cheap LED replacement for cabin bulbs

[bugbitten]

I found these 1141 bulb replacements on ebay for $11 each. They are very bright. The light they give off is much whiter than the incandescent bulb. Whether that's good or bad is up to you. The big difference is in the current draw: 1.42 amps on my digital multimeter for the incandescent; 0.28 amps for the LED! So, having all the interior lamps on, if they're LEDs, equal about the same draw on the battery as one regular bulb. They run much cooler, of course, too, and should last much longer.

Here's the ebay link, which is pretty long: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1156...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19c8b5accf

but if you search for 1156 white 64 led smd bulb you'll find it easily enough.

DARN! I just noticed there's a cheaper "x2" price! Watch for that if you're ordering several. I'll have to email him and see if he'll drop the price.

John

 

[bugbitten]

LEDs in action!

Here's a snap I took the other night, after I'd installed the LEDs in all the interior fixtures. They sure light the place up nicely, I think. I may get scientific and try before and after shots later, keeping the same camera settings. I probably should put some dielectric grease on those sockets anyway.

Sorry I didn't pick up a bit more before the picture!

John

 

[BobM]

Re: LEDs in action!

Awesome post! Thanks for the pic. I have been procrastinating about biting the bullet and going LED. I bought a good LED flash light and lantern for the boat and have been very impressed with them. I just hadn't gotten the right bulb size off the boat. I am going to see if I can get a break if I order six at that price. Then I am going to do the nav lights next.

 

[bugbitten]

Thanks, Bob. These are supposed to be automotive replacements and therefore subject to a lot of vibration, so I'm hoping they'll really hold up nicely in our boats. I actually like the original fixtures and was pleased I could keep them while bringing the lighting up to date.

I've got one more I plan to use in the anchor light fixture, next time I'm up the mast. I already replaced the mast head light with one of those crazy-expensive (for me) Hella combo LED units. I should've save my money and just put one of these cheap LEDs up there, too!

Down below, I still need something additional near the chart table. It currently just has a gooseneck map light that doesn't work all that well and gets very hot. I also wouldn't mind an overhead fixture toward the center of the cabin, but I'm not confident enough about running wiring neatly in the 9.2 to tackle that yet.

John

 

[BobM]

Re: LEDs in action!

I wimped out. I am concerned about corrosion with an open bulb so I thought I would try these. I bought a pair with free shipping for $26. The bulbs are enclosed. I will let all know how they work out. I also bought some LED bulbs for the dash of our 1989 XJS...which has the dimmest lighting on the planet.

http://www.amazon.com/Bayonet-Singl...I4VU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1318474710&sr=8-7

 

[BobM]

Re: LEDs in action!

Mine has a 12v fluorescent over the chart table which works okay. Do you have a small hatch just behind your bulkhead compression post? I have been thinking about some additional ventilation, but for the most part when I am on the mooring the forward hatch lets in plenty of air. I like your small cocktail table mod. I may swipe that idea too. I lucked out and stole a nice large teak cockpit table from a guy on ebay. That gets most of the use on board, but a small table is a tempting addition. Did you do that one yourself? Another tempting application of LEDs is to put some in to light the locker and engine compartment. Perhaps some water proof LED strips like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Weatherproof-...2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1318475136&sr=1-12

I have a small 12V light in the locker now but it is pretty useless. I need something so I can see to close my water intake valve this time of year. It is a pain trying to use a flash light. I suppose I could use a head lamp for that, but the one I have has a burned out center lamp.

 

[Bob McKee]

Re: LEDs in action!

Bob
Installed a 1/4 turn Gate Valve for the water intake, then hooked a SCUBA tank reserve lever pull rod to it. Now I open and close the valve from the access hatch in the starboard side quarter berth area by pulling/pushing the rod. I have also installed a light in the engine compartment that I can turn on thru the same hatch.

