Bright back up/reverse lights

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  • Hoosierkav

    Expert
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    5   0   0
    Dec 1, 2012
    1,013
    22
    South of Indianapolis
    Our grocery getter (Dodge Caravan) has lousy reverse/backup lights, so I put in Zevo bulbs (3057), thinking they'd solve my problem. No go. The bulbs are brighter than stock bulbs, but I don't know if the reflectors aren't right for them or what, because it doesn't help to light up the backside of the van--I might as well have not changed the bulbs.

    Who has solved this problem, short of a $100 led lightbar... ?
     

    femurphy77

    Grandmaster
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    30   0   0
    Mar 5, 2009
    20,268
    113
    S.E. of disorder
    A fog lamp mounted below the bumper fed thru a relay should solve the problem. I keep meaning to do the same thing on a couple of my vehicles but have been too lazy to carry thru.
     

    johnb62

    Master
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    48   0   0
    Oct 15, 2008
    3,466
    84
    Evansville Area
    I mounted some LED lights under the bumper of my truck. While they were pricey, there are much less expensive units out there. Nice thing about small LED's is a relay is generally not needed because of the lower draw and short run time of reverse lights. I wired straight into my reverse lights.
     

    WhitleyStu

    Keep'em Scary Sharp!!!
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    11   0   0
    Feb 11, 2009
    1,466
    63
    Whitley County/Allen County
    I was thinking about those small LED under bumper lights, but ran across LED bulbs to replace the incandescent bulbs that came from the factory. The LEDs are great and I don't have those under bumper LEDs to get in the way. Replacement LED bulbs are available lots of places. No running wiring, just remove lens cover and swap out bulbs.
     

    Hoosierkav

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    5   0   0
    Dec 1, 2012
    1,013
    22
    South of Indianapolis
    I was thinking about those small LED under bumper lights, but ran across LED bulbs to replace the incandescent bulbs that came from the factory. The LEDs are great and I don't have those under bumper LEDs to get in the way. Replacement LED bulbs are available lots of places. No running wiring, just remove lens cover and swap out bulbs.

    Yep. Tried that. Brightest ones at the big box auto parts store. Didn't help.
     

    Butch627

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    24   0   0
    Jan 3, 2012
    1,698
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    NWI
    The first thing I would do is find out the base style of your current back up bulbs and then research to find LED bulbs that use the same base but have higher output. I wouldn't trust that the auto parts stores would carry them
     

    Hoosierkav

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    5   0   0
    Dec 1, 2012
    1,013
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    South of Indianapolis

    Hoosierkav

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    5   0   0
    Dec 1, 2012
    1,013
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    South of Indianapolis
    Is there a way to wire a light into the existing wiring in a "if... then" setup? I'd like to avoid putting in a separate switch, so it's always on when needed, but I don't want it turning on during the daytime. Is it possible to wire it such that IF the taillights have power (ie, nighttime), AND I'm in reverse, THEN the light gets power?
     

    schmart

    Sharpshooter
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    4   0   0
    Nov 10, 2014
    559
    47
    Lafayette
    Hoosierkav,
    I installed multichip LED bulbs in my F150 similar to what wabashman posted above. They made a huge difference in the brightness while in reverse. I got a pair for $10 in Aug 2018 and they have been fine ever since. Looking at the single LED chip in the bulbs you installed, I can easily see how they may not have the correct focus to work in your van. I do understand wanting to dump the first idea and go "big" by installing underbumper lights, I'd suggest trying a different style of lights before going through all the effort to re-wire the vehicle. It may be worth contacting someone like superbrightleds.com as they have a 30 day exchange policy if you aren't happy with the bulbs.
    --Rick
     
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