LED light bulbs?

[forplay]

I know a lot of Voyager XII riders have changed out some or all of there bulbs to LED. Does anyone have a complete list of the bulbs and numbers and where they bought them. I also have the fork lights at the bottom of the forks. Standard bulbs for those are #53LL from Sylvania. There isn't much room behind the lens so bulb hieght is critical. Any info would be a great help.
Keith

[Mailman Joe]

194a (amber) and 194r (red) replace the front and rear marker light bulbs, autozone carried one color and advance auto carried both in my area. you need to replace the bulb with the led matching the same color as the lens its behind otherwise you'll just get a hot spot of white light shining through the colored lens. it was just as easy as popping out one bulb and popping in the led, but I also cleaned the socket with electronics cleaner and hit it with a little dielectric grease for good measure. i also bought a basic led tail/brake bulb, i think it was of the 8 led variety, there you can pay more for fancier 16 or 24 or 32 led bulbs, bought that off a website to replace the 1157, it was an 1157r . search led bulbs on the net, and compare some stores usually you can find charts to convert to leds. good luck

[Bobby B]

Are there any issues with fast flashing when changing to LED's like happens on many automobiles? Curious and want to learn from others experience.

[jaster]

I bought the amber 115x-45-T ($25 each) from SuperBrightLEDs.com for the turn signals. I picked up some red LEDs from AutoZone ($15/pr.) for the brake lights prior to the turn signals. The AutoZone ones are almost as bright as the stock bulbs. The SuperBrightLEDs are a little brighter than the stock turn signals (I also bought one of their relays - I forget the number but the pin layout was a match).

There may be better ones out there but that's what I'm using at the moment.

[bikerking.biz]

Are there any issues with fast flashing when changing to LED's like happens on many automobiles? Curious and want to learn from others experience.

I find the LED's will flash better with more instant intensity than incandesent bulbs.

[Rhinestone Kawboy]

I know it's been awhile since Keith asked this question, but Lori and I have been replacing some of our incandescent bulbs with LED's from a couple of sources, and can now share our experience with that. I also don't usually mention a company that gives lousy service or the like unless I feel it is extreme and everyone might want to know about it. Such is the case this time. Here's the story:

The last part of February, we purchased several LED bulbs to replace those on both our bikes. We ordered them from Superlumination.com which also seems to go by CTLumination in their emails. We ordered from them because they appeared to have what we wanted at better prices (by far in some cases) than others. We ordered several 1157 red LED's, a couple 1156 amber LED's, 2 1157 amber LED's, along with a G18 small head 15 LED matrix bulb to replace the license plate incandescent bulb, 6 amber T10 194 wedge bulbs, 2 T10 194 in 8K (extreme white) color wedge bulbs, 4 T10 SMT III Red 194 Tower bulbs, and an LED flasher module. The bulbs arrived after about 10 days. I put the 1157 reds in my bike and only the brake circuit would work. I couldn't get the running light circuit to work regardless what I did. The bulbs did come with a "tear drop" shape for the contacts, so I though maybe something there (although it shouldn't have) made a difference. I tried one of the bulbs in Lori's Goldwing, and it seemed to work. I tried two other sockets to correct what I thought was the problem, no difference. I tried the rest of the other bulbs in all three sockets and none would work. I had cut off most of the wire from the stock sockets to allow me to wire in the accessory sockets using the stock plug in. I finally gave up. I then tried all the bulbs that would not work in my bike in Lori's, thought since the one worked there, she would at least have all her's in red LED's. To my surprise, only the one I originally put in her's worked, none of the others would. I tested all my sockets and circuits and they seemed fine, the bulbs would just not work except the one in Lori's bike. I got disgusted and decided it had to be the bulbs and would return those. The G18 small head worked fine for the license plate bulb. The red 194's all worked heading out for the first and second ride. After the second ride two of them had failed. I used 4 amber T10 wedge tower bulbs on my bike. Two of them were for Lori's front side lights, but proved to be too long, and we couldn't use them. After the first short ride, it was noticed that two of the amber T10 194's on my front fender trim was blinking after about a minute or two. Stock bulbs worked fine, but put the LED's back in and after that minute or two would blink.