 

[bugbitten]

I wimped out. I am concerned about corrosion with an open bulb so I thought I would try these. I bought a pair with free shipping for $26. The bulbs are enclosed. I will let all know how they work out. I also bought some LED bulbs for the dash of our 1989 XJS...which has the dimmest lighting on the planet.

http://www.amazon.com/Bayonet-Singl...I4VU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1318474710&sr=8-7

Did you negotiate that price? I'm seeing $17.15 each, with shipping. I may order one to do a side-by-side. Enclosed is good. Plus I like the warmer light - more Christmas-y!

I should think that, with an XJS, dim dash bulbs would be the least of your worries! I shouldn't throw stones, though, as my '68 SL has none currently while the dash is apart to replace the ventilation levers. They put rubber ones in - instead of the original plastic - back in the late sixties as a safety "improvement," I guess just in case you routinely sat your two year old on the console as you hurtled down the highway. The rubber levers work great for the first thirty years or so, then they disintegrate.

I don't know if I'd have bought the S2 if I'd known one of our primary posters was reckless enough to own an XJS! Don't blame you, though, for wanting to better illuminate that beautiful dash.

John

 

[bugbitten]

Re: LEDs in action!

I do have a small hatch behind the compression post. It helps ventilation a bit, but not greatly. I'd rather have opening ports!

The cocktail table came with the boat. I like it a lot and leave it up. Good thing, too, as I have only been able to find that one table post, so I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to use the massive original one!

I like the idea of more lighting in the locker/engine areas. I have that same dim bulb in the locker and it doesn't seem to illuminate anything I need to see. Best improvement for the locker, though, would be for me to lose some bulk so I'd fit in there better

John

 

[bugbitten]

Bob
Installed a 1/4 turn Gate Valve for the water intake, then hooked a SCUBA tank reserve lever pull rod to it. Now I open and close the valve from the access hatch in the starboard side quarter berth area by pulling/pushing the rod. I have also installed a light in the engine compartment that I can turn on thru the same hatch.

I think we should send you down there to get some pictures of this set up! Sounds very clever, not to mention useful. Hey, maybe I can put some of my old Campagnolo shifter levers to use as gate valve controllers! I've been half tempted to adopt a wiry twelve year old just to get at some of those valves.

John

 

[BobM]

Did you negotiate that price? I'm seeing $17.15 each, with shipping. I may order one to do a side-by-side. Enclosed is good. Plus I like the warmer light - more Christmas-y!

I should think that, with an XJS, dim dash bulbs would be the least of your worries! I shouldn't throw stones, though, as my '68 SL has none currently while the dash is apart to replace the ventilation levers. They put rubber ones in - instead of the original plastic - back in the late sixties as a safety "improvement," I guess just in case you routinely sat your two year old on the console as you hurtled down the highway. The rubber levers work great for the first thirty years or so, then they disintegrate.

I don't know if I'd have bought the S2 if I'd known one of our primary posters was reckless enough to own an XJS! Don't blame you, though, for wanting to better illuminate that beautiful dash.

John

I never learn. I am currently working on my house, the jag, a 73 Charger, a 64 Dart convertible AND the S2!

 

[bugbitten]

I never learn. I am currently working on my house, the jag, a 73 Charger, a 64 Dart convertible AND the S2!

You forgot working with codes compliance! That takes up a lot of my time. Don't have anything as old as the Dart, but I do have another '68 - a 442 convert, which I'm about to return to manifolds from headers. My knuckles are getting too old for this.

Got one of the enclosed LEDs from Amazon you'd opted for. I'll go compare it to the ebayers tonight. I'm betting there's a brightness trade off to get it inside the bulb.

John

 

[Calypso]

I'm awaiting your test results. I might need to get some led bulbs also.

 

[sailor5017]

try this guy I bought from him and hes easy to deal with and has a great product

http://www.marineledscanada.ca/

 

[bugbitten]

try this guy I bought from him and hes easy to deal with and has a great product

http://www.marineledscanada.ca/

Some interesting items, but I don't see any that are a direct replacement for the 1141 bulbs.

John

 

[bugbitten]

I'm awaiting your test results. I might need to get some led bulbs also.

