Taillight bulbs

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Davec
Posts: 39
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 3:13 pm

Taillight bulbs

Post by Davec »

I have just discovered the 1157dc 27/8 watt bulbs. Are these the original spec or the more common 21/5 watt ones ?!

I want to use these in the tailights to brighten the rear brake lights and they should be more effective.
Davec
Posts: 39
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 3:13 pm

Re: Taillight bulbs

Post by Davec »

in answer to my own question - i have tried hem and they are exactly the same brightness ! :drinking:
cougarsunlimited.net
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:39 pm

Re: Taillight bulbs

Post by cougarsunlimited.net »

Be careful when selecting replacement 1157 bulbs. The OEM turn signal switch contact current carrying capacity is very limited and barely handles the stock bulb current. Any extra current drawn by the bulbs will cause the contacts to overheat and soften/melt the surrounding plastic. This causes the contact to sink into the housing and fail.

Do not use halogen or other "extra bright" incandescent bulbs in your Thunderbird.

The best solution for improving the tail light brightness is to convert to "Plasma" LED bulbs. They use 1/7th the current and are about twice as bright.
Vic Yarberry
Cougars Unlimited LLC
www.cougarsunlimited.net
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