Okay, I got my leds today, and put them in, and no drl's just like stated above, which I'm okay with. Turn on the headlights and they are white, which is good. Use turn signal and nothing.

So where is the turn signal fuse, and who carries one that will make this work? I got over anxious and ordered these when I probably should have been a little more patient and waited for the right answer to be posted.

Thanks guys.

 

Any luck with the blinkers? I'm looking into going the LED route for my front turn signals.

 

I'm assuming you are referring to the flasher unit? There will be two you have to replace under the drivers side knee panel under the steering column. The one is for the turn signals and is located to the right of the steering column towards the dash. These are typically shiny aluminum and maybe the size of a golf ball. You will know it when you see it. Pretty much unplug it and plug in the new electronic EL12 flasher. You can find these at most auto stores but make sure its an electronic version.

The other one is for the hazards and is tougher to locate but its to the left of the steering column maybe 6-10 inches from the column. Took me a few times to find that one but finally did.

 

This thread was resurrected from the dead... the thread "How To: Trans Am DRL Switchbacks" (from May) has several posts from The Alchemist stating that he had working switchbacks... so presumably he ironed out whatever problem he was having at the time of this thread (March).

https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...itchbacks.html

At any rate, looking through the old threads various problems seem to have cropped up, but certain LED's seem to work fine.

From Autolumination, people have had no problems with the 48SMT switchback which is only available in Amber-White configuration. Their 60SMT switchback is available in Amber-White or Amber-Off... I am not completely sure which versions the guys blowing their 60SMT switchbacks in the other threads used... in the one I mentioned above the OP used the AW ones.

As far as the VLed ones, it would appear the Type 2 (AO) 60SMT model has worked fine, whereas the Type 1 (AW) would not light as a DRL, but functioned as a parking light and turn signal.

I had been looking over old threads as we had gotten a lot of rain and I managed to blow up both turn signal bulbs on Friday as my original DRL housings had developed cracks and each housing was nearly halfway filled with water. I had been looking for possible LED bulbs to use in new housings when I get them... but stumbled upon these switchbacks, which are neat but if they are more likely to fail I will just stick with bulbs or go with regular amber replacements.

Anybody use any amber LED 3157 replacements that are near the brightness of the stock bulbs?

 

I think if you PM Alchemist you will find he does not have any working led drls.....as for 3157 leds that work like stock amber ones, I bought some white leds for mine and they work fine for regular blinkers in white, they do not have any in amber yet. These are the regular 3157 white leds made for GM DRL equipped cars: V-LEDS HID 6K WHITE 60 M-SMT GM DRL/PARKING/BACK-UP BULBS 3156 3157 4157 4057 4114

BTW I have these in switchback that I bought for $55 plus shipping I will sell them to you for $35 used for about 2 days max. http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/T...68713-1-2.html

 

Here's my update. I had gotten 60led switchbacks from vleds and thought everthing was fine. After less than 10-15 hours 'on-time' the turn signals no longer worked, the amber side of the light. The while leds still worked, but now ambers. I removed them and they actually rattle, so something inside of the housing is broken.


I am going to exchange them for just plain ole white LED flashers and call it a day.

 

Hmmm that sucks.

VLed's has the white DRL LED's that at least one of the forum members here has. I suppose they have been working out. I don't know if anyone has been running any amber ones though. I think I like amber more with SOM.

 

I've had zero issues (knock on wood) with the 48's from autolumination along with the electronic flasher and LED protectors. The 60's didn't last a day with my car but the 48's have held up just fine.

 

Well, I'm going to exchange the switchbacks I have for just plain white led flashers from VLED's. If they work, great, if not, it's off to auotluminations for me.

 

I just installed a set of 48-LED SMTs from Autolumination. I also swapped both flashers for EL12s. Lights work great and look fantastic! I'll report back any issues as they pop up.

I also changed the sockets and DRL housings, so no more blown fuses!

Now I have to do something about those dull headlights and foglights...

 

Are they as bright in the day time as a regular bulb?

 

Sure are. I had my doubts about LEDs, but after some research multiple LED towers will make up for the difference in light output.

48 do the trick just fine.

 

Okay, so it's been about a week and one of the bulbs is now bad: the amber bulbs refuse to come on.

After talking with Autolumination people, they said that normally LED bulbs don't normally need protector, but DRLs do. They gladly offered to take the bad bulb back and replace it.

Next time I'll just spend the extra $4 on the protectors. I need to stop being cheap...

 

What is this protector you speak of? I just got some new housings and wanted to put some switchbacks in. But it looks like it may be more trouble and money than it's worth.

 

Here's the email exchange I had with the Autolumination representative. Hopefully it answers your question:

"If you have an led flasher, then you should not need the equalizers if the signals were functioning properly. That said, because you are using them in a GM DRL/signal light, you need to add led protectors to them. There are several causes of voltage related failures on leds. Some vehicles chronically cause premature led failures. This is normally related to excess voltage, voltage spikes, high levels of AC current being generated from the alternator, or excessive ambient heat. While glass bulbs are slow to react to rapid surges, leds can be destroyed in milliseconds from a sudden spike or chronic high voltage, or excessive AC current from an alternator that has one or more burned out diodes. Additionally, led bulbs should only be used in areas where the ambient temperature is less than 150F.

If the bulbs are being used in DRL positions, especially GM DRL's, we highly recommend using only our patented 30 led SMT, 20 led tower II or 48 led SMT bulbs in combination with an led protector. If these precautions are not taken, the leds will fail prematurely in most DRL applications.

If the bulbs are being used in gauges with a dimmer, always set the dimmer to 80% or less. This minor adjustment will make the leds last ten times as long in some vehicles with chronic voltage issues.

If the bulbs are being used in an application with no dimmer, we have a new led protector that can be spliced into the + wire to protect against minor voltage surges. These work great in vehicles that have high voltage, or are prone to voltage surges. They can also help protect the leds from:

1. Switching on the ignition & starting the engine.
2. Changing or disconnecting the battery.
3. Charging the battery with an auxiliary battery charger, or revving the engine hard with a weak or dead battery.
4. Using jumper cables.

These are +$1.99 each, and can be purchased from the Load Equalizer page here :

http://autolumination.com/equalizers.htm http://superlumination.com/images/au...otector_wm.jpg

You can return the bad switchback, and I will replace it. You will need to add the led protectors."

 

Very interesting. I went ahead and ordered the 48 SMT switchback with a protector. I just ordered one of each for now, to test out. If that one seems to work I am going to order them for the other side. Thanks for the info NitoV.

 

which bulb is it on autolumination? I see one for 27.99 each and another for 14.99 each (3157)

 

I got the one that is 27.99 at the top of the page. Not sure what the difference is, they both look the same.

 

The 27.99 one says its a wedge base, the other just says 3157. hmmm

 

Keep this tread updated please. Thanks