Okay. One of the Amazon enclosed LEDs arrived today and so I trundled over to the boat (all of .75 miles away) and gave it a try. Subjective results: much dimmer than the Ebay non-enclosed bulb. Very cool to the touch. Warmer in color than the Ebay unit, nearly as "golden" as the original.

I'll attach shots I took of my aged hand under each. Surprising results on the exposures: keeping all else the same, the shutter speed on the original bulb was 1/320, on the Amazon bulb, 1/60, on the Ebay bulb, 1/800! I don't know if that makes it twice as bright as the original bulb, but it is noticably brighter than the incandescent and very much brighter than the Amazon bulb.

The Amazon bulb did stay very cool, about 100° F, where the original ran around 160 and the Ebay 170; however, the incandescent couldn't be removed by hand initially, where the Ebay unit cooled much more quickly and had very small areas that read that high, rather than the whole bulb. I would guess it puts out a lot fewer BTUs than the incandescent, but some more than the Amazon bulb. I'll check amperage on the Amazon bulb tomorrow. I'm guessing it's pretty darned low, but then again, the Ebay bulb was already about 1/5th the amps of the incandescent.

I also took a shot of a sheet of white paper. I'll not bother to upload those shots! I did just the Amazon and Ebay LEDs. Got shutter speeds of 1/320 on the former and 1/1600 on the latter. The illumination on the paper looked more even for both bulbs than on the hand shot.

So, I'm still very happy with the ebay bulbs with which I started this thread. BUT, if you favor very dim, romantic lighting that does a good job of hiding age spots, go with the Amazon!

Here's the link to the Amazon bulb:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003TKI4VU

John

 

[Calypso]

I thought led was supposed to run cool??

 

[bugbitten]

I thought led was supposed to run cool??

Subjectively, it's much cooler than the incandescent; however, when I measured the surface temp with one of those IR thermometers, it actually read a bit higher. I don't think they actually throw out nearly as much heat as the incandescents do, but the more-concentrated points of light do, apparently, get pretty hot. I had no trouble getting the bulb out while it was still burning, where that was not something you'd want to do with the original bulb.

Since I've always been a Consumer Reports tester wannabee, I may try putting each bulb in a small, closed box and see how hot it gets in there after 30 minutes. I'm betting the incandescent will get much toastier.

John

 

[BobM]

Nice

You forgot working with codes compliance! That takes up a lot of my time. Don't have anything as old as the Dart, but I do have another '68 - a 442 convert, which I'm about to return to manifolds from headers. My knuckles are getting too old for this.

Got one of the enclosed LEDs from Amazon you'd opted for. I'll go compare it to the ebayers tonight. I'm betting there's a brightness trade off to get it inside the bulb.

John

I am still a 442 guy at heart to some extent. Had a 76 for my first car, a 64 Cutlass hard top and a 77 442 (regretted selling the 76, but knew it got totaled by a subsequent owner). Lately I have been into 68's. Nice rides.

My Great Aunt had the Dart and I didn't buy a 73 Challenger I should have years ago. I was drooling over the new ones and my Wife told me to save some money and buy an old one. Prices on old Challys are ridiculous so I went with the Charger due to same interior, drivetrain and its options (factory sunroof, console shift, power windows and AC).

I have been debating headers, but seem like more trouble than they are worth. They have all kinds of things to deal with loose bolts now, but ground clearance is an issue in my driveway. Thought about shorties, but not much of a gain to be had there.

 

[BobM]

Thanks for the demo!

My Amazon bulbs just arrived yesterday. I like the fact that the bulb is enclosed from a corrosion perspective as TP is in Boston Harbor. The color of the light looks perfect. Doesn't sound like they are all that bright though. Shouldn't be a big problem. I was thinking about it and for the most part I concluded it to be a trade off...slightly dimmer bulbs but I will be willing to turn more fixtures on versus being paranoid and limiting the number of incandescents I turn on due to power drain. I only bought two just in case they weren't bright enough. The price is good so I felt it worth the risk.

I just bought four of the ebay bulbs too. I may try some in the 73 Charger's tail lights just for fun.