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MG MGB Technical - LED tail and Brake Lights - White or red?

I thought I would find this in the archives nut no luck. I want to replace my tail/brake lights ('74B) with led bulbs. Is there an option to use red lights? Is that preferable?

Dan
Dan Hiltz

Dan,
I've no idea of USA laws (some states seem to have none or not enough and others loads or too many) but as a rule unless the LEDs have changed recently you put the colour LED behind the colour of the lens, so red LED behind red lens and so on.
Nigel Atkins

Nigel is right. Red led behind a red lens. If you use a white led the brightness of the lamp will make the colour look washed out.

It's the same for all other coloured lights, amber led for an amber lens, green led for your direction indicator tell-tales, blue led for the high beam warning, etc. I've used leds for the warning lights and instrument lights in my car - well worth doing as they are much brighter.

DON'T use an led for the ignition or charge warning light. You have to have an incandescent bulb with a measurable resistance.
Mike Howlett

Mainly because at the time it was easier and less expensive to buy a box of 10 clear/white LEDs for the dash I used them on the green indicators warning lamps and the main beam jewel too. But note on a midget the warning lamps are not jewels.

The main beam jewel worked out well as it wasn't overpowering but the indicator warning lamps I could have done with being more intense in the sun with the hood down so I had considered swapping to green LEDS but never got a round to it. - https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/glb987-e10mes-green-8-smd-led-flat-bulbs-dashboard-gauge-lighting

Also I bought the dashboard LED bulbs a while ago and the ones you get now are brighter than the ones I got then. The gauges were lit much brighter than the previous new dim, yellowish, incandescent bulbs but because of the design and age of the gauges and dials faces a couple of gauges were still under lit for my liking for driving at night (hood up or down).

Now I'd buy the brighter dash bulbs in warm white for the gauges. - https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/glb987-e10mes-48-lumen-8-smd-led-warm-white-bulbs-dashboard-gauge-lighting-1
Nigel Atkins

Having tried several types the 'flat faced' ones are the best ones for instruments, even though the elements are smaller than the 5050 types they end up being a bit brighter but more importantly being shorter they don't interfere with the internals like the longer ones do. I had to space the holder back on my 80mm V8 speedo or it prevents the pointer from moving.

If you get the warm white you end up with the original colour when viewing them, the bright white result in a blue tinge from the paint on the inside of the cases.
paulh4

The blue(?) and white(?) (I forget) paints in the gauges is often brown tinted (or covered) with rust, in which case you might not need the warm of the white from the bulb. 😄
Nigel Atkins

I replaced my gauge lights with LEDs with the exception of the oil pressure and speedo because I can't reach them! It's a big improvement
Dan Hiltz

Part duck-egg blue and part white in mine, the blue as it makes the 'yellow' glow of low-wattage filament bulbs whiter to the viewer.


paulh4

To my eyes on my monitor that blue looks green-ish to me, I am not saying it is though. The last gauge I took apart looked more sky blue to me but different gauges may have had different paints over the years/decades perhaps - but I've no idea - and the sky blue may be a false memory of mine.

I think I remember thinking the blue and white didn't seem to relate too well to where the light was allowed pass the dial face, think that was a 70s speedo.
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 15/09/2022 and 18/09/2022

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