Let there be light (Review of Fellman SMD/LED lamps)

[Jeffrey Fellman]

I am going t let this one cook for a while and then explain how SMD lighting works differently than H4 halogen bulbs.

[John Hearn]

Jeffrey wrote.....


"I am going to let this one cook for a while and then explain how SMD lighting works differently than H4 halogen bulbs."

Me too, I guess they use a different type of electricity.....? Just going to put my pan on simmer......

KTF, It's not rocket science
John

[M Penta]

I am happy with my SMD's, definitely a big improvement but still want to add some "projector" driving lights. I may take a stab at building my own if I can find some period correct (looking) lights to work with.

The SMD's are nice though, no regrets.

[Guy Mackenzie]

All, I purchased a set of SMD 12V headlights for my son's (poor man's Porsche) '62 VW Bug.
Last night I had the chance to install them, installed one first and went to see how much brighter it was, turned the lights on and worked great, went to the high beam and it does not work. Swapped it for the other SMD headlight, and same thing happen.
So I replaced the other side, thinking that might help.
When both SMD headlights are installed, and I turn the headlights on, I get a quick flash from the headlights, but they will not stay on, neither on low or high beam.
The Bug has been converted to 12V and has a new wiring harness.
The lights that where on the bug are sealed beam non-halogen head lights and were very dim, but worked fine both on low and high beam.
I have contacted the supplier, and they have been very responsive and helpful. They said to check all the power supplies, grounding and connection to the lights.
Any other thoughts from anyone here?
Thanks

[John Weyand]

If you have access to a volt/ohm meter, check the voltage at the light plug. Whenever there is a strange electrical issue start with the ground. (My dad was a car radio repairman all his working life.)

[Sebastian Gaeta]

Any other thoughts from anyone here?

Make sure that the wires in the headlight connector are installed where they are supposed to be. With a sealed beam it does not matter where power or ground is plugged into the connector, with the SMD's it does matter. I had the same issue with my cab and that's what fixed it.

[David Jones]

Figure out which connection is ground first by testing each connection in turn on the bench with jumper wires. Once you know which of the connections to the light is ground you can then pick either of the two left to connect and see which one is high and low beam. From there it is just a simple case of picking the live wire when on low or high beam as selected on the car to connect up. LED lights are dependent on polarity to work as Sebastian found out.

[Guy Mackenzie]

Got them working. Thanks to all that replied, specially to Sebastian, it was exactly that, the polarities where reversed. Thank you.

[Thom Fitzpatrick]

I bought two sets - one for my '63 Type III Karmann Ghia and one for my '56 VW single cab. Haven't installed them in the single cab yet.

[Thom Fitzpatrick]

Finally got them installed in the '56 single cab

[Paul Ahnell]

I offer SMD dash lights which work fine. What people are talking about is that the flasher relay i supply for free with the purchase of a set of Brake/Turn signal/Parking lights in SMD grounds through the filament of the indicator bulb in the dash. Since these draw almost no current they do not draw enough to make the indicator light glow. The turn signal flasher works fine but the indicator light in the dash will no longer be visible. This has no effect on using our SMD dash lights in the regular application. Bosch does make a flasher that retains the dash indicator function which is available from most of the regular vendors. I think they are about $60-$70.

Jeffrey: I have your headlights and parking/brake/turn signal lights installed in my 6V '60 coupe for a couple of years now and am very pleased with the visuals. Not so happy with the fact that I often find myself cruising down the hwy with a turn signal light blinking, looking like the really old folks (I represent that description) we make fun of because I don't have a dash light flashing as a reminder to turn them off.
1. A while back you said you were working on a fix. Any progress?
2. Does the Bosch unit you mention above provide enough juice for a blinking turn signal indicator on the dash? If so, can you give me a better description of the flasher and/or a part #.
3. Does the Bosch unit simply replace the flasher you provided with the parking/brake/signal lights kit?

Great product but working turn signal indicator lights on the dash would really put a bow on the system. Thanks for your reply.

[Paul Ahnell]

Jeffrey: A crucial follow up question I should have asked: If I install your SMD dash lights would the blinker indicator lights work with your original flasher unit?

[Charles H Jacobus]

I replaced the difficult to see blinker light with the SMD lights and now I can see them just fine. I would like to have them a little louder, but I no longer find myself noticing a mile later that I didn't turn the signal off.

ChuckJ

[David Jones]

Paul, I used this electronic flasher because it does not rely on the mechanical/analog need to heat a bimetallic wire to break the circuit which will not happen with the low LED current. I had to modify the wiring because it does not have a separate circuit to trigger the dash light. I just hooked the dash indicator light up in parallel to the front light bulb. Beware that some of the supposed electronic flashers advertised are not really electronic just updated versions of the originals.
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/Detai ... 1953185BWW

[Dave Wildrick]

I don't know about the Wolfsburg West unit that David Jones describes (which appears to be a great value), but the one I put in both of my C coupes is a Hella unit I bought from Zim's over 5 years ago for $40-$50, which looks like the one Sierra Madre is currently selling for $50:
http://www.sierramadrecollection.com/35 ... 31449.html
This one makes a very audible clicking sound in addition to easily flashing the dash signal light.
I also have Fellman's SMD headlights and his front turn signal lights installed on both cars. I have CuLayer rear signal lights on both, as well.

As David mentions, you really need an electronic flasher when using these low energy LED lighting systems instead of incandescent bulbs.