Useless aftermarket car stop / tail LEDs - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Circlotron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 10:38:51 pm
content: Been on the lookout for good combination LED stop and tail LEDs to put into my 99 Toyota Camry. Had two sets so far and both have the same problem. The car uses a 9157 wedge type globe and in the LED version the wedge section is too short, and in particular, too thin to hold the LED in the socket securely. They can angle from side to side quite a bit so they don’t end up pointing through the lens properly, and sometimes they were so loose a fit they would fall out easily.The second set I bought were quite a bit cheaper, and not as bright, and that serves me right I suppose, but with these ones the stop and tail functions were wired together. That is to say, if you press the brakes, the LEDs would light, if you put on the taillights on the LEDs would light, but if the taillights were already on, when you press the brakes it would make no difference. They did not light brighter. In other words the stop and tail functions appeared to be wired together. Absolutely useless. Would love to find some good quality LEDs to go in the car but I’m starting to think they don’t exist. They’re all a copy of each other.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 11:08:54 pm
content: It would help if you gave the original part number, which is 3157https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/understanding-the-differences-between-3157-and-3156-bulbs.126003/I don't see any low cost dual power LED bulbs, there are some but they are ~$50. There are also lots of dual color ones.What you can do instead is just get a single red LED bulb and wire a resistor in series with one of the leads.Never buy cheap LED car bulbs, decent ones are only a few dollars more.

author: Circlotron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 11:28:48 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on May 27, 2025, 11:08:54 pmAh.. yeah. I did actually have the right part number - 3157. I wrote the wrong one here from memory.

author: Circlotron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 11:37:12 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on May 27, 2025, 11:08:54 pmThat's actually a really good idea!The first LEDs I got, the tail light brightness was at a guess about 66% brightness compared to the 100% brightness of stop, so there wasn't enough difference in my opinion. A resistor would dial the brightness down to match the incandescent tail lamp next to it and increase the difference in brightness when brakes are applied. I'll definitely look into that.The first LEDs had a DC/DC converter internally to keep the brightness constant down to about 10 volts. And one of them went bad too.

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 12:10:58 am
content: A few years back my dad had the same issue for sealed-unit replacement lights for his trailer. Knowing what I know now I would have wired a resistor into one of the trailer's wires until the brightness levels made more sense.

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 01:01:29 am
content: Quote from: Circlotron on May 27, 2025, 10:38:51 pmThere is no LED replacement for a filament bulb. What you are playing with is non compliant "off road use only" even if sold retail over the counter. Get into an accident and you'll not be covered for insurance.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 04:10:22 am
content: Quote from: Someone on May 28, 2025, 01:01:29 amIf it looks the same, it doesn't matter.The horrible headlight replacements that have the totally wrong glaring brightness, on other hand...

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 04:45:00 am
content: Quote from: amyk on May 28, 2025, 04:10:22 am"looks" vs throws the same pattern confirmed by compliance testing is an argument you can take to court. Hint, none of the LED retrofit bulbs I have seen claim compliance testing, so immediately the onus is on the owner to justify their car was roadworthy/compliant... which requires evidence the cutoff and throw patterns are within the applicable standards.Police and roadworthy vehicle inspectors are clued in to this and have/do fail cars for swapped out globes. Assume the insurance assessor are equally knowledgeable, brake light visibility is simple to justify as a contributing factor in any rear/side collision.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 09:13:32 am
content: Here in the UK we have a retail chain called Halfords. Last time I checked (maybe a couple of years ago) all of their LED bulbs (sold as replacements for filament bulbs) had a disclaimer on the package saying "off-road use only", or words to that effect.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 09:48:38 pm
content: Quote from: Someone on May 28, 2025, 01:01:29 amStreet legal LED bulbs:https://www.osram.com/ecat/LED%20high%20and%20low%20beam%20lamps%20(street%20legal)-Car%20lighting-Automotive/com/en/GPS01_3574187/

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 10:45:23 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on May 28, 2025, 09:48:38 pmnote the conditional clause which leads to the country specific compatability chart:https://www.osram.de/am/night-breaker-led/night-breaker-led-ledcheck.jsp?mkt=/nb-led/Australia? nope, brake lights ? nope

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2025, 03:44:24 am
content: I settled on the Calibre brand ones from supercheap auto after many, many ebay versions. Note that I didn't cheap out, quite a few were as expensive as the store bought ones. The Calibre ones are dual brightness.Some of the cheap red ebay ones are nice enough for re purposing into mood lighting, making your house look like a brothel.