Changing Tail/Stop and Turn Indicator Bulbs to Halogen Units
05-27-2014, 07:42 AM
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Changing Tail/Stop and Turn Indicator Bulbs to Halogen Units
Greetings to the TT Mark I forum--have not been on for a while (been working more on other
project car, '66 Chevy Impala SS convertible....)
Have been somewhat obsessed with my car's lighting--changed all interior
bulbs to LED in the last few years, but have been less successful with the exterior bulbs. Was able to convert the license plate, rear side marker, front side marker/repeater and front parking lights to LED, but have given up on the rear tail/parking and front turn indicator lights, for various reasons.
So, the next best solution to increase the brightness of the latter is to convert to halogen
incandescent units (which I have put in certain locations in the Impala....) The stock bulbs (7528 and 7506) are slightly lower power versions of the standard domestic 1157 and 1156 units (with the same types of bases)--21/5 and 21W vs. 27/8 and 27W respectively.
The question is whether the car's electrical system can handle the higher wattage and amperage of the halogen bulbs--50/15W and 15 amps for the 1157 and 50W/4 amps for the
1156. Also, have not worked on these lights for a while (and thus have not seen the sockets) but the halogen bulbs are not supposed to be used with 'plastic sockets'.
Any/all guidance on this issue would be most appreciated !
Regards,
Alan Shapiro
Sterling, VA
project car, '66 Chevy Impala SS convertible....)
Have been somewhat obsessed with my car's lighting--changed all interior
bulbs to LED in the last few years, but have been less successful with the exterior bulbs. Was able to convert the license plate, rear side marker, front side marker/repeater and front parking lights to LED, but have given up on the rear tail/parking and front turn indicator lights, for various reasons.
So, the next best solution to increase the brightness of the latter is to convert to halogen
incandescent units (which I have put in certain locations in the Impala....) The stock bulbs (7528 and 7506) are slightly lower power versions of the standard domestic 1157 and 1156 units (with the same types of bases)--21/5 and 21W vs. 27/8 and 27W respectively.
The question is whether the car's electrical system can handle the higher wattage and amperage of the halogen bulbs--50/15W and 15 amps for the 1157 and 50W/4 amps for the
1156. Also, have not worked on these lights for a while (and thus have not seen the sockets) but the halogen bulbs are not supposed to be used with 'plastic sockets'.
Any/all guidance on this issue would be most appreciated !
Regards,
Alan Shapiro
Sterling, VA
05-30-2014, 05:29 AM
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Saw lots of views, but no replies, so I did a bit a research on the Net and looked at my Bentley manual for more info. Did not pull my rear tail light housing out to look at the actual bulb holder assembly, but it seems that the bulbs are not in contact with any plastic
(as opposed to, eg, the front parking light socket). That was the good news.
The bad news is that the lighting circuits are not rated for the amount of amps that those
halogen 1157 bulbs pull (4 amps per bulb). The rear turn signals have a 10 amp fuse, but would have 16 amps going through it. The brake/tail lights have 5 amps per side, but would have 8 amps going through each one. (The stock 7528--P21/5W bulbs only pull about 1.9 amps each). So, the swap out is not going to happen....This is a bummer, because the
halogen bulbs are 3 times brighter on the high wattage filament (brake light or turn signal), and 9 TIMES brighter on the low wattage filament (park light).
(as opposed to, eg, the front parking light socket). That was the good news.
The bad news is that the lighting circuits are not rated for the amount of amps that those
halogen 1157 bulbs pull (4 amps per bulb). The rear turn signals have a 10 amp fuse, but would have 16 amps going through it. The brake/tail lights have 5 amps per side, but would have 8 amps going through each one. (The stock 7528--P21/5W bulbs only pull about 1.9 amps each). So, the swap out is not going to happen....This is a bummer, because the
halogen bulbs are 3 times brighter on the high wattage filament (brake light or turn signal), and 9 TIMES brighter on the low wattage filament (park light).
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