use on on-road big trucks can be obtained at any truck supply shop. For the most part they're very unobtrusive but highly reflective so should more than meet most any state's requirement.

Originally Posted by shenrie

jwa, ive heard about led bulbs and resistors being needed to function properly, but not about these vans. is that a common issue with all newer vehicles??

I looked into using the LED bulbs when they first became available but at the time they generally required fitting resistors etc to work. After a few threads on FTE about the work arounds I lost interest---didn't seem worth the effort and I had other things needing my attention, van wise anyway.

Since then I've not pursued it any further but do know the treads about all this are still available on FTE. I'll try remembering to find and link those here for anyone interested. It's entirely possible these days the LED's are plug-n-play---no clue here.

Originally Posted by shenrie

...all this is starting to sound like a lot of rigimaro and $$ for one 3157 bulb replacement, lol. i guess my thought process was to get some brighter bulbs to possibly get enough stuff lit up in back to keep leo's off my ass for blocking my tails and plate when we haul stuff on back bumper. after running lowered hondas for so long maybe im just being paranoid. the van does seem to be invisible to police comparatively speaking.

LEO's tend to not pay too much attention to a van for whatever reason. For that alone if I were a crook I'd have one---think of the illegal activities one could do in a larger space?

[shenrie]

Originally Posted by Karsten

As for the rear, those in the link look good and might be on my list some day. I had ones like that in the RAM and they've been way brighter than the stock taillights.

thanks for the feedback anyone know the cutoff date for can/bus technology vans??

as soon as i get a chance im gonna call that website and see what they have to say. i really would like some brighter brake lights for when we have a bunch of crap on back of the van. if its not a hassle anyway, lol.

Originally Posted by JWA

The DOT reflector self-adhesive tape kits or individual lengths approved for use on on-road big trucks can be obtained at any truck supply shop. For the most part they're very unobtrusive but highly reflective so should more than meet most any state's requirement.

yep, been down that road. ive had to add that stuff on a few cars that i installed jdm lights on. it is crazy how reflective that stuff is. works way better than the reflectors built into the usdm dot approved lenses. that stuff actually got me out of a bui one night

Originally Posted by JWA

I looked into using the LED bulbs when they first became available but at the time they generally required fitting resistors etc to work. After a few threads on FTE about the work arounds I lost interest---didn't seem worth the effort and I had other things needing my attention, van wise anyway.

agreed. if it is a simple process, i will at least put some better ones in the 3 brake lights, but after karstens comments about these bulbs in the amber lenses, doesnt sound worth the effort to me.

Originally Posted by JWA

LEO's tend to not pay too much attention to a van for whatever reason. For that alone if I were a crook I'd have one---think of the illegal activities one could do in a larger space?

our local crooks know this. we got junkies driving around mobile meth labs here. just unbelievable... i guess they ran out of vacant houses to take over or something

i do really enjoy the lack of attention i get in my van from leo's though. hell even my lowered tl seems to be somewhat incognito. guess thats what happens when you drive "adult" vehicles. its been a nice change

as always, appreciate everyones input. thanks gents!

[reelchef67]

Hi just ordered some high power led 3157 replacements for my brake lights. When I get them in an d tested I will post the results.
Fingers Crossed