6 Volt Led Bulbs:

[40ford]

Has anyone tried these bulbs for tail lights in 6 volt positive ground system?

https://www.ledlight.com/24-led-ligh...-sensitve.aspx

[Paul Bennett]

I have run extensive tests on all 6V red LEDs (and some yellow and white) which I could find regardless of dual or single element and regardless of polarity. Bottom line, they did not perform better than the existing incandescent bulbs largely because the directionality of light from the LEDs was not fully gathered and utilized by the glass lens in tail light of my 1950 Merc. That may not be a problem for you especially in older cars with limited tail light size.

If you decide to invest in 6v LEDs be certain of the polarity as most are made for negative ground. I purchased plastic sockets so I could try negative ground LEDs as well as positive ground. Note some rare types are non-polarized, i.e. will emit light regardless of voltage polarity.

I did decide that best light output was from a few single element 1156 LEDs in plastic socket and using main element for brake/turn and a dropping resistor for parking light function.

Note also that the two tits at the sides of bulbs which latch the bulb in the socket with the push-twist motion may be a problem. On single function bulbs they are at the same level on both sides. On dual element bulbs one is higher than the other so the bulb must only go in one way, i.e. so that brake/turn and parking don't get reversed. The problem I found is the old sockets in my car have a different level than the current bulbs, i.e. newer bulbs won't push/twicst and stay in place. It took some time before I happened on to the reason being a different height in some of my older parts. This is one reason which I used modern plastic sockets. 1156 1157

Best light output comes from flipflop.com but they are the most costly, $20 each. They come with a glass shield which must be removed for some applications. SuperbrightLED.com has a confusing catalog but once mastered their offering contains only a few 6v bulbs at good prices. If you get excited about a bulb I recommend only purchasing 1 to determine whether it would work. I spent $50 and a couple weeks on various bulbs in single quantities. And in the end I will stay with incandescents for now. I have nothing against LEDs but they are not the magic tail light which I'd hoped for.

I did evaluate the 1156 bulb which you linked to and I would recommend it as long as it phycically works in your tail light. Since my tail lights integrate brake/turn and parking, that bulb is once which I would use by adding a dropping resistor for the parking function.
Hope this helps

[slowforty]

I have a friend of mine who put an additional regular bulb socket in a 39 tail light housing. So you have two bulbs in one tail light housing. A little tight but works well. I am investigating doing the same thing on my 40 Deluxe. just as soon as I can find some additional bulb sockets.

[slowforty]

Also I found out that the filaments on Foreign made bulbs are a Lot smaller than American made Bulbs . The Westinghouse Bulbs I have were almost twice the size of the Foreign bulbs.

[Zephyr Q]

I picked up a red LED bulb for the single brake light on my '47 lincoln, mostly because I was having a heck of a time tracking down a replacement lens within wife-approved budget. I would say it was a bit brighter than the standard 6 volt bulb that it replaced, but it did make for a tight fit when I finally found that brake lens.

[42guy]

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I did not care for them. I painted the inside of lamp housing white and use double filament bulbs and they are very bright. I forgot to say they are 6 volt. Led tend to be very directional and from the side are hard to see. At least that was my thought.

[50fordcoupeman]

I did the same thing on my '50. The inside of the housings were somewhat rusty so I cleaned them up and painted them gloss white. I believe it brightened them up quite a bit.

[4dFord/SC]

Along with painting the housings white, I've had good luck with the Super Brite 06143-6SB incandescent bulb from Sacramento Vintage Ford. It's rated at 14/50 CP vs. 3/21 for the 1156.

[42guy]

I use them also.

[twostickmutt]

Originally Posted by 4dFord/SC

Along with painting the housings white, I've had good luck with the Super Brite 06143-6SB incandescent bulb from Sacramento Vintage Ford. It's rated at 14/50 CP vs. 3/21 for the 1156.

I also use the Super Brites and found that there isn't a lot of difference between tail and directional/ brake lights at night. I have all good grounds and connections. anybody else noticed that or is it me.

