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MG MGA - LED rear lights

As a respite from the dirty work of fitting the new engine, I have taken 30 minutes to fit the new LED rear lights I bought from Brain McCullough (BMC Brian).

I am seriously impressed.

The lights were easy to fit, but do require that the old fittings are modified by drilling out the rivets to remove the bulb fitting (I also removed the cable terminals just to have an easier fit, even though this is not required).

The lights took 10 minutes each, and are MUCH brighter than the old filament bulbs, even though the bulbs were relatively new and the reflectors in excellent condition.

Although this is not a cheap option compared to the led bulbs on ebay, it is a significant safety improvement, as it is now much clearer when the indicators are flashing.

The only issue I still have to resolve is to fit some resistors in the circuit to achieve the correct flash rate on the indicators. I could fit a modern flasher unit, but din't want the non-original parts on the bulkhead. I'm going to hide the resistors in the lamp plinths, which will require removing the splash plates to get at the bolts. That's a job for the winter evenings.

So generally an update I would highly recommend.

And no I din't get any special deal from Brian for this plug!

dominic clancy

Photo?

Steve
Steve Gyles

Sorry, my cameras are both on loan at the moment
dominic clancy

Dominic

You work for Canon cameras and you cannot lay your hands on one!!

Tut tut

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hi there.
I have LED lights for several years. No drilling was needed. Straight swap. I love them.
For the flasher, just leave the original flasher in place with wire harnes going nowhere, put LED flasher somewhere out of sight. If you care about originality, do not put the LED lights in, definitely not original.

Martin
m zazvorka

Hi Dominic

Very interested in this, as although I love the look of the mk 1 rear light I do have concerns over the safety aspect in modern traffic.

Can you post some contact info for Brian and photos please.

Thanks

Chris.

Chris Bond

Hi Dominic,
Also very interested as too many people seem to think my puny rear indicator is something to ignore. As I live down a road with a hidden entrance I often have cars steaming up to my rear bumper unaware that I am about to turn.
Contact detail for BMC Brian highly appreciated.

Neil
Neil Purves

Here you go:

http://bmcautos.com

under LED Lights, you will find the MGA version.

From outside, you notice no change, so there is only a difference when the lights are on, and then they are much brighter than the old ones.

Dominic
dominic clancy

I too have the LED lights that I got from Brian, These are GREAT. Installation is quick and easy. I would suggest putting some insulation on the back of the circuit board so that is does not touch the metal housing, other than that it works great. There is no noticalble difference untill you turn the lights on and then the brightness is much better. By the way, there are two version of these lights. One is for positive earth and one is for negative earth. On the 1600 car, I am going to use the LED bulb that is available on the net, as these bulbs are directional in the way the light eminates from the bulb. Pointing the LED bulbs down at an angle would point light at the ground instead of back toward on-comming drivers. On the 1600 cars the turn signals point straight back so this is a perfect fit. Also I have been told that they also work on MKII cars although I have not seen this.

Jim
1600 MK1

p.s. While I do not work for Brian, he and I are friends and live in the same area. His phone number is 01-651-400-0145
JP Jim

Not Cheap.

Steve
Steve Gyles

No, not cheap, but a good investment in making sure that today's drivers really see what your intentions are.
dominic clancy

A bit too expensive - but I have noticed that on Ebay you can buy LED versions of the standard filament bulbs ( an example is Ebay Item number: 290449921232)- they are a direct fit in the socket (as long you are negative earth) and are supposed to be a lot brighter than standard and nowhere near as expensive as the one Dominic has fitted. Must try them - anyone else used these?
Cam Cunningham


I just installed a set of these lights and I'm noticing one thing. If the tail lights are off the brake lights are much brighter than original and that's great. However, if the tail lights are on there is not much contrast between brake off and brake on. It seems that the tail lights are almost too bright.

I have a led tail light insert for my '46 TC (from another vendor) and it doesn't seem to have this problem.

Anyone else notice this or is it just me?
David Ahrendt

Hi David

It's something I have noticed too, but as I am still waiting for the flasher unit to turn up, the jury is still out.

I was told that it's quite dependent on having the 12V at the connection by the light. I am getting only 11V, so I am thinking of putting a relay and a power feed in the trunk to address the issue and up the voltage at the brake light.

dominic clancy

I bought a cheap set of LED stop/tail lights from ebay for my 1500.

Unfortunately the flasher unit doesn't operate the LEDs out of the box - I need to add some resistors in the line which will increase the power consumption.

Also for the 1500, the tail light fitting has them pointing down so most of the light is directed onto the road.

I also got some in white for the front - what I really want is a white LED light with amber flash.
Dan Smithers

This thread was discussed between 23/10/2010 and 22/11/2010

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