LED Tail light Conversion

Anybody know of anyone that makes these for 69's? I just saw in the latest Super Chevy that C2O has a kit for 66-67's. I think I might be able to use that since it's basically the same thing as a 3rd gen tail light, only vertical...and rounded at the top...

Think it'll work? Or does anyone know of any other companies that make them for 3rd gens?

Matt

Somebody has a site on "How To" LED the 3rd Gen lights as I have seen it before. Can't seem to locate it now though. You're talking about the complete lense background area not just the replacement multi LED bulb arrangement that plugs into the existing socket, huh.

Like these...
http://www.superbrightleds.com/led_prods.htm

What Max suggested, getting an LED replacement bulb, for your existing fixture to me would be the easiest and cheapest way to do it. I will be going that route when the time comes. It will be nice not having to ever change a bulb again. Plus they are brighter too. Sorta a win win IMO :)

The "CAMARO" AND "CHEVELLE" boys can buy em' all day long... :rolleyes: :mad:

http://www.trimparts.com/Pages/Results.asp?VehicleCat=12&ProductCat=53

What Max suggested, getting an LED replacement bulb, for your existing fixture to me would be the easiest and cheapest way to do it. I will be going that route when the time comes. It will be nice not having to ever change a bulb again. Plus they are brighter too. Sorta a win win IMO :)

I spent three years working on the lights on police cars and emergency vehicles. This gave me a lot of exposure to LEDs. The 1157 LED replacement bulbs aren't a good option for third gen Novas. The LED bulbs are only bright when you look at them straight on. The factory angle of the bulb fixture is wrong for this. The best option seems to be the circuit boards with bulbs attached and a plug that fits the original socket. The great thing about LEDS is they are bright, have a very long life, put off very little heat, and draw very low amperage. Because of the low amperage, your factory flasher will not work. The aftermarket has address this but a LED specific flasher should be on your shopping list if plan to change over. Some manufacturers add a resistor to their light assembly to cure this issue. I have been waiting for a LED conversion kit to be released for for these cars for years. I think a new taillight lense design would be needed to get the most out of LEDS. The original looks like it would defuse the LEDs too much.

I spent three years working on the lights on police cars and emergency vehicles. This gave me a lot of exposure to LEDs. The 1157 LED replacement bulbs aren't a good option for third gen Novas. The LED bulbs are only bright when you look at them straight on. The factory angle of the bulb fixture is wrong for this. The best option seems to be the circuit boards with bulbs attached and a plug that fits the original socket. The great thing about LEDS is they are bright, have a very long life, put off very little heat, and draw very low amperage. Because of the low amperage, your factory flasher will not work. The aftermarket has address this but a LED specific flasher should be on your shopping list if plan to change over. Some manufacturers add a resistor to their light assembly to cure this issue. I have been waiting for a LED conversion kit to be released for for these cars for years. I think a new taillight lense design would be needed to get the most out of LEDS. The original looks like it would defuse the LEDs too much.


Nothing better then the voice of experence. That is good to know info. Thanks ;)

The 1157 LED replacement bulbs aren't a good option for third gen Novas. The LED bulbs are only bright when you look at them straight on. The factory angle of the bulb fixture is wrong for this. The best option seems to be the circuit boards with bulbs attached and a plug that fits the original socket. The great thing about LEDS is they are bright, have a very long life, put off very little heat, and draw very low amperage. Because of the low amperage, your factory flasher will not work. The aftermarket has address this but a LED specific flasher should be on your shopping list if plan to change over. Some manufacturers add a resistor to their light assembly to cure this issue. I have been waiting for a LED conversion kit to be released for for these cars for years. I think a new taillight lense design would be needed to get the most out of LEDS. The original looks like it would defuse the LEDs too much.

I agree with all of this. The optics on the lens is designed for incandescent bulbs. LEDs put out a different light pattern and the objective of the lens is to capture the light and toss it out there at the correct (and legal) viewing angles mandated by the FMVSS.

Although they look neat and have other benefits mentioned above, I'd never stick any behind the old lenses designed for bulbs without testing it. I want people to see my lights from all necessary angles.

