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You may have seen an article in one of the mainstream classic car publications?
The classic car market for lighting is tiny compared to the mainstream, and only small companies like mine are working to find solutions to the problems of trying to make old cars safe to use in modern traffic conditions. The market is simply not attractive to big companies, but they are always keen to ensure that the rule makers can put in place very expensive testing and approval procedures that can only ever be afforded by very large organisations. Bureaucrats also love these procedures as it makes employment for them and creates the illusion of usefulness for their ilk.
We, in Britain, invented motor sport and motor enthusiasm. The principle is that we have always used our ingenuity to find ways to use new knowledge to improve our cars and to make them safer. This will never change as long as we have cars and enthusiasts. If we look at the original bulbs still working in some of the older cars, will we see any "E" markings? I think not. Does that mean that the car owner is in danger of having his precious machine impounded? I don't think so.
If you hand-make a part to replace an obsolete one in your workshop, should you put it forward for the approval of a test body before fitting it?
There will always be people who regard any rule book as a thing of joy and fascination and who truly believe that none of us should be free to judge what is best for us. I, like any other reputable manufacturer, have always given my customers a money-back guarantee and I design and extensively test all of my bulbs and light boards with the help of people who know what they are talking about, not uncaring bureaucrats. We have been finding ways to improve the lighting on the cars we love for the last 5 years or so.
I hope to continue the process for years to come.
Some facts and figures about our LED bulbs, light boards and LED headlamp Bulbs
What are LED bulbs and lightboards?
Our LED bulbs are a direct replacement for original filament bulbs. They use Light Emitting Diodes and most of ours use an LED called an SMD (surface mount diode)to emit a brighter more intense light than a standard LED or filament bulb.
They light instantly and have no filament to "blow".
Our LED light boards (examples pictured above) also use SMD's and are used to convert lamps that have a bulb that is mounted sideways such as in Lucas D lamps and Pork Pie lamps. Lucas 471 and 549 type rear wing mounted lamps have the same sideways bulb. An LED bulb will not work in this situation so I have developed these LED light boards to suit. They replace the standard bulb holders and shine a much better more intense light and use minimal current in the same way that LED bulbs do. They are very small and come with a fitting kit and simple instructions.
They can also be used to convert most other lamps or build your own custom lamps.
Available in various sizes as:
Stop/tail and numberplate
Stop/tail only
Stop/tail/numberplate and flashing indicator
Amber indicator
All our LED products give you bright lights with absolute minimum current consumption
Strictly speaking, LED bulbs aren't road legal but this is really because as in a lot of areas, technology has moved quicker than the law. LED technology has come a very long way in a very short time.
There are many inferior imports out there to be had cheaply from mainly online auction sites. These bulbs aren't designed around older vehicles. I personally have purchased examples available from such places for testing purposes and they may look good but are useless for their intended purpose.
An LED bulb uses far less current to power it than the equivalent filament bulb. Light intensity is far superior.
They are perfect for use as day running lights.
If your classic car has standard filament bulbs and you put it in the garage at night and happen to leave the sidelights on (we've all done it!) the battery will be flat in the morning and the car won't start.
If you have LED bulbs/light boards fitted and you leave them on all night your car will still start in the morning.
Here's a few examples of how little current an LED bulb or lightboard uses compared to a normal filament bulb.
6v 5w filament bulb uses o.85 amps (nearly 1 amp)
Our equivalent 6v 5w LED bulb/lightboard uses 0.025 amps
So, you would need to light FORTY 5w LED bulbs to use the same current as ONE 5w filament bulb.
A 6v 21w filament bulb uses 3.5 amps
Our equivalent 6v 21w LED bulb/lightboard uses 0.17o amps
So, you would need to light TWENTY 21w LED bulbs to use the same current as ONE filament bulb.
The average vintage or classic car uses:
2 x 5w sidelights
2 x 5w tail lights
2 x 5w dash panel lamps
Total current consumed by filament bulbs (6 x 0.85) - 5.1 amps
(5.1 whole amps)
Total current consumed by LED bulbs (6 x 0.025) - 0.15 amps
(less than one sixth of one amp)
A 6v 24w headlamp bulb (std. filament or quartz halogen) uses 4 amps and shines an off white light. Thats 8 amps for two head lamp bulbs. Add this to the filament bulb figures above and it gives a total lighting load of 13.1 amps.
Our 6v 36w rated LED headlamp bulb uses 1 amp and shines a pure white light. That's 2 amps for two head lamp bulbs. Add this 2 amps to the LED figures above and it gives a total lighting load of 2.15 amps
Very impressive isn't it?
The current saved gives your charging system a much easier time.
1. Brighter headlamps even with 6v systems
2. Brighter side, tail and stop lights so others can see you
3. No discharge at speed with all your lights on so a properly charged battery
4. Your charging system is no longer working flat out and struggling to cope
For example: An Austin Seven with a standard 6v 11a 3 brush dynamo. 3rd brush set to give a nominal 10a current. Dynamo produces 10a all the time and so runs warm even with no load. Battery receives a 10a charge with lights off which causes it to boil. Frequent topping up of the battery electrolyte.
