Halogen tail light bulbs

zozobra · Jun 1, 2007

I'm sure somone has gone down this path before but last weekend I got a NPD catalog for Mustangs at a Mustang car show. They list 1157 halogen bulbs for Mustangs. I can see that might be a reasonable thing for a single tail light but I wonder how they would work for the three bulbs per side setup we have with the CS. I don't know if they require more power and/or generate more heat. Any opinions? I would probably try them if I knew they would not damage anything else.

BroadwayBlue · Jun 1, 2007

zozobra said:
I'm sure somone has gone down this path before but last weekend I got a NPD catalog for Mustangs at a Mustang car show. They list 1157 halogen bulbs for Mustangs. I can see that might be a reasonable thing for a single tail light but I wonder how they would work for the three bulbs per side setup we have with the CS. I don't know if they require more power and/or generate more heat. Any opinions? I would probably try them if I knew they would not damage anything else.

Hi,

Do you mean Halogen or LEDs?

See this thread (Arlie owes us an update if he had any luck over the holiday weekend :wink: )

http://www.californiaspecial.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4817

Mosesatm · Jun 1, 2007

Car is still in the shop. Hopefully today or tomorrow.

BroadwayBlue · Jun 1, 2007

Mosesatm said:
Car is still in the shop. Hopefully today or tomorrow.

I was just bustin' 'em

R

zozobra · Jun 1, 2007

Halogens or LEDs

The bulbs I saw in the NPD catalog recently were listed as Halogens, 500% brighter running lights and 150% brighter brakes lights. That would be great if they don't fry anything.

franklinair · Jun 1, 2007

I just installed the superbright LED's (30LED/1157) in the tail lights. I did not note an appreciable difference from the 1157 incandescent bulbs. They are supposed to draw less current, so that is a plus. I also tried the LED's in the front parking/turn signal lights. They did not work there at all, re-installed the original 1157's.
If you're still interested- www.superbrightleds.com
They cost about $8 ea + shipping.

Neil Hoppe

gt bandit · Jun 1, 2007

i bought the halogens , but they were actually not as bright as the original globes.
Current draw is to high for my harness i think.

shaun

Mosesatm · Jun 2, 2007

I know that I'm beating the below idea into the ground but it's just because I believe in it so much.

If your lights are too dim you may want to consider powering them directly from the battery. Such a change will make a huge difference.

Instead of powering the lights through the headlight switch change the wiring so that when the switch is turned on all it does is activate a relay. The power for the taillights feeds from the battery to the relay, then to the lights. That way it the power to the taillights avoids the juice-sucking headlight switch.

The same can be done with the headlights and foglights. They all magically become super-bright and the switches run much cooler.

PNewitt · Jun 3, 2007

Mosesatm said:
I know that I'm beating the below idea into the ground but it's just because I believe in it so much.

If your lights are too dim you may want to consider powering them directly from the battery. Such a change will make a huge difference.

I'm sure that would work--if one was an auto electrician, but the idea makes me cautious, because that would open a pandora's box of more problems. Most people aren't real auto-electric saavy to do that.

Over the years, I've seen all kinds of "overrides" in electrical wiring for those taillights; mostly ground wires attached here and there.

I firmly believe that by going back to the basics, and retracing the taillight harness, most problems can be fixed properly. To do jumpers, etc, is like sticking bubble gum on a leaky pipe.

Since it's approaching 40 years, we, as owners will need to do some complete rebuilds of various parts of the car--this being one of them. THis means taking the entire taillight harness out, and the reflectors, etc., ALL out of the car, and going over every detail. For instance--if you have only three remaining strands of wire connected to a connector at the dash end of this harness, how will LED or Halogen lights work any better?

If this system worked well in 1968, there is no reason why it can't work well again.

Paul N.

Mosesatm · Jun 3, 2007

PNewitt said:
To do jumpers, etc, is like sticking bubble gum on a leaky pipe.

Paul N.

Paul I'm not talking about jumpers. You're right in that installing jumpers would be beyond idiotic and would be just a patch that would eventually make things worse. I'm talking about relays.

The Mustang headlight switch was designed to power the headlights, parking lights, and 2 tail lights and stop lights. Our cars, and Shelbys, are running all that plus 4 additional tail lights and stop lights. The switch was never designed for that load.

A correctly installed relay takes the load off the switch so it runs cooler and lasts longer, plus the lights are much brighter. Instead of the headlight switch providing power to 6 tail lights it just runs one tiny relay.

