Back up lights dim - options?

[PaleRider 12]

The backup lights on my 70 are not very bright and I woul not consider them functional. Ive seen some LED ones for earlier years but nothing for 69/70. Just curious if anyone has upgrades theirs

[danno 128]

I don't think they were ever that bright. Back up lights were kind of a new thing then, they did not care about how bright they were. A simple fix might be to put in a double filament bulb. The double filament bulbs are the normal taillights, you just file off the nobber on one side so the double filament bulb fits in the socket of a single filament bulb. The your backup lights will have twice the brightness.

 

Otherwise, I would say kick back and relax. Too many big issues to worry about than dim backup lights.

[PaleRider 12]

I don't think they were ever that bright. Back up lights were kind of a new thing then, they did not care about how bright they were. A simple fix might be to put in a double filament bulb. The double filament bulbs are the normal taillights, you just file off the nobber on one side so the double filament bulb fits in the socket of a single filament bulb. The your backup lights will have twice the brightness.

 

Otherwise, I would say kick back and relax. Too many big issues to worry about than dim backup lights.

 

I know isn't it a great point in the restoration when you are thinking about this little stuff.

[69RavenConv 286]

There are 1142-style LED bulbs available, I bought a pair similar to these on eBay. I haven't got the car together, so I can't say if they are any brighter than the incandescent.

 

[MustangChuck 16]

Other than the double filiment idea, you can also check your grounds. A loose or undersized ground will cause the light to operate weakly.

 

M/C

[jholmes217 65]

I you haven't already done so, pull the bulb out, and spray some electrical parts cleaner in there to clean up the contacts and get any corrosion out. Once it dries, put the bulbs back in and see if things are any brighter.

[danno 128]

You have me curious now about mine. I am wondering if the double filiment idea will actually work.

[PaleRider 12]

I do have double filament on there now. Old mounting socket was shot - ended up putting a new one in from autozone and used double filament type. I also think the lens are not that conducive to light. They are not clear plastic - at least mine

[danno 128]

If you have a double filament bulb and socket in there already, are you lighting both filiments?

[buening 63]

Interesting, I have no problems seeing in my mirrors while backing at night. Mine are plenty bright. Be careful with LED lights, unless you get a bulb with a lot of LEDs you will end up with dimmer lights than the incadescents. A lot of LEDs typically increases the bulb depth, so you have to watch clearance to the lens. Then you have the dotted look of LEDs.....

[PaleRider 12]

If you have a double filament bulb and socket in there already, are you lighting both filiments?

 

I thought it was - little hard to directly look into and see - I'l check again.

 

I wonder if I have a problem overall with lights. For headlight I put in new halogens and relay - pretty much have to drive with brights on to see well. Did not make much of a difference at all.

 

When backing up you can barely see light in back. Really not functioning at all.

 

I did order some like 69raven pointed out. here were pretty cheap thru ebay. $6 a pair delivered.

Edited October 19, 2011 by PaleRider

[Lemon Owner 11]

After all the lights you have replaced with no improvement it sounds to me like you need the new optometrist kit from NPD. :thumbup1::laugh:

[69gmachine 15]

I wonder if I have a problem overall with lights. For headlight I put in new halogens and relay - pretty much have to drive with brights on to see well. Did not make much of a difference at all.

 

When backing up you can barely see light in back. Really not functioning at all.

 

It sounds like you have some other issue. Taking the head lights off of the regular lighting circuit by using relays should have made all the other bulbs still on the OEM harness brighter. Maybe you have corrosion in the factory connectors somewhere, or the headlight switch is old and corroded.

[danno 128]

Why don't you measure the voltage on your back up lights? You will need to take out one of the bulbs and put a voltmeter in the socket. Also measure the voltage right on the battery. I will bet it is at least 2 volts lower at the bulb. It is a lot of wires, connectors, and a dirty switch inside the transmission that cause the voltage at the bulb to be lower.

 

Another easy fix is to use a 6 volt bulb, if it is low voltage in the socket. I am pretty sure you can still buy that bulb in a 6 volt version. I don't know how long it would last, but if the voltage you measure is low enough, this could work?

