Quick question.

I just completed my signal light install, and was thinking about moving on to the brake lights. Since brake light bulbs usually have two filaments, one that is on, and other that turns on, or brightens even more when brakes are applied. Can a LED bulb do that without any further modifications ?

Thanks !

 

Are you talking about putting LED lights to replace the regular brake lights in the tail lights? If so I just went through that crap.....you will need to get these load resistors because you will have this light out warning pop up on your dash because the LEDs use such little power the car thinks the light bulb is blown and gives that light. The LED will get brighter just like regular bulb when brake is pressed but be willing to do some mods. I would not recommend installing red LEDs on the tails unless you have clear tails and need a RED light to avoid the law. BUT if you do decide to go that route I would get the LEDs with the 360 degree lights on them.

 

Yes, you can purchase bulbs that are specifically designed for this application. However, there have been issues noted with installing LED's in this location, mainly, loss of cruise control. Drop resistors may solve this, you would need to cough up at least $8 each for them, and they require wiring. Don't buy any drop resistors that don't have a heat sink board like these, scroll down to "load resistors": http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...rake-turn.html

It's not because they "use less power", it's because they have resistors in them to lower the applied voltage to the actual LED(s). This resistance is higher than the resistance in a regular bulb, causing the sensing unit (flasher unit, etc) to think the bulb is blown (infinite resistance).


LED's, regular bulbs, etc, do NOT get brighter the harder you push the brake, if that's what you're trying to say, not quite sure what you're trying to say actually....

Agreed

Sorry to pick apart your post, just want to make sure he's getting clear, proper information.

 

There seem to be ALOT of threads on LED tails and you will learn about the specifics in any of them. Search

 

I already did my signals w/ resistors, and they seem to work excellent. Yeah the heatsink is def. needed. I was surprised how HOT they actually get. im surprised they dont melt.

I already have 18 led bulbs on the way. i guess order the resistors now too while im at it.

Thanks !

 

Will someone please explain how to properly wire the brake light bulbs so that i can stop getting the burnt out bulb warning light. I wasn't expecting to need more than one resistor but since there are 2 circuits it seems as though I may be wrong. It appears that both the brake light and the running light circuits will need their own resistors. If there is a way to use one resistor solely on the ground to eliminate this problem please let me know how to do it.

 

Does anyone know if the newer plug and play led taillight bulbs can cause voltage issues if the dash light icon comes up every time you brake?

It may sound crazy but I think it may have tripped my airbag light.

 

One of our vendors has complete page for YOUR car. Best LED's out there. They have bulbs that don't cause issues and have LED flashers.

https://www.diodedynamics.com/by-vehicle.html?no_cache=1&find=2001-nissan-maxima-155472

 

How did you connect the resistors? There's 3 cables behind the light bulb... sorry I'm a newbie..

 

Yeah I tried one adapter per side and still couldn’t get it to work even with a second pair of led bulbs from Amazon. I ended up ordering from diode direct even though they were $50 for the cheapest pair (insane) and is as much as both sets of Amazon bulbs and the relay sets. Aw well...they’re on the way and I’ll post how they work out.

 

any luck yet?

 

I was using these load balancers

SYLVANIA Load Equalizer, (Pack of 2)
You would technically need 2 boxes (4 total) one for each brake wire and one for each light wire. I only got one side to work since the local autozone only had one box. You can search YouTube for how to vids if need be. Should take you 30 minutes-1hour total if you’re good at wiring. I used a mechanical wire stripper like this one

Wire Cutter and Stripper, for 8-20 AWG Solid and 10-22 AWG Stranded Electrical Wire Klein Tools 11063W
and “t tapped and wrapped” the balancer wires and using a pick and electrical tape while using self tapping screws to mount the heat syncs to metal which do get very hot.

If that’s too daunting, I ordered the $50 bulb set today suggested in an earlier thread through Diode Dynamics and will comment hopefully due to shipping this weekend based on the results.

 

The diode dynamic bulbs don’t work at all... I paid $50 for those pos, they look worse than than a pair of $10 Amazon bulbs, and aren’t nearly as bright...waste of money. Garbage company would even refund insane shipping costs either when it specifically states on package “do not need balancers, plug and play.”