Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That's right! They hit full brightness almost instantaneously. Even in a lighting element where the individual LED's aren't exposed/visible, you can tell its an LED lighting element by how quickly it transitions from zero to full brightness.
I find it mildly annoying on cars which have a center high mount stop light with an incandescent bulb, and tail lights with LED's because of the difference in how quickly they light.
I find it mildly annoying on cars which have a center high mount stop light with an incandescent bulb, and tail lights with LED's because of the difference in how quickly they light.
Definitely! I also found it odd that so many makes (especially luxury ones) were going cheap on lighting and using incandescents well after they have become mainstream. I had full rear LED lighting on my 2003 Infiniti G35 while I regularly see E90 BMW's (2004-2012 3 series) without LED taillights. I believe some E60 5 series cars also lacked LED's even though you're paying more than $45k for them.
Even at the worst of the recession, people averaged 11 years before replacing cars. If the LED replacement is that bad they can just move it up a year. LEDs are also "the trend" so I would expect all of the cars to be using them even for headlights within the next year or two.
I'm not advocating against the transition, it's just an observation that as these cars trickle down to the secondary and later markets that can only afford to buy 10-15 year old cars, that years later, repair costs will increase.
10 years was a generalization. I had a taillight fail on my G35 when it was only 5-6 years old and just out of warranty. Did it cause me to get rid of the car? no. I ended up buying a used taillight on Ebay for $200-300+ or so. I did grumble about it however since in the past, I could have just purchased a $4 halogen bulb
I don't see this technology being adapted "across the board" within the next 1-2 years. I can see it spread out over next 10-15 years as costs come down. There are still valid reasons to use halogen bulbs. For one, they are simple and cheap to design, and work well. You need a panel of 50-100 LED's to illuminate what one single halogen bulb can do. halogens work well in reflector housings, while LED's can only be direct projected (at least in taillights and DRLs) therefor you need more of them. The new technology and R&D tends to be subsidized by the higher end models, so it still takes time for that ROI to be paid back and for the tech to be adapted to lower-end models.
But that brings me back to my original point in that as these cars age, they will be available to another segment of the population that can only afford 10-15 year old cars. So while you make the statement that a person would just ditch a car with said issues at that point, I counter by saying that not every person can afford to do that.
there was a problem experienced with LEDs on traffic signals: they didn't produce enough heat to melt ice and show, and thus the signals "froze over" and couldn't be seen. So someone got the bright idea to put small "heaters" in them to melt snow and ice. This negated the cost/expense savings of using LEDs, so they started going back to Incandescent in freezing climates.
Wonder how LED head/taillights do on cars during ice accumulation events? Anyone had any issues there?
there was a problem experienced with LEDs on traffic signals: they didn't produce enough heat to melt ice and show, and thus the signals "froze over" and couldn't be seen. So someone got the bright idea to put small "heaters" in them to melt snow and ice. This negated the cost/expense savings of using LEDs, so they started going back to Incandescent in freezing climates.
Wonder how LED head/taillights do on cars during ice accumulation events? Anyone had any issues there?
My Charger has heated tail lights.
Basically, no, they will not melt the snow off. When leaving for somewhere you would generally brush them off, LED or regular bulb, and the LED's are bright enough to clearly shine through a thin layer of snow/ice that might accumulate while traveling.
If it is snowing so bad that they will get so covered during the travel they will not be visible to other motorists you probably should not be out in the snow.
Honestly, for tail lights, it is not a big issue.
For headlights it may be a different story, since driving through snow accumulates it on the front of the car FAR quicker than aerodynamics will suck it onto the back.
there was a problem experienced with LEDs on traffic signals: they didn't produce enough heat to melt ice and show, and thus the signals "froze over" and couldn't be seen. So someone got the bright idea to put small "heaters" in them to melt snow and ice. This negated the cost/expense savings of using LEDs, so they started going back to Incandescent in freezing climates.
Wonder how LED head/taillights do on cars during ice accumulation events? Anyone had any issues there?
I actually used to install LED traffic lights and do the maintainence on them. Snow wasn't that big of an issue. The LED's do generate some heat, but sometimes they did get snow accumulation. Biggest problem was the yellow lights as they were not on as long as green/red.
We never installed heaters here in MA, and they still run the LED signals. Biggest issue we had was they failed well before the rated lifespan. The LED's last a long time, but the power supplies, and various caps and diodes did not.
I have LED taillights on my Infiniti, and they don't melt the snow. But to be fair, when I had halogen taillights on other cars, they didn't either....at least not well. I still had to get out and brush off the lights.
I have HID headlights now, and snow still accumulates on them. They produce a little heat which just melts the snow directly onto them into ice which the snow then accumulates.
basically...in bad snowstorms I found myself pulling over every once in a while to clear my head and taillights...but I also had to clear the wipers and windows and mirrors...and those are heated too.
Not much you can do in a blizzard. There's just a lot of snow
Even at the worst of the recession, people averaged 11 years before replacing cars. If the LED replacement is that bad they can just move it up a year. LEDs are also "the trend" so I would expect all of the cars to be using them even for headlights within the next year or two.
Was sitting in waiting room of local Chevrolet Cadillac dealership.
Nice senior lady sitting opposite me.
I asked what she was at dealership for.
It was the third brake light. A strip that went across the back of car.
Only one of the multiple red LED bulbs was out. On the third brake light.
Many good answers so far. Here is another. LED illuminates faster than traditional bulbs and when used at the rear of the car for brake lights this translates into warning time for the vehicles behind you.
60 MPH = 88 feet per second
.2 seconds saved (studies vary but this is considered a minimum) over incandescent bulb = 17.6 feet stopping distance
This is true and beyond that the very sudden way LED lights come on IMHO is more attention-getting.
I have put replacement bulb-type LED lights on the old Scirocco, very pleased with the reliability, reduced current draw, and the immediate flash of the brake lights.
Your mileage may vary.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