[Angel 24]

I have this issue but only on one side. Right side is bright. Left side is dim. I switched the housings to no avail. I even replaced both of them and still nothing. So I'm assuming it's somewhere in the wire harness.

[buening 63]

If you don't mind hacking up your harness, a simple relay could easily brighten your backup lights....assuming there is a low voltage at these lights.

[PaleRider 12]

Good idea I will check the voltage - I'll try that at headlamps also. There is defintley somethng go on there. One thing I notice is a voltage drop when I put turnsignals on . You can actually see voltage gauge dropping as the signal is going on and off. Wonder if it is all related.

[buening 63]

Sure sounds like it to me!

[stangs-R-me 121]

If you still have the stock '69 tripple stacked lens's installed this will dim them too.

 

I reduced mine to single lens back in the 80's and went to a slightly brighter bulb and this all helped a bit.

 

1142 = 18 Watts (stock)

L1076 = 23 Watts

 

Pics below from 2 different cameras.

 

-----------------------

 

As far as LED's I tried them on my 2011 Mustang and although they looked brighter & whiter from the rear (supposedly 43% more lumens), they actually gave off less USEABLE light than stock ... big waste of $25 !! In pic below, the LED's are on the left.

 

Found out that Ford used a slightly brighter bulb in 2010 (same tail lamp assy's) so I switched to these which made a more noticeable difference.

912 = 1.0A / 151 lumens (2011 bulb)

921 = 1.4A / 264 lumens (2010 bulb)

921-NW12 = 0.51A / 216 lumens (LED from superbrightleds.com)

 

This is of no help for a '69, but I thought it was a good warning of what the result of LED bulbs can be if not researched fully !!

 

Doug

[PaleRider 12]

If you still have the stock '69 tripple stacked lens's installed this will dim them too.

 

I

Have a 1970 - so I have the just one lense. I did order some LED bulbs but I'm guessing won't help. I'm pretty sure I had replaced my light switch - hard to keep the couple of restorations straight. Had problem with dash lights not working that replacing switch fixed.

 

This weekend I'm going to check the voltage. I'm guessing something is going on there. They did not have a painless when I did my car or I would have swapped that out to. Already yank the wiring out of the 66 i'm doing - not even going to mess with the old wiring.

[PaleRider 12]

I don't think they were ever that bright. Back up lights were kind of a new thing then, they did not care about how bright they were. A simple fix might be to put in a double filament bulb. The double filament bulbs are the normal taillights, you just file off the nobber on one side so the double filament bulb fits in the socket of a single filament bulb. The your backup lights will have twice the brightness.

 

Otherwise, I would say kick back and relax. Too many big issues to worry about than dim backup lights.

 

All right finally got around to it. Another duh moment in the early newb years of my resto. I replaced the sockets the old ones were trashed. I used double filament replacement sockets and only one filament was lighting up. Also was getting some voltage drop off - cleaned out the connectors and got another volt back.

 

Need to replace socket with single and then I'm going with your file down trick. Got a couple of spare bulbs anyway :001_tongue:

Edited November 4, 2011 by PaleRider

[MustangChuck 16]

Can you replace just the socket in the backup lights? I am replacing every bit of wiring and connections in my car. The housing and lenses are fine, but I need to replace the sockets.

 

Thanks,

M/C

[danno 128]

All right finally got around to it. Another duh moment in the early newb years of my resto. I replaced the sockets the old ones were trashed. I used double filament replacement sockets and only one filament was lighting up. Also was getting some voltage drop off - cleaned out the connectors and got another volt back.

 

Need to replace socket with single and then I'm going with your file down trick. Got a couple of spare bulbs anyway :001_tongue:

 

You can use your existing double filament sockets and bulbs fine. Just connect both wires from the socket to your backup light wire. Make sure one of them is not ground.

 

Or install the correct socket and grind off hte nibber deal...

[PaleRider 12]

I replaced mine. Old ones are flanged into housing. Did not want to buy new housing - chrome on mine was pretty good. Little work but got them out. Got replacement ones from Autozone a couple dollars a piece. Need to fab up a little piece of metal to hold them in place - the housing holes are bigger than the replacement socket flange.

[stangme428 33]

hmmm ... wonder if we could make these from mustang project work....