essque

I finally had my candy cane's sprayed with tint and clear coat and they look phenomenal. Only problem is that they're a little too dark. When the turn signals come on or when I brake, they lighten up quite nice. But, when driving with the headlights on, the light output is really too faint for me to truly be comfortable with.

Was wondering if anyone has any experience in swapping out the bulbs on the 2010-2012 tail lights for a brighter LED bulb? I read on mustangevolution.com that these may get the job done but I was hoping for more information (i.e. how many bulbs to get, what is a reliable brand, best price, how hard are they to swap out, etc):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121014956165

any information would be greatly appreciated. I'm on borrowed time before a ticket or someone slams into me i'm afraid .

essque

ok, this is bad news bears over here. The problem is with the headlights on, the tail light brightness is too faint. I think it would pass the 100 yard visibility rule in michigan so I'm legal but it's still too dark. Some brighter LED's would fix this because the turn signals are lighting up bright enough.

What I've found is the part number for the bulb which is L123R-3N. But I'm not seeing much on exactly how to find or purchase upgraded replacements. Do any of you light experts have any idea on the best route to get brighter LED's for the tails? It looks like each section of the candy cane would need a replacement for a total of 5 LED's on each side.

here is what it looks like with no light:



and this is what it's like with the turn signal on. lol @ this light output. this is at the beginning of the sequential turn phase so only the first light is lit but you get the idea:



I guess worse case scenario is that I could sell these and get some raxiom's or upgrade to 2013's but I'd rather not go that route. there has got to be a way to upgrade these bulbs. any info would really be appreciated.

essque

i guess what the post at mustangevolution is saying is that to get the turn signal bulbs and run those as the brake bulbs?

laserred38

Yeah I've seen smoked tails (and ran them) and those aren't smoked. Those are BLACKED out. I'm not sure what you were expecting...no brighter bulbs are going to fix that.

essque

Indeed they are my friend. I asked for medium tint but this is what the body shop gave me so here I am. No going back now. Bulbs would improve it if they exist because the turn signals and brake lights shine through pretty good. I'm going to take some night shots to show it better. Hopefully I can get this worked out.

laserred38

Haha dang that sucks. I'd take them back and have them redo them (they can strip that paint off). The factory bulbs are honestly probably the brightest out there. I've tried a few different LEDs from other companies and have been really disappointed in their output.

essque

i didn't know they could strip the paint off, thanks for the advice. worse case scenario, i'll have to get them redone.

this guy did the reverse lights LED swap, they look pretty bright. Maybe I can use these as tail light bulbs? I wonder if there is any difference in the bulbs for the reverse lights vs. brake lights?

essque

look at these bad boys, found them on Ebay. hopefully they're brighter than stock. I'll post results soon.

LED turn signal/brake bulbs on Ebay

Interesting side note:

***NOTE***If you are using these LED light bulbs to replace the Turn Signal blinker light, Tail Brake Stop light, Parking / Daytime Running Light DRL or Backup Reverse light; depending on your vehicle electric circuit, you may need to add a pair of load resistors to prevent hyper/error flashing or malfunction problem





Description:

• 2 pieces (a pair) of 3156, 3057, 3157 40 SMD LED Light lamp bulbs
• Brilliant Red color temp. light
• Type of Lights: Turn Signal corner light, Parking DRL light, Tail Stop Brake light
• Bulb size: ~45mm (~1.77 inches) total length from end to end; ~21mm (~0.83 inches) in width with OEM socket base size: (15.7 x 8.5 x 3.5 mm)

Detail Spec & Features:

• Each 3156, 3057, 3157 LED bulb equips with 40 SMD 1210 LED light chip
• Emit Red color light, long lasting life
• Easy Plug & Play installation; Quick instant Start-Up time
• Shock & vibration Resistant and instant on/off response time
• It works at ~12V

laserred38

Can't. LEDs are different than halogen bulbs - you need to have the bulb colored for the color of lens that you're installing them in. If you put white bulbs in a red housing, they'll still shine through white - I'm going to attempt to explain without BSing you, but I haven't read over this topic in a while (disclaimer lol) - essentially, the LED bulbs' light output is at a much higher wavelength than the halogen bulbs, so the light beam is much more focused - therefore the light beam goes straight out, versus a spread (which is why you need to have so many LEDs on each bulb, in every direction, to get the same spread pattern as a single halogen bulb), so instead of reflecting in the housing and lighting up the light red, the LEDs will reflect white off the back of the stock reflector and show white through your red housing.

If that makes sense...

Basically, it's a good idea on paper, but it wouldn't translate into real world results. They can strip the coating off with a light wet sanding and a little bit of lacquer thinner, then they can buff the lights back to the original shine. Have to be really careful though, as it is very easy to burn through the plastic lens. It can still be done though, and they should know what they're doing, although you asked for smoked and they gave you ~5% light transmission instead of say 35%, so maybe they don't know what they're doing.

essque

lol yeah they didn't listen to me very well on the tails. i think they went a little overboard but i'm going to see if putting in brighter brake light LED's will fix the issue. I'm ordering 3 sets of these, will post the results. thanks for being the lone soul to respond to my problems over here laserred lol.

kingofsting

Vleds.com. Best and brightest LEDs ive ever used on both my 05 and 13. Their new V3 tritons should solve your problems best, if you're able to make the investment

essque

awesome man i saw their site earlier today but didn't know what to think. i'll make the investment for sure because ill be paying it in tickets if i dont, lol.

Diode Dynamics

We offer several LED options for the tail lights, I have the hi-power stage 2 bulbs in mine and they are exceptionally bright

Here is a link to those: http://bit.ly/14ixL42

Diode Dynamics also has LEDs for the reverse lights, I have them in my 2007 GT as well. Keep in mind I have the tail light covers too and they are still super bright

Here is a link to the reverse lights: http://bit.ly/15puIUu

We sell a high quality product at a fair price, and back it with a solid warranty. If you guys have any questions or concerns, you can always come to me as I am an active member on this forum.

Thanks,
Nick C.

Diode Dynamics

Here's a small example from a customer car, I'll post some sweet pics of my 2007 GT at some point for all to enjoy

Nick C.

ForgotMyUsrname

I can guarantee nearly all of these silly 8,000,000 chip bulbs will have failures within a year.

Diode Dynamics

That's why I recommend our CREE style bulbs with the Aluminum housing



The reliability is second to none, superior to SMD style LEDs that fail from the heat over time.

Nick C.

ForgotMyUsrname

CREE are good. Samsung chips actually have a lower failure rate per 1,000 but are considerably more expensive.

Diode Dynamics

We are located in St. Louis, Missouri and back all of our LEDs with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and a 1-year warranty. The Stage 2 bulbs are a huge upgrade over stock.

Also, please note that the bulb lens and bulb color need to match, if you put a white LED in a red taillight, you'll end up with a pinkish color. So red w/red and amber w/amber etc.

Nick C.

SilverSkoundrel

DO THESE BULBS WORK WITH THE SEQUENTIAL TAILLIGHT HARNESS THAT AMERICAN MUSCLES WEBSITE SELLS?

ForgotMyUsrname

Whoa there Seabiscuit. No need to yell.