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Old 09-24-2014, 08:23 PM   #1
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reading lights at back of van

Our Ford SMB is 3 years old and it came with 3 incandescent bulbs (36mm festoon, 12v, 18w). We replaced them with LED bulbs but they are not nearly as bright. SM says they are now installing LED's but couldn't tell us how bright they are. We have tried to find replacement bulbs but can't find anything comparable to the originals, of which we now only have 2. Does anyone have a suggestion for replacing them, either LED or incandescent?

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Old 09-24-2014, 09:01 PM   #2
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Re: reading lights at back of van

Have you tried http://www.Superbrightleds.com?

They have a pretty good finder and lots of different lumen options per bulb.

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Old 09-24-2014, 09:42 PM   #3
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Re: reading lights at back of van

I've bought festoon (and other) LED bulbs from Marine Beam. Not always the cheapest, but I have been happy with them. Among other things they usually list the "k" of a bulb so you can tell how warm/cool it will be. Also the lumens (brightness). (Maybe other places do too; I got tuned in to Marine Beam when buying navigation light bulbs.) Here is a link to their "find your LED bulb" page. They also answer e-mail and phone calls for info.

http://store.marinebeam.com/bulbs.html
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Old 09-24-2014, 10:05 PM   #4
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Re: reading lights at back of van

This thread has lots of good info on converting to LEDs.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2132&hilit=+led


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Old 09-25-2014, 12:23 AM   #5
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Re: reading lights at back of van

Mikecliare,
We have a Jan 2012 SMB West build. I replaced the incadesent bulbs with LEDs purchased mailorder from SMB. The LED bulbs have 2 LEDs per bulb and are not nearly bright enough even with all 3 bulbs turned on. If you find LED bulbs that provide sufficient light, it would be appreciated if you would post data on where you purchased them.
thanks,
John
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Old 09-25-2014, 06:33 PM   #6
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Re: reading lights at back of van

Thanks, Herb, for the link. We are going to order 2 bulbs #4210-WWHP6, from http://www.superbrightleds.com, based on that posting.
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Old 10-04-2014, 06:27 PM   #7
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Re: reading lights at back of van

I'd suggest some strip LEDs perhaps. But the best solution would be to replace the whole unit with a spot light that is more directional. I use different battery powered ones since there isn't much point in wiring them in these days.
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Old 10-09-2014, 07:48 AM   #8
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Re: reading lights at back of van

Also this:
viewtopic.php?t=290

also I crammed 3 dome light plates in my outside light and it's bright enough for the porch light.
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Old 10-09-2014, 08:00 AM   #9
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Re: reading lights at back of van

The LED's SMB installed in those bullet type lights lights in my van have a warm color but are annoying when pointed at somebody. For reading you might want a more white light but the ones I have are plenty bright IMO. I'm sure SMB would have the part number. The new flush mount lights are not nearly as bright as those plug N play bulbs they use in the bullet fixtures.
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