markwilliam1 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Hi There, I've had bad luck with the leds I bought for my coach lights. Very Expensive and I don't like the white light output they produce. Anyone know if they make a warm light led similar to a light bulb? Also, they burn hot and has melted one of my light covers. My biggest complaint is one of the little leds in the light cluster is blinking! Happened on two separate bulbs. Very annoying! These are the type that have the little leds in a circle. I know LEDs are much cheaper to operate but is it really worth the $$ to upgrade if the leds produce harsh light and they have a high failure rate?? Can anyone recommend a good quality led coach light? Thanks! Mark  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 What bulb type do you use. Where did you buy them from? I have seen sources for some WARM WHITE leds. 6000K an up color is considered bright white, warm white is around 4700K. There should be a K rating somewhere in the web pages when looking for new leds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Look at the K temps the higher the number the whiter the light normal house hold light is around 3000K when you venture into the 4000+ plus range they are closer to sun light that being said they are also brighter at the higher temps. I just bought 6 G4 base LED's for $14 recently. They should not be hot enough to melt your lenses if you have the tower type (led's all the way around) they are not nearly as efficient as say a flat panel type that has a pig tail that plugs into where the bulb was they put all of the light in the direction you need. Some of the earlier LED's I have, have suffered  from some of the chips failing they were from China and were pretty poorly made the process has been greatly improved over the last 5 year and the prices have dropped at least 50% yes they still come from China but much improved. As far as power usage they are light years ahead. I recently did a camper that had 13 1156 bulbs they drew 24 amps! it now has 15 led's they draw 3.08 amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 LEDs are without a doubt the way to go. I hope to make my "new" Sunrader 100% LED, excluding headlights, which I understand are still junk. I put LED marker light on my first Sunrader. It was a huge improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwilliam1 Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Wow Maineah that's quite a difference in power usage! My leds are the tower type all around and 1 of the leds on the tower did melt a hole in my lense cover. Bought them 2 years ago at Orileys. Were expensive! Â Two out of 6 developed the blinking from 1of the leds in the array! Tossed the box so do know the maker but all from China. Thanks for the explanation of K temp. Very helpful! Can you and 86rader recommend a particular brand that might have better quality and be more like natural light and Last awhile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Can't help you with interior lights, but superbrightleds.com is a great place to get the marker lights. No more fusing with bulb connections as they are sealed and look great. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 I replaced all of my interior fixtures with led fixtures that I bought from eBay.  This is the same fixture that I bought:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kohree-LED-Dome-Light-Fixture-12V-Natural-White-Interior-Light-/401239658588?hash=item5d6bbf505c:g:pPAAAOSwA3dYSQBc&vxp=mtr I think that I paid $14 each. We have been using them for 2 years without any issues.  Keep watching eBay and you will find them at different prices.  Yes they are from China but I like them.  They are a daylight color I believe the package said 6000 K.  If you want the warm yellowish light, this would NOT be what you want.  My eyes aren't what they once were and these make reading easier for me and my wife.  They are quite a bit brighter that the original . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwilliam1 Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Thanks Bob but I'm looking for just the bulbs not the fixtures. Not sure if they make Leds with "warm" light output. Will keep on searching. BTW I think all of these type leds are made in China G4 base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 I would recommend some thing like this--https://www.amazon.com/GRV-BA15S-48-5050SMD-Bright-Interior/dp/B00EKMIVI2/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&qid=1483801750&sr=8-23-spons&keywords=led+1156+rv&psc=1 The tower bulbs in a fixture waste light because 50% are sending light where it's of no use a flat panel is down more light for the buck. As I said the manufacturing of LED's has improved they are a lot better quality then a few years ago and thanks to Cree the light output has more then doubled per watt. Here is a tip also if you listen the FM radio some LED's list a wide range of voltage from like 6 to 30 volts try to avoid them they create lot of radio noise they have switching power supplies just a 12 volt LED is fine. I got a deal on some really nice flush mount LED's with