Allen (safety first.... plus I work in the automotive/truck/trailer lighting industry)

Actually, the ones in Super Chevy said it had a sort of "hard drive" for the lights, and the LED's themselves were on a type of circuit board that went behind the lens. The whole reason I want LED lights isn't because they look cool (I actually think they look kind of ugly on 3rd gens), it's because I've seen how dim my lights really are compared to new cars with LED brakes/taillights.

Just trying to make my car more visible (without getting one of those 3rd brake lights).

I also remember someone on these boards made their own LED tail lights for their car (a 3rd gen, but not sure on the year). They said they accidentally left them on overnight and the wires/lights weren't even hot the next day.

Anyone remember?

Matt

If you are wanting more rear visibility, maybe I could suggest what I have on my car. I purchased a strip of eight LEDs under a red lense and mounted it at the top of the rear glass. This is wired directly to the brake switch under the dash (with a 10A fuse). Third brake lights have been standard on cars for twenty years now. That is longer than a large number of todays drivers have been lisensed. They are conditioned to identify this third light as 'the brake light.' Also with the thin LED strip, they are almost invisible until you touch the brake pedal. It's been good for a grin or two.

I've thought about those, but I dunno. Not really a fan of them on older cars. I do like it on my mom and dad's cars, but on mine...I dunno.

I guess I'll look into it anyway.

Thanks,
Matt

Someone on this site helped me connect them correctly. They are sitting on the shelf now because the "ARE NOT" bright.I was getting the finger from everyone because they cuoldn,t see brake or tailights unless in dark. Apparently what I did wrong is I didn,t use " super bright bulbs".The cost here for regular is 10cents each and for super brights is $1.00 each.

unless you know a bit about electronics, just buy the bulbs that have leds, the direct replacement kind....and let me know how they work :D

unless you know a bit about electronics, just buy the bulbs that have leds, the direct replacement kind....and let me know how they work :D

A friend had some of the 1157 LED replacement bulbs so we tried them in my car. They were without question, "the dimmest taillights I have ever seem." About half as bright as the factory bulbs. Please let me clarify,"You should only run these bulbs if really want your car to be rearended." You can't see them well at all. If you are wondering why, you should read my prior posts.

A friend had some of the 1157 LED replacement bulbs so we tried them in my car. They were without question, "the dimmest taillights I have ever seem." About half as bright as the factory bulbs. Please let me clarify,"You should only run these bulbs if really want your car to be rearended." You can't see them well at all. If you are wondering why, you should read my prior posts.

Many of the replacement LED bulbs, often in fine print, say for "offroad use only". I use the LED array from Technostalgia. Good bright, and very bright brake lights. Also eliminated all the bulb, ground problems.

Just a bit of info for all the 3rd gen-ers out there. I emailed Technostalgia and asked if they had a universal type of conversion or if the Camaro kit would work and they said they were working on a kit for 3rd gen Novas as we speak, and it should be ready by January 1st, 2006. Sorry it took so long to post this, not having internet really blows. :mad:

Matt

Just a bit of info for all the 3rd gen-ers out there. I emailed Technostalgia and asked if they had a universal type of conversion or if the Camaro kit would work and they said they were working on a kit for 3rd gen Novas as we speak, and it should be ready by January 1st, 2006. Sorry it took so long to post this, not having internet really blows. :mad:

Matt

Thanks. Definitely something to add to the wish list.

So, if I decide to build a home made LED tail light assemply I should use a resistor on the turn signal lights. Good to know! i wonder what size would be needed.

For what it's worth, I got some 1157 replacements through Digikey and am using them in my '65. You're right about the angle, they have to point directly towards the lense to work. As far as I can tell, there isn't much difference in brightness between the LEDs and incandescent bulbs, but I didn't give it a lot of thought, I can see the running lights durring the day with no trouble. I had thought about building my own, but for cost I couldn't justify it. I also don't know much about the different types of LEDs out there. Here's some ideas from my experience though:

The stock style blinker won't blink with the low current of the LEDs. They make electromechanical blinkers with a relay and a couple caps inside, which I was told would work. The guy at NAPA said truckers like them because they work with large loads too. I tried one on the workbench, and didn't have enough load to make it blink either. I finally found that the stock dash indicator lights were enough load to make it work.

