LED Taillight Conversion

[waiter]

I've been having problems with the tail light / turn signals since I bought the MH. The lights are intermittent.

After troubleshooting and trying different fixes, I determined that the sockets are the problem. There is a a rubber gasket material down inside the socket who job it is to press the little electrical contacts up against the bottom of the bulb. This spongy material has lost some of its "Sponginess" and doesn't press against the bulb to get a good electrical connection.

There were several Solutions available:

1) Fix the existing assembly, pull the contact assembly out, and put some more foam material in there to help the contact plate push against the bulb.

2) Replace the entire three bulb assembly with a new Bargman 84 assembly.. These can be had for about $26.00 each, $55.00 total.

3) Replace the bulbs in the existing assemblys with LEDs and simply solder the LEDs to the existing wiring, $9.99 each $40,00 total

4) Combine 2 and 3, solder the LEDs or just plug them in, $95.00 total.

5) Buy the Barman units with the LEDs already installed, $85.00 each, $170 total.

I opted for the Door #3, Solder the LEDs directly to the lights and bypass the intermittent sockets.

OK, Here's how to make the LED modification:

*******************************************************************

I removed and cleaned the tail light assemblies and lenses. Keep in mind the outside lamp is the turn signal, and the inside (middle) lamp is the brake light.

I bought 4 each, 1157 tail light Red (100deg) 36 LED Panel cluster bulbs from Super Bright LEDs. These were $9.90 each. This is enough to do both sides. (Dual intensity, Color is Red, 100 deg field of view, 36 LEDs mounted on a circuit card, wired to a 1157 bulb base)

http://www.superbrig...amp.htm#photos.

1157 LED replacements

On some of the Super Brite LEDs, you can cut the base off and connect your wires directly to the LED circuit card. I couldn't remember if you could do this with the 1157 series, so I opted to play it safe and just solder wires directly on the bulb bases. I used different colors to keep me straight. My colors don't match the coach colors, so don't get confused.

Solder wires to the metal base and the solder tabs on the bottom of the bulb. Notice how the two guide tabs on the sides of the bulb are at different heights, Orient the bulb to make sure your soldering the wires to the correct solder tab.

BLACK = Bulb Base (ground)

YELLOW = Dim (Tail light)

RED= Bright (Brake or turn signal)

I removed (broke them off) the bulb sockets from the fixtures by bending them back and forth until they broke off, Cut the wires and push the wires through the hole to remove the bases.

On the coach side, the wire color correspond to::

WHITE = Ground

GREEN = Tail Lights (running lights)

YELLOW = Turn Signal

RED = Brake Lite

NOTE- Don't cut the white wire that runs to the three metal plates on the assembly. This wire is needed for the Backup light.

I ran the LED wires through the hole that the original bulb wires went through, and soldered the LED wires to the old Bulb Socket wires. The grounds all get tied together, as do the tail lights. but the outside LED is the turn signal, and the inside (middle) is the brake.

A quick check to make sure everything was wired correctly, then I ran a small bead of RTV around the top and sides, and screwed the fixture back in place.

Push the excess wire into the hole, then use urethane adhesive, squirted on the back side of the LED board. Press the board into the center of the fixture and use duct tape to hold it in places until the adhesive cures. Glue the socket and wires so they don't bounce around and break.. Tape everything in place until the glue cures.

After the glue is cured, pull the tape off, do one final check, then put the lenses back on.

************************************************************************

MODIFY YOUR STANDARD FLASHER SO IT'LL WORK WITH LEDs

OK - One of the problems with LED Bulbs, They use so little current, the Flasher thinks there is a bulb burnt out,so it flashes fast.

You can either purchase a LED compatible flashing unit, OR, if your handy with a soldering iron, modify your existing flasher to flash at a slower speed when it senses a burnt out bulb. ( The burnt out flash speed is almost identical to the normal flash speed., but you don't care, as long as it works.

This is your flasher, its located on the drivers kick panel. remove it and carefully take it apart.

The 90k ohm resistor shown in the photo is used to establish the flash timing for the Burnt out bulb portion of the flasher.

Your going to replace that 90kohm resistor with a 220k ohm resistor, this will make the flashing time longer, and almost identical to the regular flash rate.

The 90k ohm is very small and tucked up between the relay and two large capacitors.

Unsolder the resistor leads (shown in the photo), and solder the new resistor in place.

Visit Radio Shack and Use the smallest watt 220 k ohm you can find (Ohms isn't real critical, probably between 200k and 240k will work. you can mount it vertical, but may need to put a sleeve on the lead to keep it from shorting out against the relay cage. ( If you can't find a 220k ohm resistor, you can solder two (or more) resistors in series and add their values to come up with the 220k ohms.)

Before putting the relay back together, plug it in and make sure it works at the slower speed.

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[acudoc]

Your solution looks good.