switching supplies they wiped out my FM radio reception I had to remove the switching supply an build a 10 volt regulator system to fix them. No LED is 100% efficient they all will produce heat but not enough to burn things. The exception would be high output LED's they are driven very hard and usually have built in heat sinks not the type of thing you would find in a retro fit replacement any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 (edited) A couple of years ago I ordered about 20 SMD LEDs attached to little flat square wafer thin squares with mounting tape that was a little weak so I used my own, wired up to 1156 plugs direct from China through Ebay or Amazon for about $1.20 each. Most of the original interior dome covers were brittle and cracked but the new lights were cool enough I was able to replace the convex covers with flat translucent acrylic cut outs that don't get hot though they are only a quarter inch from the new LEDs. I ordered a couple of extras so I was able to replace the one that flickered and still have a spare. Best of all I didn't have to replace any of the 10 light fixtures. There was no K rating but the light isn't harsh at all. Here's a similar deal I found at a glance: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-BA15S-1156-1141-Dome-bulb-36-1210-SMD-LED-Warm-White-/180743272456 Allan Edited January 8, 2017 by Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 I tried some cheapo LED's that plug into existing fixtures.  They died early deaths.  Not sure if and how much the variance in DC voltage (low voltage versus high with variations)  contributed to the quick deaths.  I suspect they were junk.  Ordered off ebay , shipped from China. Unless I was going to try to live without an efficient generator, I will not bother again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwilliam1 Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Thanks All! Allan did your leds last long and not flicker? I like that style. I have nice textured light covers in perfect condition that I would hate to see melted as they are no longer available. Appreciate the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 From what I understand, melted light fixture covers typically occur when people replace the (I think) original 1141 bulbs with at-a-glance 'same' (and more common) 1156 bulbs. The 1156 bulbs are a brighter (higher wattage) bulb and give off more heat. http://www.donsbulbs.com/cgi-bin/r/b.pl/1141~usa.html http://www.donsbulbs.com/cgi-bin/r/b.pl/1156~usa.html The 1156 bulbs are typically cheaper and easier to find (and probably why people buy them), usually what you'll find in tail lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunkaman Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Derek, that is exactly what i discovered with my coach fixtures. po had used the brighter, and hotter, 1156 bulbs. this caused several of the fixture covers to have small "burnt" spots in them. i replaced all bulbs in my coach fixtures with LED, i chose the brighter k value. my eyes are not what they used to be. lol. of course the LED'S do not get as hot as non LED. and there is the added benefit of less battery draw. i figure a win-win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 These are what I use. http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-pk-1156-1141-Base-LED-Replacement-Bulb-280-LUM-10-24v-Natural-White-/172256959172?hash=item281b509ac4:g:pIMAAOSwhOVXcvP9&vxp=mtr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunkaman Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 WME , thanks for that link, those appear to be a better quality than i bought. i really like the directional feature. joe from dover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Over the years I have replaced every 1156 bulb with LEDs from many different sources. The way I have the 2 bulb fixtures set up now, the first click gives me a warm white LED and the second click adds the cool white LED to the warm white. Thus I can have "I need to read/see/do something" so two bulbs on, or "I want to kick back" just the warm white. I see many choices here for warm whites https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=led+1156+warm+white&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=31143373490&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=s&hvrand=8124303576403038268&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013802&hvtargid=kwd-33978094447&ref=pd_sl_9ortbmn7jm_e. I got some that are flat panel types like WME got, they are nice. Mostly I bought the round type. I had some flickering but it was caused by poor connection between the bulb base and copper fixture tang, I re bent the tang and all was well. I had lots of overheating with Incandescent 1156 bulbs but never get heat from the LEDS. I do note that some vendors say not to go over 13 volts which will happen when you are running the rig or on shorepower. I tried to look at the Lumen output (amount of light output) color temperature (warm, natural, cool), price, design, and most of all the user reviews when I bought mine. There is "crapola" out there but there also are some real good deals on LEDs these days. I think the first ones I bought 6 years ago ran 15-20 $ each... now the prices are way less. I have used these 10 watt warm white spotlights for outdoor use, they work great https://www.amazon.com/LEDMO-Floodlight-Spotlight-AC85-265-Equivalent/dp/B01FTW0SPU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1483998091&sr=8-4&keywords=led+10+watt+warm+white Since I have a voltmeter (for solar panels) reading the house batteries all the time I can see that the LEDs draw WAY LESS than the old incandesents even though I generally bought high output (lumen) LEDs. It save you energy to run the heater motor at night when boon docking and still have lots of light. