Lee & Joan Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Anybody got the hot ticket source of "cheap but fits the original mounting holes" LED clearance lights ? I am counting about 16 of them that need to be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 I got a set from NAPA I think they were a shade over $100 for all of them. Over the years I probably have fixed thousands of the *&(%^ things usually just dirty and by the time you get to the inspection station they are out again. I replaced all of mine so I'll never have to play with them again they are much brighter too thats not a bad thing either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 That's what I am thinking also Maineah, I am working over this rig bit by bit and I want it to last another 25 years. I have been pulling every cover off and re putty tapeing and fixing what I find behind the cover, new screws ect, There sure are a lot of holes that water can get in, like 3 holes for each clearance light times 16 lights, so I would like to permently seal those lights on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 superbrightleds.com i got mine from this place. about 5-6 bucks a piece, if i recall. very fast shipping. i am very happy with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Bought mine on eBay. About $5 each. Bought a couple extra for spares. You might also consider LED tail lights. Its worth it! After getting them screwed down I used a product called Lexel to seal all around the edges. Don't use silicon. http://www.sashcosealants.com/Content/Files/lexel_brochure.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Greg is right about tail lights. I have been beeped at by quite a efw folks who seemed to have that "how 'bout using your turn signals, a-hole" sneer as they went by. And I did have them on, but on a bright sunny day, 25 year old incandescent flashers aren't too flashy. They are on my upgrade list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I found on our 91 Dolphin most of the out/dim clearance and other lites were dirty lenses, reflectors, and socket/lamp contacts. Just cleaning things up made a huge difference. I also used Plastic-X on all the exterior plastic, I've been using that stuff for years and now it seems several other companies are making a similar product. Vanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I was looking at these: goto: http://www.superbrightleds.com type "M9" in their search box and then click on "M9 Series Marker Lamp" They are $5.00 each. They don't appear to be a sealed unit, but this may not be a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 Hi waiter, That is exactly what I ordered , the M9's were the only ones that had the 3" mounting hole distance, were 2" X 4" like my old ones were. They have a bigger lense than most but "only" 4 LEDs (vs 6 or 12) so they are cheaper. I got 10 for $49.50 plus 12$ shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 From the photos, the lenses look like they snap on after you mount the base. Did you put any RTV or anything to seal the lens to the base? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 The first ones I did I used putty tape under the entire base and worked it into the wire hole also. Then the lens snaps on top of the base. I notice drain holes on both the top and bottom of the base but not the lense. I am thinking the next ones I will just spring for the spendy Lexel sealant and run a bead around the entire base eliptical rim bottom, squirt some in the wire hole, sinch base to the body and run a bead on base top and sides. So far I am just resetting the few new ones that came on the rig while waiting for the LED's to arrive. The wire is cooked hard and non plyable and the copper strands are black. There is not a lot of extra wire to cut back to, so I think some small wire nuts will be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I just ordered them from Super Bright LEDs. 7 Reds and 5 Ambers, $5 each Also got a License plate light ($10) Not sure how I want to do the brake/tail lights yet I'll keep you posted when I get them installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Though it might be illegal (I have to assume there's some law requiring them) but I've pondered 're-purposing ' the rear clearance lights as a '3rd' high mounted brake light(s). Or perhaps the outer ones tied into the turn signals, the center 3 the brakes. But, as I said above. it might be illegal not to have them on all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 I just recieved my M9's. They look really nice, the red or yellow color goes clear through to the base. There is one problem though... The space between the base and the chassis body is not even 1/8th inch so there is no way to put a wire nut and join the two sets of three wires together under the base. There are only two 18 gauge holes running through into the lense side of the light, and those are already taken up by the lights wires. So somehow I must figure a way to space the base of the light at least a quarter inch away from the body so I can join the wires. I note also that these lights are polorized, IE you must hook positive to positive to function. Green wire (ironic) is positive on chassis, and white is negative. The lights use white and black, so chassis green to lamp white, and chassis white to lamp black is probably how these are wired. These also have drain and vent holes on both the top and bottom sides of the base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Hey, Mine came in the mail today also. I was planning on soldering the wires and putting a piece of heat shrink tubing on it. I'll look at them tonight when I get home. Thanks for the heads up on the wire colors, I'll double check with a meter before I solder them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Darn, I see what you mean!!!! How about a big"O"ring, or something like that. Something rubber about 1/4 in diameter would fit in that groove perfectly Think man Think This would also space it out enough so the wires won't be pinched and may also help seal it. Other than this little problem, these look very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 One option might be; use a couple large body spacer washers when mounting them to offset them 1/8 inch. This would give enough room for the wires behind them. The just run a bead of RTV around them to fill the gap and seal them. I'll swing by Menards (Kind of like Lowes/Home Depot) tonight and see if they have anything that would work. <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 Turns out that they will light no matter which way they are wired, and it also turns out that at least some of the clearance lights have no power if other clearance lights do not have there double wires connected IE Green to Green and White To White from the body. Just went to town