Annoyed by LEDs

[BigAl]

Is it just me or are some of the LED lights on newer cars just plain distracting? There is a particular (Cadillac?) model with LED tail lights that are so bright and piercing that they make it hard to see the rest of traffic when they are in front of me at night on the expressway. Tonight I was behind a car with LED directional signals that were not only bright, they came on so instantly that it looked like there was actually an initial flash. It was almost like watching a strobe light . . . quite startling when they are first turned on.

I think the car manufacturers need to work on this a little more.

 

[moribundman]

Yes, especially LED brake lights can get painfully bright. Since it's distracting and makes me squint I doubt it's safe.

By the way, where are those brake lights that get brighter the harder someone brakes? I even got one on my bicycle, but I have yet to see them on cars!

 

[Master ACiD]

they need to make led lighting systems have a built in fading device, which somewhat mimicks a conventional lightbulb. say a 1/10th of a second fade on and off would be perfect for brake lights and turn signals.

 

[oilyriser]

For the traffic signals, a traffic engineer told me they replaced 50W incandescent lamps with 50W of LEDs. The green ones are so bright they blind you so you can't see the other side of the intersection.

Pretty soon there will be LED headlights. You could do something neat, like wear liquid crystal optical shutter glasses, and have the headlights pulsate on a spread spectrum (glasses too) so that you see the light best from your own headlights, and oncoming headlights are dimmed.

 

[Master ACiD]

ohh sounds real cool, how about optical shutter windows and wind screens instead of glasses though.

 

[moribundman]

quote:

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say a 1/10th of a second fade on and off would be perfect for brake lights and turn signals.

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In case of brake lights I must disagree. That LEDs come on faster than incandescent bulbs is a real safety feature. The problem with LEDs is that, in order to be sufficiently bright, the light must be focused into very tight beams that easily blind people. Some kind of diffusion is needed. Many light designs are now essentially diffusorless (clear lights, often with free form reflectors) because that's "in").

Luxeon white LEDs are awesome. A 3W-LED headlight system approaches the light output of a 30W HID light. One issue with white LEDs is that the spectrum is incomplete and while the lights output appears reasonably white, color perception is less than ideal (when compared to HID lights).

 

[Gary Allan]

Okay ...I'm always behind every curve or evolution here ..but what has caused this LED thing to grab hold. Now, just briefly pondering it I can see some advantages over our conventional bulbs...they appear to be multielemental ..so it's unlikely that all of them will take a crap on you at once ..but given the cost, what's the mandated criteria for replacement from a safety/inspection standpoint? It would be a real crime (highway robbery) for someone to spend $$XX.xx for a bulb that was 80% functional. Now the voltage requirement is low for these ..but I don't know how the current demand is for them.

This makes sense on commercial vehicles and stuff like traffic lights just due to service requirements being reduced ..but what else makes them a market evolution beyond some well placed money in the pockets of those who evolve DOT requirements??? Aside from the bling factor

 

[Scooby]

Advantages are great:

100,000 hour life, virtually no electrical draw, no heat, instant on, not effected by vibration and moisture, etc.

Our fire apparatus are totally LED except headlights and scene lighting. All emergency, marker, compartment, and reverse lights are LED. Where as 10 years ago out trucks had to stay on high idle while on scene with strobes/halogens and half the emergency lights (NFPA minimum). We can now run the truck at idle with more lights (in priority zones) keeping the noise level down and fuel/wear costs down.

LED's are here to stay. Price is coming down. Quality is going up. An LED 97 series Whelen clear lighthead was almost $1000 6 years ago. Now, it is around $300.

The cost benefit for us has already paid off. We have some trucks that are 5 years old with total LED lighting. They've NEVER had to replace a light (except headlights of course). When you compare to replcing strobe bulbs, sealed halogen assemblies, strobe packs, and down time...it oays off quickly.

 

[Kestas]

quote:

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they need to make led lighting systems have a built in fading device, which somewhat mimicks a conventional lightbulb. say a 1/10th of a second fade on and off would be perfect for brake lights and turn signals.

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Quite the contrary. Besides the reasons stated above, one HUGE advantage with LED lights is safety. The extra 1/10 second faster light-up translates to some 20 feet of extra stopping space at 70 mph for the guy behind him, with all other variables being equal (reaction time, pedal pressure, following distance). At least this is what the automotive journals write.

 

[BigAl]

It takes me more than 1/10 of a second to get over being startled. There must be an initial surge when the LEDs light up that creates some sort of flash. If they could overcome that, it would be good.

 

[Razl]

Scooby, you are right.

Plus, with a conventional bulb, it's just that, one bulb. Whereas, an LED is an array of lights, say 30 "bulbs". In the near future, you will never see a car with a burned out tail/headlight. Manufacturers could make a diffuser lens (like Mori said) to remove the harshness so it looks just like a standard lens but that look isn't in right now, unfortunetly.

I replaced my trailer lights with LEDs, no more burned bulbs or corrosion problems.

I'm looking to incorporate LED lighting in my new home because of the superior energy efficiency. They even now offer a color that mimics the incandescent warm glow look. Cost is getting better but still an issue to really catch on in residential use.

 

[oilyriser]

The very best LED's approach the efficiency of compact fluorescent bulbs, but this is only if you keep them cool.

 

[Gary Allan]

quote:

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Plus, with a conventional bulb, it's just that, one bulb. Whereas, an LED is an array of lights, say 30 "bulbs". In the near future, you will never see a car with a burned out tail/headlight.

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Again, what's the criteria of replacement

When my future car is in for inspection, what's the wrench going to say? "Mr. Allan, you've got one bad element in the 30,000 (yes, I'm going over the top here with the 30k element figure) element cluster. Sorry, but you've got to bend over for a $120 fixture that your auto manufacturer made proprietary for your vehicle. Now some other cars (not yours), in the past, had been able to use LED technology that was configured to retrofit regular light fixtures, but not yours. Since 2008 when the use of LEDs was mandated, the industry threw out all the common socket configurations and went to a new and improved system ..which bangs you in the wallet NOW. Isn't progress wonderful, Mr. Allan?"

 

[moribundman]

quote:

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Mr. Allan, you've got one bad element in the 30,000 (yes, I'm going over the top here with the 30k element figure) element cluster.

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Probably it's a valid point. I do see many LED clusters with some LEDs burnt out. It looks bad and I have no idea if single LEDs are replaceable, or if the whole cluster insert has to be replaced. Likely the latter is the case, at least with those narrow high-mounted brake lights or densly packed clusters. While LEDs do on average last more than 100,000 hours, you bet that a percentage will fail prematurely. It should be less of an issues with blinkers that contain less LEDs, but a brake light with 30 LEDs could be pricey.

Also, at what point too many of the LEDs have failed and you have to get the light fixed?

"Sir, I pulled you over because 3 of your 72 brake light LEDs are defective."

 

[mikemc]

Scooby, our newest truck, a 2005 Pierce Dash 100' platform has all LED except the stobes on the basket. Our cops also got new cruisers and they are all LED, really impressive stuff. LED is miles ahead of halogen and strobe for all the reasons you mentioned.

 

[mikemc]

Scooby, check your PM.