So I encountered something interesting tonight as I finally was able to spend time on the LED light installs.
As you can find in another of my posts, I had previously ordered a pair of amber LEDs for the front DOT lights, a pair of red LEDs for the rear turn signals, and a pair of white LEDs for the deadlights.
Realizing too late that I had ordered 1156 size for all 6 bulbs when in fact the DOTS require a different size bulb, I was resigned that initially I would only be able to swap out LEDs for 4 of the 6 bulbs (not the DOTs).
So tonight I decided to use the amber LEDs for the deadlights and the red LEDs for the rear turn signals. Either return the white ones or keep them on hand in case I want to have them in the deadlights for added visibility as they will undoubtedly be brighter.
The deadlight LED swap went without issue. Nice and bright, love it!
The issue I found was in the rear turn signal bulbs -- they are certainly 1156 style bulbs, and I certainly ordered and received 1156 style LEDs, but they won't quite fit.
Well, they fit. They're the right diameter, but when I insert them into the socket holes they're supposed to go into, they do, but they don't quite go far enough in to be turned a bit to be locked into place.
Unfortunately it would seem that the silvery plastic trim piece around the socket hole (I'll refer to it as the 'event horizon') is a bit squared and not tapered or recessed enough to allow the LED bulbs to go far enough in to be turned to lock them in place.
I can certainly push the bulbs all the way in, I can turn on the scooter and verify they work great, but without being able to turn the bulbs a bit in the socket holes and lock them in place, they won't remain inserted due to vibration, bumps, etc...
I'll either have to try another brand of LED bulb to see if, by chance, it might have a slightly longer stem or be a little less wide or more tapered where it needs to be, or I'll have to shave off a little of the Buddy's silvery plastic right around the 'event horizon' where the reflective part meets the socket hole the bulb gets inserted to.
I suspect I'll get a sharp blade a whittle away just enough of the silvery plastic at the 'event horizon' to create just enough clearance for the bulb to be able to seat fully and be turned in its socket to lock it in.
Has anyone else who did the LED swap experienced this?
LED light install on 2012 Buddy 170i
Moderator: Modern Buddy Staff
-
pinthea
- Member
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2012 12:50 am
- Location: Portland, OR
-
michelle_7728
- Member
- Posts: 1914
- Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2009 2:16 am
- Location: Renton, WA
-
pinthea
- Member
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2012 12:50 am
- Location: Portland, OR
Yes, I get what people's recommended bulbs are, but one 1156 base bulb should be interchangeable with another and I was trying to figure out if anyone else found 1156 bulbs that did not fit properly...
MY preference is, for visibility and safety, to use the brightest bulb possible; the "recommended" 1156R LED bulb for rear turn signal lights is nowhere near as bright as the 45-LED tower 1156 bulb I had ordered from superbrightleds website...
In addition, the "recommended" 1156R bulb is red, whereas I decided I wanted to stick with the original bulb color, which is amber, and I am not able to locate the recommended bulb locally in amber.
Unfortunately for unexplained reasons the superbrightleds 45-LED 1156 bulb I ordered does not fit, which still confuses me.
It's like buying a screw-in lightbulb for your house and finding that Philips bulbs don't fit in your tabletop lamp but ones from GE do. A 'standard size' bulb, whether for home or auto, ought to be interchangeable...
Yes, the "recommended" bulb (the 1156R) does fit, I installed a pair this past weekend and it's only barely as bright as the original bulb, which is disappointing as it does not allow me to achieve the goal of maximum visibility via brighter bulbs.
The other reason I was not that excited about using the "recommended" 1156R bulb is because the 1156 superbrightleds version I bought (again, which does not fit) is spec'd to work from 10v to 30v so I would not need to use voltage regulators; online I saw that the "recommended" 1156R bulb only goes to about 13.8V, so I fully expect "recommended" bulb failure at some point.
The superbrightleds bulbs do fit great on the deadlights, and the warm white version really lights up like fog lights... I highly recommend them as at least they do fit there!
MY preference is, for visibility and safety, to use the brightest bulb possible; the "recommended" 1156R LED bulb for rear turn signal lights is nowhere near as bright as the 45-LED tower 1156 bulb I had ordered from superbrightleds website...
In addition, the "recommended" 1156R bulb is red, whereas I decided I wanted to stick with the original bulb color, which is amber, and I am not able to locate the recommended bulb locally in amber.
Unfortunately for unexplained reasons the superbrightleds 45-LED 1156 bulb I ordered does not fit, which still confuses me.
It's like buying a screw-in lightbulb for your house and finding that Philips bulbs don't fit in your tabletop lamp but ones from GE do. A 'standard size' bulb, whether for home or auto, ought to be interchangeable...
Yes, the "recommended" bulb (the 1156R) does fit, I installed a pair this past weekend and it's only barely as bright as the original bulb, which is disappointing as it does not allow me to achieve the goal of maximum visibility via brighter bulbs.
The other reason I was not that excited about using the "recommended" 1156R bulb is because the 1156 superbrightleds version I bought (again, which does not fit) is spec'd to work from 10v to 30v so I would not need to use voltage regulators; online I saw that the "recommended" 1156R bulb only goes to about 13.8V, so I fully expect "recommended" bulb failure at some point.
The superbrightleds bulbs do fit great on the deadlights, and the warm white version really lights up like fog lights... I highly recommend them as at least they do fit there!