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Sixth-Gen LED Taillight Bulb Retrofit


carlitos92

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Anyone know what needs to be done? I don't get how loosening the cowl allows the new bottom LED bulb to fit. Isn't the housing for the rear tail light/turn signals a single unit?

Thanks all!

Sorry - by "cowlectomy" I just meant taking it off. It's not difficult, but is more work than usual for something as simple as swapping bulbs.

The issue is not the bulb inside the lens, it's just maneuvering the bulb and socket assembly back into place. You need more clearance between the housing hole and the seat subframe. By moving the cowl and housing away from the subframe (you probably only need an inch more), you can get the bulb and socket back into the hole.

You need to remove the seat, grab handles, and the hex head screws I mentioned to pull the cowl back a bit. You have to do the same for swapping cans etc.

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Anyone know what needs to be done? I don't get how loosening the cowl allows the new bottom LED bulb to fit. Isn't the housing for the rear tail light/turn signals a single unit?

Thanks all!

Sorry - by "cowlectomy" I just meant taking it off. It's not difficult, but is more work than usual for something as simple as swapping bulbs.

The issue is not the bulb inside the lens, it's just maneuvering the bulb and socket assembly back into place. You need more clearance between the housing hole and the seat subframe. By moving the cowl and housing away from the subframe (you probably only need an inch more), you can get the bulb and socket back into the hole.

You need to remove the seat, grab handles, and the hex head screws I mentioned to pull the cowl back a bit. You have to do the same for swapping cans etc.

Thank you Carlitos92!
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LEDs arrived but as I'm working away from home this week, they'll have to wait until the weekend before fitting.

I'll take some pics.

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Ok, well they were rubbish!

Tricky to fit in the confined space under a 6th Gen seat. The 5w part was ok - about the same as the standard incandescent bulb but the 21w brake light was hardly any brighter than the 5w and certainly nowhere near as bright as the standard bulb.

Good job they weren't expensive.

Oh, and one failed within a couple of minutes too.

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Skids,

Did you order from UK Fleabay or Superbrightleds.com?

I'm looking at:

Superbrightled's // Recommended in this forum but older LED technology // only 220 lumen and got to be better than this in 2015

Putco // Recommended in this forum // But can't find many specs so called them... manufacturer says 85 lumen.. well shoot!

DT Auto Tech // Recommended in this forum // A CREE bulb: newer technology LED // says high power 25 watt and 360 degree

Autolumination // Bad customer service is all over the internet .. Spec wise: have spoken with the owner: says at 12v bright like a 70 watt bulb at only 8-9 watts used // A CREE bulb but no lumen stats

I'm leaning toward the DT Auto Tech's at this point. Post here: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/78803-new-red-led-tail-lights-ya-gotta-be-blind-not-to-see-me-stopping/?hl=%20led%20%20tail%20%20light

The Autolumination's seem to good to be true and are almost $30USD each. Here is the post about that one

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/78803-new-red-led-tail-lights-ya-gotta-be-blind-not-to-see-me-stopping/?hl=%20led%20%20tail%20%20light

I am breaking myself into LED's slowly by going after the brake/tail light first. After that THEN I'll deal with flashers for turn signals. BTW.. I LOVE CREE Technology as I've been using some of their best LED's mapping water caves for years. They are serious about their LED tech.

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UK Fleabay m8, but several hundred thousand positive recommends (albeit on many differing products).

Cost of postage alone from the US would pretty much negate the purchase of any of your recommended.

Thanks anyway.


I was wrong. $2 shipping to UK!!!

Those are advertised as 25W....surely we need dual wattage (rear light and brake light) or does this increase its wattage for the brake light from a single source?

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UK Fleabay m8, but several hundred thousand positive recommends (albeit on many differing products).

Cost of postage alone from the US would pretty much negate the purchase of any of your recommended.

Thanks anyway.

I was wrong. $2 shipping to UK!!!

Those are advertised as 25W....surely we need dual wattage (rear light and brake light) or does this increase its wattage for the brake light from a single source?

I believe so.. check out the "glowing" review at this post here

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UK Fleabay m8, but several hundred thousand positive recommends (albeit on many differing products).

Cost of postage alone from the US would pretty much negate the purchase of any of your recommended.

Thanks anyway.

I was wrong. $2 shipping to UK!!!

Those are advertised as 25W....surely we need dual wattage (rear light and brake light) or does this increase its wattage for the brake light from a single source?

I believe so.. check out the "glowing" review at this post here

Hah, I see what you did there!

Well then, get them bought and let me know. :wink:

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 year later...
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Any new updates on LEDs?  I am looking to install some but wanted to make sure they were tested for fit and brightness and long-lasting.  I was hoping to use a model that uses equivalent wattage to stock without the need for a resistor. 

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I recently purchased and installed a pair of Philips 7443 Intense Red Vision LED Stop/Tail lights.