All the 1157 replacements I've had use the same LEDs for the running light and turnsignal/brake. Because of this, you should put diodes in series on the positive side so that one element doesn't feed power through the other.

You'll need resistors to get the right voltage/current to run the LEDs on 12V, the tail light/ running light section would need more resistance to light up dimmer. The value depends on the number of individual LEDs used, and the voltage/current rating for each one.

Hope this helps!

I just recently installed the Technostalgia kit for my 66 and it was definitely worth it. I also bought some 1157 replacement "24" LED's for turnsignals up front and they are OK, but definitely not suitable for brake lights. Also, I bought some of the "24 Super brite" 1156 replacement bulbs for back up lights and it was a waste of $20. I would not recommend the replacement LED bulbs for tail lights, wait for the Technostalgia kit to come out. Youl will be very happy with their kit.

Todd...full of bright ideas :D

I emailed Technostalgia about the possibility of a kit for an early Nova. Their reply was that although the demand is there, it's not going to happen, because there's not enough room in the tail light housing. Here's the quote:

(Re: 62-64 Kit)

Hi Greg - There is enough demand but not enough room in the taillight housing to install LEDs. Sorry.

Todd
Technostalgia

These guys ( LED's (http://www.superbrightleds.com/1157.htm) ) have some that are supposed to send some of the light to the side which might work better in older cars. They have flashers, too. I haven't tried them, though, so can't say one way or the other. Just something I was considering.


Dan (not the brightest bulb in the taillight) ;)

Actually, what you need is something more along the lines of what Early Classic offers for Chevy trucks. Shame it won't fit a Nova.

Early Classic LED taillight conversion for a '67 - '72 C-10 (http://www.earlyclassic.com/ledtaillights.html)

I have considered adapting two of the LED clusters that are being used for motorcycles now. It might be a reasonable compromise. These have a higher count of LED bulbs which is what you really need for taillights.

LED cluster for motorcycle (http://www.customdynamics.com/motorcycle_led_bulbs.htm)

I have opted to hold out for the Technostalgia release next year. That is their specialty. Why not let them do the hard work and debugging?

Technostalgia (http://www.cool-leds.com/pages/737503/index.htm)

1157 Bulb. NO, not bright enough to stop a cat from seeing it at night. Either wait for that company to make one or make your own. These are still fairly dim during the day and there are 30 of them.

http://members.aol.com/NINSlick/Led.jpeg

Yes, I made it. Can you make your own, yes. Too much work? Depends on how diligent and how easly you get frustrated popping LED's in your face.

I must admit, I'm kinda surprised reading this thread. I'm using generic 1157 replacements, and haven't had any trouble. Because my car is a '65, there's really no way to see the light any way but dead on anyway, none of the lenses let the light be seen from the side. I can't speak for any of the LED manufactures, but an 1157 replacement implies to me that the brightness is the same, otherwise it'd be a 1034 or 1057 replacement. So I looked up the specs on the ones I'm using (got them from digikey, and found the vendor's site, it's not the name on the box I got, but I assume they just resell or market under different brands). Here's what I'm using:

http://www.sunbriteleds.com/product.asp?id=127

It says it's 47,000 mcd intensity. A standard 1157 is 32 MSCP for turn/brake, 3 MSCP for the tail light element. I did a quick search and I think to convert, I divide 47,000 by 1019 to get candle power, which says the LED is a little brighter. Regardless, these things can be looked up and converted. So the ones I'm using aren't bright enough? How about these:

http://www.sunbriteleds.com/product.asp?id=59

The are more than twice as bright, look like they should fit a '65 Nova with no problem (I assume all 1st Gens, but don't know what the inside of the tail light housing looks like). I think the base is the same but am not familar with a BA15 off hand. Anyway, my point is, a custom replacement would be neat, but there are a ton of generics out there any more, which should be more than bright enough, just look around. I've even seen some with a 90* end that'd probably work on 2nd Gen cars. Oh, a few days ago I accidently left my lights (not headlights) on at work for over 8 hours, and it didn't even phase the battery. LEDs are great! :)

http://www.shiny-hiney.com/camchev.html

Good to see someone makes some for a 67. Great, I wish it had some more LED's though...

