Balto, when did the DOT hire you? LED's are proven to catch you eye better than standard incandescent bulbs. Faster on/off. Hmmm, dirty old,hazed over,weak connection stock lights vs LED? I'll take LEDs every time. Motorcycle turn signals on a car are a no go too but....
Never had a problem with junk going in the large openings. The inner fenders are still on the car.
The rapid on/off time of LEDs certainly makes them more eye-catching than incandescent lamps, but this useful feature does not mitigate the need for proper intensity and viewing angle.
No, I've never worked for a DOT, but my 28 years of experience with two of the largest manufacturers of LED and conventional head/tail assembly manufacturers in the world perhaps gives me some credibility. Truck-Lite, Dialight, Chicago Miniature ... all customers of mine. Countless hours of design discussion regarding "sun phantom" and other phenomenon you've never heard of. Every Honda automotive lighting assembly in North America was the product of one of my employers.
You want to substitute the Fiat turn signal with LEDs? Go right ahead, but use the right assembly for the job.
Still not convinced? Set up a 300-500w quartz work light two feet from your front bumper, aimed at your "turn signal". Turn it on, then activate your hazard flasher. Step out of the car and stand 20' away. Can you see it flashing? That's only one car length away. Retreat 100' feet away, the point where you'd be confidently turning in front of an oncoming SUV. BTW, the worklight is not a qualified "sun light" that designers use when experimenting with LED designs; calibrated ones are much more powerful. Actual automotive signal prototypes are tested in giant darkrooms with hundreds of thousands of dollars of test equipment.
Whiterabbit, one question on the EL13 electronic flasher, have you removed a turn signal bulb and see if the turn signal for that side stops working? Usually the electronic flashers have low current sensitivity or none at all, and you can burn out a bulb and never know it.
Interested to hear what you find.
Luck Dana
79 Spider 2000
carb
It all about the romace of the car and owner
LED's are proven to catch you eye better than standard incandescent bulbs. Faster on/off. Hmmm, dirty old,hazed over,weak connection stock lights vs LED? I'll take LEDs every time. Motorcycle turn signals on a car are a no go too but....