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 (edited) I almost forgot, If you want some really bright headlights for not much $ I have been using these for several years on my pickup and just got more for the Sunrader this last spring https://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W I am running the 55 watt ones in the 5000K (pure white) color and WOW can you see at night NOTE: You do have to buy 2 new headlamp fixtures (the part with the glass and reflector) to put the HID bulbs into, so that adds $40 Edited January 9, 2017 by Lee & Joan add note Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwilliam1 Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Thanks Lee & Joan! Regarding the LED headlight where do you get the light fixtures and how does the 55 watt unit fit into the light fixture? The only headlight fixtures I've seen already have the bulb installed. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 The lights that L&J posted are HID NOT LED. Big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 On 2017-01-08 at 5:26 AM, markwilliam1 said: Thanks All! Allan did your leds last long and not flicker? I like that style. I have nice textured light covers in perfect condition that I would hate to see melted as they are no longer available. Appreciate the link! Sorry for waiting so long to reply. Only one of the several I bought developed a flicker in just one single light on the chip. I moved it to be the second light in double fixture over the sink and I don't notice now with both lights in the fixture going. The original 1156 bulbs would melt my new light covers as they would actually touch each other and the original covers probably became brittle from the heat of those bulbs, combined with age of coarse. I've had the lights for about three years now and but for the one that quickly developed the flicker all still work fine. I can hold my finger on any of them and they aren't uncomfortably warm. They wouldn't melt my plastic light covers if the adhesive were to fail and they came into contact with each other. That said, get your own double sided mounting tape for a more secure install. Maybe I just got lucky with my LEDs but they were a bargain combined with being able to use my original fixtures with simple flat cut out covers. Just make sure to order a few extras in case any fail. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwilliam1 Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Thanks WME for bringing that to my attention. Also Thanks Allen. I think I'll look into " warm" leds when my rig gets out of storage in the Spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 https://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W On 1/9/2017 at 4:04 PM, markwilliam1 said: Thanks Lee & Joan! Regarding the LED headlight where do you get the light fixtures and how does the 55 watt unit fit into the light fixture? The only headlight fixtures I've seen already have the bulb installed. Mark Hi Mark, you get the glass fixtures also from DDM Tuning, you will have to email them your year toyota. It looks just like the original sealed beams, but there is a mounting hole in the back where you put in the bulbs, so from then on you can just replace bulbs not entire sealed units. The bulbs seem to last forever and stay bright over their life. WME is correct they are HIDs not LEDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwilliam1 Posted January 13, 2017 Author Share Posted January 13, 2017 Thanks Lee & Joan! Another "wish list" project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 The DOT lamps are sealed beams they will not except H4 bulbs of any sort you'll have to replace the entire fixture with "E" spec. housings. If you were to do that then any  H4 lamp will fit LED or other wise my choice would be an off road high wattage standard H4 bulb no LED or HID can match them for light output. I did communications for the Maine Woods Rally for 10 years many of the races were after dark in the winter (read snow) my Tacoma was fitted with E spec with 100 watt H4's plus 4 driving lights we often had to go find missing rally cars and drivers. Here is a good sight if you really want to light up your life--- Rallylights.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwilliam1 Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 Thanks Maineah. Much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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