So, if I decide to build a home made LED tail light assemply I should use a resistor on the turn signal lights. Good to know! i wonder what size would be needed.

I have the Technostalgia LED's in the rear of my 66. I use an "electronic" flasher (2 prong) I found at one of the local parts store. It works fine, no resistors needed. I even had the front turn signals disconnected and it still worked. But it didn't work when the both the front turn signal bulbs and the dash turn signal bulbs were out. It needs at least the current of 1 incandescent bulb in the turn circuit.

The other advantage of an electronic flasher is a consistent rate of blinking.

this has prompted me into thinking about making a kit to sell on here....think there's enough demand :rolleyes:

I'm going to buy a tail light off of a newer Cad DeVille and see if I can adapt the led panel behind a 67 lens, or possibly carve out a lens from the Cad donor. If it works I'll post it. I like the way they work in the Cads.

HAS ANYONE INSTALLED THE LEDS FROM SHINEY-HINEY?IF SO DO YOU LIKE THEM WAS IT WORTH CHANGING.
THANKS FRANK



http://www.shiny-hiney.com/camchev.html

At the bottom of that Shiney Hiney site, it says "By Technostalgia." The pictures also look exactly like the ones on Technostalgia's site. This leads me to believe that Shiney Hiney is basically just a vendor for Technostalgia. I looked on Technostalgia's site but couldn't find the 67 lights, although they don't even have the 68-69 Nova ones up yet. I don't think their site has been updated in a while. :(

Matt

i just picked up a set of LED taillights from c2o,installed them last night,but can only get tailights and brake lights to work,no signals, changed flasher no luck. HELP:confused:

i just picked up a set of LED taillights from c2o,installed them last night,but can only get tailights and brake lights to work,no signals, changed flasher no luck. HELP:confused:
The original flasher needs the resistance of the filiments in the bulb to operate properly. The LED's don't have enough resistance for your flasher. You need to either install a "dummy" load (resistor) or purchase a mechanical flasher. NAPA used to sell these flashers as heavy duty or rated for trucks.
Hope this helps.
John

Thanks John replaced the flasher and also found a second flasher over by the glove box? replaced both, everything works great. The lights work and look cool,nice and bright even in the daylight. thanks again.:)

Anybody know of anyone that makes these for 69's? I just saw in the latest Super Chevy that C2O has a kit for 66-67's. I think I might be able to use that since it's basically the same thing as a 3rd gen tail light, only vertical...and rounded at the top...

Think it'll work? Or does anyone know of any other companies that make them for 3rd gens?

Matt
DON'T REALLY KNOW ABOUT 3RD GEN. BUT I DID GETTHE LED KIT FROM C2O FOR XMAS AND THE ARE GREAT VERY BRIGHT AND COOL LOOKING. I DID HAVE THE LED BULB AND THEY DON'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO THE KIT. HOPE YOU FIND WHAT YOUR LOOKING FOR.:D :D :D :usa:

Reviving an old thread. Jeg's has Technostalgia gen 2 kits on special sale price right now.

American Autowire does a sequential LED taillight conversion for the 3rd gen. Novas. We have one in the shop and hope to get it installed in a set of bezels/lenses before the Pleasanton, CA Goodguys show in Mar.

Trim Parts does a conversion for the 66/67's, and have it on order, but have not gotten it in the shop yet.

Has any one used these.http://www.shiny-hiney.com/chevynova.html Has anyone used the 70-72 led lights.How did they fit,woerk,quality,and how bright are they.Can anybody that has these port a pic of them with the lights on and the with the break light on.I am thinking about buying some.

What about some thing like this:

1156 & 1157 PCB series LED Lamps
http://www.superbrightleds.com/other_bulbs.htm

They make a circuit board type led wired into a 1157 type plug and they make this in multiple bulb types and the one I'm talking about is $12.95. This is at least worth a shot. No I have not tried it as my car is a long way from testing things like this.