LED Tail light

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chasesa

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I have tried to get a LED tail light bulb to work on my '68 Commando to no effect. The bulb is OK but will not light.

Anyone else have LED tail light experience??
Stephen
 
It has to be connected to right way, flip the wires (if you can) and see if it will light up. Check the documentation and see if it will operate with your electrical system, if your bike is stock, that is POSITIVE ground, most modern electronics and most (read 99.9%) of vehicules use a NEGATIVE ground, if the bulb is a straight screw in replacement bulb, it will not work on a stock Norton.

Jean
 
We sell 1157 LED replacement bulbs on our website but they need white elements pointing down to properly illuminate the license plate. Most LED bulbs only light up red or amber so your plate also gets lit up in a red or amber glow which is not easily seen (or legal). Guess I need to order some of the other kind from someone else...
 
Mr. Fastback what are you saying? Do you have the correct LEDs for the Commando? I am in need of an LED for a 73 which point down. Do you have the correct LED for this application? Also, I understand that some LEDs are bright and some are not. What is the story on that?
 
Yellow_Cad said:
Mr. Fastback what are you saying? Do you have the correct LEDs for the Commando? I am in need of an LED for a 73 which point down. Do you have the correct LED for this application? Also, I understand that some LEDs are bright and some are not. What is the story on that?
Click to expand...

It might be something like this:

http://xchoppers.com/product_info.php?cPath=32_25&products_id=1745

LED Tail light
 
swooshdave said:
Yellow_Cad said:
Mr. Fastback what are you saying? Do you have the correct LEDs for the Commando? I am in need of an LED for a 73 which point down. Do you have the correct LED for this application? Also, I understand that some LEDs are bright and some are not. What is the story on that?
Click to expand...

It might be something like this:

http://xchoppers.com/product_info.php?cPath=32_25&products_id=1745

LED Tail light
Click to expand...

NO.
The LED's that we have do not have elements that face outwards and they are all red or amber elements besides.
For our Lucas tail light / license plate lights we need bulbs with white elemens facing to the sides and red elements facing to the rear. Something like these bulbs:

LED Tail light
 
Mr. Fastback, the bulb you show seems fine for the earlier Commandos with the taillight that has the bulb facing the rear but what about the later models where the bulb fixture has the bulb pointed to the ground? Also, could you please go into a little depth about the brightness in day vs. night. Thanks.
 
Yellow_Cad said:
Mr. Fastback, the bulb you show seems fine for the earlier Commandos with the taillight that has the bulb facing the rear but what about the later models where the bulb fixture has the bulb pointed to the ground? Also, could you please go into a little depth about the brightness in day vs. night. Thanks.
Click to expand...
My '74 Fastback light is the early Lucas configuration. I'm not familiar with the later design. If you Google "1157 LED" and specify you want to see images you'll see a very large variety of bulb styles. Most likely you can find 1 for any application you may have.
This thread I came across on a Honda car blog has good photos and information which demonstrates the daylight LED deficiency: http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2166668
 
I'd be more tempted to use LED such as these.

I think the problem with the "replacement" type LEDs is that they try to replicate the omnidirectional characteristic of an incandescent. That philosophy also relies on the stock reflector, which does not maximize the effectiveness of the LEDs.

LED Tail light


Employing the LEDs in a flat pattern should provide better brightness.
 
swooshdave said:
I'd be more tempted to use LED such as these.

I think the problem with the "replacement" type LEDs is that they try to replicate the omnidirectional characteristic of an incandescent. That philosophy also relies on the stock reflector, which does not maximize the effectiveness of the LEDs.

LED Tail light


Employing the LEDs in a flat pattern should provide better brightness.
Click to expand...

BTW, that is the only one with mention of operation possible on either positive or negative ground, some of the other ones mention polarity protection which means they will not blow up if you connect them backwards, no mention is made of proper operation with reversed polarity.

Use a couple of clips and connect the bulb only directly to the battery, first with the case of the bulb on the negative and one of the contacts on the positive, then reverse the connections. If it only lights with the case connected to the negative terminal, you can't use it on a positive ground system.

Jean
 
swooshdave said:
MrFastback said:
The links provided don't specify price nor do those sites allow you to place an order.
Click to expand...

Nope, quite specifically says to contact British Cycle (this side of the pond) to purchase.
Click to expand...

Yes, and I went there too. There are no provisions to order this conversion nor do they even say how much it costs. Check for yourself: http://www.britishcyclesupply.com/Products/led/LED.htm Maybe I'm missing something but I've read everything I could find there... :?
 
British cycle supply stocks these:
391-53973/A CONVERSION, LED, FOR L679&L917 and goes for approximately $95.00 that is as of last year when I purchased my second unit. No the first one didn’t crap out :lol: I have a more than one Commando. They might have had a price adjustment since but I don’t think it will amount to too much. You have to email BCS to get a price list sent to you. Yes I am happy with this kit. :D
Regards,
CNN
 
I found another supplier for LED tail lights:
http://www.beckelektronika.nl/

I'm afraid so far the site is only in Dutch, so if you want any translation, just let me know.

The mounting is not really sophisticated (plastic tube + small cable tie ) but it works: the whole weights a bit more than nothing. I ordered one this week and got it within 2 days.

Price: 25 € + shipping costs (from the Netherlands to Belgium: 1,54 €)
this is about 35 US$ or 22 £.
 
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