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LED taillights?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Atoyot, Jan 3, 2004.

  1. Atoyot

    Atoyot New Member

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    Are the tail lights LED? If so, cool, if not, why? This is Toyota's technology platform car, so I would think that they should be LED. Thanks for the info.

    8) Atoyot 8)
     
    #1 Atoyot, Jan 3, 2004
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    The Brake lights are LED, not the tail lights or reverse lights.

    I don't know why that combo was chosen.
     
    #2 efusco, Jan 3, 2004
  3. Atoyot

    Atoyot New Member

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    Weird....I guess this thread will have to move over to the modifications board so we can see if anyone is planning on putting in LED tail lights.

    It makes sense that the brake lights are LED since they are quicker than a regular bulb to illuminate.

    :p Atoyot :p
     
    #3 Atoyot, Jan 3, 2004
  4. newts

    newts New Member

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    This is listed as a replacement for the Classic Prius: http://www.eautoworks.com/html/ORD-1-1-1-4660.cfm I was thinking the same thing about the lights and noticed they were normal bulbs. I didn't notice the brake lights. I'll probably get these (or similar) when my #9 arrives (if it ever does).

    jv
     
    #4 newts, Feb 4, 2004
  5. tdonoughue

    tdonoughue New Member

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    I used these lights for a time on my '02. I was not satisfied with them. They were not bright enough. I had people being kind enough to stop me at lights, etc. telling me that my tail lights were out.

    A word to the wise: try just one first...
     
    #5 tdonoughue, Feb 4, 2004
  6. newts

    newts New Member

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    Is anyone using LED taillights in an 04? I would like to get some but I would like to get a positive referal first...

    thanks,

    jv
     
    #6 newts, Apr 17, 2004
  7. plusaf

    plusaf plusaf

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    yeah, i did a lot of research, and some buying, of LED lights for prevous cars (no, that's not a model of Hyundai... :) )....

    most LED lamps shine out in one direction: on-axis, or "backwards", as relative to the car.

    however, many lamp holders and reflectors in modern cars are designed for "point source" lamps, and catch and reflect or refract light emanating from a filament in all directions. LED lights that don't have lots of individual LED bulbs pointed in many directions won't work very well at all, and it takes a LOT of LED power to even replace a reasonably good pair of backup lights.

    try https://www.ledtronics.com/ds/aut3157/default.asp LEDtronics' page to see some "bulbs" that have LEDs pointed in various directions.
     
    #7 plusaf, Apr 19, 2004
  8. Areometer

    Areometer Silver Business Sponsor

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    More on '05 Tail Lights

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco\";p=\"1116)</div>
    Sorry that I dig this old thread up, but Evan, what did you mean by the Brake Lights being LED? Do you mean the thin 3rd brake light that is on the rear spoiler?

    All the bulbs inside the tail light assembly are of the 168 & 7440 types (ie: incandescent), right? The upper 6 "LED-like" dots are all reflections of one 7440 bulb, am I right? Thanks.
     
    #8 Areometer, Dec 17, 2004
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    The 6 dots I believe are LEDs. Check them against the one in the spoiler. If they light up at the same time, they're LEDs, else they're the regular bulbs.

    Also, isn't Luxeon working on an LED bulb bright enough to replace a regular bulb one a one-to-one basis?

    That's why Audi showcased the A8 6.0W12 with LED headlights
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Dec 17, 2004
  10. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    brake lights are integeral with the TL assy and are LED's, seen them close up after a crash.
     
    #10 Frank Hudon, Dec 18, 2004
  11. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

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    Re: Luxeon LED taillights?

    >Tideland Prius

    > Also, isn't Luxeon working on an LED bulb bright
    > enough to replace a regular bulb one a one-to-one basis?

    I believe the one watt Luxeon puts out about 23 lumens, probably enough for marker lights. However, the Luxeon people strongly recommend you install a current limiting device between it and your car. LEDs have about a 100,000 hour life expectancy so they could last as long as the car. They also use about one tenth the electricity of an incandescent bulb, which is nice when you have that pathetic little Toyota 12 volt battery.

    Problem is that it also puts out enough heat to melt itself and the lense housing too unless it has a good heat sink. You can get something called "thermal runaway", which is why they want that current limiter in there.

    For the adventurous, Luxeon also has three and five watt models...
     
    #11 kenmce, Dec 25, 2004
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