It's just better electrical engineering, not voodoo Mississippi engineering, which should be installed by a professional.

franklinair · Jun 3, 2007

I like the idea of a headlight relay to minimize the current flow through the headlight switch. I would imagine that most everyone has had to replace the headlight switch over the past 40 years, and if not, they will eventually. And the switches are not cheap. Availability may also become an issue.
Arlie, have you run such a circuit in your car? If so, I'd love to have the schematic & relay # you used. (an ounce of prevention)
Neil Hoppe

Mosesatm · Jun 3, 2007

Here is a link for the head lights. I'll see what I can find for the tail lights

http://www.midnightdsigns.com/james/headlights.htm

gt bandit · Jun 3, 2007

I reckon your on the money Arlie

How about our resident Auto electrician , providing a schematic ???????? R U out there Steve

rvrtrash · Jun 3, 2007

I could draw up a schematic, but I don't like the idea of cutting wires the way the schematic on the site Arlie found said to do it. If you don't solder the wires correctly, you just created another problem and the same could be said for crimp connectors. I would rather everyone made sure the original system was functioning 100% first. I'm also not excited about people cutting up CS only harnesses. However, I will come up with a general schematic for the tail lights and post it here within the next week and you can make your own decisions on whether to use it.

Steve

rvrtrash · Jun 4, 2007

I've been thinking about it and I need to clarify. If you want to run a relay for just the tail lights and don't mind cutting your harness, you can use the same schematic as on Arlie's link. The wire colors will be different but the concept is the same. If you want to do the brake lights and turn signals also, I would recommend against it. Mechanical relays arc slightly at the moment of contact and again when they break contact. This eventually burns the contact points, causing the contact to fail. The brakes wouldn't be to bad but the turn signals would fail on a regular basis, plus you would have to find a turn signal flasher to match the load of your relays or a relay to match the flasher or they wouldn't work at all right from the start. We're back to the best option--fixing your original system, or going with the LED setup. Let me know though and I'll give you guys what I can.

Steve

gt bandit · Jun 4, 2007

Hmmm

my issue is the brake lights - I bought the Mustang Project kit , but they wont work with the engine running (MSD apparently is at fault )and they were not a lot better than the lamps anyway.

Maybe its my brake switch ??????

Mosesatm · Jun 4, 2007

gt bandit said:
Hmmm

I bought the Mustang Project kit , but they wont work with the engine running

Exactly what happens on my car!!!!!!!

I think it must have something to do with the amount of juice the alternator puts out, then the chips in the lights shut them down for some reason. I went back to bulbs. Then had my shop add the relays to brighten them.

franklinair · Jun 4, 2007

I prefer not to modify the rear light wiring circuit. Installing the LED's in place of the old 1157 bulbs gives good intensity with much less current draw. The headlights draw a LOT of current, and the relay hookup would prevent the higher current flow through the headlight switch.
My plan is to use 6 LED's for the brake/turn signal lamps (already done), and the relay circuit for the headlights. I believe this will solve both potential problem areas.

Neil Hoppe

68gt390 · Jun 4, 2007

gt bandit said:
Hmmm

my issue is the brake lights - I bought the Mustang Project kit , but they wont work with the engine running (MSD apparently is at fault )and they were not a lot better than the lamps anyway.

Maybe its my brake switch ??????

Shaun;
I'm running the Project Mustang LED's, Crane Box, MSD Distributor, Blaster Coil and have had no issues. The problem may well be your brake switch on the brake pedal. I know I had to replace mine because someone in the past put a new switch on and put it in backwards so everytime I used the clutch my brake lights came on and eventually the whole plug broke off. I cut an old plug off an old harness I had and spliced it back in and turned it around and now it works fine.

Don

rvrtrash · Jun 4, 2007

gt bandit said:
Hmmm

my issue is the brake lights - I bought the Mustang Project kit , but they wont work with the engine running (MSD apparently is at fault )and they were not a lot better than the lamps anyway.

Maybe its my brake switch ??????

Without knowing exactly what the issue is, I'll take a stab at it. If your brake lights work with the engine off but not with it on, and you have power brakes, you have a bad brake light switch. You press the pedal harder without the booster working (engine not running, no vacumn) and it's enough to move the contacts in the switch. Less pedal pressure and the contacts won't touch till you bottom out the pedal.

Steve

Halogen tail light bulbs

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