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D.Duck

"Eisboch" wrote in message
news

"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
m...
"Eisboch" wrote in message
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On Sep 12, 8:36 am, "Eisboch" wrote:
wrote in message

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On Sep 11, 7:48 pm, wrote:

I replaced the OEM LED lights on my NEW EZlLoader trailer after 8
months cuz they all failed. Bought some "waterproof" LED lights but
they also failed after only 6 months. Now, I have gone with cheapo
bulb type lights where I can replace the bulbs.

I have never ever had a problem with LED trailer lights. I never have
to think about unhooking them when I am loading or unloading.

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I suspect problems with LED lights have far more to do with the
connections
than the LED's themselves.
LED's draw so little current compared to bulbs to operate that any
corrosion
on the wiring could drop the voltage enough to prevent them from
turning on.

I don't know about the most recent LED's but the ones I used to use in
control circuit displays had current limiting resistors that also acted
as
voltage dividers. The LED would turn "On" at about 4.3 volts DC and
"Off"
at about 3.0 volts DC, IIRC, so any voltage drop of the 12 volt supply
voltage could keep them from turning on.

Truckers have pretty much converted to LED lights because they are so
reliable. Traffic lights have also been converted to high brightness
LED's
for the same reason. Granted, they don't get dunked in salt water, but
they
are still exposed to some harsh environments and vibration.

Eisboch

I've looked into converting my Dodge truck tail lights to LEDs. You
have to put a resistor in the line or the computer thinks the tail
light isn't functioning.

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It's an important issue. Some ABS systems won't work properly with LED
conversions because of that.

EIsboch
It's actually a resistor across the line to be technically correct. It
supplies a load roughtly equivalent to the original incandesent bulb.
Not really an issue for trailer lights.

I stuck a couple led trailer lights on my trailer a few years ago. They
still work. I did solder and heat shrink all my connections though.
Also to be technically correct led's do have to have a resistive load to
limit the current draw. It is not to "drop" the voltage. You calculate
the resistance by subtracting the led voltage drop, usually around 3
volts, from the supply voltage, 13.8. Then using the remaining voltage
you use ohms law to calculate the correct resistance for the desired
milliamps. I agree, a bad connection could be a bigger issue because of
the lower current. You can wire several leds in series so that less
resistance is needed. But that does make the circuit much more
sensistive to variations in the supply voltage and is not really a good
idea when working with 12 volts.

Without some more detail troubleshooting by the op it's difficult to
condeme the led lights themselves. What do they do when removed and
connected directly to a battery?

I didn't really state things clearly. The current limiting resistor,
*because* it also acts as a voltage divider (in series with the LED and
it's E drop), the circuit becomes, as you stated, more susceptible to
variations in the supply voltage, meaning a bad connection becomes another
voltage drop, lowering the resultant voltage across the LED to the point
where they won't light.

Or something like that.

Eisboch

You nailed it.