Brighter Turn Signals

hudsonguy
hudsonguy Senior Contributor
edited November -1 in HUDSON
Just wanted to share my recent activity to try and upgrade the brightness of my turn signals/brake lights/tail lights. I've got a '49 Super Sedan, which is a great, big car with little, bitty lights, and it's been pointed out to me that the brake lights, turn signals, etc. are nearly impossible to see in heavy traffic, on a bright, sunny day. Of course, this describes most of the big car shows and road trips I try to do as best I can.



Anyway, even though I've converted my car to 12V, I found several things that made my lights even brighter. I bought some 'Ron Francis' super bright (probably 25% brighter than standard) 1157 and 1156 incandescent bulbs from Parr Automotive. This brightened things up considerably. I'd looked at LED bulbs, which aren't bright enough, and I believe are better suited for a reflector that is designed for them. I also looked at halogen bulbs, but I think they're much too hot for my liking. Especially for the brake lights, considering the times you can sit at a stop light for what seems an eternity.



I took it one step further in the front, and this could apply to either 6V or 12V cars. Not that I'm 'recommending' that you do this. Or in the words of the late George Schmidt 'you didn't hear it here', but I noticed that the factory wiring is such that the dim element in the bulb is used for the turn signal (which I actually use....all the time!), and the brighter element was only used for the park lamps (which I rarely use). So with a little bit of soldering I was able to switch connectors at the wire harnesses coming from the front lamps. I did this at the terminal blocks adjacent to the radiator. Now, the turn signals are nice and bright. (I also replaced my front clear bulbs with amber color) Also, thanks to Park W for rooting out a grounding problem I was having.

Comments

  • Park_W
    Park_W Senior Contributor
    Actually the factory wiring has the brighter filament for the turn signal, as it should be. Perhaps your wiring harness wasn't done correctly. Anyway, you've got it right now! I'm looking at making some sort of enclosures for my taillights, with a highly reflective surface inside.
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    The late Jack Heisler, a great guy, once gave me a gift that vastly improved the brightness of the taillights on my '37. It was a pair of flashlight reflectors, somwhat larger than the standard size of flashlight. I simply removed the bulbs, inserted the bulb base through the hole in the reflector, then replaced each bulb in its socket. This focused and concentrated the bulb's light.



    Fortunately, both the reflectors and my taillight lenses are round, and this concept might not work so well with the triangular lights of the Super (and later Pacemaker?) lenses. But, one could paint the interior of his housing a reflective white, to at least partly reflect the light out through the lens.
  • Nevada Hudson
    Nevada Hudson Senior Contributor
    I rewired my '50 Commodore, and now all the lights are bright, and you can really see the turn signals . Made sure the wires were thick enough. And its still 6volt!
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Another trick to get 6v amber bulbs is just to spray paint the clear bulbs yellow. Normally only 12v amber bulbs are available. Works great.
  • Richard E.
    Richard E. Senior Contributor
    You can also get Halogen bulbs, just make sure that you have glass lenses as they will melt the plastic replacements. I get mine from C & G Ford, here in Escondido, but Restoration Supply, also in Escondido has them as well. Both places do catalog ordering. These bulbs make a big difference, and I am still 6v.
  • PAULARGETYPE
    PAULARGETYPE Senior Contributor
    IN MY 50 PACEMAKER CV ""BABY I USED 'UGLY BULBS' Quartz SIgnal Bulb

    THIS IS THERE WEB SITE FOR THE BULBS IT SHOWS A DRAWING OF THE BULB



    http://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/ModelAParts/CowlLightTurnSignals/3858?partnumid=



    Snyder's Antique Auto Parts, Inc.

    12925 Woodworth Rd.,

    New Springfield, Ohio 44443

    Toll Free (888) 262-5712 Local (330) 549-5313 Fax (330) 549-2211



    Turn Signals Quartz SIgnal Bulb

    Also known as 'UGLY BULBS'. These

    are a direct replacement for the regular

    bulb except they are much brighter.

    They are 50/20 watt.



    A-13304-Q12 All 12-Volt 12.50 ea.

    A-13304-Q6 All 6-Volt 16.00 ea



    I JUST LOVE THEM THEY HAVE 2 BULBS IN ONE BASE

    AND THEY DO NOT GET HOT Quartz SIgnal Bulb
  • nick s
    nick s Senior Contributor
    PAULARGETYPE wrote:
    Snyder's Antique Auto Parts, Inc.
    12925 Woodworth Rd.,
    New Springfield, Ohio 44443
    Toll Free (888) 262-5712 Local (330) 549-5313 Fax (330) 549-2211

    If your in the area, stop by their shop, its a bit of a museum. I stumbled accross it trying to shorten my route about 12 years ago not really sure what they had, but knew that they were a an old car parts businesss of some sort, so I stopped in. They specialize in T and A Ford parts and do restorations of them. They also have have a pretty good large collection of NOS parts and automobilia on display. Knowing that they were a parts dealer and walking through the displays of complete counter boxes of parts and accessories, I wasn't sure what was part of their product offering and what was just for show.
  • Park_W
    Park_W Senior Contributor
    Snyder's started out in the automobile seat springs business, and they still make and sell them. When I found out our (former) '36H's rumble seat cushions were from a Model A, Tom Pett "loaned" me the R/S spring assemblies from his '36T coupe. He shipped them to Snyder's and they made an identical set for me. Very nice work, too.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    in my pacemaker i started right from scratch with the wiring, added 12v 21/5w bulbs to the dual element holder and a 21w to the single element holder in the brake/taillight assembly. the brake/turn light is very bright, the taillight only coming on after the suns going down doesnt need to be near as bright and i am very happy with the results so far.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Turn signals are very necessary...having an unreliable one will compromise your safety. I like the VW turn signals better than others. It's durable and with superior quality. :cool:
  • dwardo99
    dwardo99 Expert Adviser
    An 8 volt battery will brighten the lights immensly. Under slome conditions the voltage can reach almost 10 so it's not great for bulb life but they are nice and bright.
  • Uncle Josh
    Uncle Josh Senior Contributor
    I fixed mine by replaciing the dimmer switch with a brighter switch.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories

In this Discussion