this is what worked for me.
LED Replacement Lighting Thread
- Thread starter ohlarikd
- Start date
Steve M
Enthusiast
Where's a good place to mount them in the rear?
ohlarikd
Enthusiast
If I ever get power back in NJ, I think I have a good place at least in the front...
You can mount them directly to the back of the light housings, below the turn signal socket. I used some sound deadener strips with aluminum face and then double sided tape to mount the resistors to the deadener, this way, you have plenty of air circulation, without direct contact and transfer of heat and you have them out of harms way after liners go back on. The deadener is butyl rubber based so nothing to melt and it sticks real well to plastic. Of course you can pick your own solution.
Steve M
Enthusiast
How hot do these resistors get during operation? Can you check them with an IR thermometer or something?
The same way conventional bulbs get hot. Stop worrying about it too much, conventional bulbs get considerably hotter-without having heat sinks.
Steve M
Enthusiast
The main issue I have with it is that those bulbs are contained in a housing, so they never come in contact with anything. I'd be more concerned that they'd get hot enough to melt double sided tape, letting them flop around, hence my question. Most of the ones I have seen have mounting holes, so I'm a bit apprehensive about mounting them with tape instead.
This was just a suggestion, you can certainly mount them whichever way you think is suitable. I use industrial strength rubber back 3M VHB and never had any issues. If you use cheap tape, you will get what you pay for most of the time.
Steve M
Enthusiast
Thanks for the heads up on the type of tape...I wasn't sure what would hold up to heat. I'm assuming the resistors don't weigh much, but I've never really messed with one. Thinking about making this a winter project.
Yes, there are different types and you have to know what to use. The resistors are light, the heatsinks are aluminum. I would not make it a winter project, hard to stretch a couple of hours worth of work, LOL.
ohlarikd
Enthusiast
I have my resistors mounted in these aluminum enclosures. I have two resistors because they are 3 ohms each and needed 1.5 ohms in parallel. Anyway, they sell single 6-ohm versions with smaller enclosures as well. This may be a little overkill, but I feel better with the added protection.
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As an old car audio guy, a word of advice: you should never do this. What you need is air circulation all around. The best thing you can do is an aluminum base to provide heat transfer and then resistor housings mounted on top of it to provide circulation. Using spacers to elevate the resistors above the aluminum base is a good idea as well. In reality, all of this is overkill considering the on/off nature of turn signals (this is where most of the heat will come from)
ohlarikd
Enthusiast
Understood. But there is more space in there than it looks. The idea here is not to prevent something from overheating (like heat sinks on an amplifier), but to prevent other plastic parts from coming into contact with the hot resistor surfaces and melting. Yes, careful placement can prevent that. I am still leery about these in the front - they will be close to the inner fender shields.
The resistor is always on since it happends to be on the parking lights in this case. For the rear blinkers, they are off 99% of the time and are probably fine mounted with the proper tape.
LOL, k... Sense of security is important. Looks pretty neat and tidy as well.
You may want to consider drilling a few holes in your housing though.ohlarikd
Enthusiast
Holes in the cover is a good idea... This is a kit from VLED, like $6 total. Maybe I will take it to the drill press, but it should come that way with holes.
well, cannot blame a vendor for trying to sell more, LOL. I am surprised they did not offer a cooling fan to go with this. If VLED was serious about cooling, this housing would include some fins to increase the heat sink surface area. If you research audio amplifier designs, heat sink designs are a part of it, easy to apply in other areas.
ohlarikd
Enthusiast
Again, this is only meant to protect plastic from hitting the hot resistors and melting. There are no claims about cooling. The holes were your idea since you think cooling would be compromised. I do not think VLED has had any issue with these and overheating.
"Made of all aluminum, these covers will protect wiring or carpeting from coming into contact with the resistors searing surface. "
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I gotta go back to my fiberglass but LOL at SEARING claims. If resistors got that hot, you would be melting wires as well. Also, aluminum is a great heat conductor, it will conduct heat and get hot, you may be dealing with searing again if their claim is true. Do not fall victim to creative marketing. BTW, you would have to over 300 degrees to start melting the plastic, these resistors will never get that hot.
ohlarikd
Enthusiast
Deleted due to stressed out crappy mood.
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I've been doing car audio for a very long time, electrical stuff is pretty much all the same. BTW, do some checking regarding resistors and temperature relationship. From what I remember, the lower the value of the resistor, the hotter it will get. If you are concerned, get higher power rating resistors. I think your lower resistance will actually generate more heat. I never implied I knew everything, I just know many other people that know a lot regarding electronics and electricity, LOL.
ohlarikd
Enthusiast
So.... With the parking lights OFF, should the front triangle 198 bulb blink with turn signal on?
ohlarikd
Enthusiast
With incandescent 198 bulb and led 3157, all is good. With a LED 198, with parking lights off, the 198 won't light. Tried 1.5, 3, and 6 ohms, no difference. Could be the switchback. Need regular 3157 LED to try.
Maybe I will put 3ohms on each bulb...
Edit: nope. 3 ohm on 198 turns it off. Who knows.
Maybe I will put 3ohms on each bulb...
Edit: nope. 3 ohm on 198 turns it off. Who knows.
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I mentioned to you a while ago your turn signals were not as bright as the parking lights. Parking light is a dim circuit and turn is the bright circuit. Unless my eyes fail me, you have it reversed. Also, check how the 194 socket is wired, look at the colors of wires.
ohlarikd
Enthusiast
Tried other wire combos, none work. The middle wire is constant 12V when parking light is off. 1 outside is ground, and the other outside wire is blinking 12V. You can see the colors that I hooked the resistor to in the photo maybe a page back. I hooked to the outside wires which was ground and blinking 12V. Is this what you did?
Sorry for the short tempered comment before PeterMJ, I was in a crap mood. Deleted it.
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ohlarikd
Enthusiast
Ok... getting some 25 ohm resistors to put across the 198 bulb. Will leave 3 ohm across 3157...
Why? here is an idea for you, hook up in line your current 194 bulb and the LED bulb see if this works, I bet it will work and you will get an idea if your LED bulbs are fully functional. IMO, you should not go beyond 6 Ohm, too much resistance is just as bad as too little. Instead of more resistors, get a socket harness extension to limit hacking into your OEM harness too much.
ohlarikd
Enthusiast
Well I know the bulb itself works. It works in many other scenarios. In this particular setup, it won't light. With a regular bulb, which has a pretty high resistance when lit, everything is fine. So adding a larger load may get the LED to light when the parking lights are off. Nothing seems to behave as expected, I can't help but think the BCM has something to due with this. However, that is pure speculation - in this case, I really don't know.
With a 25 ohm resistor in line, it could fool the BCM. It shouldn't affect the voltage or current going through the LED. However, I would have thought that the 6 ohms would work, but no. Anyway, everything is returnable.
one of my 3157 did not work, it stayed on without flashing, took me a while to figure this out. If you swapped the bulbs, then you know for sure. Did you take a voltmeter and see if you get voltage in the socket when using LED bulb? Also, you cannot change the color of the marker lights anyway, leaving the incandenscent bulbs alone in markers may be a better way.