Now turn everything on.
Standard filament bulbs all round. Two 24w headlamp bulbs will use 48w or 8a and light output is a yellow 24w. Six side, tail and dash panel bulbs will use 4.33a and will be dim and hard to see from a distance.
8a + 4.33a = 12.3a total
This will show as around a 4a discharge on the ammeter with lights on at revs which will show as a further discharge if the wiper motor is used in top gear at 30mph or over. With all lights and wiper on , ammeter reads minus 4 amps so your battery is draining. Move the 3rd brush to give an 11a charge and there is still a 3a discharge and the dynamo is working flat out even with lights off. After a period of idling with lights on (traffic lights for example the battery is down but there is no spare current to charge it. The dynamo runs flat out so runs hotter and the battery boils quicker resulting in even more topping up of its electrolyte.
Take the same 6v 11a dynamo using our 2 brush conversion and hidden electronic regulator. Dynamo produces nothing until it needs to so runs cool. The electronic regulator will never allow the dynamo to produce any more than its safe maximum of 11a so the dynamo is protected against overloading. Battery receives only what it needs to keep it fully charged (after a start up or period of idling with lights on for example).
Now turn everything on.
Two of our 36w LED head lamps will use 12w or 2a but light output from each bulb is whiter and brighter, equivalent to a 40w bulb so that's 80w of headlamp power to see your way ahead. Six LED side, tail and dash panel bulbs will use 0.15a and give you brighter, more intense lights.
2 + 0.15 = 2.15a total
This will show as zero on the ammeter at revs with lights on and there's plenty left to power the wiper motor in top gear at 20mph or over. With all lights and the wiper on, ammeter reads zero because the dynamo is powering everything and the system is using so little. After a period of idling at traffic lights for example, there is current available to replace the power used. The ammeter will show a small charge until the battery is fully charged again. The dynamo is only working when it needs to. The battery will never boil as it only ever receives charge at the necessary rate . Infrequent topping up required only due to natural evaporation/breathing.
So, our bulbs are ideal for ALL older cars but especially those with 6v systems and low output dynamos. You will notice a GREAT difference in the reading shown on the ammeter with lights on at idle or with engine off.
This reading will show just how little the LED bulbs are using providing your ammeter is accurate.
As regards the colour of the lamp, you'll see the difference in the pictures at the top of this page.
5w filament sidelamp bulb in the left headlamp and equivalent LED sidelamp bulb in the right headlamp.
The tail lamps are fitted with LED lightboards and give a much more intense red light. Number plate illumination is bright and white instead of a dim glow.
Being more intense, LEDs can be seen from further away too.
Our LED head lamp bulbs emits a white light.
The latest and only way to upgrade your vehicles headlights and actually reduce the load on the charging system.
We also sell quality brass BA15 bulb holders to replace old and worn holders or for changing existing holders to take different bulbs.
We have our LED products made specially for us by a quality manufacturer so you can be assured you are buying the best.
All these bulbs compliment our electronic regulator conversions very well so I encourage their use. LED bulbs and light boards that emit an orange light are available for flashing indicators.
Dual LED bulbs that can be fitted into your vehicles side lamps are available equivalent to 21/5w. One LED is the sidelamp and the others emit an orange light behind a clear lens so your sidelights can be used as flashing indicators without anyone knowing. Our lightboards can be fitted in place of a bulb or where LED bulbs cant be used efficiently (sideways bulb holders for example)
LED bulbs might cost a little more but are well worth the outlay.
They are available as 6 and 12 volt to fit the original bulb holders used on vintage and classic cars (e.g BA9s, BA15s and BA15d type). If you have odd bulbs and holders then these can almost always be straightforwardly replaced enabling the use of LED bulbs.
Our LED products carry a 2 year guarantee
Now take a pre war MG with a 12v 13 amp Lucas C45 three brush dynamo properly converted by ourselves to an efficient two brush machine. Connect it to one of our solid state electronic regulators and this gives you a safe 15 amps or 180 watts.
From the choice below.....
....fit 2 x 50w LED headlamp bulbs
2 x LED side light bulbs
2 x LED tail light bulbs
3 x LED dash panel bulbs
Add on a maximum of 8 amps for 2 wiper motors and the ignition coil and the maximum total demand ever (driving on high beam in rain at night) is around 9.5 amps or 114 watts.
That's 66 watts below the safe output.
Drive the same car at night in the dry and the demand drops to 1.5 amps or 18 watts. That's 11.5 amps or 162 watts below the safe maximum output.
With 2 x 50 watt white LED bulbs you'll have 100 watts of pure whitelighting up the road in front. The electronic regulator lets the dynamo charge at lower rev's so over all you have bright lights all round with a happy efficient charging system and a battery that is always properly charged.
All our LED bulbs and light boards, holders and connectors etc are available in our ONLINE SHOP and also from our shop trailer at shows