I have been searching the forums to find an LED bulb replacing the 1157 bulbs in my 1950 ford panel truck. I finally found this at www://superbrightleds.com:

QTY DESCRIPTION PRICE AMOUNT
4 1157-x19-xV:1157 LED Bulb - Dual Intensity 19 LED - 1157-R19-6V:Red 15 Degree 6VDC 7.95

I just ordered them but can't report on how they work yet. I have used other LED products from this company and have been very satisfied with their quality and service. With the 15 degree beam angle, they should work perfectly for truck taillight application. You would want to order the LED color based on your lens color.

They also sell load resistors (6 ohm 5 watt) to wire across each bulb to make the thermal flashers work properly. I did not order them, I will get them from Radio Shack, or will change my flashers to be digital, not thermal.

 

Go with the electronic flasher for sure, 30 second install and never deal with it again.

 

Because I'm running LEDs in the back and two sets of filament bulbs in the front, I have enough resistance in the circuit for the LEDs to work with a standard flasher.

But I'm told they don't work if you don't have some resistance in the flasher circuit.

 

I tried to get the 6v LED bulbs to work in my 52 Panel, but wasn't successful. Not sure what I was doing wrong.

Maybe a detailed "how to" would be possible when you install your bulbs.

 

I remember seeing a reference on FTE for a 6 volt LED flasher, but all I can find online are 12 volt.

Does anyone remember who has the 6 volt LED flasher?

 

OOPS!.

Don't order these LLED bulbs based on my earlier post. When I posted this original message I wasn't thinking about my specific application. I just sent a technical query to SuperBrightLeds, asking if these will work on POSITIVE GROUND systems or not, because my truck is 6 volt positive ground of course. With incandescent bulbs or halogen, it doesn't matter the polarity, plus or minus, they will light up either way. With LED's they are made to conduct only in one direction, when they light up. When the are "reverse biased" (meaning positive and negative are reversed) they block the flow of voltage and nothing happens.

If the tail lights had individual wires to the bulb socket it would be easy to reverse the wires on the socket to make them work. But in our case the truck chassis provides the "positive" 6 volts. so I need to think this through better.

The manufacturer could easily make these LED bulbs wired for positive ground, but I am not sure if these bulbs I ordered are wired that way. I will post more when I hear back from SuperBrightLED's.

 

Found on the SuperBright LED website that their LED replacements for 1157 and 1156 taillight / turn signal bulbs in 6 volt are not polarity sensitive, and will work with either positive or negative ground systems.

The proof will be when I get them and doe the installation.

JW

 

Can you post the link to these bulbs for future reference?

 

Here is the link to the ones I just ordered from Superbrightleds.com:

1157 LED Bulb - Dual Intensity 19 LED | LED Replacement Bulbs for Cars | 12v | Super Bright LEDs | Super Bright LEDs

When you are looking at these, bear in mind that there are other choices on that website for replacing 1157 bulbs, some may be much brighter (more LED's, more expensive). This link shows what I ordered: 6 Volt, Red, 15 deg. beam angle, etc..

According to the website, these are not polarity dependent. In other words they are made specifically for old vehicles and will work on 6V positive ground or 6V negative ground. Probably the same for 12 VDC systems. They also have electronic flashers that will work with LED's (look under accessories).

Make sure that you order the LED color that's the same as your lens color. If you order white (clear) LED's behind a red lens, most of the light in the red spectrum is going to be blocked out.

When you select these, be careful about voltage, then select beam angle and color. Some beam angles are not available in some colors. My logic is: A narrow 15 degree beam angle would be best for a rear light. For a front turn signal, a wider angle is better if you can get it. I ordered 6 volt amber 100 degree beam angle replacement bulbs for #1157 for my front turn signal / running lights because they have an amber glass lenses. The actual incandescent bulb in my trucks front lights are #1158, but I think they are similar to #1157 (I hope). If those don't work I can always put in halogen.

Good Luck, I hope his helps someone.

Joe W

 

Do they have 6v electronic flasher for their 6v LED bulbs? I bought bulbs from them to replace the tail light bulbs and front marker light bulbs, but when I tried, nothing happened. I'll have to dig out the bulbs from storage.

