[zinger]

I am thinking about buying some leds for my xB and have a few questions that hopefully someone can answer.

Does anyone have experience with anything like these?

They are 7443 and our back up lights are 7440. The seller says they will work fine. Can anyone confirm?

Do you think they'll be bright enough? It doesn't say how many lumens they put out, so I don't have any way to compare them to stock incandescent bulbs.

 

[BrickPig]

A couple of years ago, an eBay seller sent me some LED backup lights by mistake. I tried them in my xB but they were not as bright as my convertional incandescent bulbs, so I sent the LED bulbs back.

Having said that, LEDs have make tremendous strides in the past two years. Last month I took the leap and replaced many of the flourescent and incandescent bulbs in my house.

Your eBay link shows a bulb with LOTS of LEDs on it, perhaps it can exceed an incandescent bulb's light output. Only way to know is to spend $20 to try it...

 

[zinger]

I figured I'd just have to try it as far as brightness is concerned. I was mostly worried about the 7440 vs 7443. To answer my own question, I found this:

The 7443 led bulb will function in either 7443 or 7440 sockets.

In the 7440 socket, the 7443 will have extra contacts that are not connected to anything.

The 7440 will not function in the dual bright dim mode in the 7443 socket.

The 7443 is a dual contact (d.c.) bulb. The dual contacts are connected to 2 separate circuits inside the bulb. One for bright or high beam (braking/turn signals) and one for dim or low beam (running/parking lights).


The 7440 is a single contact (s.c.) bulb. The 7443 led bulb can be used universally in either 7443 or 7440 applications.

so the 7743 will work in place of a 7740.
a 7740 will not work in place of the 7743​

 

[BrickPig]

In the 7440 socket, the 7443 will have extra contacts that are not connected to anything.

I would then be concerned that if installed a 7440 socket, some of the LEDs on the 7443 bulb will not light up. Of course, that could easily be corrected by adding a jumper wire on the 7443 bulb. Good luck!

 

[rodnic]

If you know someone who works at NAPA, they have a catalog that gives all the specs on every bulb made. Bulbs are catagorized into groups and you can see which bulbs have the same base as a 7443 and pick a bulb that has more candlepower or whatever it is you are looking for. The problem may be finding someone who is willing to take the time to help you.

Rod

 

[Chance12XB]

If you want high powered LEDs, Cree is the way to go. The higher the wattage the better.
Like this.
2X White LED 7443 Backup Reverse Light Bright 60W 7440 T20 12 CREE High Power | eBay

 

[BrickPig]

850 lumens is very bright, similar to a household 120 volt 75 watt bulb.

60 watts is a lot of power demand. More than an automotive halogen H3 bulb (55 watts) typically used in fog lights. If I used these as my reverse lights, I'd be concerned about burning up my OEM wiring harness, unless I added a relay and new wiring to handle the load. But that's just me...

 

[autobotguy]

I seriously doubt any of those Cree PNP LED bulbs do stated output. First off their regulation circuits just plain suck. Then there is the heatsinking that is required for that much output...well there is just not anywhere near enough. Most PNP LED bulb manufacturers use the LED's theoretical lumen output (off of the LED manufacturers spec sheet) as the actual output of the bulbs since it all looks quite impressive to the average person. These theoretical lumen outputs are based on an unrealistic perfect environment with perfect power regulation and full copper or silver heatsinking. In otherwords, about 90% of the PNP LED bulbs just suck and will not come close to the actual output of a stock incandescent bulb.

 

[OpTicaL]

I have these on my 2013 xB right now, operates at 3W with a maximum of 7.5W. I bought it for visibility purposes (so I can see the curb when parking at night). @500 lumens, it is VERY BIGHT.

iJDMTOY - 360-degee Extreme Bright Plasma High Power Error Free

 

[juddsandage]

I am using this one in my B and other then the fact I need to clean off the lens of foggyness its very bright 7440 LED Bulb - Single Intensity 15 SMD LED Tower | LED Brake Light, Turn Light and Tail Light Bulbs | LED Car Bulbs | Super Bright LEDs