[tubman]

I would like to point out that 1156 bulbs are 12 volt , so the "Super Brites" probably are also. This is probably useful for those with 12 volt systems, but not of much use to those of us still running 6 volt systems. The 6 volt version is 1154.

[4dFord/SC]

Originally Posted by tubman

I would like to point out that 1156 bulbs are 12 volt , so the "Super Brites" probably are also. This is probably useful for those with 12 volt systems, but not of much use to those of us still running 6 volt systems. The 6 volt version is 1154.

The Super Brite number is for 6v; I should have compared it to 1154, instead of 1156.

[4dFord/SC]

Originally Posted by twostickmutt

I also use the Super Brites and found that there isn't a lot of difference between tail and directional/ brake lights at night. I have all good grounds and connections. anybody else noticed that or is it me.

Mine are noticeably brighter.

[Paul Bennett]

Bulb numbers 1156 and 1157 are commonly used to designate the physical size and element single-double and used when refering to sockets as well as bulbs regardless of voltage and polarity. In 2017 voltage and polarity is not implied but expressed separately.

Only if you go to AutoZone to buy a replacement incandescent bulb, only then is voltage a factor in the discussion and a reason to use 1154 etc.

Metric callout has become common with 15mm the 1156 size and 9mm the 55 size (instrument bulbs). BA15S and BA9S are single element etc. voltage AND polarity specified separately.

[G.M.]

Use the brake lights with diodes to block the voltage. G.M.

[Steves46]

Originally Posted by twostickmutt

I also use the Super Brites and found that there isn't a lot of difference between tail and directional/ brake lights at night. I have all good grounds and connections. anybody else noticed that or is it me.

I had the same issue on my 46. Tried them on my 55 F100-no better. Perhaps a resistor is needed for the tail light so that the brake light would show a noticeable difference.

[Yoyodyne]

There's a vendor at Hershey every year selling 6V LEDs in the Green field. He has bulbs with a radial lens so that in a taillight with a vertical socket the light will be directed out through the lens instead of straight up. And they show a difference when the stop light circuit is activated. When I last talked to him, he didn't have a website, and I don't have any contact info on him ATM. does anyone else here know how to contact him? I believe he's from the NYC area.

[Paul Bennett]

Note those 'Super Brites' have straight pins meaning they can be put into the socket backwards. And know they will have less life than standard bulbs.

Before adding resistors or diodes or methylanodes, make certain you have them installed right.

That said, a resistor in the several ohm range will not hurt when placed into the parking light circuit and will definitely give greater definition between brake/turn and parking.

While wattage isn't a factor when experimenting, make certain you have adequate wattage for a permanent installation. i.e. resistor may be warm but doesn't run hot. Your fingers will tell you the difference.

[twostickmutt]

Originally Posted by Paul Bennett

Note those 'Super Brites' have straight pins meaning they can be put into the socket backwards. And know they will have less life than standard bulbs.

Before adding resistors or diodes or methylanodes, make certain you have them installed right.

That said, a resistor in the several ohm range will not hurt when placed into the parking light circuit and will definitely give greater definition between brake/turn and parking.

While wattage isn't a factor when experimenting, make certain you have adequate wattage for a permanent installation. i.e. resistor may be warm but doesn't run hot. Your fingers will tell you the difference.

all of the super brite bulbs I have are the staggered pin type .

[Paul Bennett]

Originally Posted by twostickmutt

all of the super brite bulbs I have are the staggered pin type .

Hope that suits your application, but I find this refernce to straight pins in the Sacramento Vintage catalog. Read bottom line. Staggered pins and straight pins are a pain as forcing the wrong bulb into a socket can lead to broken socket of broken bulbs. I make a bit of a fuss over this as almost all folk don't know that their is a staggered vs straight situation. And I myself learned the hard way. Note that all LED have staggered pins and my car, for example, has straight pin sockets. argh