to look for some gasket material and came back without anything...Well at least I am not hurting for projects, I have the huge back window out (65" X 29") to reframe and repanel the entire back wall. I did get some small "butt connectors" in place of the wire nuts, they are a little bit smaller. My wire is too blackish to take solder even when I pealed back to newer wire, so even though I like to solder everything I come across... (I live on the coast), I am going to have to pass on these and just mash them together then waterproff over that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Tip, if you replace the turn signal bulbs with led's order the led flasher too or they won't flash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Try some #200 sand paper, wipe the wire with it. That should clean it enough to accept solder. I bought some washers and some sealant string. I'll try replacing one this weekend and see how it works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 I just got some 1/4 inch clear plastic tubing. I am going to put a ten gauge solid copper wire inside of that and bend to fit the clearance lights curved edge channel. Cinch that down (and I have a bunch of spacing washers to use) and Lexel over that. I did try the old scrape it with a knife trick and I am useing some very good solder but this wire is short and the insulation is hard and brittle. The solder pools up even when I flux the C**p out of it. It will be better than it was but not as good as I wanted it to be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee & Joan Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 I just finished installing 10 of the new lights. I used screws that were a quarter inch longer with rubber washers under flat washers. And I did the "form an O-Ring" with the vinyl clear tubing and copper wire. I stuck the wire out an inch or so on one end so it slips into the tubing to lock it together and put the joint on the bottom center. Then I Lexel ed everything. Lexel is 8.50$ a tube, but one tube did 16 clearance lights, 2 large windows, the generator door housing, water heater housing, spare storage housing, water inlet, power inlet, refers top vent and bottom door, & porch light housing. I was really kind of hoping it would run out sooner as it took quite a squeeze to get it out of the tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I'll mess with it tomorrow and take some photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I just ordered them from Super Bright LEDs. 7 Reds and 5 Amber's, $5 each Also got a License plate light ($10) Not sure how I want to do the brake/tail lights yet I'll keep you posted when I get them installed. I installed these tail lights over a year ago. They are really bright. People stay back. If you stand behind and look at them especially the brake lights it hurts your eyes! Highly recommend everyone to put in a set of these. http://www.pplmotorh...man-84-tail.htm I did not see the red amber ones but they are there somewhere. Though it might be illegal (I have to assume there's some law requiring them) but I've pondered 're-purposing ' the rear clearance lights as a '3rd' high mounted brake light(s). Or perhaps the outer ones tied into the turn signals, the center 3 the brakes. But, as I said above. it might be illegal not to have them on all the time. I don't think clearance lights are required on the front or rear, only the sides. Why not just add a separate third light? As I mentioned above the LED tail lights are really really bright. No need to have any high turn signals but the 3rd brake would be nice. I do plan to put in a third brake light LED bar just under my rear window. I saw one that flashes several times in quick succession as soon as it gets power then goes to steady. Kind of like an alert signal, but can't find it now. Might have been a JCWhitney product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I seem to remember seeing years ago (before 3rd brake lights were introduced) an add-on that would make your brake lights flash at a rate that varied, depending on how hard you were pressing the brake pedal. Guess it never caught on. Or it was maybe illegel, since most jurisdictions only allow flashing lights on 'Official Vehicles'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Good point.. I suppose if they are DOT approved they would be legal in all states, that's a guess though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 The DOT Approval might only apply to the lens (color or light transmission) or brightness and maybe not to any electronic circuit that makes them flash. But it would probably take a really bored cop to try and wade through the 'Rule Book' to figure out what infraction to charge you with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Here is a flasher just for the brake lights. Flashes 20 times for 2 seconds then goes to steady. Only $8 plus tax and shipping. http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&category=CAR&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2Ffl2s-10a.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Does anyone know if these are legally required and what could happen if I don't use them and I got in an accident? I'm asking because someone said in another post that its a federal law and if I got in an accident and didn't have clearance lights that it could give my insurance company an excuse to not cover me. (I'd like to pull all of them off and fill the holes) EDIT: This site lists all the lights required: http://www.vehiclesafetymfg.com/tech_info/tech_lr_tbm2.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 ive thought about an on off switch. i replaced mine with leds but even the 20% power seems like it would be better to be 0% at times. on mine thats 12 lights, combined with the parking and brake lights its like 20 bulbs before you think about the headlights. thats a lot of power, even turning off the leds I have would generate a lot of power imo worth installingt someday. Just turn them off when youre positive they dont matter. I cant imagine why anyone would not replace their marker lights with leds. I found 10 led sets on ebay that are 5$ delivered to your house....5 amber 5 red even. I linked the set I got for 15$ just to give everyone a link to get. It takes a very short time for led lights to pay for themselves. really they are cheaper than incandescent at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 stevo welcom yes the chart is correct DOT MEANS IT IS A FEDERAL REG ALL THOSE LIGHTS ARE REQUIRED AND THE LAW WILL PULL YOU OVER because of the with length and hight of the rv. SOME TIME AGO SOMONE POSTED THEY BOUGHT ONE SOME ONE REMOVEDTHE FIVE LIGHTS AND REPLACED WITH REFELTERS AT OUT OF STATE INSPECTION STATE PATROL SAID THEY HAD TO PUT THEM ALL BACK ON . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.