The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 1948 Chevy truck LED conversion

My 1948 Chevy 3100 truck is completely restored back to factory original and I love driving it, which I do! At night however, I have had drivers behind me not stop as quickly and I think it is because my tail lights are not as bright as what the drivers are expecting. I have been wondering if I should convert my tail lights to LED for safety reasons (my safety and that of my truck!). Is there a good conversion that you recommend and will it handle my lights, brake lights and turn signals?

Most suppliers carry direct replacement twist in LED bulbs for our trucks. Someone will post a link for you to look at.

6v or 12v? I find 6v LEDs to be lacking. You have incandescent options that are as bright as 12v. My 6v '38 on the left & modern 12v pickup on the right.

I bought 12V. bulbs at https://www.superbrightleds.com for my vintage trailer. Not because of brightness, but I wanted less amperage draw. (not sure I will for my truck though) With LEDs, make sure you get the same color as the lens it will be going behind. Red for your tail lights, Amber if behind amber lens, etc. Below are the part #s I bought.

67-A15: Amber marker light
67-R15: Red marker light
1157-R24-WV: 1157 Red 100 Degree tail light

amperage draw below:
LED Incandescent
tail 0.01 0.52
turn 0.07 1.86
both 0.07 2.31
marker 0.07 0.52

My truck has been converted to 12v. If I use the bulb replacement, will I need to change flasher unit as well?

For 12 volt I would go with the united pacific lens. It has 45 bright LEDs built into the lens. Easy to wire and you wont need an LED flasher if you just have LED tails.

If your LED all around then you will need the flasher

...link...

Not exactly "restored back to factory original" then. I'm not criticizing the conversion, I've done the same in the past. I am pointing out the necessity of being accurate in what we say when asking for help. A person providing information about a 6v system when a vehicle was converted to 12v is a waste of time and effort and can serve to confuse the situation. Good luck with your project.

Mike, I looked up the bulb part number on their website and the 1157-r24 is out of stock and discontinued...my luck...

I will try to be more specific in my questions next time...

Here is a link to a pic of my trailer lights. Light in the foreground is a regular 1157, light in the background has the LED I mentioned above.

http://s1152.photobucket.com/user/69B-Cuda/media/Spartanette%20trailer/led%20in%20back.jpg.html

I am not sold that the LED lights are brighter, but as I showed in my previous post, they draw a LOT less amperage. My trailer is almost 37' from tongue t the tail lights, and with 2 1157 bulbs in each light, plus markers, and license plate light, I wanted the LEDs so I am not pulling as much current. Also, LEDs won't dim like incandescent bulbs with a slight voltage drop.

Dads50, those are a lot brighter than mine (just the replacement 1157 bulb). They look great on there!

If you just want to do an LED bulb conversion, they are available at the FLAPS, and even some department stores carry them now (Meijer does, anyway).

Thanks

We also have the problem with tailgaters here , so I also added the 3rd brake light in the back window. Its held on with suction cups so can easily be removed.

We have the same problem here. I added a third brake light to mine as well, but mine is a vintage Hollywood Accessories unit. It even spells out what they need to do if just the light coming on doesn't get their attention.

Another vote for United Pacific LED bulb replacements.
I also opted for a third brake light in the rear window,folks here don't 'get' red turn signals in the UK let alone tiny little ones so I fitted amber LED bed roll turn signals too.

6v LED bulbs are available - this information is most likely not pertinent to this thread. They are as bright as 12 incandescent bulbs.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/search/led-vehicle-replacement-bulbs/6v/