For those of us not so soldering inclined. I bought new Bargman 84 triple lights on ebay. $26.50 each when I asked for a discount for 2.

Used butt splices that I crimped.

Now I have new tailights. Much brighter than before, and they also look new.

I will have to change the bulbs when they blow.

PS I got the three reds too so now I have 2 running lights instead of 1.

I've been having problems with the tail light / turn signals since I bought the MH. The lights are intermittent.

After troubleshooting and trying different fixes, I determined that the sockets are the problem. There is a a rubber gasket material down inside the socket who job it is to press the little electrical contacts up against the bottom of the bulb. This spongy material has lost some of its "Sponginess" and doesn't press against the bulb to get a good electrical connection.

One solution was to pull the contact assembly out, and put some more foam material in there to help out a little.

Another solution was to replace the bulbs with LEDs and simply solder the LEDs to the existing wiring.

I opted for the LED solution.

OK, Here's how to make the LED modification:

*******************************************************************

I removed and cleaned the tail light assemblies and lenses. Keep in mind the outside lamp is the turn signal, and the inside (middle) lamp is the brake light.

I bought 4 each, 1157 tail light Red (100deg) 36 LED Panel cluster bulbs from Super Bright LEDs. These were $9.90 each. This is enough to do both sides. (Dual intensity, Color is Red, 100 deg field of view, 36 LEDs mounted on a circuit card, wired to a 1157 bulb base)

http://www.superbrig...amp.htm#photos.

On some of the Super bowl LEDs, you can cut the base off and wire directly to the circuit card. I couldn't remember if you could do this with the 1157 series, so opted to play it safe and just solder new wires the bulb bases. I used different colors to keep me straight. My colors don't match the coach colors, so don't get confused.

BLACK = Bulb Base (ground)

YELLOW = Dim (Tail light)

RED= Bright (Brake or turn signal)

I removed the old original bulb sockets from the fixtures (keep bending back and forth and they will break off) and cut the wires to them.

On the coach side, the wire colors are:

WHITE = Ground

GREEN = Tail Lights (running lights)

YELLOW = Turn Signal

RED = Brake Lite

NOTE- Don't cut the white wire that runs to the three metal plates on the assembly. This wire is needed for the Backup light.

I ran the LED wires through the hole that the original bulb wires went through, and soldered the LED wires to the old Bulb Socket wires. The grounds all get tied together, as do the tail lights. but the outside LED is the turn signal, and the inside (middle) is the brake.

A quick check to make sure everything was wired correctly, then I ran a small bead of RTV around the top and sides, and screwed the fixture back in place.

Push the excess wire into the hole, then use urethane adhesive, squirted on the back side of the LED board. Press the board into the center of the fixture and use duct tape to hold it in places until the adhesive cures. Glue the socket and wires so they don't bounce around and break.. Tape everything in place until the glue cures.

After the glue is cured, pull the tape off, do one final check, then put the lenses back on.

************************************************************************

MODIFY YOUR STANDARD FLASHER SO IT'LL WORK WITH LEDs

OK - One of the problems with LED Bulbs, the Flasher thinks there is a bulb burnt out so it flashes fast.

You can either purchase a LED compatible flashing unit, OR, if your handy with a soldering iron, modify your existing flasher to flash at a slower speed when it senses a burnt out bulb. ( The burnt out flash speed is almost identical to the normal flash speed., but you don't care, as long as it works.

This is your flasher, its located on the drivers kick panel. remove it and carefully take it apart.

Your going to replace a 90kohm resistor with a 220k ohm resistor. The 90k ohm is very small and tucked up between the relay and two large capacitors.

Unsolder the resistor leads, and solder the new resistor in place.

Visit Radio Shack and Use the smallest watt 220 k ohm you can find (Ohms isn't real critical, probably between 200k and 240k will work. you can mount it vertical, but may need to put a sleeve on the lead to keep it from shorting out against the relay cage. ( You can also wire the resistors in series to come up with 220k ohms.)

Before putting the relay back together, plug it in and make sure it works at the slower speed.

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[flatspin]

This is a really slick solution for these old tail lights. if my lenses hadn't been so cracked and faded, I definitely would have gone this route. Looks great and easy to do.

-andrew

I've been having problems with the tail light / turn signals since I bought the MH. The lights are intermittent.

After troubleshooting and trying different fixes, I determined that the sockets are the problem. There is a a rubber gasket material down inside the socket who job it is to press the little electrical contacts up against the bottom of the bulb. This spongy material has lost some of its "Sponginess" and doesn't press against the bulb to get a good electrical connection.

One solution was to pull the contact assembly out, and put some more foam material in there to help out a little.

Another solution was to replace the bulbs with LEDs and simply solder the LEDs to the existing wiring.

I opted for the LED solution.

