crappy LED trailer lights
 

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.

crappy LED trailer lights
 

crappy LED trailer lights
 

hk wrote:
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.


The out of town dealer from whom I bought my trailer advised against LED
lights. It made no difference to him what lights I wanted, because he
had to order the trailer anyway, and if there was a price difference
from the factory, I would be the one paying it. He told me he had lots
of trouble with LED lights on trailers, no matter who the light
manufacturer was.

As you point out, with bulb lights, you can replace the bulb easily and
cheaply.

Interesting... I replaced my trailer lights with something
like these

http://store.vehiclelight.com/ovredledstla1.html

about 5 years ago and haven't had a failure since. I dunk
the trailer about four times a week 40 or more weeks a year
but seldom in salt water. Just lucky perhaps.

crappy LED trailer lights
 

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.

crappy LED trailer lights
 

crappy LED trailer lights
 

wrote in message
...
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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

crappy LED trailer lights
 

On Sep 12, 8:36*am, "Eisboch" wrote:
wrote in message

...
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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------*-------------------------------

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.

crappy LED trailer lights
 

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

...
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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------*-------------------------------

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.

-------------------------------------

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

EIsboch

crappy LED trailer lights
 

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

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

...
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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------*-------------------------------

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.

-------------------------------------

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?

crappy LED trailer lights
 

"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
m...
"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

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

...
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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------*-------------------------------

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.

-------------------------------------

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