In the end after only 3 short rides only the license plate bulb and two of the red T10 wedge 194 bulbs remained working. I tested my circuits for proper voltage, ground, and whatever else I could think of- all was normal. I took the bike to a battery specialist to have them independently check my system and describe the problems I was having with the bulbs. They said my system was fine, normal, and was not overcharging, voltage spiking, or anything. I've had it, the bulbs had to be faulty. As a final check, I ordered some 1157-x45-T: 45 HP-LED Bay 15D Tower bulbs from Superbright LED's, and ordered a stock replacement sockets for my trip trunk light (that I had previously chopped for the other sockets) from Carl. When I got the OEM sockets and the Superbright LED's, I held my breath and installed them. They worked! Right off the bat, with the same "tear drop" connection for the leads on the bulb- and have been working great ever since. Suspicions confirmed, the SuperLumination bulbs just had to be faulty. Part of my original order from Superlumination was on backorder, and I decided that if this many of their bulbs were faulty, I didn't want the rest, so cancelled the backordered items. I was charged $1 for cancelling the backordered items, kind of crappy I thought. I then returned all the red 1157's and two of the amber 194's since they were too big for Lori's application. We did receive credit minus 20% restocking charge for those bulbs. I didn't trust those bulbs anymore since so many were faulty. Shortly thereafter, two more of the T10 amber 194 tower bulbs on my bike failed. One completely, the other went dim. By this time two of the red 194's also completely failed. Again, I checked all the connections, and tried the stock bulbs and all was OK. I did order some red WLED-xHP5 bulbs from SuperBright to try, and they worked fine. I again contacted SuperLumination and told them of these further difficulties. They began to give me a long list of things that could cause these problems, and that LED's act differently than stock incandescents. They told my my bike was not right. I told them then, that these bulbs had given problems on two different bikes not just mine. More excuses were given, and they were certain it was our systems. I checked everything they said could cause the problem, and NONE of them was the case. They said that too high of ambient temperature was one, I told them that was not the problem since the 194's would blink after only one or two minutes, and we were not riding anywhere near what could be considered high temperatures. After a few go arounds I asked if we could return them for different tower 194's. The lady told me the bulbs were out of warranty, but they would SELL us replacements for 50% off. I told her I would not spend more money regardless of the discount for bulbs to replace ones that were defective. By the way, the two amber LEDs wedges that were too long and we sent back without using them, they then told me those were defective but they refunded (minus 20% of course) the money anyway for goodwill. I told them if they were defective, then they were when we got them because we didn't even use them since they were too long (the others that I had on my bike were mostly working at that time). Made no difference, we were at an impasse. I tried to work with them the best I could, but that was it. The bulbs we got at SuperBright LED's although the 1157's were almost 3 times as expensive, at least they worked and continue to work.

Therefore, I would have to not recommend buying from Superlumination.

I would recommend ordering off of SuperBright LED's, they were much quicker, were more professional in the paperwork for the orders, and their bulbs worked and keep working.


Sorry for the long post, but wanted everyone to know about this situation.

[SgtSlag]

Thanks for the heads-up! LED's are still in their infancy stage, for automotive, after-market usage. In cars with OEM LED's, I am very impressed with what is rolling down the roadways.

Having to modify the bulb sockets is extreme. If this is necessary, to accommodate new bulbs, I would recommend caution. LED's run much cooler, draw a mere fraction of the current (and power) of incandescent bulbs, and they can be tricky to use because the bike's electrical system is designed for the amperage drawn by incandescent bulbs -- some light failure circuits will trip because they think your bulb has failed -- it isn't drawing enough current.

Some LED vendors sell 'load equalizers', which are circuits that burn/draw the full amperage used by incandescent bulbs... This may fool your bike's electrical circuit, but it is wasting a lot of energy as heat, defeating many of the gains achieved by using LED's!

The advantage of using LED's, however, is significant: a tiny fraction of power is used (typically less than 1 Watt per LED, where an #1157 bulb is rated at 7W/23W!), compared to incandescent bulbs; they are not subject to failure due from normal vibration; they will 'burn' for 50,000 hours, continuously, or longer (lower power, non-automotive LED's, will burn continuously, for 100,000+ hours!). They have incredible potential, but they can be challenging to use.

I am waiting for some 1-inch, bolt-together, C-clamps to mount a pair of white, 3 Watt, water-proof LED's as running/fog lights on my engine guard bars. Originally, I was planning to use some inexpensive, 3 Watt LED flashlights, making modifications as needed. Then I found a vendor, on e-Bay, who sells a self-contained, 3 Watt, white LED, in a nice aluminum mounting, easily adaptable to my purpose. The flashlights have been deposited within the bike's tool kit, and around the house.


LED's are still quite expensive, for auto bulb replacements, but they are getting both brighter, and less expensive. They are maturing, as a product line. I hope to convert my bike's lights to LED's in the next few years, as well. Cheers!

[Rhinestone Kawboy]

Having to modify the bulb sockets is extreme. If this is necessary, to accommodate new bulbs, I would recommend caution.

I agree, I just couldn't believe that many bulbs were faulty however, so tried some other configurations. It wasn't the sockets as the Superbrights proved. As far as tricky to use, the only case is for flashers where you should install an LED flasher and not a load equalizer and light failure circuits which is much less critical anyway because of the much longer LED life. Otherwise, they are just "plug and play".

