Has anyone tried LED backup lights on a 308? and where did you get them. I am thinking it may save expensive lenses. I have heard it said, you only have the car in Reverse a very short time....not true. I often leave the car in R when parked and if the key is on for the radio or windows the lenses get very hot, I can see where the lense is starting to bubble and crack.
Are you sure you have the correct lamp?? I have melted some front turn lenses, using lamps that "fit" but were too hot!!! Put it in neutral and exercise your parking brake, it needs loosening up!!!!
PM this guy: eulk328 I think he went that way (LEDs) with his 328 before he left Germany. Also you can PM "magnum" who did the Dash LED project (Just plain AWESOME BTW) as he may have done LED projects for other parts.
You could always use first to keep the car put while parked. Of course, I'm more of a believer in the park brake, but if you're a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy.....
I try to use first, but face it guys, when you jocky in the garage or parking place, it's often left in the last place used.....kinda like your kids do with your tools! And Yes, the first thing I did after I saw the detioration of my parking light lenses was to check the bulbs.
Really? Mine always ends up in neutral. It's an interesting study in people to see that other peoples minds just leave it in the last direction of travel, rather than always automatically moving the gear lever to some preferred location (neutral or first). I've learned something today.
I've tested a lot of LED's in my 328 and 355. I don't think I went with LED's for the back up lights on the 328. Tried them but was not impressed. I can't confirm because the 328 is in storage far, far away :-( Since then, superior LED's have been introduced. I would suggest this LED (and only this LED) for a backup light:: BA15 4Watt LED bulb Options: White 1156-W3X1W from: SuperbrightLEDS.com I have them installed on my 355. As I mentioned, this LED was not around/available when I did the LED conversion on the 328. Again, it works well (bright) on the 355 and I would suspect would be fine on a 308/328 since the rear lamp assemblies are similar in size and construction. Other LED'S will fit and "work" but come nowhere close in brightness to an incandescent bulb. It should always be kept in mind these bulbs are to light up the area behind the car in the dark AND for others to see that you are backing up and hopefully from as great a distance as possible. I have not left them on for long periods of time to check temperature however it is rated at only 4 watts vs. 21 watts for the standard bulb so I would think it would be fine. Ambient temperature is a factor too. If you're in a cool climate you have a bigger "buffer" before damage occurs to the lenses. If you can read schematics and have some electrical abilities I would recommend re-wiring your windows and radio so they work without the ignition being turned on. I do this on every car I have as I REALLY dislike the way most manufacturers wire their cars in this regard. It's annoying. If you leave someone sitting in your car but take the keys with you they can't turn on the radio, they can't open the windows if it's hot or close them if it starts to rain. Also, on older cars it's not always a good idea to leave the ignition on for a long time without the engine running. If it has points and the points are in the closed position you might overheat the ignition coil.
"I would suggest this LED (and only this LED) for a backup light:: " I should qualify this by saying it is my only suggestion for the backup up light on the 3x8/355 style lamp assembly. Haven't tried it on other style lamp/reflector shapes and I suspect it would not be ideal.
If I'm not using the shift gate lock (which I never seem to do) I always try to leave the stick in 4th or 5th (if I'm on level ground) so my knee doesn't bang into it when I get in the car. This may not be an issue for a lot of people depending on your body size. Do you always trust your parking brake?? :-0
I used the superbright LED's from superbrightled.com (or something like that) in my GMC pickup because I wanted more light. They were no brighter than incandescent so no joy there. Also they only lasted 2-3 years. BUT if you want to save your lenses they will do that.
You won't find an LED that is brighter than a standard incandescent bulb. You can only hope to come close and have the added safety advantage of the quicker "on time." However, that won't mean much it they're too dim. And no, they certainly don't last forever as some people think. Sometimes not even close to "forever." :-(
