Has anyone tried replacing the 7440 turn signal bulb/s with an LED assembly? I'm looking for something that will provide decent "snap on; snap off" flash without loosing brightness. What say ye all?
(8D

 

First of all, you know once you change the bulb it will flash more rapidly when you turn them on.

 

That only occurs if you don't put a load resistor in parallel with the wires for the turn signal. The quick flashing is the indicator for blown turn signal. An LED has much less electrical draw, so it triggers the blown bulb indicator. I did mine from superbrightleds.com, the 7440 with front and side LEDS also and it works fine (in terms of brightness). Just make sure you get the load resistors too or you'll get the quick flashing.

 

Have you found it makes a difference in the appearance and or operation of the signal? Do they "snap on and snap off" instantly?

 

I have a '99, which is the orange lense and the 7440 bulb is the clear bulb. I don't know if you have the '01+ which was the 7440 amber bulb. Anyway, I got LED taillights for my '99 and they were clear turn signal lenses, so I bought a pair of amber LED bulbs. If you mean "snap on and snap off" meaning installation, the bulb base is the same as a regular 7440. You really just plug them right in like a regular bulb. If you mean "snap on and snap off" as the blinker rate, then it's about doube the speed. Have you ever had a turn signal light blow and the blinking is very fast? It's just like that. It thinks there is a blown blub because LED draw so little current.

You don't need the load resistor, it will just blink fast. I got it because the fast blinking would drive me crazy...

Best of luck.

 

I was referring to the rate of flash on and off. I like the way the LED is crisp on the on and off. Don't like the quickness so have to consider if I want to do all the work to make it a crisp "snap on/off" appearance.

 

Keep in mind, with the load resistors, they heat up as if they were the bulbs, so you can't place them near plastic or they'll melt the plastic. I had to actually mount then on metal between the taillight assembly and the liftgate. I used industrial high temp double-sided tape so it didn't melt. Those things get really really hot if the blinkers are on too long. If you can live with the "quick blink" then skip the resistors, if "crazy" things drive you crazy like they do for me, then you'll need to install the resistors.

 

Does all that justify the difference in appearance?

 

Is there justification for cosmetic surgery when you're 60 years old? It's just to look fresher again... that's all.

For me, the LED taillights I got and the LED bulbs, makes the car just look "newer" and fresher. Plus, I've liked LED lighting since the Cadillac Seville and Acura TL.

 

I may start with the back turn sig 1st. I found one place and they have a flasher replacement too. I wonder if that solves both the flash speed and the "light out" cure? Any suggested sources?

 

not sure if we're allowed to posted external sites, but it was superbrightleds.com

 

Thanks. . . I was just checking the rear turn lamp on my 300 and noted the light doesn't go straight in, it's at about a 30deg angle to horizontal. I'll have to find a lamp that will illuminate all over. Not much room for the resistors either in the back. Is there more room up front?

 

The site I quoted has several different 7440 bulbs, 9 led, 12 led, etc. I got the 15 bulb which has nine forward and six side facing for "full" coverage of the lense area. I did not install any in the front, as I figure unless I'm on a headon collision, no one will really see my front LED lights. I just need the people behind me to admire my RX...

I'll try to get some photos of what I did on back.

 

Here are some pics of my rear. The taillights are LED and the turn signal is also. The reverse light I kept stock as I didn't want to have to yet another set of load resistors for the white LEDs. The top left is taken with no flash and keeping lense open as I hit the open door to illuminate the turn signal. The top right is just with lights on and tail lights on "low', bottom left is the full back with hazards on and camera flash on. I could not get the shutter to hit exactly when the turn signal was on max illumination, but you get idea. Bottom right is the full unit with original 7440 turn signals (this was before LED installed).

Anyway, good luck hunting and installing. I'm not professional, but I was able to install everything (tail lights, turn signal, resistors, etc.) in about an hour and 1/2 or so.

 

I've done a full swap of LED's for incandescents on another vehicle, and what I found is the LED's you can put in a regular bulb's socket don't have anywhere near the brightness and coverage of the lens to be adequate.

Now, for cleranace and 3rd brake light bulbs, they're 'bout perfect, but for turn/brake signals, they are pretty weak-looking.

I wish there were a way to easily adapt the housings to hold a few dozen LED's, as that's what we need, not 12 or 15. Being as LED's are highly directional in light output, the reflector design we have is essentially worthless.

Now the brake/taillights just above this post look good 'cause they're housings made for LED's...at least it looks that way. The turnsignal, though, I'd wager is nearly invisible during the day, especially in bright sun. Look at how it compares to just taillights in the bottom-right pic.

Good pics, BTW. Pics of bulbs at night can be a pain.