[debron]

We did receive credit minus 20% restocking charge....

If you paid by credit card, contact your credit card company and dispute the charges. If the lights did not work, warranty or not, they sold you defective merchandise and should refund the entire amount. Charge-backs can be really costly for merchants (they can easily lose their ability to accept credit cards) so this is the fastest and easiest way to get resolution/satisfaction.

[Rhinestone Kawboy]

The problem would be that these were ordered the last of February when it was cold and you couldn't ride. Like I mentioned, they worked when we tried them after installation, but that was only a quick see if they light. Due to cold and rainy weather all spring, by the time we could get a ride and notice the problems it was a month and a half or so later. If we had gotten these and knew they didn't work right away, I would agree with you, but with this time period, I'm afraid that would be a problem on our part, even though we never suspected that they would quit working soon after a slightly longer time period. We had hoped that they would be reasonable, especially after we even forwarded videos of the problems. But they just insisted the problem was with our bikes and not the bulbs which I proved was not the problem. If they would have at least switched for a different bulb that worked and stayed working, I wouldn't have mentioned anything and they would be ok. As it is, I think it is best to drop it, but I was going to let everyone know what kind of company they appear to be.

[SgtSlag]

I don't think it has been too long for you to lodge a complaint with your CC company. Give them a call -- what will it cost you to find out for certain? If they were inexpensive, I would agree that you should let it go, but 1) you paid handsomely for these lights, if they are priced like most LED's for cars/bikes; 2) their customer service stinks like rotting meat... You would be doing the Public a favor by taking this company to task. Your choice, not trying to bend your arm. I just hate to see companies like this get away with such deplorable practices. Cheers, whatever you decide. Again, thanks for sharing with the rest of, though. Much appreciated.

[forplay]

Hey Gary, Do you have the 4 amber fork lights on your bike? If so, what bulb did you use in them?
Keith

[Chris near Kansas City]

Forplay, haven't read all the other posts yet, but I have the 4 fork lights. I put LEDs in them from Superbrightleds.com but did have to shave/grind/sand them down a little so the lenses would still fit. They don't put out as much light as the normal peanut bulb, but that's just the nature of LEDs and not my modification. Didn't really care cause I was mostly concerned about killing some of the electrical draw from the normal bulbs. Oops, gotta go!

[Rhinestone Kawboy]

Hey Gary, Do you have the 4 amber fork lights on your bike? If so, what bulb did you use in them?
Keith

No, Keith, I lost one of those during the Colorado rally from those miserable rough roads we were on. So I removed what was left and now have LED channel strips on to serve as fork lights. Work great, and look different.

[Chris near Kansas City]

Read the rest of the posts. I've had no problems with Superbrightleds.com. Placed several orders with them. I'd have to double check but am 98% sure I used the BA9 light (w/4 LEDs) cause I remember the funky shape when I had to sand them down a bit.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/ ... Fother.htm

[jaster]

We ordered them from Superlumination.com which also seems to go by CTLumination in their emails.

Their site looks identical to :
http://autolumination.com/

I ordered from AutoLumination once and got a set of 1157 bulbs. They worked... mostly. In daylight, it was difficult to see the difference between running & brake lights. Thinking it was just me, I had my wife follow me around town and she confirmed the issue. I took them out but didn't bother returning them.

Since then I have stuck with SupoerBrightLED.com because I've liked most of what I got from them. The one thing I didn't like was returned for the full purchase price. They're one of the few sites that actually give you the details of what you're buying (lumens, power consumption, viewing angle, etc.) which is worth paying extra for. They also carry a flasher relay that works on the bike but I'm sure I could have bought it cheaper somewhere else.

[PapaVoyager]

Thanks for sharing all of this.
I have been considering LED's for a while but I do know it can be a bumpy change if not done correctly.

[David in NW Penna]

Another source for the electronic flasher is your local auto parts stores. Just ask for a Tridon EP-34. It works with either incandescent or LED bulbs. You just have to fabricate a holder for it. I used a short piece of foam pipe insulation and a large zip tie or two. (I can e-mail a picture of my set-up if anybody is interested.) Works great, and it has a crisper flash to it, too. Also on the subject of LED bulb brands, I use mostly Super Bright LED. They also have a 2 year warranty on their products. I just finished converting all of my bulbs to LED's a few weeks ago

[Rhinestone Kawboy]

Here's an update with the remaining lights I still have on my bike from Superlumination (see story above). After less than a year (just a spring and summer actually), the license plate bulb is now flickering badly, and one of the mud flap lights have went bad. These bulbs just don't seem to stand up for a motorcycle- even a smooth touring bike. The bulbs I obtained from Superbright LED's is still going strong.