# 1157 led bulbs



## dan7225 (Feb 23, 2004)

i bought some APC 1157 led bulbs to replace my old brake light bulbs.
but when i installed them they dont work. they wouldn't work for my turn signals either. they dont light up at all.

i measured the total resistance of the led bulb and it = 34 ohms
and the regular bulb resistance = 6 ohms
do i need to lower the resistance of the led bulb to get it to work? wire in parallel with resistors?

i noticed that *LIU* has 1157 led bulbs in his turn signals and they work. 
does anyone know how he got them to work.

i have heard that there is a "resistor pack" that is attached to the bulb to make them work. if so, what is this "resistor pack" composed of. i have a ton of resistors in my tool kit. ranging from 1.8 ohms to 1M ohms. i could make my own resistor pack for free.

the only thing is i dont know what is needed to make the 1157 led bulbs work.


help anybody,
dan


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

the resistor i used are these










6 Ohm, 50 Watt load resistor kit


i wired it one to the blinker and the other one to the ground


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

the other way is to get an el-12 electronic blinker module they cost about $10 and are a better way than just using a resistor.


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## dan7225 (Feb 23, 2004)

LIUSPEED said:


> the resistor i used are these
> 
> 
> 
> ...




liu,

so i need a total of 4 of these for the front? do these make the lights work or are they for slowing down the rate at which the turn signal blinks? i would like the led bulbs to be as bright as possible and i dont mind the faster blinking.

do the brake lights work in the same manner? 
could i buy a total of 8 of these and do both the front turn signals and the rear brake lights?

i dont want to sound dumb, but you said to wire one to ground and one to the blinker wire. what about the parking light wire? it doesn't need one?

thanks again,
dan

ps. what is an el-12 and where could i get one.


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

no you only 2 for the corners.. each " kit " has one wire which you connect to blinker than to ground.

yes the parking light wire you dont need because it doesnt blink and it jes stays on 

while the brake lights you dont need any of these because your brake lights arent blinking.

where you can buy these kits is at www.superbrightleds.com


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

if you use the el-12 blinker you only need 1 or 2 of them, one for turn signals and one for the hazard blinkers. you can get them at most auto parts stores, I got mine from partsamerica.com

i think superbrigthleds.com might sell the el-12 blinker.


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

you dont need one for the hazards unless you are putting LED bulbs into the rear turn signal


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## dan7225 (Feb 23, 2004)

LIUSPEED said:


> you dont need one for the hazards unless you are putting LED bulbs into the turn signal




but what do i need to get the brake lights to work? because they dont work by themselves.


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## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

what car are you using for this?

and what im sayin is if the car you are using the sentra/200sx you dont need resistors for them unless you are using them as your rear turn signals.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

LIUSPEED said:


> the resistor i used are these
> 
> 
> 
> ...


quick stupid semi off topic question what are the blue things? i got one with my fog lights im not sure what to do with it


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

the blue things are in-line splices. they work ok, but over time will saw through the wires.


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## dan7225 (Feb 23, 2004)

LIUSPEED said:


> what car are you using for this?
> 
> and what im sayin is if the car you are using the sentra/200sx you dont need resistors for them unless you are using them as your rear turn signals.


98 sentra se 

i think it just dawned on me what you are saying. the reason why the brake lights would never light up with the led bulbs is because i need the resistor or e12 on the turn signals.

am i heading in the right direction?

so if i swap my turn signal relay for the e12 relay this will cause my brake lights, turn signals, and parking lights to work.

initially my problem was that when i installed the led bulbs in my brake lights only the parking light would come on and not the brake light or something in that nature. it has been a long while since i messed with them.


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

dan7225 said:


> but what do i need to get the brake lights to work? because they dont work by themselves.


if they don't work, try rotating them 180 degrees, they are polarized.


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## p_reed (Jul 5, 2004)

I have the same bulbs, and I had the same problem. What the problem is, is that the bulb isnt making cntact with the copper peice in the bottom of the plug. If you pull the copper peice up just a little bit, it will make conection with the bulb, and work just fine.


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## dan7225 (Feb 23, 2004)

B11sleeper said:


> if they don't work, try rotating them 180 degrees, they are polarized.



i tried that also. i thought that maybe the bulbs were manufactured with the parking and brake light opposite of what they should be. so i swapped the wires on the harness of the brake light and still nothing.

so you guys are saying that i shouldn't need any resistors to get the led bulbs for the brake lights to work. now i'm really hosed.


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## dan7225 (Feb 23, 2004)

p_reed said:


> I have the same bulbs, and I had the same problem. What the problem is, is that the bulb isnt making cntact with the copper peice in the bottom of the plug. If you pull the copper peice up just a little bit, it will make conection with the bulb, and work just fine.



i double checked the copper contacts at the bottom of the bulb socket and they make contact.

i even took a 9V battery and tested the led bulb to make sure it was working.
it was functioning as it should.

my normal bulbs work fine for the brake lights and the turn signals. but when i put the led bulbs in i get nothing anywhere.


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## p_reed (Jul 5, 2004)

I lied, i idont have those bulbs, i jsut have apc 1157s it didnt dawn on me untill after i posted that you were talking about leds. but in that case, shit, i dont know. its something simple, it always is.


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

you wouldn't need resistors for the brake lights. Those lamp connectors can be a PITA, sometimes they require some fiddling with.


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## dan7225 (Feb 23, 2004)

B11sleeper said:


> you wouldn't need resistors for the brake lights. Those lamp connectors can be a PITA, sometimes they require some fiddling with.



i guess it could be a bad connection on the bulb socket, but my regular bulbs work. its just the led bulbs dont work. 

and they dont work in any bulb socket. not the rear brakes or front turn signals.


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## dan7225 (Feb 23, 2004)

B11sleeper said:


> you wouldn't need resistors for the brake lights. Those lamp connectors can be a PITA, sometimes they require some fiddling with.



i think i'm gonna burn the car with the led bulbs inside it. that would almost be less challenging.

i always thought that led bulbs would be a direct replacement with minor modifications. but i guess i have a unique problem, because no led bulbs will work in my car at all.

supposedly the brake light bulbs (1157's) dont need any resistors or el 12 relays. then why wont mine work at all. 

i need beer
Mr. :dumbass:


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## superfro86 (May 15, 2002)

i had the apc1157 bulbs and they wouldn't work if you installed them the right way but would if you did it the opposite but wouldn't lock in the connector.


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

the problem could be the apc bulbs, i have some other manufacturers.


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## superfro86 (May 15, 2002)

B11sleeper said:


> the problem could be the apc bulbs, i have some other manufacturers.


thats what i think the problem is. i'll try some bulbs from other manufactors and see if they work. i'm glas i did return them. i don't want anything apc on my car.


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## Castilano (Dec 4, 2005)

So how do you actually hook up that load resistor in detail.....cause I plan on doing this to my 200sx se 98....the bulb brightness just ain't cuttin it.


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