I'd be really interested in your results after installation in your truck. A write up, with photos, if possible, would be a great reference for future users.

Thanks for posting updates so far.

 

Hi All,

UPS expects to deliver the LED'S that I ordered tomorrow. So by this weekend I should have an update to report. Since I don't have a LED flasher for 6 volt, and con't find one to order, I may try the 12V one to see if it will work.

Expect an update in a few days.

Joe W

 

Once again, I'll say that I have working LED taillight/turn signals. That's all I am running in the back. I am using the standard 6 volt flasher. I also got my bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs.com.

Mine work because I have converted the park lights to also be turn signals AND I have lights on the front bumper used as park lights and turn signals. Maybe that's overkill, but my brake lights, park lights and turn signals all work. All the front lights are filament bulbs, adding resistance to the flasher circuit.

I did it this way because I couldn't find a 6 volt LED flasher and my taillights were too dim. I don't know if it would work if I removed the bumper lights.

 

Jolly Roger Joe,

I put the LED 1157 tail lights from SuperBrightleds in today, and they are working great (very bright). I tried one of the amber 1157 LED bulbs in the front (running light / turn signal). It's not going to work because the socket has the pins straight across rather than offset, and the 1157 LED bulb has offset pins. The incandescent bulbs in front are 1158. I found some "Super Bright" incandescent 1158 bulbs on Sacramento Vintage Ford Parts, Inc. • 888-Ford-100 (part number Super Brite T/L Bulb 6 volt 33-37). Users report they are "Twice as bright as any LED or Incandescent or Halogen bulb". Ay $3.95 each plus shipping I figured I could give them a try. My front light lenses are glass and I think they can take the heat. My old flasher is working OK because as you mentioned, I still have the incandescents in front and they are providing enough current to make the flasher work.

I noticed my rear brake lights are not working, so now I have to check the switch in the brake master cylinder to see if it has crapped out. It's always something.

 

That sounds like a great plan! Let us know when everything's working.

 

I finished with the exterior bulb replacements and wanted to post my results for those interested. My main concern was having bulbs (parking, turn signals, brake lights etc.) as bright as I could get them for safety. I don't plan to compete with my truck (it's a driver) so the upgrades won't cost me any points in competition.

I replaced the rear 1157 (tail light, turn signal, brake light) with the SuperBright LED bulbs that I mentioned earlier. They are brighter than the 1157 bulbs that they replaced. Brighter in all functions (both elements individually and together).

I decided to not use LED bulbs in the front parking lights and turn signals. The ones in the front of my truck were #1158, dual filament with the pins directly opposite each other, unlike the 1157 which have the pins offset. My reasoning was that if I went with 100% LEDs I would either have to buy a digital flasher made for LED's or add resistors to get enough current to make the turn signals flash. I found it impossible to find a digital flasher made for 6 volt positive ground. Maybe someone else has found one, but I gave up looking.

I found some incandescent replacements for the front 1158 bulbs on wwww.vintageford.com in Saramento. These are "Super Bright" incandescent bulbs that fit right in where the 1158 sockets are. Being the sceptic that I am, I decided to give these a try, but was prepared to be disappointed.

Well I put them in today and they are definitely brighter than what I had in there. I would say maybe 60% to 70% brighter but that is very subjective I know, and was judged in overcast daylight.

The Vintage Ford part number for the 6 volt Super Bright bulbs is 06142-6SB. They also have them in 12 Volt if that's what you need, and they are nice folks to deal with. I am very happy with the performance of these bulbs, and my turn signal flasher still flashes at the right rate.

Speaking of the turn signal flasher, mine didn't make any noise that I could hear so I was driving all over Mayberry with my flashers going. It did click but it sounded like a pocket watch in the sock drawer, and I could not hear it at all. So after I found one online for $30, I decided to add a little $3 Radio Shack buzzer to my $5 flasher, and now it chirps every time the turn signals are on.

If anyone out there wants to know how to do this turn signal buzzer mod, send me a message and I will post it. It's very simple.

Oh, and I found out how to access the fill plug on the brake master cylinder through an access hole in the drivers side floorboard, so I don't have to climb under the truck to check or add brake fluid.

And now... it's Beer Time!