OK, Here's how to make the LED modification:

*******************************************************************

I removed and cleaned the tail light assemblies and lenses. Keep in mind the outside lamp is the turn signal, and the inside (middle) lamp is the brake light.

I bought 4 each, 1157 tail light Red (100deg) 36 LED Panel cluster bulbs from Super Bright LEDs. These were $9.90 each. This is enough to do both sides. (Dual intensity, Color is Red, 100 deg field of view, 36 LEDs mounted on a circuit card, wired to a 1157 bulb base)

http://www.superbrig...amp.htm#photos.

On some of the Super bowl LEDs, you can cut the base off and wire directly to the circuit card. I couldn't remember if you could do this with the 1157 series, so opted to play it safe and just solder new wires the bulb bases. I used different colors to keep me straight. My colors don't match the coach colors, so don't get confused.

BLACK = Bulb Base (ground)

YELLOW = Dim (Tail light)

RED= Bright (Brake or turn signal)

I removed the old original bulb sockets from the fixtures (keep bending back and forth and they will break off) and cut the wires to them.

On the coach side, the wire colors are:

WHITE = Ground

GREEN = Tail Lights (running lights)

YELLOW = Turn Signal

RED = Brake Lite

NOTE- Don't cut the white wire that runs to the three metal plates on the assembly. This wire is needed for the Backup light.

I ran the LED wires through the hole that the original bulb wires went through, and soldered the LED wires to the old Bulb Socket wires. The grounds all get tied together, as do the tail lights. but the outside LED is the turn signal, and the inside (middle) is the brake.

A quick check to make sure everything was wired correctly, then I ran a small bead of RTV around the top and sides, and screwed the fixture back in place.

Push the excess wire into the hole, then use urethane adhesive, squirted on the back side of the LED board. Press the board into the center of the fixture and use duct tape to hold it in places until the adhesive cures. Glue the socket and wires so they don't bounce around and break.. Tape everything in place until the glue cures.

After the glue is cured, pull the tape off, do one final check, then put the lenses back on.

************************************************************************

MODIFY YOUR STANDARD FLASHER SO IT'LL WORK WITH LEDs

OK - One of the problems with LED Bulbs, the Flasher thinks there is a bulb burnt out so it flashes fast.

You can either purchase a LED compatible flashing unit, OR, if your handy with a soldering iron, modify your existing flasher to flash at a slower speed when it senses a burnt out bulb. ( The burnt out flash speed is almost identical to the normal flash speed., but you don't care, as long as it works.

This is your flasher, its located on the drivers kick panel. remove it and carefully take it apart.

Your going to replace a 90kohm resistor with a 220k ohm resistor. The 90k ohm is very small and tucked up between the relay and two large capacitors.

Unsolder the resistor leads, and solder the new resistor in place.

Visit Radio Shack and Use the smallest watt 220 k ohm you can find (Ohms isn't real critical, probably between 200k and 240k will work. you can mount it vertical, but may need to put a sleeve on the lead to keep it from shorting out against the relay cage. ( You can also wire the resistors in series to come up with 220k ohms.)

Before putting the relay back together, plug it in and make sure it works at the slower speed.

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[bajadulce]

ah so that's why my new led flashers blink so fast?

[Derek up North]

Here's a different approach. Food for thought.

http://www.gmceast.com/technical/Whitton_LED_Tail_Lights_Standard_Base.pdf

[PixieChick]

Waiter - I know the post is old, but can i ask where you found this assembly for this price? Thanx!

2) Replace the entire three bulb assembly with a new Bargman 84 assembly.. These can be had for about $26.00 each, $55.00 total.

[waiter]

Looks like the price went up a little; Do a google search for Bargman part number "30-84-002"

Here are a couple that I seen:

E Custom Hitch

RV Supply Parts

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[PixieChick]

Thanks so much! I was using different search words....

[Oldiesel]

Something to keep in mind.A neighbor of ours recently changed the tail and brake light/turn signal bulbs on his Airstream motor home to L.E.D.`s using the type that fit right into the existing bulb sockets and they were really much brighter than the old ones.He asked me for a little help as his cruise control was not working,the problem turned out to be that the LED bulbs did not create the ground that the CC needs to engage. Most CC units that i am familiar with use the stop light filament in the bulb as a ground connection so when you step on the brakes the 12v applied to the bulb causes the loss of that circuit as a ground and the CC disengages.On his Airstream he has 2 bulbs each side for brake lights so it was only necessary to put standard bulbs in one on each side to get the CC working. Your results may differ. Don

[waiter]

I was having problems with my CC, intermittent cutting off, etc. A lot of these problems were because of the bad sockets, When I installed the LEDs, I had the problem you described. I put a relay in the circuit to isolate the brake switch.

If I were doing it all over again, I think a 100 ohm resistor from the brake switch to ground would be OK without using the relay.

CC Disconnect relay

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto