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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - LED Questions/sources

Im wanting to add LEDS in several locations on different TDS with specific polarities but have not found applications from Moss or Abingdon Spares to fit my needs. I don’t know if they even exist but if anyone has a source for the following in the polarities needed I would be greatful if you’d share your sources and part numbers.

If you also have a review to share I’d be most interested in your findings as to their fit and usage.

Lucas 1130 marker/turn.
Negative earth

Lucas SFT/SLR 562 fog/driving lamps.
Pos & Neg earth

Lucas P700/PL700, headlights.
Pos & Neg earth

Regards

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
W A Chasser

Are you sure you want an 1130?
The 1130 is listed as a 6 Volt bulb, with the bayonets in line.

At any rate, these seem to do it all.

https://www.amazon.com/BA15D-Bulbs-Replacement-Camper-Singnal/dp/B072FNSFVS?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B072FNSFVS

Jim B.
JA Benjamin

Jim. I’m sorry for the confusion. I believe the 1130 I am referring to is the Lucas front wing lamp assemblies. Tail lamps are not my issue as both Pos and Neg are available from many sources.

Thanks

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
W A Chasser

I believe the 1142 should be the front Wing lamps. The base is the same as 1130 but the 1130 is listed as a 6 volt bulb, while the 1142 is a 12 Volt bulb. The base has the bayonet pins in line.

On my TD the tail lights are 1152 with the bayonet pins staggered.

The link I posted says it is a white lamp and is a replacement for both 1130 and 1142. And either polarity.
Not just a tail light.

Today LED tail light bulbs are usually Red.


Jim B.
JA Benjamin

I should have asked. Do you have directionals.
The 1130 and 1142 have dual contacts for directionals.
If you do not have directionals you want a single contact base.

Jim B.
JA Benjamin

Bill
I purchased my MGYT LEDS and Halogen bulbs from Anthony Pearson (owns a MG Y) of Classic and Vintage Bulbs in South Australia.
http://www.classicandvintagebulbs.com/index.html

Ensure when purchasing you state if you want opposite or offset bayonet pins.

cheers
Stuart
Stuart Duncan

I purchased the headlight bulbs here: http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/led-headlamp-bulbs-shop.php I got the BPF bulbs and I'm very happy with them.

Tim
TD26711
Tim Burchfield

Jim, thank you for your responses. I guess it’ll be an 1142 dual filament type replacement LED that I’m looking for regarding the front wings. I bought a new harness embedded for turn signals from Moss. I will have to look at the light assemblies to see when bayonet style I have ie parallel or staggered. Thank you for the link

Stuart, thank you for your response. I will look at the link you provided as well.

Tim, thank you for the link and impressions tegarding the headlight bulbs. That looks most promising. Do you know what the PN was that you ordered? It all seems quite confusing to me. Was it difficult to get the pattern set up or are the bulbs keyed to fit the housings without a bunch of fiddling?

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
W A Chasser

Bill, I purchased the BPF P36d Negative earth FA1A (positive earth is also available). I believe the light pattern is concentric. I just installed the bulb and adjusted the beam the way I always have. I didn't notice any more light on one side of the beam or the other. You just have to identify which contact is for high and which for low beam when wiring the bulb holder. It wasn't difficult. I hope I understood your question.

Regards

Tim
TD26711
Tim Burchfield

Bill, I meant to post a picture of the type of holder the BPF P36d fit. The drawing shows the old incandescent bulb but the LED has the same ring at its base. My TD with the bulbs installed is in storage otherwise I'd get a picture for you.

Tim


Tim Burchfield

Tim,

What headlight assemblies are you using? I want to convert to led headlamps just for the reduced amp draw alone. I'm positive earth and too far down the road to change polarities with led tail lights and a solid state fuel pump.

Thanks,
Bill TD24570
Bill Brown

Are the BPF bulbs for headlights "handed", i.e. left or right hand dipping?

Or, is that done by the reflector?

Thanks.

Peter
P G Gilvarry

Bill Brown, I'm using the Lucas headlights pictured above. Positive earth bulbs are also available BPF P36d Positive earth FB1A. My goal was to reduce the current draw also. All the lights on my car, except the gen warning light and fuel warning light are LEDs.
Tim Burchfield

Peter, the headlight lenses are marked left hand drive so it would be the reflector. the bulbs are not "handed". BTW BPF stands for British Pre Focus, whatever that means. These are the headlights I'm using. The words Left Hand Drive are located at about 11:00 o'clock in the front lens picture.


Tim


Tim Burchfield

Hi Tim,

Sorry I didn't make myself clear. Are you using Lucas P700's or PL700's. I wanting to get a set of tri-bars for my TD but wasn't sure which is the accepted solution.

Thanks,
Bill TD24570
Bill Brown

Bill Chaser, I checked the headlamps and the bulb and the electrical connector will only fit in one way. So the bulb (LED) would be lined up correctly when installed. takes the guess work out.

Tim
Tim Burchfield

Bill, it just says 700 on the lens. But they are not Tri Bars.

Tim
Tim Burchfield

I was hoping to get Tribar PL700s from Rogers Motors.

I need LHD because my car is in the USA, guess they need to dip right.

Peter
P G Gilvarry

Peter, this forum post may be of interest. "Yes they can be converted to LED. I purchased my PL700s from Bob at Vintage Wheels. They are reproductions that have a newer H4 P43T style halogen as compared to the original P45T bulb. I then replaced the halogens with H4 style LED lamps from GTR Lighting: LED Headlight H4 Conversion Kit: 2,200/2,600 Lumen Bulbs. The light is more in the white spectrum (not yellow, not bluish). I mounted the drivers on the back of the light buckets. Much less amperage draw than the halogens to boot."

Source:http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/506313-lucas-pl700-tri-bar-headlights.html

Tim
Tim Burchfield

Tim I’m going to show my true ignorance. What are the drivers and what do they do? How did you mount them?

Bill Brown in looking at the Moss catalog the bulbs are different between the 700, P700 and PL700.
Thanks

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
W A Chasser

Bill, I didn't mount any drivers. They aren't necessary for the bulbs offered by the Dynamo Regulator Conversions guys. The drivers come with some LEDs. I only supplied the quote above to Peter because he mentioned Lucas tribar headlamps and that forum discussion concerned tribar lights. I'm not sure but I think the issue with the tribar headlamps is that they have a reflector inside that might adversely affect the LED light output. Sorry I confused the issue. The only thing you need for a plug and play install of the led bulbs like I have is a Lucas 700 headlamp and the stock bulb holder. The mounting and contacts are the same as a stock incandescent bulb, nothing else needed. Hope that makes sense.

Regards

Tim
Tim Burchfield

Okay Tim. But I am using PL700 tri bars so I’m presuming the bulbs you have don’t interchange with my lenses?

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
W A Chasser

Bill Chasser,

I did find a source for the Lucas Spot-lamp/Foglame bulb both for positive and negative polarity. Not cheap but available.

I also ordered a set of PL700" from Amazon and after I get them, I'll try to get LED's before the install.

Bill TD24570

http://bettercarlighting.co.uk/index.php?searchStr=p36s&act=viewCat&Submit=Go


Bill Brown

Same place has the P36D if you are using the BPF bulbs in headlamps.

http://bettercarlighting.co.uk/index.php?searchStr=p36d&act=viewCat&Submit=Go

Probably $90 with shipping.

Peter
P G Gilvarry

Bill, I really don't know much about LEDs in PL700s but this guy appears to have installed LEDs in them and he is happy with the result.

"I found the PL700s on eBay, about $120, and they come with the H4 halogen plug-in bulbs. I got the LED lights that plug into the H4 halogen socket and also plug into the wiring socket inside the headlight can. No external ballast is required for the ones I chose and they claim to have 4000L per bulb, 8000L for the pair. Search for H4/9003/HB2 LED Headlight Bulbs and you will find a lot for around $40 on Amazon."

The socket he is referring to would have to be wired into your existing wiring in the headlight can.

Tim

Tim Burchfield

Bill thank you for the link.

Tim thank you as well. I too am not familiar with LED technology and all the lingo that comes with it. And seems to be getting more confusing. On EBay there are a lot of differing H4 related bulbs with widely different Lumens, white and amber, some have cooling fans. I thought LEDs ran cool so why do they need fans? Would these actually fit inside the buckets if they have fans, what is the point of a fan if the “hot air” can’t escape the bucket?

Seems like I opened up a can of worms in a subject I find I know less and less about with each new link or post. It has become obvious that there is no standard when it comes to LED lighting. Each manufacturer has there own design and background gizmos to accomplish their purpose. I can relate to wattage and amps but lumens doesn’t mean anything to me other than the size of a number. I have no idea what a Cree is or Canbus for the matter. I thought my inquiry would be straightforward and there would be a definitive answer lot my quest.

Bill Chasser
TD-4834


W A Chasser

It really is straight forward, Ebay is full of a lot of junk, and has a lot of good sellers from legitimate businesses.

I have dealt with Classic Car LEDS in the UK, he sells in both his online and Flebay venue.

He is developing the P36D or BPF headlamp bulbs in UK cars and anticipates being on the market in March with them.

All 4 corners of my TF sport his dual filament LEDs for brake/turm/side and side/turn applications. They were easy to fit, he was a pleasure to deal with and answers questions.

I did take comparison photos with one incandescent and one LED lamp fitted, will have to look for them. There is no comparison, the LEDs are brighter.

If you car was originally was a US car there is every chance you have H4 headlamp bulb wiring, the rest of the world has P36D or BPF connectors, H4 pushes on, BPF turns to lock.

My 1p worth!

peter
P G Gilvarry

Thanks both Tim and Bill,

Bill I feel your pain on being confused on LED's and it even gets much worse when you throw positive ground in the mix. I am waiting to get my hands on the PL700"s to see what socket style they have. They are most likely the H4 5006 with P43t fittings. Classic Dynamo & Regulator Conversions has a lot of information on their site also. So much information your head begins to hurt. Gotta find something as my poor generator is gasping for air.

http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/led-headlamp-bulbs-shop.php

Thanks,
Bill TD24570
Bill Brown

Just a reminder that I design and manufacture LED tail lamps for pre-1962 MGs and pre-1990 Classic Minis. Full details at www.brittrix.com

Lew Palmer

I contacted Gil at Better Car Lighting and asked him his experience with LEDs in PL700 Tripod headlamps. Here's his reply. "Yes, it will function but I have had occasional problems with focus in these lights and do not fully understand why it happens only on rare occasions. The problem, when it occurs, is that dipped beam is excellent, but main beam is far too high. I suspect that there are small differences in versions of the PL700 headlamp which do not show up with filament bulbs, but LED technology is very precise and small changes matter. I give a full money-back guarantee on all items."

www.bettercarlighting.co.uk

Tim
Tim Burchfield

LEDs are very directional so the rotation of the LED bulb is critical to the proper aiming of the light beam. If the high beam is too high, rotate the bulb socket so that the high beam is level. Then the low beam will follow suit.
Lew Palmer

This thread was discussed between 29/01/2018 and 02/02/2018

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