41hw46jI6NL.jpg

These are OEM replacements for 7443 bulbs and are not touted as bigger or brighter but have a 12 year life guarantee, consume less power and offer the 'instant on' of LED lights. I was curious about these so I decided to order a pair and give them a try. It just so happened that one of my brake lights burnt out the day I received them!

So there's not much to say -- they are just bulbs after all. However, my observations are this:

- The instant-on aspect of the brake lights is quite a bit more dramatic than I expected. It's amazing how much 'delay' there is with an incandescent bulb. I think it functions well as an attention grabber.

- I feel that the running light aspect is maybe a little bit dimmer than the incandescent but the brake lights are as bright or brighter

- The LEDs are red and shine through a red lens which I feel produces a more intense colour. I guess redder is better? :)

Here's some photos of the bulbs in action. I didn't snap any of the incandescent bulbs as a comparison. Doh! These are all shot with the same f/stop, ISO and exposure time for an equal comparison.

Running lights from a distance

20160621140731_zpsgxfx7inf.jpg

Running lights close up

20160621140855_zps9wznqank.jpg

Brake lights close up

20160621140904_zpsbspcwlph.jpg

I like 'em and would probably buy them again if I ever had to. It's nice to see some quality, well engineered LED products coming out on the market now.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Bought & fitted a pair of red LED taillight bulbs to my 6th Gen. Pics don't really do it justice but they definitely seem to be more intense than incandescent so I'm happy.

 

First pic is of LED fitted to the top, incandescent to the bottom. Angle of shot may have affected picture but definitely more visible to the naked eye. 2nd pic is of both fitted.

IMAG0647.jpg

IMAG0648.jpg

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I have noticed advertising is vague on power draw on most of these things.  Most advertise the replacement bulb wattage but not what the LED actually draws in comparison.  At least the Phillips bulbs above advertise at 2W, but that is a far cry from 21W stock.  I am hesitant to replace anything with lower power draw since this will tax the R/R to the brink of failure.  I don't know why somebody can't make a super-bright bulb that is the same wattage as stock.  I already installed LED low beams for the purpose of limiting failure rate at expense of more work for the R/R.  I help offset this with radar detector and navigation, but am hesitant to push it more.

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I just bought these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P2D3W0A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1    based on another thread here. Not really happy with them. I swapped out one of the tail light bulbs to see the difference. As a running or brake light, it doesn't really appear any brighter. It does light quicker. It's like having two brake lights a fraction of a second apart. I think I'm going to go with the SuperBrightLED ones. Here is the new link for them.: https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/7443-led-bulb-dual-function-27-smd-led-tower-wedge-retrofit/2614/5711/

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On 8/25/2016 at 6:13 AM, 007 said:

I have noticed advertising is vague on power draw on most of these things.  Most advertise the replacement bulb wattage but not what the LED actually draws in comparison.  At least the Phillips bulbs above advertise at 2W, but that is a far cry from 21W stock.  I am hesitant to replace anything with lower power draw since this will tax the R/R to the brink of failure.  I don't know why somebody can't make a super-bright bulb that is the same wattage as stock.  I already installed LED low beams for the purpose of limiting failure rate at expense of more work for the R/R.  I help offset this with radar detector and navigation, but am hesitant to push it more.

When I put in LED headlights on my fifth gen, I was advised that the reduced power draw would add load to the R/R. I already had a VFRness and an upgraded R/R. MellowDude made me a heatsink that mounts between the R/R and the subframe and I've had no problems related to that. Seem to me it must sink a lot of heat. As far as I know he's still at it.

 

See you in Franklin pal. I can show you there.

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How often do you indicate and brake? I would suggest that these circuits hardly reduce the loading of the R/R as most of the time you are riding with none of these circuits energised.

 

Fit a Shindengen SH847 Series R/R and be done with it, available from www.roadstercycle.com   I fitted this and have a constant 14.2 v supply through all revs.

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21 hours ago, Marooncobra said:

How often do you indicate and brake? I would suggest that these circuits hardly reduce the loading of the R/R as most of the time you are riding with none of these circuits energised.

 

I agree the turn indicator lights likely have little effect.  If anything, I was riding without running lights because the filaments from the original bulbs had burned out, which is probably worse over time than running with an LED that will last longer.  I believe the brake running light pulls a good bit more than signal running lights.  The worst thing I did for the RR was switch out all the headlights for LED.  In the end, I decided safety of signaling cars and visibility was worth the cost of extra load on the RR.  I'm also running a radar detector, charging a cell phone, running heated grips and at times heated clothing, a voltmeter, and gear indicator.  A veritable circus which I doubt this makes up for it but maybe comes close.

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On 2/21/2017 at 7:13 AM, bryan217 said:

I think I'm going to go with the SuperBrightLED ones. Here is the new link for them.: https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/7443-led-bulb-dual-function-27-smd-led-tower-wedge-retrofit/2614/5711/

 

Too bad the 45-LED versions that were in my OP are discontinued...  FWIW, they are still going strong.

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