Paging Daniel Stern - re: amber turn signals

Tough bulb to find. Even tougher to find in decent quality. We keep 'em in stock, send me an email via my website.

Yep, it's a carefully-orchestrated vast left-wing conspiracy ;-)

The ones that Osram makes (Osram Diadem, Sylvania Silverstar SIGNAL bulbs) and the ones that Philips makes (SilverVision) are good. The numerous different knockoffs don't put out *nearly* enough light to be safe or legal. Nobody makes a decent one in your all-glass 7440 format.

I actually like the Diadem type bulb better than the plain amber bulbs. The coating can never fade or burn off as it does with ordinary polymeric amber coatings (amber-glass bulbs are almost extinct due to their Cadmium content). Also, there may be a visual benefit to this type of bulb in bright-sun conditions, but it hasn't been looked at formally yet.

The Diadem bulbs are made in red, too, but not for drop-in replacement of any other bulb type. They're permanently soldered into the bulb holder on e.g. the MINI Cooper factory clear-taillamp package that was briefly available a few years ago. Burn out a brake light bulb, go spend a few hundred bucks on a new bulbholder assembly!

-DS

Sorry to hijack the thread, but this prompts a question - are they ever going to be available in, say, an 1157 or P21/5W format so that safe, legal clear taillights might actually become a reality? Or are they now passe?

Also are the amber ones available in a non-index base dual filament bulb e.g. 1176? (I'm guessing no, but it never hurts to ask.)

nate

(who thinks they actually look good on a silver car)

They already are (Sylvania Silverstar = Osram Diadem available in 1157,

2057, 3157 and 3457)

Nope

Where do you get them? All I have seen are the amber ones.

oh well...

newest automotive application for that bulb type that I've seen is 1955 (actually a 6V bulb) but guess what I have...

Is there any legitimate method for turning a clear glass bulb into an amber one? I'm not nuts about the lack of contrast between the turn signals and headlights, but I'm also not prepared to modify the very rare and expensive parking light housings with a different socket...

nate

Click 'n' buy.

There are a few different clean ways of doing this. The cheapest and easiest? File off one of the index pins from a BAY15d-base bulb! If the socket's not completely shot, the one pin should hold it in place OK. If not, you can shim the bulb with a wrapped strip of HD aluminum foil.

If that's a no-go, or if you want to be able to use a higher-output bulb than an 1157, e-mail me a picture of the assembly you're working with (pref. disassembled) and I'll send you some solutions.

I'm not trying it myself, but I've heard of people taking clear bulbs and marking them with a clear orange sharpie. I wouldn't think it's unsafe, but it probably wouldn't look that good. Don't know what the heat would do - it just might start flaking off in the assembly or become discolored.

I meant the red ones you alluded to - just curious, really.

I can try that... once I get the passenger side back from the chrome shop. The metal shell of the socket is crimped to this big chromed potmetal assembly; I don't see any modifications being practical or honestly possible without a high potential for damaging something expensive. Right now I have something kludged together on the pass. side as a placeholder that I'm not real happy with, but it lets me drive the car until I get the good one back.

Worst case, the correct white bulbs are available in a 12V version (car has been converted)

nate

*laugh*

People do all kinds of stupid, halfassed shit. This qualifies as that.

They're not available in the aftermarket. :-(

Well - I've done halfassed shit in a pinch. Once someone backed into my dad's car in a supermarket parking lot when I borrowed it. I exchanged insurance info and assessed the damage (slight sheetmetal damage and a busted taillight assembly). Then I walked into the store and got some translucent red tape to patch it up. It looked ugly, but I figure I didn't want to risk getting a ticket.

Oh - I was looking around for alternatives and saw that the PIAA "Mirror Orange" bulb is available in 7440. Don't know if they're worth $40/pair, but I can't imagine that it's quite as bad as their headlights.

In a pinch, sure. I got my '65 Valiant started and driveable home when the distributor condenser failed by wiring a Tecumseh lawnmower engine condenser across the coil negative and ground...but when I got home, I fixed it right!

Every time I've figured that such-and-such a PIAA product can't be as bad as their headlights...

...I've been wrong.

Also, if you pay $40 for a pair of turn signal bulbs, I'll come over there and kick your ass myself. I can do it, too; I've got DSL.

I'm thinking of keeping some of that translucent red tape in my car if an "emergency" ever happens.

Weren't you just recommending the Silverstar/Diadem or SilverVision turn signal bulbs that go for $20-25/pair?

A local Subaru dealer has OEM (Koito?) amber 7440 for $14.98 each, and would have to special order them. I don't even think Sylvania has them in its catalog. I called up a local Kragen (CSK) and they can't even order them. This has got to be a conspiracy!!! I did find this:

I've seen a couple of generic ones (incl Eurolite) for $3-4 each online. I don't trust the quality though.

Um, Daniel, that's something that I usually associate with pouty, attractive women, not guys wanting to kick ass :)

nate

Last time I checked, $20 was half of $40.

Whotta laugh.

$4.98/ea here, in first/OEM quality.

1) That's what I meant when I said "available here". 2) Care to guess who wrote the copy for that sheet?

"Eurolit-backwards-E" and "quality" don't belong in the same sentence together.

Speaking of tough-to-find bulbs, I've been having a devil of a time finding a replacement for the Stanley 12V5W bulbs that came in the corner lights of my '92 Civic. Two clear ones are used, one for the signal and one for the marker light.

Stanley will not sell to the aftermarket (I called them), and my local dealer does not stock them. They simply replace burnt-out ones with (I think) 194s that are nowhere near as bright.

Do you keep these as well?

And as an aside, why do they silver-over with age? Is this the filament depositing itself upon the glass?

Yep, in four different varieties.

Yep.

Send me an e-mail via danielsternlighting.com and I'll get you helped out.

If they are replaced by 194s, try a W5W I think?

nate

Nope. W5W is closer than 194, but not the correct bulb for the application.

Actually, white parking lights/turn signals work pretty good, at least as long as they're not too close to the headlights. I put clear turn signal/parking/DRL bulbs on my Camaro (as a temporary fix after the inspection) last spring, and I almost prefer having white DRLs, seem to be less confusing IME.

There's also a product called "Color Chrome", or something like that. I thought about buying a can and color the lights on my BMW a little. I'm not sure if it works on bulbs, or only lenses, but it might be worth a try. YMMV.

Ulf